Jay Jorgenson has done an outstanding job describing the bloody events of the Wheatfield during the Battle of Gettysburg. He describes in overview the events leading up to not only the Wheatfield struggle but also the battle itself.

In the Wheatfield many brigades from the Confederate and Union Armies were thrust against each other at very close range and thus tragic and bloody events followed. The Confederate Brigades(mainly the Georgia, South Carolina, Arkansas, and Texas Brigades) fought at close quarter against the Union Brigades (mainly Pennsylvania, Michigan, and New York). In three long hours Jorgenson describes how lines of companies on both sides were simply decimated by intense firing of rifles, artillery, and hand-to-hand combat.

Jorgenson has made this intense phase of the Battle easy to understand and his maps and visual aids tremendously helps readers gain an understanding of how this struggle for the Wheatfield and beyond developed.

Both sides lost a tremendous amount of men, Jorgenson describes how not only dead soldiers filled the wheatfield but also hats, rifles, bayonets, personal items, and gruesomely, body parts of arms, legs, heads, and entrails littered the ground. This was a very climatic and bloody struggle. Both sides had tragic loss of men and material. Yet, the battle waged on all around them.

The Battle of Gettysburg was eventually a Union victory, however, the Wheatfield was not a clear victory for either side. Jorgenson acurately summarizes that the Confederate soldiers who fought and died became a commodity the Confederacy and the Army of Northern Virginia could hardly afford to replace.

I highly recommend this book to those who are interested in the Battle of Gettysburg, Civil War Historians and enthusiasts, and those who enjoy a very well written book.

I have to admit being a bit skeptical of this book at first. I wasn't sure just how much of the Wheatfield battle could be covered in great detail being that the book is under 135 pages of material while the rest is for statistics, reference,etc.. I enjoyed the fact that in this book Jay Jorgensen skipped the usual pre-battle and political nonsense that seem to litter modern day books on Civil War subjects. Jorgensen quite quickly focused on the key players soon to be involved. He covered McClaw's division from their early marches until they prepared for battle on the second day awaiting to boldly set upon battle history.

Jorgensen was very clear on positioning and skipped the popular controvercy of the 2nd Day battle which may make some of the more educated Gettysburg Battle students happy to know. Jorgensen briefly mentions Lee's decisions, Sickle's movement or Longstreet's countermarch which I found refreshing. Instead, Jorgensen places you the reader alongside Anderson, Barksdale, Kershaw and others as they press forward into action in the late afternoon of the 2nd. As always I ask for maps and this book had plenty that I could use during the reading to understand the terrain and unit positions during the battle. It was great to look at the maps and see how they progressed as the action unfolded throughout the book and units either advanced or retreated.

Jay Jorgensen has put together a fine book on this seldom written about subject of the Wheatfield that I feel was very important to the outcome at Gettysburg. Though catastrophic to both sides, carrying this section of land was vital to Union success in regards to building a foundation for day 3. Jorgensens complete work was very exciting to read as he captures a lot of the action in regards to soldier personal accounts being added, descriptive fighting and bloodshed. This book is very thorough and covers the entire timeline of the Wheatfield battle. I highly recommend this book! 5 STARS!!!!!

So much of history focuses on the leaders, generals, and other famous persons of the era. Gettysburg's Unknown Soldier is interesting because it focuses on a common man, Amos Humiston, and his family. He is Gettysburg's unknown soldier because he was found dead holding a picture of his three children. There is nothing else to indicate his identity. The picture is used to identify Amos and locate his widow and children. Amos' attention to his children's picture during his last moments makes him and his family celebrities. While Gettysburg is Amos' defining moment in history, the author tells us the full story. Amos' years on a whaling ship were an adventure, but also a lot of hard work. If whaling was tough, it was nothing compared to the War. We follow Amos and his New York regiment as he marches and marches and marches and fights. After Amos' death at Gettysburg, the story continues with his widow and children and how his death changes their lives. If you like history and want the perspective of the common man, I recommend Gettysburg's Unknown Soldier.

It was a time in history when folks back home held romantic images of gallant heroes for "The Cause". It is no wonder this powerful human interest story snowballed into a nation wide hunt for the children who's loving and courageous father died fighting to reclaim freedom of liberty for his country.

Mark Dunkelman vividly paints a splendid picture of Amos Humiston and his family, taking us through a journey of their trails and tribulations. Mark Dunkelman's painstaking research comes togther with a marvelous, moving, and timeless human-interest story.

In talking with Mort I've come to realize the amount of work and detail he puts into every painting. This book sheds some light on that detail with interesting sidebars on his prints.

The pictures are crips and the stories about them are quite intersting. It's interesting to see his liberal use of the various histical data and how it was applied to find out more about the background of each print.

If you are a Mort Kunstler fan then this is the book for you.

Mort Kunstler is a superb artist and his pictures capture important points in the war. I like his work and he's from Wisconsin!

The author did a lot of research on the references in Charles Reed's letters. And instead of putting the notes at the end of the book where few read them, the notes are in the margins. It really added to the understanding of what Reed was writing home about. The author also incorporates the drawings from Reed which further adds to the book. Also incorporated are Reed's diary entries. The overall package made this an outstanding and enjoyable read. This book should be the model for all future books of this type.

"A Grand Terrible Dramma": From Gettysburg To Petersburg, The Civil War Letters Of Charles Wellington Reed consists of more than 180 letters and hundreds of drawings covering Charles Reed's period of military service as a member of the Massachusetts volunteers in the American Civil War from 1862 to 1865. This fascinating compendium, ably edited by Eric Campbell, presents the contemporary student of the Civil War with a wealth of information on the role of the Union army in the eastern theater, the events in the life of a typical Civil War soldier, as well as the progress and of the war itself. Reed's letters chronicle the common and the extraordinary with a simple, thoughtful elegance. His drawings capture a wide variety of events to which he was a participant. "A Grand Terrible Dramma" is an outstanding, invaluable, core title addition to any personal, professional, academic, or community library Civil War studies collection.

This book will keep you up at night as you try to finish the next chapter. The story follows twin sons, raised apart, who fight on opposite sides in the Civil War from Bunker Hill to their emotional meeting at the battle of Gettysburg. This excellent work of fiction is combined with accurate accounts of the major battles of the Civil War and its leaders. The sequel is great too!

Who would have thunk it - Ted Jones, our former superintendent of schools, has really come to the forefront in Civil War tales. We loved the whole book - made the Civil War come alive for us. He's great

This book is a valuable addition to any Civil War library. Chronologically ordered, it recounts the deaths of Union officers and men from wounds received at Gettysburg.

The title is mildly misleading. Many of the soldiers referenced died of wounds in the month after the battle. This in no way minimizes their sacrifice, but these are not exclusively eyewitnesses accounts of soldiers immediately KIA.

One of the more intriguing aspects of the book is the presentation of letters to next of kin by commanding officers and fellow soldiers. Those letters reflect the ethos of the Civil War soldier, as well as the diction and eloquence of a more gracious age. Contrast the poignant sense of loss and appreciation reflected in those letters with the sterile form letter-notification of the 20th Century.

A companion piece from the Confederate side would be a valuable accompaniment to this scholarly work.

There are many books written on the American Civil War. They address the leaders, the battles, the statistics, the politics and the individual struggles. Until now, however, the personal accounts of those who witnesses the last moments of many a brave soldier has gone unpublished. Here, in these pages, are the tales and tragedies of many poor Americans who's personal efforts might have gone forgoten if not for the lasting impressions they left upon those who cared for them. Stories from nurses, best friends, commanders, all attest to the bravery and devotion these men possessed. Here are the stories of men who's lives where smashed by the minie ball, doused by the cannon's belch and torn by the lack of adequete medical knowledge. Here is a book that will vividly inform it's readers of the true finality of war.

You can best judge a person by the company he keeps; and in Clyde Wilson's case he has been keeping very good company indeed.

In this book, the editor of the papers of John Calhoun tells the story of one of the defenders of Calhoun's principles, James Johnston Pettigrew. The portrait is of a man who is engaging and noble.

When you visit Gettysburg, stand at the North Carolina monument and gaze across the field at the copse of trees; you will be standing at the spot where Pettigrew and his men began their march to glory. As Wilson's portrait of Pettigrew makes clear, and as any serious and honest student of the struggle for Southern independence should know, these were men who fought for a variety of reasons. In Pettigrew's case, it was to preserve a substantial measure of the world that America had inherited from Europe against a foe bent on destroying that world in the name of an abstract principle.

These were not, in short and contrary to the simplistic explanations of the conflict that dominate public discourse today, men who marched into the cannon's mouth with dreams of masters whipping slaves in their hearts. On the contrary, they were men who believed fervently that they were resisting the tyranny of a government that was fighting to keep them where they would rather not be; and in this, they, not Lincoln and his generals, were the real heirs of the American Revolution.

It is through reading the work of scholars like Professor Wilson that we can honestly approximate the reasons for this last (on the Confederate side) just as well as necessary war in America's story. For unlike this rather partisan review, the book is soberly written and the story unfolds in the measured tones of a man who has absorbed the lessons of his heroes.

One of the most overlooked sons of the South,whose early death is overshadowed his brilliant career, and what could have been, some said he could have been president ,nothing was impossible, this little book gives a good impression of a man worthy of much more attention than been given, i can only recommend it, and hope that you will bring it home and treasure it for many years to come.Christian (Denmark)

Kent Gramm's latest book, November, Lincoln's Elegy at Gettysburg, is a remarkable achievement. This work contains a profound series of meditations on history, loss, values, idealism, and patriotism, inspired by Gramm's sojourn, throughout the month of one November, in and around Gettysburg. Although his search for the exact spot where Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg address is the ostensible reason for his visit there, this quest - and his determination to reflect each day on what Lincoln had been doing on each day of November 1963 (leading up to and following the delivery of the address) - actually provide a touchstone for reflections both wide and deep on our country's history, and the standards to which we must hold ourselves. World War I, Vietnam, World War II, the Civil War, the assassination of JFK, the life of Robert Kennedy, Martin Luther and Martin Luther King, modernism and postmodernism, and the loss of beloved parents, all provide topics for thoughtful rumination. This book is profound, absorbing, inspiring, poetic, and deeply moving. It is a book you will want to revisit, and from which you will find yourself reading aloud to friends.

A few years ago I ran upon a book titled: "Gettysburg: A Meditation on War and Values" by Kent Gramm. Being a history teacher and Civil War enthusiast, I bought the book and devoured it. I use it as a guide on my annual trip to Gettysburg. I was always wondering when Mr. Gramm would publish a new book. Well, the wait is over. "November" picks up where "Gettysburg" left off. This book is excellent for students of the Civil War and general history enthusiasts alike. Mr. Gramm uses Lincoln's Gettysburg Address and the month of November as a starting point for his interpretations of several key events in history, both in America and in the world. Included in his analysis are JFK's assasination, the death of C.S. Lewis, the Holocaust, RFK's impact on America, and the Vietnam War. Mr. Gramm also traces his family history and writes eloquetly about how his ancestry fits into the larger canvas of American history. Using Lincoln's famous words, Mr. Gramm paints a portrait of the deeper meanings of our identity as Americans, our history, and our place in the world. This is not a work of history in the tradition of batte narratives or campaign overviews. Rather, it is a moving, deep and touching look at the heartbeat and soul of the America that Lincoln spoke about in November 1863 and how it applies to us in the 21st century. As you read this excellent book, you will be reminded of Lincoln's gift of eloquence. The month of November has witnessed numerous key events in the history of America and the world. Thanks to Mr. Gramm and his magnificent book, these events have taken on a deeper, more spirtiual meaning to me. I recommend this book without hesitation or reservation.

As someone who is a Civil War student I have heard many accounts of battle events and the people who participated in them. Mr. Kesslers account not only shows his committment to research but he has a great gift of telling the story through the eyes of his well developed and interesting characters. Whether Mr. kessler is expressing the agony of a young mans struggle with the war and the horror related to it,family issues during that time or the warm new relationship he developes and certainly the logistics of battle you are drawn into a wonderful story told by a wonderful storyteller.

I stumbled upon this amazing book while I was searching for a gift for a friend. It sounded interesting so I ordered it. What I thought would be a dry book turned out to be an exciting adventure for me as well as the young character in the story. It provided me with the history of the Civil War through the use of colorful imagery. It's obvious that this author has done his research. I look forward to reading more from this wonderful yet unknown author. Keep up the great work! You have many fans. This is a book that I know I would want my friends to read.

Gregory L. Coco has brought the horror and tragedy of the Civil War to readers in this book. The Battle of Gettysburg lasted for three days (July 1-3, 1863), yet the battle effected thousands afterwards for decades. Coco has given account of what happened to the Confederate dead and mortally woundededwho were not transported after the battle, but were left where they were mortally wounded or killed. Thousands of soldiers of the Confederacy had no tombstone, marker, or any identification after they were killed. Most were left in a mass grave, or buried in a farmers field, with no marker. What a tragedy, yet it was expected after such a tremendous battle.
Many families of southern soldiers made the trek up north to claim their loved ones and take them back for burial in the south. Unfortunately, many families returned to the south empty-handed because they could simply not find where their beloved son, father, or brother were buried. This was a too common tale on both southern and northern families during the war.
Coco describes how southern soldiers were mortally wounded and ultimately buried after the battle. Most were buried hastily and thus today, their grave location is unknown.
This makes the battlefield and the land around it even more hallowed. It dosen't matter what side of the Civil War a reader of this book is for, we should all be somber and respectful to these brave soldiers of both the North and South who fought and paid the ultimate sacrifice of their beliefs.
This book is fascinating, accurate, and articulate and I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in the Battle of Gettysburg and the Civil War.

Again Gregory Coco's work is an absolute must have for anyone interested in the Battle of Gettysburg. Coco's devotion for giving the reader the cold hard truths and facts regarding the treatment of the Confederate dead is excellent. Not only is this book informative, but it also mentions various true stories of Confederate soldiers that died on the battlefield or who were mortaly wounded. Actual burial places of the soldiers are covered as well. Coco points out places along the battlefield where rows of the Confederate fallen were laid to rest. He also covers attempts by families to capture or find their deceased father, son or brother. Coco's book gives credit to where it is deserved as Confederates were not properly looked after or interred as Union soldiers were in the National Cemetary in Gettysburg.