The bloody battle in Philadelphia is over, half of the city is on fire, and countless citizens have lost their homes and been displaced! The stubborn resistance of the Union Army and the citizens of Philadelphia finally led the Confederates to retreat, and they abandoned Wilmington, the largest city in Delaware. However, instead of retreating to Maryland west of the Susquehanna River to make amends, they turned back and marched more than 100 miles northwest to raid Harrisburg, the capital of Pennsylvania and an industrial city, and of course a fire that burned down the entire industrial area. It then swung north, along the Susquehanna River into the Appalachian Mountains.

The Appalachian Mountains are the foundation of the United States of America's historical strength. Not only because of the abundant coal mines, but also because of the iron ore mines of the Great Lakes region, which supported an era of coal and iron. It is also because although the Arachian Mountains are mountainous, the transportation is very convenient. The mountains here are not precipitous, the terrain is quite gentle, and there are several rivers, such as the Potomac, Susquehanna, Svatara, Schulkil, Delaware, Monongcasilla, Ohio, Allegheny River, etc., flow through the mountains, forming a dense water network, which not only irrigates large plains and valleys, but also greatly facilitates the transportation of the Achian mountains, making the transportation of coal and iron ore very convenient. However, such good transportation conditions now greatly facilitated the invasion of the Confederate Northern Virginia Legion.

Beginning in July 1861, the war spread to central Pennsylvania, Harrisburg, Millersburg, Chillingsgrove, Sunbury, Lewisburg, Port Locke, Altoona, Johnstown, ...... Emerging industrial cities were swept away by the Coalition forces and burst into flames. A qiē factory, a railway, a port, a mine, and even a power pole along the way. All as much as possible to be destroyed!

On the Union side, the Pennsylvania militia and the 50,000-strong Eastern Pennsylvania Regiment were wreaking havoc on the enemy force that had broken into their homes. But it seems powerless. These armies are not lacking in courage, though. However, the equipment was backward and the training was insufficient, and there was no way to fight the elite coalition army in the field. Pennsylvania's militias were confined to their homeland, and sometimes they could force Confederates to go around the city, but most of the time their cities were captured by the opposing side - not all cities had hundreds of thousands of inhabitants like Philadelphia, could mobilize more than 100,000 armed mobs, and Philadelphia had 50,000 regular troops stationed there.

And now, this great army called the Eastern Pennsylvania Legion. William, who had just successfully held Philadelphia and was promoted to lieutenant general. Under the command of Sherman, he followed behind the Northern Virginia Legion and regained lost territory that had been reduced to rubble......

The news of the Confederate assault on Pennsylvania reached New York, the new capital of the United States of America, as soon as it arrived.

It was darkest before dawn, but the Wall Street Federal Room was brightly lit all night, the conference room was steaming, and the espresso for refreshment was brought in by the secretary cup by piece. Everyone in the room seemed to be sipping on Cuban cigars, and it was a misty sight. The senior officials of the federal government of the United States of America were arguing loudly with red faces. President Lincoln sat in his seat and whispered to Vice President Hamlyn and Secretary of the Army Edwin. Stanton said something hurriedly and quickly. Everyone was very dignified.

"It's not going to go on like this, these Southerners are going to destroy the entire Pennsylvania industry, and that's what they're trying to do now...... Destroy our industry and retreat to the south bank of the Potomac River. Hide behind barbed wire and trenches and defeat us with defense! ”

"But their Northern Virginia Legion is too strong, and the Eastern Pennsylvania Legion is no match at all! Sherman could only cautiously follow behind them...... The key now is to hold Pittsburgh. There are the largest steel mills there. ”

"How's Pittsburgh's defense?"

"Mr. President, the Northern Pennsylvania Regiment has been formed to defend Pittsburgh, with a total strength of 60,000 men, and more than 50,000 armed citizens of Pittsburgh to fight. The newly formed New York Corps, Ohio Russian Regiment, and Michigan Corps have all sent reinforcements to Pittsburgh, and if Pittsburgh can hold out until mid-August, we will be able to concentrate 300,000 troops there, enough to destroy the Southern Legion of Northern Virginia! ”

Hearing that there were 300,000 troops that could gather in Pittsburgh, President Lincoln breathed a sigh of relief, no matter how strong the Northern Virginia Regiment of the Southern Army was, and it did not have the strength of one to ten, Pittsburgh must have defended.

"But the coal mines, railroads, and bridges near Pittsburgh will all be destroyed!" Vice President Hamlin shook his head and said, "It may take us years to get everything back to its original state." ”

"Damn Southerners!" War Secretary Stanton let out a low roar, "Mr. President, we can't be beaten like this!" ”

"Edwin, I think so, but what should we do?" Lincoln frowned.

"The Eastern Pennsylvania Legion can abandon the pursuit and turn south into Maryland and Virginia...... Give them back everything that the Southerners have done as they are! This would force the Northern Virginia Legion to return to their lair. ”

"Invasion of Virginia and Maryland?" Lincoln didn't seem to hear "what is it is or what", but muttered, "How many troops do the Southerners have in those two states?" Can the Eastern Pennsylvania Legion defeat them? I don't want to see another Battle of Poolesville. ”

"No, Mr. President," Stanton gritted his teeth, "there is no second Northern Virginia Legion in the South!" ”

……

At this moment, somewhere in the northern foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, the sound of gunfire rang out like popping beans, and the rain of bullets was like a weaver, and the columns of smoke that had been blown up by the shells were rising up the hillside.

After the gunshots, there was a shout of killing!

The corpses of Pennsylvania militiamen in blue uniforms were spread across the hillside like lodging wheat stalks. The place adjacent to the breastwork is even more layered and shocking. And rolling up from the bottom of the hillside are waves of gray Nanjun waves!

Two infantry regiments, nearly 4,000 officers and soldiers, like a stormy wave, repeatedly attacked the hilly terrain on the northern edge of the Appalachian Mountains, controlling a Pennsylvania militia defensive position leading to Pittsburgh -- after the army approached Pittsburgh, the resistance of the Pennsylvania militia began to become tenacious, and the low hills east of Pittsburgh were full of Northern Army defensive positions, although none of them could stop the advance of the Northern Virginia Legion, but continuous fighting, It also made this elite of the Southern Army a little tired. Even more worrying is the guerrilla warfare of the Pennsylvania militia!

The Appalachian Mountains are a very inhabitable mountainous area, rich in coal and iron, but also dotted with fertile valleys, most of which have been developed into wheat farms. Therefore, the population density is also high in the United States in this era, and everyone has a gun. Now in the face of the invasion of the southern Yankees, they are not willing to listen to the other party's reasoning, and they all pick up the guys and go up the mountain to do guerrillas, as long as they seize the opportunity, they will shoot coldly, and they actually cause a lot of losses to the southern army. So much so that Monregard and Jackson didn't want to spend a minute in this low, mountainous range with complicated terrain.

"The resistance of the Yankees is getting fiercer! It looks like we don't have a chance to make it to Pittsburgh. Beauregard, who was watching the battle on a nearby hill, finally saw a Confederate Star-Spangled Banner planted on the hillside where the Pennsylvania militia was defending, but his mood did not improve in the slightest.

"Then don't hit Pittsburgh...... It's not bad to go to Cleveland either. "Jérôme. Peel was studying the map with a few staff officers, and now that the Ming and French armies had not yet been allowed to enter the United States, he, the commander-in-chief of the coalition forces, could only temporarily act as Beauregarde's chief of staff. "After burning Cleveland, we went all the way south to Kentucky...... If the state has not yet made up its mind to join the Union, we would be good to reason with them. (To be continued......)