by John L. Hopkins.
El Dorado Hills, Ca.: Savas Beatie, 2023. Pp. xii,196.
Illus., append., notes, biblio., index. $32.95. ISBN:1611216842
The 50th Anniversary Gettysburg Veterans’ Reunion
In the summer of 1913, an estimated 53,000 elderly Civil War veterans in their 70s and 80s arrived at Gettysburg, to commemorate the battle fought there fifty years earlier, and to celebrate national reconciliation. Any honorably discharged veteran of the Civil War, blue or gray, was asked to be present. In this, his first book, John Hopkins tells us about the remarkable preparations for what was largest reunion of veterans of the war, and then about what happened on 280 acres at Gettysburg from June 29th to July 5th.
Hopkins notes that his book differs from Thomas Flagel’s 2010 War, Memory, and the 1913 Gettysburg Reunion. Flagel told the story through the motivations and experiences of four veterans who took part. Hopkins draws on the experiences of many veterans, as well as those of their wives and children, newsmen, and politicians who were present.
Hopkins points out that each of the four days had its own theme, with unique events and ceremonies, and often goes into detail on many of these, including several unit reunions.
Particularly interesting is Hopkins’ treatment of the curious “self-serving memorialization” alliance forged between Helen Dortsch, widow of Confederate general James Longstreet, and the Union’s Daniel Sickles, who enthusiastically aided each other in preserving for the two controversial generals the most heroic Gettysburg reputation possible.
Of course, the best remembered event of the reunion is the famous reenactment of Pickett's Charge, and the photographic images of the old enemies shaking hands across the stone wall representing the so-called "High-Water Mark" of the Confederacy.
Hopkins also takes a look behind the scenes, as it were, noting that the U.S. Army’s skill in the administrative and logistical requirements for so a large a gathering of people, contrasted favorably with its mismanagement of mobilization camps during the war with Spain.
Hopkins also reminds us that the U.S. was an extremely prejudiced culture in 1913, and the issues of slavery and racism and their continuing effects on society were ignored. Despite that failure, the reunion did help promote reconciliation for many.
Hopkins work is good, revealing, readable, and informative, and this reviewer highly recommends The World Will Never See the Like, particularly for those interested in soldiers’ memory and in our memorialization of their role in history.
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 The Civil War Memoirs of Captain William J. Seymour, Stay and Fight it Out, Calamity at Frederick, John T. Wilder, The Sergeant: The Incredible Life of Nicholas Said, Contrasts in Command: The Battle of Fair Oaks, Brigades of Antietam, Lee Invades the North, 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, and Conflict of Command.
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Note: The World Will Never See the Like is also available in e-editions.
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