"If, as many have argued, the Civil War is the most crucial moment in our national lie and Gettysburg its turning point, then the climax of the climax and a central moment in our nation's history, is Pickett's Charge. But as Carol Reardon notes, the Civil War saw many other daring assaults and stout defenses. Why, then, is it Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg ... that looms so large in the popular imagination? Why, even today, does Pickett's Charge still evoke profound admiration for the bravery of both the Southern attackers and the Norther defenders who stopped them? Why does Pickett's Charge still demand as well that we dwell on war's heavy toll of human life? In this book, Reardon shows that the story told today of Pickett's Charge is really an amalgam of history and memory." -- From the book jacket.

Prologue: history, memory, and Pickett's charge -- Disconnected threads -- Scarcely anybody can give a correct account -- History as it ought to have been -- Binding the wounds of war -- Monuments to memory -- Southern dissenters speak out -- Virginia victorious -- Hand-grips at the sacred wall -- Epilogue: the old bright way of the tales.