An in-depth look at a Confederate general and the first blood spilled at Gettysburg, with maps, photos, and a guide to historic sites.This book examines the key role played by Lt. Gen. Richard Ewell's Second Corps during the final days in June. It is the first in-depth study of these crucial summer days that not only shaped the course of the Gettysburg Campaign but altered the course of our nation's history.In two powerful columns, Ewell's Corps swept towar...

An award-winning biography of one of the Confederacy's most colorful and controversial generals.Winner of the 2013 Nathan Bedford Forrest History Book Award for Southern HistoryNominated for the 2014 Virginia Book Award for NonfictionDespite a life full of drama, politics, and adventure, little has been written about William "Extra Billy" Smith—aside from a rather biased account by his brother-in-law back in the nineteenth century. ...

Scott L. Mingus Sr. and Eric J. Wittenberg, the authors of more than forty Civil War books, have once again teamed up to present a history of the opening moves of the Gettysburg Campaign in the two-volume study "If We Are Striking for Pennsylvania": The Army of Northern Virginia and the Army of the Potomac March to Gettysburg. This compelling study is one of the first to integrate the military, media, political, social, economic, and civilian perspectives with rank-and-file accounts from t...

Scott L. Mingus Sr. and Eric J. Wittenberg, the authors of more than forty Civil War books, have once again teamed up to present a history of the opening moves of the Gettysburg Campaign in the two-volume study “If We Are Striking for Pennsylvania”: The Army of Northern Virginia and the Army of the Potomac March to Gettysburg. This compelling study is one of the first to integrate the military, media, political, social, economic, and civilian perspectives with rank-and-file accoun...

Previous works on Confederate brigadier general Harry T. Hays's First Louisiana Brigade -- better known as the "Louisiana Tigers" -- have tended to focus on just one day of the Tigers' service -- their role in attacking East Cemetery Hill at Gettysburg on July 2, 1863 -- and have touched only lightly on the brigade's role at the Second Battle of Winchester, an important prelude to Gettysburg. In this commanding study, Scott L. Mingus, Sr., offers the first significant detailed exploration ...

Tens of thousands of Irish-Americans fought in the Civil War, with "Sons of Erin" playing a vital role in both Union and Confederate armies. Award-winning author Scott L. Mingus, Sr., has teamed with living historian Gerard E. Mayers to present more than 150 of their most memorable personal stories. In this unique collection, readers will find tales of courage, boldness, and humor. Many have rarely been seen in print since their original publication more than a century ago. Stories have be...

"Anyone who is interested in Civil War logistics, wartime railroads, and the Cumberland Valley of Pennsylvania needs to read this study." —Eric J. Wittenberg, award-winning historian and authorThe Civil War was the first conflict in which railroads played a major role. Although much has been written about their role in general, little has been written about specific lines. The Cumberland Valley Railroad, for example, played an important strategic role by connecting...

A comprehensive, deeply researched history of the pivotal 1863 American Civil War battle fought in northern Virginia.June 1863. The Gettysburg Campaign is underway. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia pushes west into the Shenandoah Valley and then north toward the Potomac River. Only one significant force stands in its way: Maj. Gen. Robert H. Milroy's Union division of the Eighth Army Corps in the vicinity of Winchester and Berryville, Virginia. What happens...

General Robert E. Lee's movement north shifted the war out of the central counties of the Old Dominion into the Shenandoah Valley, across the Potomac, and beyond. The first installment carried the armies through the defining clash at Battle of Brandy Station, after which Lee pushed his corps into the Shenandoah Valley and achieved victory at Second Winchester. Major General Joseph Hooker used his cavalry to probe the mountain gaps, triggering a series of consequential mounted actions. The ...

Gen. Robert E. Lee began moving part of his Army of Northern Virginia from the Old Dominion toward Pennsylvania on June 3, 1863. Lee believed his army needed to win a major victory on Northern soil if the South was to have a chance at winning the war. Transferring the fighting out of war-torn Virginia would allow the state time to heal while he supplied his army from untapped farms and stores in Maryland and the Keystone State. Lee had also convinced Pres. Jefferson Davis that his offensiv...

"Emphasize[s] the role of Winfield Scott Hancock . . . [and] the Second Corps in plugging the gap and saving the day for the Union." — Gettysburg MagazineOn the afternoon of July 2, 1863, Lt. Gen. James Longstreet struck the Union left flank with a massive blow that collapsed Dan Sickles' advanced position in the Peach Orchard and rolled northward, tearing open a large gap in the center of the Federal line on Cemetery Ridge. Fresh Confederates from A. P. Hi...

The second half of the two-volume history of the Union's and Confederacy's opening moves of the American Civil War's Gettysburg Campaign.This compelling study is the first to fully integrate the military, political, social, economic, and civilian perspectives with rank-and-file accounts from the soldiers of both armies during the inexorably march north toward their mutual destinies at Gettysburg.This current volume (June twenty-two–thirty) completes the mar...