Pickett's Charge

Rating:
Summary: A Classic Study of Pickett's Charge
Review: Both as symbol and as history, Pickett's charge, the climactic Southern attack on the third day of the Battle of Gettysburg, exerts a powerful hold on the American imagination. Although other more recent works may show more ability to assess and choose among competing sources in studying the assault, I doubt that any book cuts to the heart of the charge or presents a clearer picture than George Stewart's "Pickett's Charge: A Microhistory of the Final Attack at Gettysburg." (1959) I recommend this book to readers interested in serious study of this pivotal and much-discussed event of the Civil War.

I think it valuable to read Stewart's account together with Carol Reardon's study, "Pickett's Charge in History and Memory" (1997) and Earl J. Hess' study "Pickett's Charge-- The Last Attack at Gettysburg" (2001). These three books offer differing perspectives on Pickett's charge and will be invaluable to the student in comparing approaches to the event and to historical writing.

Reardon's book includes little about the Charge itself. She concentrates on the way it has been interpreted over the years (a matter which Stewart also addresses) and on the difficulty of separating fact from memory in determining what happened on the battlefield. The latter point is important to remember in reading Stewart. Some of his sources seem to cross that difficult line between history and recollection in memory.

Hess' account, like Stewart's is a history of the charge which, Hess tells the reader, uses sources and files unavailable to Stewart. Hess, writing 40 years after Stewart adopts a more critical stance towards the sources and reaches some different conclusions.

Stewart's account is still to be prized for its simplicity and clarity and for the author's zest and empathy for his subject. The book is written in short sections which cover in detail the deliberations of the Confederate leadership on the morning of the attack, the Union defense, the cannonade, the details of the assault by the combined troops of Pickett, Pettigrew, and Trimble, and the Union's stalwart,heroic defense. The fighting at the "Angle" -- the High Water Mark -- is given in dramatic detail and there is a moving picture of the repulse of the Charge and its aftermath. For better or worse, Stewart lets the sources mostly speak for themselves with less of the skepticism that is to be found in Reardon or Hess.

I found good elementary detail in the book on matters that Hess doesn't cover and that have little relevance to Reardon's story. In particular, Stewart gives a good account of weaponry, its uses, and its limitations, during Pickett's charge. This is an important matter and sometimes overlooked. The reader needs some understanding of the range and uses of the various types of artillery and infantry weapons to understand what happened during the Charge and during the Union defense. Stewart covers this well.

Stewart emphasizes the heroism exhibited during the charge and the seesawing nature of the combat. He seems to me to take the quest for glory and victory exhibited by the troops more at their word than other recent writers who emphasize, rightly enough, the futility, destruction, sheer horror and loss of life resulting from this attack. Stewart sees Pickett's Charge is the actual, not merely the metaphorical, "High-Water Mark" of the Confederate War effort. He believes that if the assault force had, in fact, taken the Federal line on Cemetery Ridge during the attack, the War would have ended with a Southern victory. He also believes that the failure of the assault doomed the Confederate cause. Many other students of the Battle of Gettysburg and the Civil War would disagree with these conclusions. Stewart also states that General Pickett was responsible for the command of the entire assault force -- including the Pettigrew and Trimble troops on Pickett's left. Most students of the Battle reject this conclusion and point to the lack of coordination of the assault as one of the many reasons for its failure.

Stewart tries to be meticulously fair to all participants. He avoids hero worship and "Lost Cause" mythology while still showing his admiration for the participants on both sides in the assault and the valor they displayed. His study may not be the last or most accurate historical study on the events of July 3. But in its simplicity, humor, compassion, and understanding of the troops, Stewart's book taught me a great deal about the final day at Gettysburg.

Rating:
Summary: A Classic Study of Pickett's Charge
Review: Both as symbol and as history, Pickett's charge, the climactic Southern attack on the third day of the Battle of Gettysburg, exerts a powerful hold on the American imagination. Although other more recent works may show more ability to assess and choose among competing sources in studying the assault, I doubt that any book cuts to the heart of the charge or presents a clearer picture than George Stewart's "Pickett's Charge: A Microhistory of the Final Attack at Gettysburg." (1959) I recommend this book to readers interested in serious study of this pivotal and much-discussed event of the Civil War.

I think it valuable to read Stewart's account together with Carol Reardon's study, "Pickett's Charge in History and Memory" (1997) and Earl J. Hess' study "Pickett's Charge-- The Last Attack at Gettysburg" (2001). These three books offer differing perspectives on Pickett's charge and will be invaluable to the student in comparing approaches to the event and to historical writing.

Reardon's book includes little about the Charge itself. She concentrates on the way it has been interpreted over the years (a matter which Stewart also addresses) and on the difficulty of separating fact from memory in determining what happened on the battlefield. The latter point is important to remember in reading Stewart. Some of his sources seem to cross that difficult line between history and recollection in memory.

Hess' account, like Stewart's is a history of the charge which, Hess tells the reader, uses sources and files unavailable to Stewart. Hess, writing 40 years after Stewart adopts a more critical stance towards the sources and reaches some different conclusions.

Stewart's account is still to be prized for its simplicity and clarity and for the author's zest and empathy for his subject. The book is written in short sections which cover in detail the deliberations of the Confederate leadership on the morning of the attack, the Union defense, the cannonade, the details of the assault by the combined troops of Pickett, Pettigrew, and Trimble, and the Union's stalwart,heroic defense. The fighting at the "Angle" -- the High Water Mark -- is given in dramatic detail and there is a moving picture of the repulse of the Charge and its aftermath. For better or worse, Stewart lets the sources mostly speak for themselves with less of the skepticism that is to be found in Reardon or Hess.

I found good elementary detail in the book on matters that Hess doesn't cover and that have little relevance to Reardon's story. In particular, Stewart gives a good account of weaponry, its uses, and its limitations, during Pickett's charge. This is an important matter and sometimes overlooked. The reader needs some understanding of the range and uses of the various types of artillery and infantry weapons to understand what happened during the Charge and during the Union defense. Stewart covers this well.

Stewart emphasizes the heroism exhibited during the charge and the seesawing nature of the combat. He seems to me to take the quest for glory and victory exhibited by the troops more at their word than other recent writers who emphasize, rightly enough, the futility, destruction, sheer horror and loss of life resulting from this attack. Stewart sees Pickett's Charge is the actual, not merely the metaphorical, "High-Water Mark" of the Confederate War effort. He believes that if the assault force had, in fact, taken the Federal line on Cemetery Ridge during the attack, the War would have ended with a Southern victory. He also believes that the failure of the assault doomed the Confederate cause. Many other students of the Battle of Gettysburg and the Civil War would disagree with these conclusions. Stewart also states that General Pickett was responsible for the command of the entire assault force -- including the Pettigrew and Trimble troops on Pickett's left. Most students of the Battle reject this conclusion and point to the lack of coordination of the assault as one of the many reasons for its failure.

Stewart tries to be meticulously fair to all participants. He avoids hero worship and "Lost Cause" mythology while still showing his admiration for the participants on both sides in the assault and the valor they displayed. His study may not be the last or most accurate historical study on the events of July 3. But in its simplicity, humor, compassion, and understanding of the troops, Stewart's book taught me a great deal about the final day at Gettysburg.

Rating:
Summary: If you read one book on Gettysburg, this should be it!
Review: How good is this book? I bought it, gave it to someone else to read then bought it again. While a minute-by-minute account of the charge, it does not descent to such a degree that becomes confusing and tedious. Knowing full well the outcome of the battle, the reader begins to "will" the Confederates to succeed. The action is gripping, the storytelling exciting. Once begun, you may have to stay home from work in order to finish. A "can't-put-down" book!

Rating:
Summary: A classic!
Review: Stewart covers the action based from information available during the 1950's which certainly explains the battle quite well. This book was probably the first and best on the subject of Pickett's Charge and has become a timeless classic. For students of the battle I highly recommend it as Stewart's writing doesn't reflect modern thought or opinion as to the Longstreet/Lee confrontation or delay in ordering the charge. Stewart is careful to explain positioning and uses maps to place the reader on the vast field. He also adds biography to certain individuals which adds a bonus to this great book! This book is the "main-stay" for anyone who is interested in the charge at Gettysburg.

Rating:
Summary: A classic!
Review: Stewart covers the action based from information available during the 1950's which certainly explains the battle quite well. This book was probably the first and best on the subject of Pickett's Charge and has become a timeless classic. For students of the battle I highly recommend it as Stewart's writing doesn't reflect modern thought or opinion as to the Longstreet/Lee confrontation or delay in ordering the charge. Stewart is careful to explain positioning and uses maps to place the reader on the vast field. He also adds biography to certain individuals which adds a bonus to this great book! This book is the "main-stay" for anyone who is interested in the charge at Gettysburg.

Rating:
Summary: What an enjoyable read
Review: Stewart has an excellent style to his story telling. It's sort of like your grand pa is relaying the story to you while you get warmed up near the fire place.

A handful of well drawn maps help with some of the visuals and his short segment style allow the reader to start and stop according to their schedule without worrying about losing their place.

The meat of the piece is once Armistead and select Pettigrew units cross the Emmitsburg Road and hit "The Angle." The slaughter is horrific and Stewart captures it quite well. He also does a great job explaining casualty rates and what most likely caused them (i.e. rifles, artillery (long and short range), etc.) I know that some of the info is a bit outdated and things like men killed, wounded, or exactly where certain troops were positioned have recently been benefited with new information. But still, you have to admire Stewart for the gathering of info at the time.

I've just started reading Hess's Pickett's Charge book and quite frankly that is a home run. The level of detail is amazing and I would say it is the more scholarly of the two. However, I still give Stewart's book 5 stars because it has excellent information and is told in such a friendly way. It is a very quick read as well for when you need a refresher or maybe are heading to the battlefield. I'd highly recommend reading the book any time you visit the field (even if you're a civil war novice) and the walk the ground keeping in mind all that you read. You will then understand what is meant by courage.

Rating:
Summary: Eminently readable, thoroughly enjoyable.
Review: The author has written an eminently readable, thoroughly enjoyable, and well-researched book on the third day of the Gettysburg battle, July 3, 1863. An especially rewarding read if one has toured, or plans to visit, the battlefield site. The author's unpretentious, conversational style of writing succeeds in putting the reader on the ground occupied by both the Confederate and Union forces before, during and after Pickett's and Pettigrew's famous assault on Meade's Second Corps. Interspersed with humor and down-to-earth observations concerning battlefield conditions, the author conscientiously describes all aspects of the battle, from massing of the assault columns and pre-assault artillery barrage to the last shots and the flight of the surviving rebels back to the safety of their lines. Having visited Gettysburg several years ago (my chief interest then being Joshua Chamberlain's heroic defense of Little Round Top on the battle's second day), this superb volume makes me want to go again.

Rating:
Summary: well worth the read
Review: The Stewart book on Pickett's charge is well written, well documented and clearly presented. It is evident that the author spent numerous hours researching primary documents and cross checking historical accounts. The PRIMARY strength of Stewart's book is his presentation and writing style when 'facts' conflicted in his research. The author makes it plain when supposition is utilized and defends each of his conclusions with evidence and references.

This book will satisfy all readers except the most ardent Civil War student.

Rating:
Summary: A great history of the Civil War's pivotal moment
Review: This fine book goes into detail about what has become known as "Pickett's Charge" without becoming boring. There is complete coverage of the connonade which preceded the charge and a discussion of the damage which was done. We learn of the different types of artillary and ammunition used by both sides in the canonade and the placement of these guns. The author also gives detailed coverage of the placement of troops and how they marched in formation. Ultimately, under heavy fire, the Confederate formations break up and in the ultimate "charge" it became almost impossible to map out where each regiment was as they fell apart. Therefore, to a great extent, the Confederate army on Cemetary Ridge was each man for himself.

Although we know the outcome in advance, the narrative is still thrilling as we read about Confederate troops breaking through and penetrating the Union defenses. Through the author's masterful story telling, the outcome, for a while, almost seems to be in doubt. In addition to documenting, almost regiment by regiment, the action which occured, the author provides many interesting, and often amusing, annecdotal tales of individual experiences. The carnage was terrible and the Confederate army suffered a horrific loss of officers, including generals.

The author also gets us into the heads of the key players in this event. He gives a lot of coverage to Lee's steadfastness in ordering the charge and Longstreet's serious misgivings. Written in the elegant, highly readable style of other Civil War historians of that era (the late 1950s), such as Bruce Catton, this is historical writing which almost reads like a novel. I highly recommend this classic history of this key event in American history.

Rating:
Summary: the classic account
Review: This is a fairly good and interesting microhistory. Stewart has not overly dramatized anything, as many do, but has merely described the way he, as a historian, sees things. Perhaps only Civil War buffs, like myself, would fing this of interest. I wouldn't recommend it to all people, but I do recommend it highly to any person interested in the details of the Civil War (whether they side for the North, South, or Canada).