On July 2, 1863, Lt. Gen. James Longstreet struck the Union left flank with a blow that collapsed Sickles' advanced position in the Peach Orchard and rolled northward, tearing open a gap in the center of the Federal line on Cemetery Ridge. Fresh Confederates from advanced toward the mile-wide breach, where Southern success would split the Army of t

Scott L. Mingus Sr., a scientist in the paper industry, is the award-winning author of more than a dozen Civil War books, including his forthcoming (with Joe Owens) Unceasing Fury: Texans at the Battle of Chickamauga, September 18-20, 1863 (2022) and his two-volume study (with Eric J. Wittenberg) "If We Are Striking for Pennsylvania: " The Army of Northern Virginia and the Army of the Potomac March to Gettysburg, June 3-22, 1863 (2022). Scott maintains a blog on the Civil War history of York County (www.yorkblog.com/cannonball) and resides in York, Pennsylvania.