''Grant Comes East: A Novel of the Civil War'' (2004) is an

alternate history Alternate history (also alternative history, althist, AH) is a genre of speculative fiction of stories in which one or more historical events occur and are resolved differently than in real life. As conjecture based upon historical fact, altern ...

novel written by

Newt Gingrich Newton Leroy Gingrich (; né McPherson; born June 17, 1943) is an American politician and author who served as the 50th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999. A member of the Republican Party, he was the U ...

, former

Speaker of the United States House of Representatives The speaker of the United States House of Representatives, commonly known as the speaker of the House, is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives. The office was established in 1789 by Article I, Section 2 of the U. ...

;

William R. Forstchen William R. Forstchen (born October 11, 1950) is an American historian and author. A Professor of History and Faculty Fellow at Montreat College, in Montreat, North Carolina, he received his doctorate from Purdue University. He has published num ...

, and

Albert S. Hanser Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Albert C ...

, and the second of a trilogy. It is the sequel to '' Gettysburg: A Novel of the Civil War''. The third book of the historical trilogy is called '' Never Call Retreat: Lee and Grant: The Final Victory'' and was published in 2005. The novel is illustrated with historic photographs of the Civil War. It was featured on the ''New York Times'' bestseller list.

Plot summary

The novel begins at Union Mills, Maryland. The battle that began at Gettysburg ended on July 4, 1863 (at the same time as the fall of Vicksburg) with a decisive but costly Confederate victory. General

Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, towards the end of which he was appointed the overall commander of the Confederate States Army. He led the Army of Nort ...

and his troops march on Washington, D.C., and launch an assault, hoping that if they can take the capital they can win the war. Meanwhile, President Abraham Lincoln has appointed Major General Ulysses S. Grant, the victor of Vicksburg, as commander of all Union forces and ordered him to attack Lee. Grant masses his forces (the newly minted ''Army of the Susquehanna'') at Harrisburg, while Maj. Gen.

Daniel E. Sickles Daniel Edgar Sickles (October 20, 1819May 3, 1914) was an American politician, soldier, and diplomat. Born to a wealthy family in New York City, Sickles was involved in a number of scandals, most notably the 1859 homicide of his wife's lover, U. ...

gains control (through his violent pacification of the New York Draft Riots) of the Army of the Potomac. Sickles has his eye on the White House, but he needs to defeat Lee in order to win the Civil War for the War Democrats. Violating orders from Grant, he rolls his troops out to meet Lee's army alone. A sidebar shows Napoleon III planning to have France invade the United States through its client state, the

Second Mexican Empire The Second Mexican Empire (), officially the Mexican Empire (), was a constitutional monarchy established in Mexico by Mexican monarchists in conjunction with the Second French Empire. The period is sometimes referred to as the Second French i ...

. Bloodily repulsed at Fort Stevens outside Washington (where the black troops of the

54th Massachusetts Infantry The 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that saw extensive service in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The unit was the second African-American regiment, following the 1st Kansas Colored Volunteer Infantry ...

regiment played a decisive role), Lee turns on

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was d ...

. Abandoned by the Union, Baltimore descends into chaos; Lee, sickened by the violence, orders the provost guard in force to end it. Using Baltimore to threaten Washington, D.C., Lee turns his entire army upon the advancing Sickles, facing off at the former site of Joppa along the Gunpowder River northeast of Baltimore. Lee destroys the Army of the Potomac in a rout, with Sickles losing a leg in the process (as he did historically in the Battle of Gettysburg). The battle pens Lee up in Maryland, however. Grant and William T. Sherman converge on Virginia via Pennsylvania and Georgia. The novel ends with Lee scrambling to meet Grant's threat.

Historical figures

* Judah Benjamin, Confederate secretary of state *

Jefferson Davis Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the United States Senate and the House of Representatives as a ...

, Confederate president * Ulysses S. Grant, U.S. general * Herman Haupt, U.S. general *

, Confederate general * Abraham Lincoln, U.S. president *

James Longstreet James Longstreet (January 8, 1821January 2, 1904) was one of the foremost Confederate generals of the American Civil War and the principal subordinate to General Robert E. Lee, who called him his "Old War Horse". He served under Lee as a corps ...

, Confederate general *

Daniel Sickles Daniel Edgar Sickles (October 20, 1819May 3, 1914) was an American politician, soldier, and diplomat. Born to a wealthy family in New York City, Sickles was involved in a number of scandals, most notably the 1859 homicide of his wife's lover, U. ...

, U.S. general * Elihu B. Washburne, U.S. congressman *

Ely S. Parker Ely Samuel Parker (1828 – August 31, 1895), born ''Hasanoanda'' ( Tonawanda Seneca), later known as ''Donehogawa'', was a U.S. Army officer, engineer, and tribal diplomat. He was bilingual, speaking both Seneca and English, and became friend ...

, Grant's secretary *

John B. Hood John Bell Hood (June 1 or June 29, 1831 – August 30, 1879) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War. Although brave, Hood's impetuosity led to high losses among his troops as he moved up in rank. Bruce Catton wrote that "the dec ...

, Confederate general * Wade Hampton III, Confederate general * David B. Birney, Union general * Lewis Armistead, Confederate general * P.G.T. Beauregard, Confederate general * George Pickett, Confederate general *

Lafayette McLaws Lafayette McLaws ( ; January 15, 1821 – July 24, 1897) was a United States Army officer and a Confederate general in the American Civil War. He served at Antietam and Fredericksburg, where Robert E. Lee praised his defense of Marye's Heights, ...

, Confederate general * William T. Sherman, Union general * J.E.B. Stuart, Confederate general * Robert Gould Shaw, Union colonel * Walt Whitman, Union nurse * James B. McPherson, Union general *

Edward O. C. Ord Edward Otho Cresap Ord (October 18, 1818 – July 22, 1883) was an American engineer and United States Army officer who saw action in the Seminole War, the Indian Wars, and the American Civil War. He commanded an army during the final days of the ...

, Union general * Ambrose Burnside, Union general * Horatio Seymour, Democratic New York governor * William "Boss" Tweed, New York political boss * George Sykes, Union general * Gouverneur K. Warren, Union general * Edwin Stanton, Union Secretary of War * Gideon Welles, Union Secretary of the Navy

References

{{Newt Gingrich 2004 American novels Collaborative novels Novels by Newt Gingrich Novels by William R. Forstchen Novels set during the American Civil War American Civil War alternate histories Thomas Dunne Books books