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"If We Are Striking for Pennsylvania": The Army of Northern Virginia and the Army of the Potomac March to Gettysburg. Volume 2: June 22–30, 1863
Award-winning authors Scott L. Mingus Sr. and Eric J. Wittenberg are back with the second and final installment of “If We Are Striking for Pennsylvania”: The Army of Northern Virginia’s and Army of the Potomac’s March to Gettysburg . This compelling and bestselling study is the first to fully integrate the military, political, social, economic, and civilian perspectives with rank-and-file accounts from the soldiers of both armies during the inexorably march north toward their mutual destinies at Gettysburg.
Gen. Robert E. Lee’s bold movement north, which began on June 3, shifted the war out of the central counties of the Old Dominion into the Shenandoah Valley, across the Potomac, and beyond. The first installment (June 3-22, 1863) carried the armies through the defining mounted clash at Battle of Brandy Station, after which Lee pushed his corps into the Shenandoah Valley and achieved the magnificent victory at Second Winchester on his way to the Potomac. Caught flat-footed, Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker used his cavalry to probe the mountain gaps, triggering a series of consequential mounted actions. The current volume (June 23-30) completes the march to Gettysburg and details the actions and whereabout of each component of the armies up to the eve of the fighting.
The large-scale maneuvering in late June prompted General Hooker to move his Army of the Potomac north after his opponent and eventually above the Potomac, where he loses his command to the surprised Maj. Gen. George G. Meade. Jeb Stuart begins his controversial and consequential ride that strips away the eyes and ears of the Virginia army. Throughout northern Virginia, central Maryland, and south-central Pennsylvania, civilians and soldiers alike struggle with the reality of a mobile campaign and the massive logistical needs of the armies.
Untold numbers of reports, editorials, news articles, letters, and diaries describe the passage of the long martial columns, the thunderous galloping of hooves, and the looting, fighting, suffering, and dying. Mingus and Wittenberg mined hundreds of primary accounts, newspapers, and other sources to produce this powerful and gripping saga. As careful readers will quickly discern, other studies of the runup to Gettysburg gloss over most of this material. It is simply impossible to fully grasp and understand the campaign without a firm appreciation of what the armies and the civilians did during the days leading up to the fateful meeting at the small crossroads town in Adams County, Pennsylvania.
Gen. Robert E. Lee’s bold movement north, which began on June 3, shifted the war out of the central counties of the Old Dominion into the Shenandoah Valley, across the Potomac, and beyond. The first installment (June 3-22, 1863) carried the armies through the defining mounted clash at Battle of Brandy Station, after which Lee pushed his corps into the Shenandoah Valley and achieved the magnificent victory at Second Winchester on his way to the Potomac. Caught flat-footed, Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker used his cavalry to probe the mountain gaps, triggering a series of consequential mounted actions. The current volume (June 23-30) completes the march to Gettysburg and details the actions and whereabout of each component of the armies up to the eve of the fighting.
The large-scale maneuvering in late June prompted General Hooker to move his Army of the Potomac north after his opponent and eventually above the Potomac, where he loses his command to the surprised Maj. Gen. George G. Meade. Jeb Stuart begins his controversial and consequential ride that strips away the eyes and ears of the Virginia army. Throughout northern Virginia, central Maryland, and south-central Pennsylvania, civilians and soldiers alike struggle with the reality of a mobile campaign and the massive logistical needs of the armies.
Untold numbers of reports, editorials, news articles, letters, and diaries describe the passage of the long martial columns, the thunderous galloping of hooves, and the looting, fighting, suffering, and dying. Mingus and Wittenberg mined hundreds of primary accounts, newspapers, and other sources to produce this powerful and gripping saga. As careful readers will quickly discern, other studies of the runup to Gettysburg gloss over most of this material. It is simply impossible to fully grasp and understand the campaign without a firm appreciation of what the armies and the civilians did during the days leading up to the fateful meeting at the small crossroads town in Adams County, Pennsylvania.
456 pages, Hardcover
Published June 22, 2023
25 people are currently reading
51 people want to read
About the author
Scott L. Mingus Sr.
42 books18 followersScott L. Mingus, Sr. is an author, tour guide, multiple award-winning miniature wargamer, patented scientist, and history buff based near York, Pennsylvania.
Blog at http://scottmingus.wordpress.com/scot...
Blog at http://scottmingus.wordpress.com/scot...
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 24, 2024
This second of two volumes that provide a day-by-day look at the leadup to the Battle of Gettysburg is a bit difficult to review as a standalone, since just about everything I’d already said about the first volume could apply to the second. After a brief recap of the events in volume one that brought us to June 21, 1863, the second volume picks up on June 22 and we’re on our way, as if the two separate volumes are actually two seamless halves of the very same book.
June 21 seemed at first to be a somewhat abrupt and arbitrary place to end the first volume, but it quickly becomes clear that June 22 is a natural place to begin the second, as Confederate forces’ mass movement into Pennsylvania gets underway in earnest on that date. At the previous volume’s end, locals still weren’t sure what to make of the scattered Confederate incursions into Pennsylvania. As this volume begins, though, “the Keystone Staters were learning that the Rebel presence this time was no mere cavalry raid,” the authors write.
As in the first volume, the day-by-day approach here, together with frequent and detailed maps, provide a comprehensive look at how events unfolded. And numerous observations and reminiscences from soldiers and civilians help show how they experienced those events in real time.
Much of the first volume moved in slow motion, as Confederate forces gradually moved north and Union forces tried to figure out what they were up to. By the second volume, everyone is on the move and headed for Pennsylvania. So there’s no getting around the fact that there is much more focus in this volume on troop movements - which division was headed where, and what they saw and did and experienced when they got there. That’s great for those who want to chart out a campaign on a map, but it doesn’t always make for a compelling narrative.
That’s not to say that it doesn’t ever make for a compelling narrative, however, as what I found most interesting was how Confederate forces in Pennsylvania had virtually free run of the place for so long. As Union troops lingered in Virginia, and local militias scrambled to attempt to defend Pennsylvania on their own, Confederates were largely free to forage and move around mostly unopposed and unimpeded - even if they weren’t quite sure exactly where they were headed and what their specific objective was.
The same could be said for Jeb Stuart, whose controversial circuitous ride north is well-described here, as his day-by-day movements are told in parallel to those of the troops who would ultimately clash in Gettysburg while Stuart was still miles away.
As forces from both sides ultimately begin to concentrate in Pennsylvania, one Confederate soldier is quoted offering a positive spin on events, observing that Union troops’ pursuit of the Confederates into Pennsylvania meant that, for the first time in the war, Virginia “was almost entirely free from the Yankees.”
Mostly, though, there’s a sense of foreboding throughout the narrative. We already know how things turned out, but it takes some time for those involved to slowly realize that a great battle is about to take place.
The final chapter covers the last day before the battle begins, and an epilogue concisely summarizes the battle and its aftermath. So you could, theoretically, read this without having to then read a book about the Battle of Gettysburg to see how it all played out, though I imagine anyone interested enough to read two volumes covering the month leading up to the climactic clash probably already knows and has already read a good deal about the battle itself.
That being the case, this book’s authors leave any grand conclusions or attempts to explain the meaning of it all, to others. There are no final thoughts about the battle as the turning point of the war, or about the men who gave their lives so the nation might live. If anything, the book offers quite the opposite of the comforting closure you might expect, instead ending on a series of down notes - Lincoln’s anger and disappointment that Gen. Lee’s forces were allowed to escape to fight another day, the year and a half of destructive war that followed, and a roster of names prominent throughout these two volumes, who didn’t end up living to see the peace.
Together, these two volumes could be seen as a long setup without ever getting to the main event that they’re meant to set up. But they succeed nonetheless, as their goal is not to build up to a main event, but to treat this easily-overlooked month of June 1863 as the main event itself. As I said in reviewing volume one, many Civil War histories might have you believe that after the Battle of Chancellorsville, Gen. Lee simply showed up in Pennsylvania and the Battle of Gettysburg began. By showing what really happened in between, these books show that the closer you look, the more there is to see.
June 21 seemed at first to be a somewhat abrupt and arbitrary place to end the first volume, but it quickly becomes clear that June 22 is a natural place to begin the second, as Confederate forces’ mass movement into Pennsylvania gets underway in earnest on that date. At the previous volume’s end, locals still weren’t sure what to make of the scattered Confederate incursions into Pennsylvania. As this volume begins, though, “the Keystone Staters were learning that the Rebel presence this time was no mere cavalry raid,” the authors write.
As in the first volume, the day-by-day approach here, together with frequent and detailed maps, provide a comprehensive look at how events unfolded. And numerous observations and reminiscences from soldiers and civilians help show how they experienced those events in real time.
Much of the first volume moved in slow motion, as Confederate forces gradually moved north and Union forces tried to figure out what they were up to. By the second volume, everyone is on the move and headed for Pennsylvania. So there’s no getting around the fact that there is much more focus in this volume on troop movements - which division was headed where, and what they saw and did and experienced when they got there. That’s great for those who want to chart out a campaign on a map, but it doesn’t always make for a compelling narrative.
That’s not to say that it doesn’t ever make for a compelling narrative, however, as what I found most interesting was how Confederate forces in Pennsylvania had virtually free run of the place for so long. As Union troops lingered in Virginia, and local militias scrambled to attempt to defend Pennsylvania on their own, Confederates were largely free to forage and move around mostly unopposed and unimpeded - even if they weren’t quite sure exactly where they were headed and what their specific objective was.
The same could be said for Jeb Stuart, whose controversial circuitous ride north is well-described here, as his day-by-day movements are told in parallel to those of the troops who would ultimately clash in Gettysburg while Stuart was still miles away.
As forces from both sides ultimately begin to concentrate in Pennsylvania, one Confederate soldier is quoted offering a positive spin on events, observing that Union troops’ pursuit of the Confederates into Pennsylvania meant that, for the first time in the war, Virginia “was almost entirely free from the Yankees.”
Mostly, though, there’s a sense of foreboding throughout the narrative. We already know how things turned out, but it takes some time for those involved to slowly realize that a great battle is about to take place.
The final chapter covers the last day before the battle begins, and an epilogue concisely summarizes the battle and its aftermath. So you could, theoretically, read this without having to then read a book about the Battle of Gettysburg to see how it all played out, though I imagine anyone interested enough to read two volumes covering the month leading up to the climactic clash probably already knows and has already read a good deal about the battle itself.
That being the case, this book’s authors leave any grand conclusions or attempts to explain the meaning of it all, to others. There are no final thoughts about the battle as the turning point of the war, or about the men who gave their lives so the nation might live. If anything, the book offers quite the opposite of the comforting closure you might expect, instead ending on a series of down notes - Lincoln’s anger and disappointment that Gen. Lee’s forces were allowed to escape to fight another day, the year and a half of destructive war that followed, and a roster of names prominent throughout these two volumes, who didn’t end up living to see the peace.
Together, these two volumes could be seen as a long setup without ever getting to the main event that they’re meant to set up. But they succeed nonetheless, as their goal is not to build up to a main event, but to treat this easily-overlooked month of June 1863 as the main event itself. As I said in reviewing volume one, many Civil War histories might have you believe that after the Battle of Chancellorsville, Gen. Lee simply showed up in Pennsylvania and the Battle of Gettysburg began. By showing what really happened in between, these books show that the closer you look, the more there is to see.
June 4, 2025
Essential reading for anyone serious about Gettysburg. My only complaint with this volume is the number of typos within the text. Did it even have a proofreader??!! My local library system didn't have a single print copy of this book, so I had to track one down on eBay. Needless to say, this delayed the time till I could read and review the book. Other than those two hiccups, the experience was very rewarding. Now I would like to see the author tackle the retreat from Gettysburg through Falling Waters as a follow-up.
July 31, 2023
The second volume of "If We Are Striking for Pennsylvania" packs all of the punch of Volume 1: tactical details on the movements of each corps of the Army of the Potomac and the Army of Northern Virginia, paired with intimate accounts of the occupation of south-central Pennsylvania and the mixed responses of locals, volunteers, occupiers, and the enslaved.
When the book concludes, we are only left to wonder, as General Meade was, whether a government by, for, and of the people could endure a magnificently bloody battle in America's heartland.
When the book concludes, we are only left to wonder, as General Meade was, whether a government by, for, and of the people could endure a magnificently bloody battle in America's heartland.
August 20, 2023
Another fine outing from Eric Wittenberg and Scott Mingus. As well as the strategy leading up to The Battle of Gettysburg, it captures the human part of the battles well. Especially interesting to me as someone who lives in this general area. The amount action in South Central PA and Maryland was intense. I enjoyed learning of the smaller localized battles that lead up to Gettysburg. Every town in this neck of the woods seemed to have one. Wittenberg and Mingus have written an engrossing look at the battles that laid the groundwork to the most important battle fought on American soil.
July 24, 2023
as if riding and marching to Gettysburg
The personal stories of the soldiers, the bewildered and frightened citizens, and the methodical detail of the two armies’ movements describe vividly a very intea very interesting overview of the days leading to Gettysburg. An added benefit came from the descriptions of some skirmishes like Sporting Hill that received little attention in other books.
The personal stories of the soldiers, the bewildered and frightened citizens, and the methodical detail of the two armies’ movements describe vividly a very intea very interesting overview of the days leading to Gettysburg. An added benefit came from the descriptions of some skirmishes like Sporting Hill that received little attention in other books.
March 6, 2024
Mingus and Wittenberg have written a fantastic day-by-day account detailing the movement of both armies. I appreciate the abundant use of primary resource materials including personal diaries and unit histories. I also enjoy the fact that the authors include the observations and perspectives of civilians, government officials, and the military from both sides.
Volume 1 and 2 are great resources for anyone who desires to learn more about the Gettysburg campaign.
Volume 1 and 2 are great resources for anyone who desires to learn more about the Gettysburg campaign.
December 15, 2024
The second of two volumes, this completes the study of Lee’s invasion of Pennsylvania in 1863 up to the opening of the Battle of Gettysburg. This was a needed update of Wilbur Nye’s 1950’s Here Come the Rebels. Excellently researched and written, this is a worthwhile read.
August 28, 2025
Just as interesting as Volume 1, this books takes up where that one left off and takes the reader right up to the start of the Battle of Gettysburg. Just a very interesting, detailed look at the Army of Northern Virginia’s invasion of the North and the Army of the Potomac’s response. I enjoyed it.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews