One Continuous Fight : The Retreat from Gettysburg and the Pursuit of Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, July 4-14 1863.
- 1st ed.
- 1 online resource (769 pages)
Intro -- Cover Page -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Dedication -- Contents -- Maps -- Foreword -- Preface -- Introduction -- 1. A Vast Sea of Misery: The Wagon Train of the Wounded -- 2. The Retreat of the Main Confederate Army Begins -- 3. July 4: The Midnight Fight in the Monterey Pass -- 4. Meade's Pursuit Begins -- 5. The Confederates Garrison Williamsport -- 6. July 6: The Battle of Hagerstown -- 7. July 6: The Battle for Williamsport -- 8. July 7: In Full Pursuit -- 9. July 7: Skirmish at the College of St. James and the First Battle of Funkstown -- 10. July 8: Heavy Fighting at Beaver Creek Bridge and Boonsboro -- 11. July 9: Sniping Along the Lines -- 12. July 10: The Second Battle of Funkstown -- 13. July 11: The Armies Jockey for Position -- 14. July 12: The Second Battle of Hagerstown -- 15. July 13: A Frustrating Day Spent Waiting -- 16. July 14: The Crossings at Williamsport and Falling Waters -- 17. The Federal Advance and Aftermath -- Conclusion -- Epilogue -- Appendix A: Driving Tour: The Retreat from Gettysburg -- Appendix B: Driving Tour: The Wagon Train of the Wounded -- Appendix C: Order of Battle -- Notes -- Bibliography.
The titanic three-day battle of Gettysburg left 50,000 casualties in its wake, a battered Southern army far from its base of supplies, and a rich historiographic legacy. Thousands of books and articles cover nearly every aspect of the battle, but not a single volume focuses on the military aspects of the monumentally important movements of the armies to and across the Potomac River. One Continuous Fight: The Retreat from Gettysburg and the Pursuit of Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, July 4-14, 1863 is the first detailed military history of Lee's retreat and the Union effort to catch and destroy the wounded Army of Northern Virginia.Against steep odds and encumbered with thousands of casualties, Confederate commander Robert E. Lee's post-battle task was to successfully withdraw his army across the Potomac River. Union commander George G. Meade's equally difficult assignment was to intercept the effort and destroy his enemy. The responsibility for defending the exposed Southern columns belonged to cavalry chieftain James Ewell Brown (Jeb) Stuart. If Stuart fumbled his famous ride north to Gettysburg, his generalship during the retreat more than redeemed his flagging reputation.The ten days of retreat triggered nearly two dozen skirmishes and major engagements, including fighting at Granite Hill, Monterey Pass, Hagerstown, Williamsport, Funkstown, Boonsboro, and Falling Waters. President Abraham Lincoln was thankful for the early July battlefield victory, but disappointed that General Meade was unable to surround and crush the Confederates before they found safety on the far side of the Potomac. Exactly what Meade did to try to intercept the fleeing Confederates, and how the Southerners managed to defend their army and ponderous 17-mile long wagon train of wounded until crossing into western Virginia on the early morning of July 14, is the subject of this studyOne Continuous Fight draws upon a massive array of documents, letters, diaries, newspaper accounts, and published primary and secondary sources. These long-ignored foundational sources allow the authors, each widely known for their expertise in Civil War cavalry operations, to describe carefully each engagement.
9781611210347
Cumberland Valley (Md. and Pa.) -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865.