The Illustrated Gettysburg Reader

Book excerpt: One hundred and fifty years after the Battle of Gettysburg, the words of the soldiers and onlookers present for those three fateful days still reverberate with the power of their courage and sacrifice. The Illustrated Gettysburg Reader: An Eyewitness History of the Civil War's Greatest Battle gathers letters, journals, articles and speeches from the people who lived through those legendary three days. Tied together with narrative by historian Rod Gragg and illustrated with a wealth of photographs and images, The Illustrated Gettysburg Reader will transport you to the battlefield, immersing you in the emotional intensity of the struggle of brother against brother for the future of the United States of America. "Here they are penetrating the heart of a hostile country leaving their homes beyond broad rivers and the largest of the enemies armies while in front of them is gathering all of resistance that can be obtained by a power fruitful of every element of military power." —Confederate soldier T.G. Pollock on the 30th of June, 1863, the day before the Battle of Gettysburg