Details
THE GUNS OF AUTUMN
by Mort Kunstler
Overall Print Size: 23½" x 29"
Edition Size: 1100
Throughout their new nation, Southerners prepared for serious warfare. Gone now were hopes for a quick and bloodless victory: More than 3500 Americans had been killed or wounded at First Manassas. Gone too were hopes of Southern invincibility: Federal forces had occupied Port Royal on the South Carolina coast and were threatening other coastal points. Northern invasion seemed imminent on several fronts - and Southerners now hurriedly strengthened the Confederacy's defenses. In most places this autumn, the guns were silent as both Southern and Northern forces hastily mustered the resources for the firestorm to come.
In the autumn of 1861, General Robert E. Lee was dispatched to South Carolina to command the Department of South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. A gifted military engineer, he developed a defensive strategy, organized the region's resources, and directed placement of troops and artillery. Lee's wisdom was especially welcome in Charleston - which state and local leaders knew was a major Federal target. His efforts would prove to be crucially important to the Southern coast: In most places Lee's line of defense would endure for most of the war.
Elsewhere on the borders of the Confederacy, Lee's precautions were duplicated. Earthworks were erected. Artillery was put into position. Troops were deployed. Supplies and ammunition were store-housed. Even during its formation, the newborn nation was forced to defend itself. Soon, Lee would be recalled to Virginia, where gore and glory awaited him as commander of the Army of Northern Virginia. Throughout the South, meanwhile, the fledgling nation's defenses would be put to the test. The guns of autumn would be silent no more.
Mort Kunstler’s "GUNS OF AUTUMN" depicts General Robert E. Lee in Charleston, South Carolina on December 15, 1861.
Comes with Certificate of Authenticity.
