Author Michael Hardy to present on new book

Published 4:51 pm Wednesday, January 17, 2018

General Lee’s Immortals: Branch-Lane Brigade in the Army of Northern Virginia, 1861- 1865

 Author Michael Hardy will be presenting and signing copies of his new book, “General Lee’s Immortals: Branch- Lane Brigade in the Army of Northern Virginia, 1861-1865.” The event will take place at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 10 at the House of Flags Museum, 33 Gibson St., Columbus.

Two decades after the end of the Civil War, former Confederate officer Riddick Gatlin bewailed the lack of a history of the famous Branch-Lane Brigade, within which he had served.

Michael Hardy’s “General Lee’s Immortals” is the first comprehensive history of the Branch-Lane Brigade, and is the subject of a new book to be presented at the House of Flags on Feb. 10.

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“Who has ever written a line to tell of the sacrificesthe suffering and the ending of these more than immortal men?” he said. “Why has the history of that brigade not been written?” With the publication of General Lee’s Immortals, Gatlin’s long wait is finally over.

This storied brigade, first led by Lawrence Branch until his death at Sharpsburg, and then James H. Lane, who served with Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia during its entire existence. The names emblazoned on its battle flag read like a history of that army, beginning with the Seven Days’ Battles and ending with the final roll call at Appomattox. Originally part of A.P. Hill’s famous “Light” Division, the Branch-Lane Brigade earned spectacular plaudits for its disciplined defense, hard-hitting attacks, and incredible marching abilities. Its constant position at the front, however, resulted in devastating losses, so that its roll call of casualties by the end of the war far exceeded its number of survivors.

In this deeply researched work we witness the experiences of North Carolina’s Branch-Lane Brigade in nearly every major battle fought in the East, including that infamous day at Chancellorsville when its members mistakenly shot Stonewall Jackson. Two months later they were in Pickett’s Charge at Gettysburg, and thereafter throughout the titanic battles of 1864. In the meantime, we learn of the camp-life and the hard winters of Lee’s army. Yet when Lee finally surrendered at Appomattox it was the Branch-Lane Brigade still with him, no longer victors but yet unbowed.

Michael Hardy’s “General Lee’s Immortals” is the first comprehensive history of the Branch-Lane Brigade, and fully meets Captain Gatlin’s challenge by setting forth the complete story of these “more than immortal men.” His study is based on many years of study and grounded on a vast foundation of sources that relate every aspect of the career of this remarkable fighting command. Once finished, every reader will come to think he has met, marched with, fought beside, and bled with these North Carolinians.

Michael C. Hardy is a widely recognized expert and author on the Civil War. He is a graduate of the University of Alabama and was named North Carolina Historian of the Year in 2010. His work has appeared in national magazines, and he blogs regularly at Looking for North Carolina’s Civil War. When he is not researching and writing, Michael and his family volunteer as interpreters at several historic sites in western North Carolina and East Tennessee.

More information about the House of Flags is online at houseofflags.org.

submitted by Sarah Closson