Into the Fight

Book excerpt: A fresh examination of Pickett’s Charge, drawing from numerous soldiers’ accounts—includes maps and illustrations. Both a scholarly and a revisionist interpretation of the most famous charge in American history, Into the Fight uses a wide array of sources, ranging from the monuments on the Gettysburg battlefield to the accounts of the participants themselves, to rewrite the conventional thinking about this unusually emotional, yet serious, moment in our Civil War. Starting with a fresh point of view, and with no axes to grind, Into the Fight challenges all interested in that stunning moment in history to rethink their assumptions. Praise for the work of John Michael Priest “[A] stirring narrative of the common soldier’s experiences on the southern end of the battlefield on the second day of fighting at Gettysburg.” —Civil War News “Priest’s distinctive style is rife with anecdotes, many drawn from obscure diaries and letters, artfully stitched together in an original manner.” —David G. Martin, author of The Shiloh Campaign