Byliner Publishes THREE DAYS IN GETTYSBURG: An Intimate Tale of Lost Love and Divided Hearts at the Battle That Defined America by Brian Mockenhaupt
Three Days in Gettysburg affirms that history is made vivid not through its events--however epic--but through the individuals consigned by fate and circumstance to confront and endure them. The result is a compelling, beautifully researched book that is as enlightening as it is moving. — Elizabeth Kaye, author of the New York Times #1 bestseller Lifeboat No. 8
June 12, 2013—San Francisco— Marking this summer’s 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg, Byliner today publishes Three Days in Gettysburg ($1.99), an unforgettable new story by Brian Mockenhaupt, Iraq War veteran and acclaimed author of the Byliner Original The Living and the Dead.
For three days in early July of 1863, Union and Confederate troops had been brutally killing each other in the streets, fields, and forests of a small Pennsylvania town called Gettysburg. As the battle raged around her, a woman baked bread for Union soldiers, unaware of how she would soon become part of history. In a faraway hospital, the soldier she loved lay close to death, unable to get a message to her. And one native son hid out in the hills above town, having returned in Rebel gray to fight childhood friends.
The true story of the braided lives of these three people—Jennie Wade, Jack Skelly, and Wes Culp—is told in vivid detail against the horrifying backdrop of the battle at Gettysburg, which took place 150 years ago this summer. The three had grown up together, but by the time war came to their hometown, their lives had taken surprising paths. Despite whispered gossip about Jennie’s family and her violent, thieving father, she and Jack had fallen in love, and Jack had gone off to war with the Union army. Wes had left his family, moved to the South, and renounced his kinsmen by joining “Stonewall” Jackson’s brigade. When he finally came home, he did so as a traitor.
This moving and cinematically descriptive tale shows a personal and tragically fateful side of war. Mockenhaupt takes us inside the homes of Gettysburg, where snipers lurked in attics, families hid in cellars, and bullets flew through the house where Jennie baked her bread. And he guides us through the dusty streets, where panicked soldiers ran for cover and dead men and horses rotted under the hot July sun.
Written with the clarity and empathy of a writer who understands war, this is an intimate story of the largest battle ever fought on American soil, in which 160,000 men descended on a town of 2,500 to kill each other. It is a brutal, heartbreaking tale, told through the experiences of the residents and hapless soldiers caught in the chaos. Mockenhaupt poignantly reminds us why Gettysburg is the one battle that deservedly remains engraved in all of our minds.
About the Author: Brian Mockenhaupt is the author of the Byliner Original The Living and the Dead, winner of the 2013 Michael Kelly Award and a finalist for the 2013 National Magazine Award in Feature Writing. He is a contributing editor at Esquire, Outside, and Reader’s Digest and is the nonfiction editor at the Journal of Military Experience. He served two tours in Iraq as an infantryman with the 10th Mountain Division. Since leaving the U.S. Army in 2005, he has written extensively on military and veteran affairs, reporting from Afghanistan and Iraq, hometowns, and hospitals.
About Byliner: Byliner works directly with the world’s best writers to deliver great stories to readers. We publish original fiction and nonfiction by top authors, including bestsellers such as Amy Tan’s Rules for Virgins, Jon Krakauer’s Three Cups of Deceit, Ann Patchett’s The Getaway Car, Nick Hornby’s Everyone’s Reading Bastard, Buzz Bissinger’s After Friday Night Lights, Chuck Palahniuk’s Phoenix, Alexandra Fuller’s Falling, Richard Russo’s Nate in Venice, and Sebastian Junger’s A World Made of Blood. These stories are written to be read in two hours or less, and can be purchased individually through major digital bookstores. The entire Byliner Originals library is available online to Byliner subscribers, who also get access to premium content from our by-invitation community of writers—including thousands of rarely seen and exclusive stories by bestselling authors.
Three Days in Gettysburg is available for $1.99 as a Kindle Single at Amazon, a Quick Read at Apple’s iBookstore, a Nook Snap at BarnesAndNoble.com, and a Short Read at Kobo. For a review copy or to schedule an interview with Brian Mockenhaupt, please contact Clare Hertel at clare@byliner.com; 505-474-6783.
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