In-person Book Talk ~ The First Day at Gettysburg, July 1, 1863
In-person Book Talk ~ The First Day at Gettysburg, July 1, 1863
Fan favorite, James Hessler, joins us on August 23, 2025, 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm for a book talk, The First Day at Gettysburg, July 1, 1863, followed by a book signing.
About the book: The summer of 1863 started off disastrously for the Army of the Potomac in the Eastern Theater. In early May, Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia defeated and humiliated Major General Joseph Hooker’s army at the Battle of Chancellorsville. While both armies reorganized in the wake of Chancellorsville’s massive losses, Lee then maintained the initiative and launched an invasion of Pennsylvania. Throughout June, Lee’s army advanced deeper into Pennsylvania and Northern efforts to stop his progress were ineffective until Major General George Meade replaced Hooker as commander of the Army of the Potomac. On July 1, 1863, Meade and Lee’s large armies collided outside of the crossroads town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The stakes were never higher for either army as the newly promoted Meade defended Northern soil, while General Lee risked everything by taking the war into enemy territory.
The 2025 Lessons in History program is free to the public. Regular museum admission applies for entrance to the museum galleries.
About the author: James Hessler has worked as a licensed battlefield guide at Gettysburg National Military Park since 2003. Jim is the author of Sickles at Gettysburg (2009), and co-authored Pickett’s Charge at Gettysburg (2015) and Gettysburg’s Peach Orchard (2019). He is one of the few authors to receive the Bachelder Coddington Award multiple times. Jim co-hosts the popular Battle of Gettysburg Podcast. He was one of t
he primary content designers for the American Battlefield Trust’s mobile Gettysburg application. He is a frequent speaker for Civil War Round Tables and other historical groups nationwide. In addition to Gettysburg, he leads tours of other battlefields and historic sites across the country, and currently sits on the Board of Directors for the Little Bighorn Associates.
