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.
Third Corps, Army of Northern Virginia
When Lee launched the Gettysburg Campaign in June 1863, the Third Corps was initially left along the former Confederate positions along the Rappahannock as a rear guard, following the rest of the army on the 15th after Lee was convinced that Union commander Joseph Hooker would not launch an attack on Richmond. It arrived at Chambersburg on the 27th and rested for several days; on the evening of June 30th, Hill sent Heth's division to Gettysburg to seize a supply of shoes that was reported to be there, with Pender's division assigned to follow as support. On the morning of July 1st, Heth encountered the leading elements of the Army of the Potomac, thus starting the three-day Battle of Gettysburg. During the morning, Heth's division attacked part of the I Corps and was defeated, with Brigadier General James J. Archer captured (the first general officer in Lee's army to be captured). Both Heth's and Pender's divisions attacked during the afternoon and defeated the I Corps; Heth was wounded during the afternoon attack and was replaced by James J. Pettigrew, while Alfred M. Scales of Pender's division was wounded. On the second day, Hill's corps occupied the center of the Confederate army and was assigned to attack the Union line after Longstreet's corps had launched its attack; however, only three of Anderson's five brigades launched an attack. Ambrose R. Wright was able to briefly pierce the Union center on Cemetery Ridge but was forced to retreat. Before he was able to launch an attack with his division, Pender was mortally wounded by an artillery shell and was replaced by Brigadier General James H. Lane. During the day, Hill was ill and did not supervise the attack by his corps.