The Battle of Gettysburg Spilled Blood on Sacred Ground

The first shots of the Civil War were fired on April 12, 1861, when Southern forces bombed Fort Sumter, in South Carolina. The nation had been heading toward conflict for many years because of the economic and political differences between Northern and Southern states. The biggest difference was over slavery. In the South, slavery was legal. Slavery was illegal in the North. Both North and South had advantages in the war. The North had more manufacturing and a better railroad system. The South, especially at the beginning of the war, had better military leaders. They also knew they only had to fight long enough for the North to give up hope of bringing the states that had seceded, or left the Union, back in. Many famous battles were fought during the four-year struggle, but none is more famous than the Battle of Gettysburg, fought from July 1 to July 3, 1863. On those days, the course of American history was forever changed. Book jacket.