Gettysburg: A Novel of the Civil War
The story takes place in 1863 when Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia are victorious at the Battle of Gettysburg instead of the United States. (Instead of attacking the Union line on July 2, 1863, Lee conducts a broad turning movement and forces the Army of the Potomac to attack him in a favorable position.) Gettysburg becomes something of a footnote in the main battle, which takes place at Union Mills in Maryland. The defeat at Union Mills is a grave setback to the United States, but it by no means spells the end of the war or determines its outcome, and the United States still has a lot of fight in it.
Herbst Woods
Herbst Woods or sometimes called McPherson Woods, now known as Reynolds Woods, is a wooded area west of McPherson Ridge near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The small wooded area was the location of a military engagement during the first day at the Battle of Gettysburg on July 1, 1863. The battle near the woods was around 10 a.m. on the first day of battle at Gettysburg. Confederate Brigadier General James J. Archer took two brigades, consisting of the 1st, 7th and 14th Tennessee Regiments, as well as the 13th Alabama Regiment over Willoughby Run and through Herbst Woods to engage the Union brigades. The Confederates would face off against Brigadier General Solomon Meredith and his brigades consisting of the 19th Indiana, 24th Michigan, 2nd Wisconsin and 7th Wisconsin Regiments. When the fight was over at Herbst Woods (battle), Archer was captured and the Union I Corps Commander John F. Reynolds was killed. Today Herbst Woods (Reynolds Woods) is renamed in honor of Major General Reynolds.