About this episode: 

In 1948, the Southern novelist, William Faulkner, wrote in Intruder in the Dust, ”For every Southern boy fourteen years old, not once but whenever he wants it, there is the instant when it’s still not yet two o’clock on that July afternoon in 1863, the brigades are in position behind the rail fence, the guns are laid and ready in the woods and the furled flags are already loosened to break out and Pickett himself with his long oiled ringlets and his hat in one hand probably and his sword in the other looking up the hill waiting for Longstreet to give the word…”  Such was the weight and power of events that unfolded on Friday afternoon, July 3rd, 1863.  This is how it came to pass.

Some Characters Mentioned In This Episode:

James Longstreet

George E. Pickett

Lewis Addison Armistead

Joseph R. Davis

Isaac R. Trimble

John M. Brockenbrough

Abner Doubleday

For Additional Reading:

George R. Stewart, Pickett's Charge, 1991

Allen C. Guelzo, Gettysburg: The Last Invasion, 2014

Stephen W. Sears, Gettysburg, 2004

Get The Guide:

Want to learn more about the Civil War? A great place to start is Fred's guide, The Civil War: A History of the War between the States from Workman Publishing. The guide is in its 9th printing.

Producer: Dan Irving