When the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia engaged the Union Army of the Potomac at Gettysburg in July 1863, an area known as "the Wheatfield", initially of little value, suddenly became the focus of intense conflict. We bring to life the bloody battle, one of few during the Civil War when men literally fought hand-to-hand
In September 1862, Robert E. Lee invaded the North for the first time and met the Union army along the banks of Maryland's Antietam Creek, which became the sight of the bloodiest single day in U.S. military history. Visit the scene of the most concentrated fury of that day, on a narrow country road forever after called "Bloody Lane".
On April 6, 1862, Confederate forces under General Albert Johnston caught Union forces by surprise near Shiloh Church. The battle culminated in an area along an abandoned wagon road later dubbed 'The Hornet's Nest' due to the ferocity of the fighting.
In 1864, General Grant doggedly pursued Lee's forces. On June 3, the two sides met at Cold Harbor, a crossroads near Richmond, where Grant hurled his men against entrenched breastworks, losing 7,000 in 20 minutes. Fighting on, he won victory 10 months later. Hastening the South's end, Cold Harbor ushered in an era of trench warfare.