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It was one of the war’s most dramatic moments – and
the soldiers of Robert E Lee’s army knew it. They were crossing
the Potomac River to take the war to the North. Less than a year
earlier, Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia had tried to do
so and had failed – their attempted invasion had been turned
back at the battle of Antietam. Now, in the summer of 1863, Lee’s
army was again wading the Potomac, crossing into Maryland, heading
to Pennsylvania and Northern soil. This time they were fresh
from a major victory at the battle of Chancellorsville and Lee
hoped to win another victory in the North – one that would
end the war’s awful bloodshed and gain Southern nationhood. |