Hessler, James M. The Civil War. The First Day at Gettysburg. July 1 1863

A volume from the "Casemate Illustrated" series. The summer of 1863 began disastrously for the Army of the Potomac in the eastern theatre of war. In early May, Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia defeated and humiliated Major General Joseph Hooker's army at the Battle of Chancellorsville. While both armies reorganised after the massive losses at Chancellorsville, Lee retained the initiative and launched an invasion of Pennsylvania. Throughout June, Lee's army continued to advance into Pennsylvania, and northern efforts to stop him were unsuccessful until Major General George Meade replaced Hooker as commander of the Army of the Potomac. On 1 July 1863, Meade and Lee's large armies met outside the crossroads town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The stakes were higher than ever for both armies, as the newly promoted Meade defended northern soil while General Lee risked everything by taking the war into enemy territory. The first day of the Battle of Gettysburg is often overshadowed by the fighting on the following days, but 1 July was one of the bloodiest single engagements of the entire Civil War. Many of the decisions leading up to and made on the first day of Gettysburg remain controversial to this day. Did Meade intend to fight at the Pipe Creek line in Maryland until subordinates like Major General John Reynolds forced the engagement at Gettysburg? Was Lee truly "blind" to his opponent's movements due to the absence of J. E. B. Stuart's cavalry? Was Lee's desire to avoid a general engagement ignored by his own officers? With neither of the two commanding generals spending most of the day on the battlefield, key decisions lay in the hands of subordinates such as John Buford, John Reynolds, A. P. Hill, Richard Ewell and Oliver Howard. This volume in the Casemate Illustrated series sets the stage for the greatest battle of the Civil War and chronicles the valour, decisions, and mistakes of the first day at Gettysburg.