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One in the Crown
Journeys series
Author: James M. McPherson |
“[I]n a larger sense, we can
not dedicate—we can not consecrate—we
can not hallow—this ground. The
brave men, living and dead, who struggled
here, have consecrated it, far above
our power to add or detract.”
— President Abraham Lincoln |
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McPherson walks us through the site
of the bloodiest and perhaps most consequential
battle ever fought by Americans.
The events that occurred at Gettysburg
are etched into our collective memory,
as they served to change the course
of the Civil War and with it the course
of history. More than any other place
in the United States, Gettysburg is
indeed hallowed ground. It’s no
surprise that it is one of the nation’s
most visited sites (nearly two million
annual visitors), attracting tourists,
military buffs, and students of American
history.
McPherson, who has led countless tours
of Gettysburg over the years, makes
stops at Seminary Ridge, the Peach Orchard,
Cemetery Hill, and Little Round Top,
among other key locations. He reflects
on the meaning of the battle, describes
the events of those terrible three days
in July 1863, and places the struggle
in the greater context of American and
world history. Along the way, he intersperses
stories of his own encounters with the
place over several decades, as well
as debunking several popular myths about
the battle itself.
What brought those 165,000 soldiers—75,000
Confederate, 90,000 Union—to Gettysburg?
Why did they lock themselves in such
a death grip across these once bucolic
fields until 11,000 of them were killed
or mortally wounded, another 29,000
were wounded and survived, and about
10,000 were “missing”—mostly
captured? What was accomplished by all
of this carnage? Join McPherson on a
walk across this hallowed ground as
he encompasses the depth of meaning
and historical impact of a place that
helped define our nation’s character.
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From Publishers Weekly
The country's most distinguished Civil War historian, a Pulitzer Prize
winner (for Battle Cry of Freedom) and professor at Princeton, offers
this compact and incisive study of the Battle of Gettysburg.
In narrating "the largest battle
ever fought in the Western Hemisphere," McPherson
walks readers over its presently hallowed
ground, with monuments numbering into
the hundreds, many of which work to
structure the narrative. They range
from the equestrian monument to Union
general John Reynolds to Amos Humiston,
a New Yorker identified several months
after the battle when family daguerreotypes
found on his body were recognized
by his widow. Indeed, while McPherson
does the expected fine job of narrating
the battle, in a manner suitable for
the almost complete tyro in military
history, he also skillfully hands
out kudos and criticism each time
he comes to a memorial. He praises
Joshua Chamberlain and the 20th Maine,
but also the 140th New York and its
colonel, who died leading his regiment
on the other Union flank in an equally
desperate action.
The cover is effective and moving:
the quiet clean battlefield park above,
the strewn bodies below. The author's
knack for knocking myths on the head
without jargon or insult is on display
throughout: he gently points out that
North Carolinians think that their
General Pettigrew ought to share credit
for Pickett's charge; that General
Lee's possible illness is no excuse
for the butchery that charge led to;
that African-Americans were left out
of the veterans' reunions; and that
the kidnapping of African-Americans
by the Confederates has been excised
from most history books. This book
is a very good thing in a remarkably
small package.
© Reed Business Information, Inc.
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$16.95 (hardcover)
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