Gettysburg's Forgotten Cavalry Actions
Gettysburg's Forgotten Cavalry Actions

Author: Eric J. Wittenberg

Publisher: Grub Street Publishers

Published: 2011-10-27

Total Pages: 318

ISBN-13: 1611210712

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An award-winning historical study of the important role played by Union and Confederate horse soldiers on the Civil War battlefield at Gettysburg. The Union army’s victory at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on July 3, 1863, is widely considered to have been the turning point in America’s War between the States. But the valuable contributions of the mounted troops, both Northern and Rebel, in the decisive three-day conflict have gone largely unrecognized. Acclaimed Civil War historian Eric J. Wittenberg now gives the cavalries their proper due. In Gettysburg’s Forgotten Cavalry Actions, Wittenberg explores three important mounted engagements undertaken during the battle and how they influenced the final outcome. The courageous but doomed response by Brig. Gen. Elon J. Farnsworth’s cavalry brigade in the wake of Pickett’s Charge is recreated in fascinating detail, revealing the fatal flaws in the general’s plan to lead his riders against entrenched Confederate infantry and artillery. The tenacious assault led by Brig. Gen. Wesley Merritt on South Cavalry Field is also examined, as is the strategic victory at Fairfield by Southern troops that nearly destroyed the Sixth US Cavalry and left Hagerstown Road open, enabling General Lee’s eventual retreat. Winner of the prestigious Bachelder-Coddington Award for historical works concerning the Battle of Gettysburg, Eric J. Wittenberg’s Gettysburg’s Forgotten Cavalry Actions rights a long-standing wrong by lifting these all-important engagements out of obscurity. A must-read for Civil War buffs everywhere, it completes the story of the battle that changed American history forever.

On Pickett’s Charge
On Pickett’s Charge

Author: Carol Reardon

Publisher: UNC Press Books

Published: 2012-01-01

Total Pages: 98

ISBN-13: 9780807836200

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If, as many have argued, the Civil War is the most crucial moment in our national life and Gettysburg its turning point, then the climax of the climax, and a central moment in our nation's history, is Pickett's Charge of 3 July 1863. This Civil War Short presents Carol Reardon's stirring narrative of the charge itself, drawn from Pickett's Charge in History and Memory, which demonstrates that the story of Pickett's Charge told today is really an amalgam of history and memory and that the evolution of that mix tells us much about how we come to understand our nation's past. UNC Press Civil War Shorts excerpt rousing narratives from distinguished books published by the University of North Carolina Press on the military, political, social, and cultural history of the Civil War era. Produced exclusively in ebook format, they focus on pivotal moments and figures and are intended to provide a concise introduction, stir the imagination, and encourage further exploration of the topic. For in-depth analysis, contextualization, and perspective, we invite readers to consider the original publications from which these works are drawn.

The Battle of Gettysburg 1863 (3)
The Battle of Gettysburg 1863 (3)

Author: Timothy Orr

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2024-08-15

Total Pages: 97

ISBN-13: 1472861604

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An authoritative and superbly illustrated exploration of the events of July 3, 1863, incorporating new interpretations that have arisen in the past two decades. The third day of the Battle of Gettysburg was the most dramatic of the three. Among the iconic clashes that took place was the 12,500-man attack known as Pickett's Charge, General Lee's last assault at Gettysburg in which his soldiers suffered over 60 percent losses. Other key moments of the day were the action at Culp's Hill-arguably where the outcome of the battle was decided-the engagement at East Cavalry Field, the two-hour artillery duel, and the Union counterattack at the south end of the battlefield. This final volume in Timothy J. Orr's trilogy emphasizes the tactical decisions of Day Three and documents the ensuing combat in detailed 2D maps, 3D diagrams, and historic photographs. It also includes a brief summary of the strategic and human consequences of the campaign, carrying the story to November 19, 1863, the day of Lincoln's famed Gettysburg Address. Primary accounts from common soldiers infuse this study, reminding readers that Gettysburg was-among other things-a tale of suffering and endurance. The experiences and equipment of these men are brought to life in stunning detail in Steve Noon's dramatic battlescenes.

Nine Months to Gettysburg: Stannard's Vermonters and the Repulse of Pickett's Charge
Nine Months to Gettysburg: Stannard's Vermonters and the Repulse of Pickett's Charge

Author: Howard Coffin

Publisher: The Countryman Press

Published: 2011-09-19

Total Pages: 336

ISBN-13: 1581578490

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The story of the brave Vermont brigade that helped win the Civil War. On the Fourth of July, 1863, reporting on the aftermath of the Civil War’s most crucial battle, the New York Times wrote: “A Vermont brigade held the key position at Gettysburg and did more than any other body of men to gain the triumph which decided the fate of the Union.” The citizen soldiers led by General George J. Stannard helped stabilize the line, and then shattered the right flank of Pickett’s famous charge just when the battle’s outcome hung in the balance. Over a decade since its original release, Nine Months to Gettysburg is now available in paperback. Coffin draws on scores of soldiers’ letters to relate how and why young recruits from isolated hill farms flocked to the Union colors in response to Lincoln’s call in 1862. And in the nine months leading up to Gettysburg, they recorded, in extraordinary detail, foraging for food, enduring homesickness, monotony, and often fatal diseases. This book movingly captures their myriad anxieties as they are thrust suddenly into the most important infantry maneuver directed against the Confederate assault.