by Allen C. Guelzo,
New York Kensington Citadel, 2024 . Pp. xx, 380.
Illus., append., index. $29.00. ISBN: 0806543388
Eyewitnesses to Gettysburg
Noting that “Americans of the Civil War years enjoyed unprecedented levels of literacy and did not hesitate to record what they had seen, heard, and done in a flood of letters, diaries, and memoirs,” noted Civil War scholar Allen Guelzo offers us an anthology of eyewitness accounts by many of the people who took part in the Gettysburg Campaign, naturally concentrated on the great three-day battle. Dr. Guelzo came to make these selections based on his 15 year career researching and teaching about the Civil War and the battle of Gettysburg.
This allows anyone with an interest in the campaign, or the war as a whole, to see how those experiencing those events understood them.
The book consists of a plethora of letters, private, papers, memoirs, and other items by eyewitness. Some are by well-known people, such as Lincoln, Robert E. Lee, and a host of generals, while others are by less famous folks, ordinary soldiers and citizens. Some items have been widely circulated before, while others have not seen much notice, if any. The items are offered chronologically, in the order of the events discussed.
The selections are organized into eleven sections, each of which opens with a brief overview providing readers with some context to set the stage for the events to follow. The first section deals with materials about the military situation and planning through to the onset of the campaign. There follows a two sections offering looks at the armies and their commanders as they prepared for operations. The next two sections deal with the preliminary movements of the armies and the maneuvers through the eve of the battle. Four sections cover the battle itself, followed by one on the Confederate retreat. The final section looks at Lincoln’s famous address and later events memorializing the battle.
Voices from Gettysburg is an invaluable read for anyone interested in the Gettysburg or the Civil War.
Our Reviewer: David Marshall has been a high school American history teacher in the Miami-Dade School district for more than three decades. A life-long Civil War enthusiast, David is president of the Miami Civil War Round Table Book Club. In addition to numerous reviews in Civil War News and other publications, he has given presentations to Civil War Round Tables on Joshua Chamberlain, Ulysses S. Grant, Abraham Lincoln, the Battle of Gettysburg, and the common soldier. His previous reviews here include, From Antietam to Appomattox with Upton’s Regulars, Our Flag Was Still There, Never Such a Campaign, The Boy Generals: George Custer, Wesley Merritt, and the Cavalry of the Army of the Potomac, from the Gettysburg Retreat through the Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1864, Longstreet: The Confederate General Who Defied the South, Unforgettables, Bayou Battles for Vicksburg, Race to the Potomac, Conflict of Command, The World Will Never See the Like, The War that Made America, A Fine Opportunity Lost, The Iron Dice of Battle: Albert Sidney Johnston and the Civil War in the West, The Limits of the Lost Cause on Civil War Memory, War in the Western Theater, J.E.B. Stuart: The Soldier and The Man, The Inland Campaign for Vicksburg, and All for the Union: The Saga of One Northern Family.
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Note: Voices from Gettysburg is also available in e-editions.
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