Rapidly Accelerating Crisis: Why Lee Invades Pennsylvania
New for November 2026
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25m
Following his improbable victory at the Battle of Chancellorsville in May 1863, Confederate General Robert E. Lee is facing a dilemma. Thanks to his men's efforts, Lee has regained something he hasn't held since the fall of 1862: the initiative. Seeing his chance to bring this destructive war to the North, Lee begins planning a second invasion.
However, just as Lee is about to march his men north of the Mason-Dixon Line, disastrous news arrives from the west: Vicksburg is under threat. At the same time Lee was routing Hooker from the Wilderness, Grant is running rampant in Mississippi and is closing in upon the state Capital. President Davis, along with his Secretary of War Seddon, both desire to save the Magnolia State. Both officials see Lee as the savior of the West, yet the general has other plans.
Realizing his window to launch his invasion of the North is shrinking, Lee knows he must decide and soon...
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