Gettysburg

Jonathan Russell was from Loudoun County, Virginia. He came from a family of six boys and six girls, who were evenly divided over their loyalties to the Northern or Southern Cause. Russell enlisted in the 2nd Virginia Infantry, but by the time of the Gettysburg Campaign, he was serving in the 8th Virginia Infantry of General Robert Garnett's Brigade. The book covers the third day's fight at Gettysburg, which is witnessed through the eyes of Jonathan Russell. Gettysburg: The Field of Glory does not cover General Lee or General Meade's strategy for the battle, but instead, the battle is witnessed through the eyes of the ordinary private, who did the fighting. Russell reveals his experiences of being separated from his family, the rigors of campaigning, his friendship with comrades and the horrors of combat. Whitehair used the Russell family papers for this project, The Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, The Southern Historical Society Papers, period newspapers, soldier's' letters, and diaries.