Nichols has presented a well researched biography of a man who commanded the respect and the admiration of an army. The men who fought under him called him "Old Common Sense." They were willing to follow him into Hell itself, and they did. John F. Reynolds was professionally remote, militarily a genius, and personally a shy quiet man. Nichols brings Reynolds to warm life once again in this entertaining and well written biography. You will feel as if you know this general who turned down command of the entire Army of the Potomac, only to die a month later leading a regiment into combat because "that's where he was most needed." You will stand beside the Confederate prisoners of war who rose to their feet in silent respect as the dead Reynolds was carried past them. An inspiring picture of a man whose death made an army pause to weep.

These series of books are the best available resource for conducting ACW battlefield tours - assuming that your purpose in touring battlefields is to study and understand the applicable tactics, strategy and terrain and to develop an appreciation for the objectives and efforts of the participants. If you go to ACW battlefields to gawk and gossip as an everyday tourist then you do not need to study these guides. If you have an active interest in ACW history, military history in general or fascinating chapters in human history, then these guides are remarkable values, "Best Buys". Thorough but not intimidating, insightful and objective, with no deficiencies noted.

Being the great-great grandson of one of the surgeons mentioned in this book I had a special interest in this book. Over the years books abut Gettysburg have always been about the military strategies involved, key players in the battle, etc. Nothing was ever truly written about the aftermath of the battle the dark side of war with all it's carnage and bloodshed. As Walt Whitman once said "the real war will never get into the books" that is until now. Gregory CoCo's "A Vast Sea Of Misery" is the first real book of its kind and long over due. Much of the battlefield has been saved from destruction over the years with the exception of the hospital sites. Many of these sites have been lost forever to real estate developments and shopping centers. Mr. CoCo set out to document the 162 hospital sites in and around the Town of Gettysburg not only as a record for future generations but in the hopes that its readers would care enough to maybe save some of the surviving sites from future development. These hospitals were truly the second battle of Gettysburg with over 21,000 maimed, wounded, and dying soldiers fighting for their lives. The surgeons of these hospitals along with the townspeople, ambulance corpsman, nurses, and civilian agencies who supplied medicines, foodstuffs, and care for the wounded soldiers on both sides are some of the real unknown heroes of Gettysburg. Mr. CoCo does an excellent job of not only identifying the location of these hospital sites through photographs and maps, but takes you back 138 years into these field hospitals through the eyes of many of the actual participants of this great struggle for survival. My great-great grandfather's Union Second Corps Hospitals had over 3260 wounded with only 14 doctors to take care of them. They worked virtually around the clock to save the human refuse of war. This book is a fitting tribute to those who not only fought and died at Gettysburg, but who gave of their time, money, talent, and skills to save so many lives. This book is certainly not the whole story of this struggle for survival and Mr. CoCo points this out. He states "It is my anticipation that a Vast Sea of Misery will serve as only a forerunner of a more complete and elaborate work by some other writer in a not-too-distant day". This book is a must read for students of the Civil War and those just plain interested in what the aftermath of battle is all about. You won't be disappointed.

William Thomas Venner is my social studies teacher, and this is his wonderful book. Now, I'm not one to be totally biased because I know the author. This is a book everyone should read, because they just should. If they didn't read this book, then they'd be missing out. Missing out on what you ask? The book of course.

Michael Shaara did an excellent job in describing in detail the Battle of Gettysburg without making it boring. His line by line account of the battle allows the reader to understand the emotions of the men fighting for their beliefs. Shaara shows the real men that fought, they weren't gods, just ordinary men who got homesick for their wives and children. While reading the book, the details create a vivid image that allows the reader to clearly understand the troubles of war. Food was scarce, weather was bad, and leaders were unreliable. The advantages in war were hard to obtain but lost so easily. Shaara also lets to reader into the minds of some of the key leaders at Gettysburg. Lee and Longstreet for the South, and Chamberlain and Buford for the North. Each man has a different view of the war, but each is equally interesting and important to the whole account of the battle. Overall the book was very good and captivating. It is easy to read, but informative. When looking for a detailed description of the Civil war, The Killer Angels is the book to read.

At least that was true until I read Michael Shaara's "Killer Angels." Now I'm a goner. I have bought five more books on the Civil War including McPherson's "Battle Cry of Freedom," a huge tome that promises to fill me in on the whole historical context, time, place, politics, all of it. All this happened because I was interested in a single book. This is Michael Shaara's fault.

It is of no consequence that the prospective reader may not have the slightest interest in war, the Civil War in particular, guns, Gettysburg, generals, muskets, artillery, smoke, fire, or death. All the reader need be interested in is a good book that is a pleasure, an enlightening experience, to read. If you like reading, if you enjoy books that captivate, that keep you turning pages, that won't let you sleep, then buy this book.

Let me note here that the author indulges in several literary devices that might pain the true Civil War buff. He uses interior monologues which are, of course, pure fiction (though based on written material of the time). He also centers his story on two major fights that took place at Gettysburg: the battle of Little Roundtop, and Pickett's Charge, even though quite a lot of other great moments occurred there. Both these battles are told well, and the characters of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain - the commander of the 20th Maine who held Little Round Top against attacking Confederates to the "last bullet," and James Longstreet, commander of the I Corps of Lee's Army of Northern Virginia who had serious differences with his superior over the tactics used at Gettysburg, are explored at depth.

By necessity, Shaara could not tell, in a single novel (for that is what this book is), all that happened those three fateful days. For those who want to know more I refer you to Shelby Foote's "Stars In Their Courses."

I aim this review at those who are unsure of whether a Civil War novel is what they want to read. Be assured you will not be disappointed. This is a truly fine book, especially for the uninitiated, as I was. I recommend this book to all without hesitation.

I love The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane as well as Black Hawk Down by Mark Bowden, but I place The Killer Angels at the top of my war novel list. ...The vivid descriptions of battle, the candid emotions of the soldiers and generals, the emptiness of defeat intertwined with the elation of victory are all so aptly described by Michael Shaara in this Pulitzer Prize winner. I felt as if I were alive right there in Gettysburg as an omnipresent bystander witnessing the greatest and most momentous battle ever fought on American soil. Thanks to the amazing character development and extraordinary description and dialogue, I came to know the heroic Joshua Chamberlain, the intrepid George Pickett, the indecisive Richard Ewell, the gruff James Longstreet, and of course the revered Robert E. Lee - just to name a few.

A must read for anyone even remotely interested in The Civil War or just war or history in general. Simply phenomenal.

Harry Pfanz, a former historian at Gettysburg National Military Park and retired Chief Historian of the National Park Service, is well known in American Civil War literary circles for his excellent work on Gettysburg - The Second Day and its companion volume, Gettysburg - Culp's Hill and Cemetery Hill. Both are definitive works featuring new interpretations and fresh looks on both known and more obscure facets of the famous battle.

Now Pfanz has written Gettysburg - The First Day, which continues his excellent research and writing to cover the marches to Gettysburg leading to that fateful first day. Pfanz details the personalities behind the first day's fighting, down to the brigade level (and occasionally the regimental level). He handles the day's fighting in somewhat chronological order (see below), and as major units arrive he details their command and personality individually and succinctly. Controversial and contradictory events or decisions -- such as who fired the first shot of the battle, the Union XI Corps' rout, the battles at the railroad cut, the work of the Union cavalry at the beginning of the day, and Ewell's lack of attack at the end of the day -- are covered (as well as many others) on a factual and well-thought basis. I couldn't find myself arguing with any of the points he brought up to any great extent, and there doesn't appear to be any kind of side bias.

One of Pfanz's great strengths is his ability to recreate the terrain of the battlefield in various ways and the deployments therein, giving the reader a visual capacity to understand the peculiarities, vulnerabilities, and practicalities of various positions over others -- the advantage of I Corps's position on the afternoon of July 1 over that of XI Corps, for instance. When Pfanz describes Schurz's anxiousness at the beginning of Chapter 19, you can feel it.

The other great ability of Pfanz is to describe the fighting in such a way that the reader can identify with it - typically by a mixture of describing how the regiments and sometimes even companies were moved and deployed, mixed with a description of that particular event and how the survivors on either side recalled it. With literally hundreds of tons of writings about the battle from its survivors, there is a lot of good material to choose from, and Pfanz has chosen wisely. Of course, it seems like every little action or scrap was the "hottest" the speaker had ever been in, but that is understandable given the circumstances.

What the reader doesn't get is a great sense of is the serious of movements that led to Gettysburg. While Pfanz describes them somewhat, it can still be hard to visualize, and the maps provided that lead up to July 1 are not particularly helpful. On the other hand, the tactical maps that help describe the action (and have textual footnotes) are completely wonderful and accompany the text very well. Pfanz also doesn't seem to dwell on the events that led up to Gettysburg or the political machinations (aside from Meade replacing Hooker) that took place before the battle, which is thankful.

Another thing the reader may find annoying is that while the battle unfolds in a chronological fashion (as it should), it is not entirely in order. For instance, the multiple attacks by Daniel's brigade near the railroad cut and the huge flanking attack by Early on the XI Corps right is fully featured before cutting back to Heth's attack against the I Corps, though the latter is mentioned during the former. It's not that big of a problem, but to those not initially educated about the battle it can be a little disconcerting because the reader may quite honestly have no idea what was going on at the other flank.

Despite a few quibbles Gettysburg - The First Day is a wonderfully researched (with a meticulously detailed end notes section), complete with first-rate tactical maps, an order of battle (shortened for the units that fought on the first day only), and some interesting appendices of related or side stories. Gettysburg - The First Day is another great work by this well-respected author and I recommend it.

I had the greatest pleasure in spending the first week of my retirement reading this account of the first day's struggle at Gettysburg and it's outlying areas. Pfanz continues as absolutely one of the greatest Civil War historians writing today.
So much has been written about the struggle for Little Round Top, Chamberlain's exploits, Pickett's Charge, and all of the other events which followed the first day's events, however, this book is an essential read for those who really want to examine how day two and three evolved. It is certainly understandable why the average reader would be drawn to the flashier confrontations which followed, however after day one it became clearer and clearer that the Confederate states could not conceivably win this battle.
The beauty of this account is that it is studded with maps which is a definite plus to anyone not particularly familiar with the outlying geography of the battle. And the dominant sites such as McPherson's Woods, the Railroad Cuts, Oak Ridge, the various farms all become focus points for the reader to see how the battle surged back and forth. Pfanz also details the battle unit by unit and interlaces his narrative with wonderful inserts of recollections by the participants.
The first day of the battle will also introduce the casual reader to soldiers both north and south who are not the usual suspects in Civil War accounts. People like Buford emerge as heroes and corps commanders play lesser roles. The effect of combat on civilians is also greatly documented and gives a real picture of the total impact of war in the 19th century.
This is not a work for the casual reader who would just want to pick up a book on Civil War history. However, for those who have a humble introduction it is very approachable and for those who have done additional reading it is a valuable resource.
Thanks for writing this one Mr. Pfanz.

Mr. Pfanz has contributed an unprecedented work of importance on the battle of Gettysburg. I couldn't claim to have read everything of worth on this pivitol, but I have read many. This one is the best.
Almost minute by minute coverage of the battle with detailed troop movements, the reader is transported back to July 1, 1863. Fair treatment is given to both Confederate and Union participants, not always common among some modern authors. Major characters are developed with enough detail to make them interesting, but not so much that the book threatens to become a biography of actors and not a story about the battle itself. I especially like the inclusion of residents of Gettysburg into the coverage. This group is too often ignored.
I think anyone with even a mild interest in this battle would agree that reading this book is not a waste of time. I can't wait to read Gettysburg the Second Day originally published in 1987 but missed by me.

"The Gettysburg Campaign" was the life work of Edwin B. Coddington. He unfortunately died before its publication, but his and his book's influence stretches well into the modern day. "The Gettysburg Campaign" is a monumental work that leaves very little to be desired. Every aspect of the campaign, which began with the Union defeat at Chancellorsville on May 5, 1863 and ended on July 15, 1863 with Confederate retreat across the Potomac, is covered in this book. While his writing style can be somewhat slow at times, he knows his material very well, and does a good job of relaying the information to the reader. However, for someone who does not know much about the battle, it can be a bit overwhelming. His battle descriptions are crisp and detailed, but lack the excitment of an experienced writer. This is his only fault.

This book is not for someone who is new to Civil War studies and to fully grasp what he is saying, I would suggest that you visit the battlefield first and get a tour. This will make a the book much less ambiguous, especially because the maps included are not very clear. I have read this book four times, and each time, I come away amazed at everything that occurred during this epic battle. If you truly want to understand the battle of Gettysburg and its place in Civil War history, Coddington's masterpiece is a must own.

The Gettysburg Campaign was published in 1960, before the era of social history, and is a product of the great man, great moment theory. This is both its weakness and strength. The book spends very little time with the actions of small units (small being anything under brigade size) and with their commanders. There is no mention of common soldiers and what they experienced. This leads to a very incomplete picture of the battle. We see the battle as faceless, the common soldiers are merely numbers. While there is nothing wrong with this approach, and in fact it was the approach of almost all history books before the late 1960s, it might strike today's reader as an abnormality. In today's era of social history the privates are given as much attention as the generals, with some books dedicated wholly to their experiences. Coddinton, however, chooses to look at the "great men." It is in his analysis of the various levels of command, from army to corps to divisional to brigade to, in a few cases, regimental, that Coddington shines. The book shows not only the decisions that were made, but what factors played into those decisions, whether they were good decisions or not, and what options where available. The book is structured differently than most on the campaign in that it spends nearly as much time on the prelude and aftermath as it does the three days of battle. This too adds greatly to the book, and makes it truly deserving of the title The Gettysburg Campaign. The emphasis on the whole campaign allows us to put the battle and the various decisions made by the commanders into their correct perspective. Also different than most historians, Coddington views the battle as being won by the Union, not as being lost by the Confederacy. He argues that Meade did a commendable job, and that the Army of the Potomac simply outfought the Army of Northern Virginia. The evidence he provides is solid, and should sway the reasonable reader to his point of view. The Gettysburg Campaign, while showing signs of the era in which it was written, is the best book on the battle, a must read for the serious student of the battle.

When I visited Gettysburg Battlefield Park in 1993, I asked the manager of the giftshop at the Visitor's Center what book is the best detailed analysis of the Battle Of Gettysburg. She showed me this book and informed me that almost everything I wanted to know about the strategy and outcome of tactics of the battle would be in Edwin B. Coddington's book. She was correct. Coddington definitely did his homework when he wrote this book. Everything from the decisions of the Generals strategies to the formation and location of brigades, divisions, regiments and squads of both Union and Confederate troops. This has so much detailed that a person who reads this should read other books about the battle before reading this one. This is not for the casual reader, who would get very lost and possibly bored. This is for the reader who would like to know about unit placements, the strategy of General Robert E. Lee and General George Meade and the Generals below them. Highly recommeded to "arm chair" Generals and Strategests and those teaching military history.

Having read the unabridged version I approached this abridgement. My experience can be described as comparing the painting of the Mona Lisa with a pencil rendition. The absence of the appendices and the explanatory footnotes together with the gouged text made less traumatic with artificial bridging (abridgement) results in nothing more than a mere pencil sketch of a true masterpiece. There is no substitute for the full version.

Puller carried a copy of these works with him throughout WWII and Korea. Enough said.

My uncle had read the three volume series of Mr. Freeman's work on Robert E. Lee's generals and wanted me to do the same. If I start something I like to finish it and I just didn't want to conquer the couple thousand pages in the three volumes so I opted for the one volume abridgement. It is well written, a classic of Civil War history, and gave great insight into the minds and actions of the Confederate military leadership. From reading the introduction this abridgement was made possible not by excising the main text, but by eliminating a majority of the voluminous notes and addendum material present in the three volume series. I don't know what I missed, but what remained was fascinating, extremely readable, and well recommended. At this point I would be very interested in acquiring and reading the three volume set.

This book offers a look at the critical actions on Culp's and Cemetery Hill starting with Oliver Howard's posting of von Steinwehr's Division on Cemetery Hill at noon on July 1st and continuing through the final Confederate attacks on July 3rd. Throughout the book Pfanz gives an incredibly detailed account of all actions on the hills.
The most important part of the book is the sixth chapter which gives a detailed account of the most controversial action on that part of the field, Richard Ewell's failure to occupy the two hills (or at least Culp's Hill) on the night of July 1st. Pfanz explains that the failure to occupy the hills was more due to the lack of initiative shown by Edward Johnson than any failing on Ewell's part. By explaining the troop movements and positions of both the Union and Confederate forces in the area on the night of July 1st Pfanz shows us that it was a lackluster performance by Johnson that allowed the hills to remain in Union hands. Pfanz is able to clear up any common misconceptions about Ewell's failings in this part of the battle, and this is his greatest accomplishment.
There are two aspects of the book that are weak. The first five chapters of the book are about the actions precluding the fighting on Culp's and Cemetery Hill and it seems to me that he devotes too much time to this topic. Secondly, at times Pfanz gets too detailed in his explanations, and loses the reader. His explanation of movements down to the brigade level is great, but too frequently he gets into the regimental and company level and just confuses the reader.
Overall I thought this was a great book that did a good job sorting out the confusing actions on Culp's and Cemetery Hill.

In Gettysburg: Culp's Hill and Cemetery Hill, Harry Pfanz sheds light on one of the lesser known aspects of the Battle of Gettysburg. In the common history of the battle, much attention is paid to actions like Buford's stand, the attack on Little Round Top, and Longstreet's Second Assault (Pickett's Charge). In the shadows of these momentous events is the action on Cemetery and Culp's Hills. Ironically, these two hills formed the anchor of the Union line-the reason for fighting at Gettysburg in fact-yet the battles for them are nearly forgotten. Pfanz reminds us of their importance in this informative but somewhat lengthy tome. There can be no argument; Pfanz knows what he is talking about. His attention to detail, and the extent of his knowledge is truly impressive. However, when the entire Gettysburg Campaign can be explained thoroughly in 575 pages as Codington did, it can be somewhat tedious to read a 375-page book on two days of that campaign, and which only involved between fifteen and twenty percent of the combined armies. This is really the only shortcoming of the book. The story could have been better presented in fewer pages with less mind-boggling details. One is often confused when Pfanz shifts between brigades, regiments, and companies, while trying to remember the names of all their commanders. It appears that Pfanz was trying to please too many people with this work, and did not have the same skill of weaving the common soldier's story into the battle history that someone like Stephen Ambrose has. Aside from those technical complaints, the book is very informative and enjoyable to read if you take your time. There is nothing very controversial, as this is primarily a narrative. Pfanz does a good job of presenting all the facts available, allowing the reader to make their own decisions for the most part. On the whole, Pfanz' book is nothing spectacular, just good, informative history-a stepping-stone for further study and analysis.

It wasn't until reading this book by Harry Pfanz, that I came to better appreciate just how pivotal the areas of Culp's and Cemetery Hills were to the outcome at Gettysburg. I've read MANY accounts of the battles of the 1st day (west of town), and the second day's contests at Little Round Top, Devil's Den, Cemetery Ridge, etc.... and, of course, Pickett's Charge on July 3rd. But, all too often, the two hills south east of Gettysburg have been over-shadowed by the afore-mentioned arenas. Phanz shows clearly how the two hills effected the outcome of the battle, and how the fighting in these sectors directly effected what happened on the ridges and hills to its south and west during the three days.

I enjoyed reading this book immensely. It was one of those books on the battle that I just could not put down once I started. Phanz combines historical accuracy and fact along with many human interest vignetts, and bio's on the leaders and their roles during the actions that their respective commands took part in. What I truly appreciate most about this book is how Phanz helps dispells two myths:

1.) The Union 11th Corps has received a bum rap throughout history - that many 11th Corps units fought heroically and tenaciously both on the second day as well as the first day. And... 2.) That the commanders and enlisted men of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia were not invincible warriors who could take any situation and turn it into glorious victory. They were men who, when faced with overwhelming odds, could fail. As I read this book, I aquired a much clearer view of just what happened at Gettysburg: The Confederate chain of command broke down - and with disasterous results. Much in the same way that their beleagured counterparts in the Army of the Potomac had done nearly every time prior to the great showdown in Pennsylvania.

For some, this book will undoubtedly raise that never-ending question: Had Stonewall Jackson been there, would the Confederate Army have met with greater success on July 1st? Perhaps. But, Phanz clearly shows with facts and accounts how the Confederates of Ewells's corps were just as exhausted and disorganized as the Union defenders on Cemetery Hill were at the end of July 1st. At any rate, I don't pay too much heed to the "what if-ers" of Civil War speculation. What I say to those people is that "if only General Grant been commander of the Union forces at Antietam - if HE was the one with Lee's plans in his hands - the war would have ended in Maryland a year earlier."

But, reality is reality - and what made Stonewall Jackson a great commander is also what got himself killed at Chancellorsville. There's a reason for everything. If not at Gettysburg, the Union would have prevailed somewhere else. And, in this book, Phanz relates how the Commanders and the rank and file of Army of the Potomac rose to meet the crisis... and how they were always worthy opponenets of their southern adversaries. So, with that being said...

Buy this book if you want a thorough, exciting, and reality-based account of the struggles that ocurred on Culp's and Cemetery Hills at Gettysburg. I will be so much more informed, and I will have such a better grasp of history as I walk along the slopes of Culp's and Cemetery Hills on my next visit to the battlefield.