But it is in the next great fight, the Battle of Chancellorsville, that Lee's brilliant strategy, and Jackson's supreme achievement, are overshadowed when Jackson ismortally wounded by his own men. Nowhere is this plainer than at the Battle of Fredericksburg, where, for the first time, all four men meet on the same field and experience the exhilaration and raw horror of battle from four very different points of view. For a time, it truly seems as if God is on their side and that Lee will lead his army to final victory against overwhelming odds. Lee, finally given command of the Confederate forces, recognizes that this strange, devout, and dangerous man is his greatest weapon.

As the war gathers momentum, Stonewall Jackson wins his reputation by a series of stinging victories over ineptly led Union forces. Lee, who is faced with the agonizing decision of resigning from a distinguished thirty-year army career in order to defend his home, never believing until too late that a civil war would ever truly come to pass. And here too is a brilliant portrait of the complex, aristocratic Robert E. Then there is Joshua Chamberlain, who gives up his promising academic career to volunteer for service in the new army, only to become one of the most heroic soldiers in American history. We follow Winfield Scott Hancock, a Captain of Quartermasters who is assigned command of a brigade of infantry, quickly establishing himself as one of the finest leaders in the Union army. His fierce exterior hides a compassionate soul that few - students and soldiers alike - will ever see, and he becomes the greatest commander of the Civil War.

Profound in its insights into the minds and hearts of those who fought in the war, Gods and Generals creates a vivid portrait of the soldiers, the battlefields, and the tumultuous times that forever shaped the nation.įrom the Back Cover Here is Thomas 'Stonewall' Jackson, a hopelessly by-the-book military instructor and devout Christian. Lee, never believing until too late that a civil war would ever truly come to pass. Here is Thomas 'Stonewall' Jackson, a hopelessly by-the-book military instructor and devout Christian who becomes the greatest commander of the Civil War Winfield Scott Hancock, a captain of quartermasters who quickly establishes himself as one of the finest leaders of the Union army Joshua Chamberlain, who gives up his promising academic career and goes on to become one of the most heroic soldiers in American history and Robert E. Book Synopsis The New York Times bestselling prequel to the Pulitzer Prize-winning classic The Killer Angels In this brilliantly written epic novel, Jeff Shaara traces the lives, passions, and careers of the great military leaders from the first gathering clouds of the Civil War.

Gods and Generals by Jeff Shaara