On July 2nd, 1863, forces from the Confederacy’s Army of Northern Virginia and the Union’s Army of the Potomac clashed over the steep, rocky hill known as Little Round Top. This battle was one of the most brutal and devastating engagements of the American Civil War, and the North’s bloody victory there insured their triumph at Gettysburg, setting the stage for the South’s ultimate defeat. Using newly discovered documents and rare firsthand sources, acclaimed historian Glenn LaFantasie sheds new light on the dramatic story of this pivotal battle and tells the story as it truly unfolded, from the perspective of the brave men who fought and died there. “Vivid. . . . Eloquent. . . . Here is the real story of the epic fight for Little Round Top.” —Stephen W. Sears, author of Gettysburg “Fascinating. . . . An eloquently written narrative. . . . A fine example of military and social history.” — The Civil War News “A gem. . . . LaFantasie’s beautifully written narrative goes beyond the movement of troops to provide an understanding of who the men were who fought there...and how the grim afternoon shaped their lives.” — America’s Civil War “Lively. . . . Readable. . . . There is something weirdly magical about [Little Round Top] and it has lacked a definitive history until now.” — The Journal of Southern History On every battlefield, decisive ground can often determine which army will win and which will lose. In the Civil War, one of those decisive places was Little Round Top. In the late afternoon of July 2, 1863, thousands of men from the Confederacy' s Army of Northern Virginia and the Union' s Army of the Potomac struggled over this small parcel of terrain, many of them giving their lives in a heroic effort to capture or to defend the hill' s rocky slopes and summit. Now, acclaimed author Glenn LaFantasie sheds new light on this legendary battle by telling the story as it really happened, through the eyes of the courageous men who fought there. Written by one of the most historians of the Civil War period. "Twilight at Little Round Top" uses the celebrated " Face of battle" technique to paint a vivid portrait of the second day' s fight at Gettysburg. Told through the experiences of both high-ranking officers and low-ranking privates, LaFantasie' s meticulously researched book is based on newly discovered documents as well as other rate firsthand sources-- some of which were mined for the first time from the Oates Family Papers and other private collections-- to reconstruct this decisive battle with the dramatic intensity. "Twilight at Little Round Top" looks beyond the legendary exploits and heroic tales of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain-- who has become known as the savior of Little Round Top-- to offer piercing portraits of the other individuals who played a much more pivotal role on the hill, including young Porter Farley from Rochester, New York, who was eager to emancipate America' s slaves by putting his life onthe line in battle; Private Billy Jordan, whose family plantation in Alabama depended on slavery; surly and bearish Lieutenant General James Longstreet, blamed for the defeat at Gettysburg by generations of Southerners; and the Union' s Colonel Paddy O' Rorke, whose brave and cool performance on the battlefield belied a gentle and tender heart hidden beneath his Irish mettle. Brimming with memorable stories of quick wits and formidable courage, "Twilight at Little Round Top" recounts one day in a brutally devastating war, where grim-faced soldiers gritted their teeth, braved thunder and flames, and flowed their officers' commands as much as human endurance allowed for the sake of their fluttering flags. THE BATTLE OF LITTLE ROUND TOP AS IT HAS NEVER BEFORE SEEN-THROUGH THE EYES OF THE SOLDIERS WHO FOUGHT THERE "Here is the real story of the epic fight for Little Round Top, shorn of the mythology long obscuring this pivotal Gettysburg moment. A vivid and eloquent book." -- Stephen W. Sears, author of "Gettysburg" "Little Round Top has become iconic in Civil War literature and American memory. In the emotional recollection of our great war, if there was one speck on the landscape that decided a battle and the future of a nation, then surely this was it. The story of the July 2, 1863 struggle for that hill outside Gettysburg goes deeper into our consciousness than that, however. The men who fought for it then and there believed it to be decisive, and that is why they died for it. Glenn W. LaFantasie's "Twilight at Little Round Top" addresses that epic struggle, how those warriors felt then and later, and their physical and emotional attachment to a piece of ground that linked them forever with their nation's fate. This is military and social history at its finest." -- W.C. Davis, author of "Lincoln's Men" and "An Honorable Defeat" "Few military episodes of the Civil War have attracted as much attention as the struggle for Little Round Top on the second day of Gettysburg. This jud