35 Days to Gettysburg [Hardcover]

Mark Nesbitt (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1992

This is the story of two youthful combatants caught up in one of the most famous and important campaigns in all history. After two years of war and thirty-five days of intense marching along a hundred miles of hot summer roads, Thomas Ware, a Confederate soldier from rural Georgia, and Franklin Horner, a Union soldier from the coal country of Pennsylvania, end up fighting on virtually the same battlefield at Gettysburg. En route to that fateful day, both make daily entries in small, leather-bound diaries they carry. They write about what's important to them-receiving mail, writing letters, having something to eat, surviving combat. Historian Mark Nesbitt places the entries into the larger context of the war and amplifies the diarists's commentary.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

The author has selected the diaries of two participants in the Battle of Gettysburg: Thomas Lewis Ware, a Confederate soldier from Georgia, and Franklin Horner, a Union soldier from Pennsylvania, and follows them for 35 days as each one marches toward Gettysburg. Their experiences, thoughts, and feelings are recounted exactly as written in their diaries. The author's commentary follows each day's entry and gives insight and detail as to location, army units involved, food and housing, and background information on each individual to better understand the diary entries. The author then takes the two participants through the Battle of Gettysburg, their involvement in each phase of the battle, and the final outcome as it affects them. Lastly, the author maps out routes of march for each of the two participants, using modern highways for anyone wishing to duplicate the marches. The book gives interesting insight into the thoughts and feelings of two common soldiers as they approach a major battle. It will be of value to any library needing information on the daily life of soldiers during the Civil War.
- W. Walter Wicker, Louisiana Tech Univ., Ruston
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Mark Nesbitt lives in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and is the author of the six-volume Ghosts of Gettysburg series. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Stackpole Books; 1 edition (September 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811717577
• ISBN-13: 978-0811717571
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,157,597 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Idea, A Little Lite On Follow-Through, February 27, 2002

By 

Wayne A. Smith (Newark, DE) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 35 Days to Gettysburg (Hardcover)

Mark Nesbit had a very interesting idea for a Civil War book. He found two soldiers, Franklin Horner (USA) and Thomas Ware (CSA), who faced each other across a few dangerous yards at Gettysburg. He retraced their routes of march to the battle through their diary entries (over 35 days - hence the title).

Both enlisted men got to the battlefield the old fashioned way: walking. Unfortunately, their writing is not similarly matched. Whereas the Ware diary entries are often vivid and descriptive, the author's Union traveler records at best three or four lines of not very illuminating fragments on the same days. The result is leads to a somewhat unbalanced first person description of the route to Gettysburg. I can imagine finding two surviving diaries from adversaries who faced each other in opposing regiments was difficult, and the author is to be recognized for a very good idea. One wishes his task could have been better fulfilled with two prodigious diarists.

Each of the 35 chapters starts off with the opposing diary entries. The author then explains the section of march (if they were marching that day) each soldier traveled. The author also spends significant time describing camp life, service in general and the trials of marching experienced by civil war soldiers in general. I was somewhat surprised that the author spent the bulk of the book on general descriptions and backgrounds instead of the march to Gettysburg (as one could have supposed from the title). However, it must be acknowledged that this background is a good introduction to soldierly travails in that war.

The section on their units meeting at the foot of Little Round Top is the best part of the book. Nesbitt fleshes out these chapters with unit commanders' action reports -- the result is a more vivid and full description of the last of the 35 days.

All in all an interesting book, but I wished it could have been more fully focused on the actual march and had a better Union diarist as a story teller.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 35 Days to Gettysburg, March 7, 2002

A Kid's Review

This review is from: 35 Days to Gettysburg (Hardcover)

I really liked this book. This book is great for people who like history. This book is about two men and their diaries. The book is also about the battle of Gettysburg.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent for new and established civil war "junkies", April 2, 2007

By 

Ms.AmandaRebecca (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 35 Days to Gettysburg: The Campaign Diaries of Two American Enemies (Paperback)

This was the second book I read on the subject of the civil war. The personal perspective added to my endless interest.

There is little to add to what has been said other than this is a DO NOT MISS READ! Absolutely READ THIS BOOK!

I could not put this book down when I read it...