The First Day at Gettysburg: Essays on Confederate and Union Leadership

The Battle of Gettysburg exerts a unique hold on the national imagination. Many writers have argued that it represented the turning point of the Civil War, after which Confederate fortunes moved inexorably toward defeat. Successive generations of historians have not exhausted the topic of leadership at Gettysburg, especially with regard to the first day of the battle. Often overshadowed by more famous events on the second and third days, the initial phase of the contest nevertheless offers the m…