Book excerpt: From the events that led to the clash at Gettysburg in July 1863 to the retreat of Robert E. Lee's defeated Confederates, Richard Wheeler uses the words of participants—both Northern and Southern—to bring one of the Civil War's bloodiest, most pivotal battles to life. Wheeler blends these compelling personal accounts into a startlingly vivid tapestry of war and a dramatic narrative that entertains as well as informs. This is eyewitness history at its best.