Gettysburg: The Last Invasion

In Gettysburg: The Last Invasion, two-time Lincoln Prize winner Allen C. Guelzo shows readers the face, sights, and sounds of nineteenth-century combat, from the stone walls and gunpowder clouds of Pickett’s Charge to the personal politics roiling both the Union and Confederate officer ranks. The book reveals previously untold stories of army life during the Civil War, including the peculiar character of artillery units and the complex chain of command decisions that shaped the battle’s outcome.

Guelzo’s narrative covers the full scope of the three-day engagement at Gettysburg (July 1-3, 1863), the bloodiest battle of the American Civil War and a turning point in the conflict. He draws on extensive primary sources to present a vivid, detailed portrait of the battle that goes far beyond the familiar accounts.

The Washington Post called it ‘the finest single-volume account available,’ and the book won the Guggenheim-Lehrman Prize in Military History. It was also named an Economist Best Book of the Year and a Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction Book of the Year.