This episode of the podcast is being sponsored by Simon and Schuster, publishers of

Vicksburg, grants campaign that broke the Confederacy by Donald Miller. As we

put out this episode, Miller's new book on Vicksburg is just a few days away

from release. In fact, it'll be out on October 29th, but we've had a copy for a

while now and can say that if you're a fan of the podcast and enjoyed our

coverage of Vicksburg here on the show, then you'll definitely want to pick up

Miller's book and continue exploring the story on your own. As Rich said, the

book will be available in just a few days, so pre-order a copy of Vicksburg

grants campaign that broke the Confederacy by Donald Miller. It'll be released

in Hardcover, e-book, and audiobook, or reserve a copy at your local bookstore

or library.

Hey everyone, thanks for tuning in to episode number 298 of our Civil War

podcast. I'm Rich. And I'm Tracy. Hello y'all. Welcome to the podcast. As y'all

recall in the last show, we asked the question, what brought those 165,000

soldiers to Gettysburg the first three days of July 1863. And we said that

question would be our starting point to look at the campaign and battle. In

seeking an answer to that question, our road to Gettysburg actually begins in

the Confederate capital city of Richmond, Virginia, and a meeting that was held

there in May 1863. As you guys know, in the first week of May, Robert E. Lee had

commanded the army of Northern Virginia as it defeated a much larger federal

force at the Battle of Chancellor'sville near Frederick'sburg. Now on May 15th,

Lee is in Richmond to meet with the Confederate president, Jefferson Davis, and

...