Customer Reviews

Brigades Of Gettysburg: The Union And Confederate Brigades At The Battle Of Gettysburg

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a fascinating book wrapped around a fresh presentation. The author has essentially presented the history of each division and brigade that served in the campaign, and does so with a smooth and fast-paced style. We learn about the commander(s), the units involved, actions, marches, significant events, and so forth. Division histories are presented in standard format, while each brigade entry is double-columned--a slick idea (it is an oversize book, so it works well). Each entry is followed with a useful series of end notes / bibliography that makes it easy to find more information about each unit. A complete bibliography is also included at the end of the book. The maps included in the front are standard George Skoch fare, but excellent. Although I did not see anything new or striking, that is not the purpose of this book.

This book, coupled with Larry Tagg's The Generals of Gettysburg, which came out a few years ago, compliment eachother nicely. I highly recommend both. This current title is a must for all Gettysburg students.

This well researched and nicely written book traces the combat activities of every single infantry brigade that fought at the Battle of Gettysburg. Each entree got a brief background of how the brigade developed prior to the battle and then go into considerable detail in what the brigade did during the Battle of Gettysburg. It also reflected on how much they lost and how they performed.

The book was written to supplement Larry Tagg's Generals of Gettysburg and it does the job well. The book covers only infantry units, artillery and cavalry units were not included, maybe it might be for later volumes.

The book, although written with certain level of clarity, was not really written for the casual reader. Anyone who read this book should have a very firm understanding of Battle of Gettysburg or else, they would have problem following the narrative. But for serious student, this book provides in-depth reviews of brigade level command which would be useful in understanding the battle.

Bradley Gottfried's book, Brigades of Gettysburg, would be a nice addition to a person's Civil War Library. This would be especially interesting for those who want to know about key battles in more detail than one would get in a standard rendering of the battle. This book is kin to Larry Tagg's The Generals of Gettysburg, a volume that discusses the role of general officers at Gettysburg, including Army leaders down to generals/colonels heading the Brigade level. As a result, there is much brigade level information.

However, Gottfried's book provides more detail (it is almost twice as long as Tagg's useful volume). While some brigade level histories exist and spell out actions of units at Gettysburg in some detail (e.g., Wert's A Brotherhood of Valor, Nolan's The Iron Brigade, Parsons' Put the Vermonters Ahead), coverage of many brigades is very brief in the standard works on Gettysburg (Coddington, Sears, Trudeau, for example).

Thus, this volume provides useful coverage of the various brigades involved at the battle, even those not heavily engaged. For instance, Sedgwick's large VIth Corps was much less hotly engaged than the other Union Corps. Nonetheless, this volume lays out what the components of this Corps actually did during the battle.

The coverage of both Confederate and Union units is nicely done and the interested reader will be well rewarded for perusing this book.

An excellent addition to Gettysburg scholarship. This volume is written in a highly readable style, but is also an invaluable reference tool.
The author's take on each brigade's service is in-depth, comprehensible, and studded with primary accounts. It is a welcome addition to my library.
There are a few typos, doubtless not the author's fault) and one or two conclusions reached which do not appear credible (such as the 55th Ohio taking fire from, and assaulting, the Bliss farm), but I challenge anyone to write such a work and not make a small error. It takes nothing away from the high quality of this volume.
If you are a serious student or just a passing buff, this book should be on your shelf

Superb book, absolutely essential for a Gettysburg library. My only negative comment is it should be titled "INFANTRY brigades of Gettysburg" since no cavalry is covered. I knew this when I bought it, but others who buy on-line may not.

At first glance, one might get the impression that the focus of this book and the immense amount of detail that's gone into it would make it more of interest to the historian or researcher than to the casual reader. That's not the case, however. Bradley Gottfried has written such compelling accounts of each of the brigades present at Gettysburg that anyone with any sort of interest in the battle will find the book not only informative but fascinating reading as well. In fact, the more I read, the more engrossed I became. The book is not just about logistics and tactics but very much about the soldiers doing the fighting; the human element is strongly felt throughout the book. Not only are the official records consulted, but newspaper reports, letters, memoirs, and diaries are also cited. Nearly 20 maps are also included depicting all aspects of the 3-day battle. So many books have been written about Gettysburg, but this one is so fresh yet authoritative and comprehensive that it ranks among the very best among them all. Highly recommended. (Hopefully a paperback edition is published, too.)

Maybe one of the best accounts of tactical and unit action available on this important epic American battle. I recently used it to visit Gettysburg and walked the terrain that Kershaw's brigade charged across. With the book the terrain came alive and accounts clear. A must buy for the very serious American Civil War reader.

The last half dozen books on Civil War subjects that I've bought have been published by Da Capo press, and I'm impressed with their work. From a company who used to specialize in reprints only, they have come along nicely.

This particular book is an amazing piece of work. When you page through this one in a bookstore as I did recently, the feeling of "I've got to have this one" comes quickly through your mind.

Of recent time, I've been reading more and more on the battle of Gettysburg, and when a chance arises to have a book that lists and discusses both Union and Confederate Brigades at the battle of Gettysburg it is amazing.

Dr. Gottfried has apparently spent much of his learned life dwelling on this battle, and this book comes on the heels of a couple others of his concerning this battle.

I would posit that anyone having more than just a passing interest in Gettysburg must have this book. By buying this one you move from a position of mere interest to one of in depth knowledge.

Several members of my family fought and died for the Union in Ohio Volunteer (OVI) units, and with this book I can track down their action with ease.

Recommended.

My library contains a number of Gettysburg books but this is the one most used. In very clear writing, each brigade's history including losses is summarized. Summarized is not the best word for this concise brigade history. The book is organized by army, corps, division and brigade. This groups units together and allows us to easily follow the higher-level unit too.

An excellent book that while very useful as a reference is an enjoyable read too. Well worth having but be prepared for requests to loan it out.