Overview

"Countless books have examined the battle of Gettysburg, but the retreat of the armies to the Potomac River and beyond has not been as thoroughly covered. ""Lee is Trapped, and Must be Taken"": Eleven Fateful Days after Gettysburg: July 4 to July 14, 1863, by Thomas J. Ryan and Richard R. Schaus goes a long way toward rectifying this oversight. This comprehensive study focuses on the immediate aftermath of the battle and addresses how Maj. Gen. George G. Meade organised and motivated his Army of the Potomac in response to President Abraham Lincoln's mandate to bring about the ""literal or substantial destruction"" of Gen. Robert E. Lee's retreating Army of Northern Virginia. As far as the president was concerned, if Meade aggressively pursued and confronted Lee before he could escape across the flooded Potomac River, ""the rebellion would be over."" The long and bloody three-day battle exhausted both armies. Their respective commanders faced difficult tasks, including the rallying of their troops for more marching and fighting. Lee had to keep his army organised and motivated enough to conduct an orderly withdrawal away from the field. Meade faced the same organisational and motivational challenges, while assessing the condition of his victorious but heavily damaged army, to determine if it had sufficient strength to pursue and crush a still-dangerous enemy. Central to the respective commanders' decisions was the information they received from their intelligence-gathering resources about the movements, intentions, and capability of the enemy. The eleven-day period after Gettysburg was a battle of wits to determine which commander better understood the information he received, and directed the movements of his army accordingly. Prepare for some surprising revelations. Woven into this account is the fate of thousands of Union prisoners who envisioned rescue to avoid incarceration in wretched Confederate prisons, and a characterisation of how the Union and Confederate media portrayed the ongoing conflict for consumption on the home front. The authors utilised a host of primary sources to craft their study, including letters, memoirs, diaries, official reports, newspapers, and telegrams, and have threaded these intelligence gems in an exciting and fast-paced narrative that includes a significant amount of new information. ""Lee is Trapped, and Must be Taken"" is a sequel to Thomas Ryan's Spies, Scouts, and Secrets in the Gettysburg Campaign, the recipient of the Bachelder-Coddington Literary Award and Gettysburg Civil War Round Table Distinguished Book Award."

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9781611214598

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A scholarly, in-depth study...Expertly researched, featuring black-and-white maps, a thorough bibliography, and an index, 'Lee is Trapped and Must be Taken' is a welcome addition to public and college library Civil War shelves. --Midwest Book Review Ryan and Schaus's book also has a unique emphasis, in this case the role of military intelligence. --Civil War Books and Authors

...I found it valuable to read and learn from the three recent book length studies of the Gettysburg retreat, each of which has its own perspective and its own virtues. -- Midwest Book Review A scholarly, in-depth study...Expertly researched, featuring black-and-white maps, a thorough bibliography, and an index, 'Lee is Trapped and Must be Taken' is a welcome addition to public and college library Civil War shelves. -- Midwest Book Review Ryan and Schaus's book also has a unique emphasis, in this case the role of military intelligence. -- Civil War Books and Authors

...a remarkable accomplishment of scholarship. Using scores of enlisted men's letters and reflections, commissioned officers' reports, newspaper articles, and civilian recollections Ryan and Schaus offer a fast-paced, day-by-day account of the decisions and the happenstances of the Army of Northern Virginia's flight from Gettysburg as the Army of the Potomac attempted to catch the fast-moving Rebels. -- The NYMAS Review ...I found it valuable to read and learn from the three recent book length studies of the Gettysburg retreat, each of which has its own perspective and its own virtues. -- Midwest Book Review A scholarly, in-depth study...Expertly researched, featuring black-and-white maps, a thorough bibliography, and an index, 'Lee is Trapped and Must be Taken' is a welcome addition to public and college library Civil War shelves. -- Midwest Book Review Ryan and Schaus's book also has a unique emphasis, in this case the role of military intelligence. -- Civil War Books and Authors One of the lingering mysteries not examined [in Spies, Scouts, and Secrets in the Gettysburg Campaign] was the role intelligence played during the 11 days of opportunity after the battle. Lee is Trapped and Must be Taken fills that gap. -- Intelligence in Public Literature

Author Information

Thomas J. “Tom” Ryan earned a B.A. from the University of Maryland and an M.A. from American University. He retired after 38 years in intelligence related capacities for the US Army and the Department of Defense. His book Spies, Scouts, and Secrets in the Gettysburg Campaign won the Bachelder-Coddington Literary Award and the Gettysburg Civil War Round Table Distinguished Book Award. Richard R. Schaus, Sergeant Major, US Army (Ret.), served on active duty for more than 30 years in a variety of army and joint military intelligence assignments both at home and abroad. Rick is a lifelong student of the Civil War and American military history in general, and the Gettysburg Campaign in particular.

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