The Battle of Gettysburg was one of America's pivotal moments. Union forces repelled the brilliant, seemingly unbeatable Robert E. Lee-just as he was poised to capture the nation's capital. History has held that Lee made one disastrous decision on the battle's last day-launching "Pickett's Charge" uphill across an open field against the heart of the Union defense. But why would he have employed only a fifth of his forces at such a crucial moment?

Tom Carhart offers a bold thesis-that Lee's real strategy was to combine Pickett's frontal attack with a daring rear assault to break the Union Army in half. But this second attack was stopped by a force half its size, led by the young, unproven General Custer, who helped turn the tide of the war. Destined to be controversial, this is a provocative, indispensable reassessment of a monumental battle.