Osprey Order of Battle 1 : Gettysburg July 1 1863 : Confederate : The Army of Northern Virginia

The first day of fighting at Gettysburg appeared to belong to the Confederates, as they hounded Union soldiers through the streets of the town. No one knew that two more days of battle lay ahead. Gettysburg: The Army of Northern Virginia, 1 July 1863, along with its companion book Gettysburg: The Army of the Potomac, 1 July 1863, compose the first of three planned sets of Osprey Orders of Battle focusing on this pivotal meeting between North and South. These attractively presented books detail the organisation, historical background, and performance of each unit of the Army of Northern Virginia that marched to Gettysburg. They provide, in unsurpassed detail, order of battle data gleaned from primary sources, and are illustrated with maps, battle flags, portraits, and photographs of the battleground. Hour-by-hour battle accounts tell of command decisions that led to the decimation of some brigades and the triumph of others. Individual acts of courage are counterposed against the Confederate commanders' inability or unwillingness to capitalise on their first day's success. July 1 ended with the Army of Northern Virginia in the familiar position of having driven their foes in near rout. However, at dusk, in the failing light, the Army of the Potomac could be seen gathering itself on the forbidding heights south of Gettysburg. Senior Confederate leaders understood that the battle was not yet won. Text by James Arnold and Roberta Wiener.