Chancellorsville And Gettysburg (Campaigns of the Civil War) [Paperback]

Abner Doubleday (Author), Gary W. Gallagher (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 22, 1994 | Series: Campaigns of the Civil War

General Abner Doubleday (1819–1893) is best known as the man who "invented" baseball, but his admirable service on behalf of the Union earned him a reputation as a solid commander and patriot. He saw action at Fort Sumter where he aimed the first gun fired against the rebellion; at Antietam, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville, where he lead the First and later the Third Divisions of the First Corps of the Army of the Potomac; and finally at Gettysburg, where he commanded the entire First Corps after the death of General Reynolds early in the morning of the first day. Facing powerful assaults from Confederates, the outnumbered First Corps fought, under Doubleday’s calm leadership, a valiant holding action that culminated in high casualties, but gave General Meade the crucial time he needed to reinforce the battlefield. Chancellorsville and Gettysburg, originally commissioned as part of the landmark Campaigns of the Civil War series, provides stern judgements of Generals Meade and Howard; astute insights into other generals such as Hooker, Reynolds, and Sickle; and penetrating, minute-by-minute analyses by a leading participant of these two pivotal battles. Although the fierce resistance by the First Corps during the bloody late afternoon of July 1 never received its due praise, Doubleday's account of Chancellorsville and Gettysburg stands as a passionate, uncompromising tribute.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Gary W. Gallagher, who wrote the introduction for this edition, is the author of a biography of Stephen Dodson Ramseur, and has edited a number of books on the Civil War, including Fighting for the Confederacy: The Personal Recollections of General Edward Porter Alexander.

Product Details

• Paperback: 244 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (March 22, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0306805499
• ISBN-13: 978-0306805493
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,185,607 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars From the general's perspective..., April 25, 2004

By 

Todd E. Newman (Valparaiso, IN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Chancellorsville And Gettysburg (Campaigns of the Civil War) (Paperback)

Being a fan of both battles I felt I owed it to myself to finally read this book. I was skeptical at first, although I was after the opinion and personal insight from Doubleday. I was disappointed after several pages to see that what I was reading was more so a quick history or study of the battles instead of insight from Doubleday himself. Now, at times Doubleday did offer his opinion or toughts about a particular movement or fight, but rarely did talk about his own personal involvement. This is what I was hoping to read and found myself reading a quick rundown of events concerning these two famous battles. Seldom did Doubleday offer what he was thinking or desired to explain his reasons for his actions. Doubleday is vague at times and skips key elements occasionally to make this book appear quite short of information. For anyone looking to understand the battles, I suggest authors like Stephen Sears, James McPherson or Harry Pfanz. I can't recommend this book because Doubleday is very brief and at the same time rarely brings in his insight to make this book interesting.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Unexciting but accurate account of two great battles., September 11, 1999

By 

Robert E. Duchesneau - See all my reviews

This review is from: Chancellorsville And Gettysburg (Campaigns of the Civil War) (Paperback)

I have only read the Gettysburg portion of this book. Abner Doubleday presents a high-level, general's view of the battle, written 20 years later. Movements of large units are described, with very few vignettes of how savage the fighting was. The wounds of his fellow generals are, however, detailed. This book will be difficult for the novice Civil War reader. If you are unfamiliar with the terms regiment, brigade, division, and corps as they were organized in the Civil War, you will probably not appreciate this book. Doubleday does provide detailed, day-by-day order of battle information for both sides in an appendix. Those unfamiliar with the organization of both sides will have to refer to it frequently. There is a detectable bias against Union general Oliver O. Howard, and some antipathy towards General Meade, the overall Union commander, largely because Doubleday was demoted from a battlefield command position he had assumed on the death of his corps commander. Doubleday also provides much less detail after the first day, because only on the first day were his units involved in heavy fighting. If you're looking for an account of the general course of Gettysburg down to the brigade level, this is the book. If you're looking for excitement, you'll have to go elsewhere. It should be noted that there is slim evidence that Abner Doubleday had anything to do with the invention of baseball. However, he did win a Medal of Honor at Gettysburg.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book from the original Scribners Series, November 4, 2010

By 

Mark "a longtime record buyer" (Santa Monica, CA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Chancellorsville And Gettysburg (Campaigns of the Civil War) (Paperback)

Obviously, I don't quite agree with some other reviewers here. Whatever his motives, Doubleday's criticism of Mead, Sickles, and others are widely accepted.

Gettysburg is supposedly the greatest Union victory of the war - and yet paradoxically Lincoln sacked Meade in disgust after the battle. Lee's army had not been routed or driven from the field. After Pickett's disastrous charge, Lee waited an entire day for Meade's counterattack that never came. Lee was obliged to leave Pennsylvania primarily because his ammunition was near exhausted by the battle. Union ammunition was easily replenished, while their army blocked Lee's supply line to Virginia.

One of the most overlooked causes of the war, I personally suspect, is that no one on either side had any clue as to how prolonged, bloody, and frustrating a struggle lay ahead. Doubleday and other authors of this series try to convey an understanding of why this was so, and why the war persisted for so long.

This book was part of a series of twelve originally published in 1882-85. The occasion was Congress had finally gathered up and made public complete government records of the war - including actual dispatches between commanders. Prior to this people writing memoirs said pretty much what they pleased, as did many historians. Suddenly here were the official records, which proved a smoking gun that settled many a dispute.

Scribners sought the most qualified veterans or experts to each write a volume on a particular campaign incorporating this new information. The books were succinct (about 250 pages each), intended as a quick read for the general public. And still excel at this to the present day.

There are people who have read all sorts of memoirs and campaign histories -- and know a lot as result -- yet lack a firm grasp of how that information fits together. I would suggest anyone intending to study this war consider starting with these brisk volumes in order. You will forever after have a powerful overall grasp of things. And thereafter can read anything you wish with perfect understanding of how it fits into the big picture.

Jacob Cox writes in the introduction to his volume "March to the Sea":

"The limits assigned to [a] volume have made it necessary to choose between narration of incidents that would enliven the story, and that fullness of strictly military detail which seemed necessary to make the several campaigns clearly intelligible, and to enable readers to judge, with some degree of satisfaction, the character of the operations.

"The former would perhaps have made the volumes more popular, but the latter has seemed likely to make it more useful and to meet the wishes of those for whom it has been chiefly written. It is still hoped, however, that the general reader will not find it difficult to follow the movements described, and that the effort to do so will give to such a broader understanding of what the great game of war really is."

Maps in most of these books are inadequate to follow the detailed text. I suggest those intending to read this series purchase the following atlas.

[...]

The complete Scribners set:

(1) The Outbreak of Rebellion - John G. Nicolay
(2) From Fort Henry to Corinth - M.F. Force
(3) The Peninsula - Francis Winthrope Palfrey
(4) The Army under Pope - John Goodman Ropes
(5) The Antietam & Fredericksburg
(6) Chancellorsville & Gettysburg - Abner Doubleday
(7) The Army of the Cumberland - Henry M. Cist
(8) The Mississippi - Francis Vinton Greene
(9) Atlanta - Jacob D. Cox
(10) March to the Sea & Franklin/Nashville - Jacob D. Cox
(11) The Shenandoah Valley in 1864 - George E. Pond
(12) Virginia Campaign of '64 & '65 - Andrew A Humphreys

* * *
(13) This is a volume of statistical records (V. 13). Then three on the naval war:

(14) The Blockade and the Cruisers - James Russell Soley
(15) The Atlantic Coast - Daniel Ammen
(16) The Gulf and Inland Waters - A.T. Mahan (yes, that Mahan)

I have posted some 19th century reviews under images.

CAUTION: This series is public domain. Many publishers offer cheap digital scans with illegible maps and text that is difficult to read -- apparently this reviews stepped on one such land mine.

The best editions by far are those from DSI digital scans, with flawless text and clear maps. Most of the have the "Look Inside" feature so you can see for yourself.

For some unfortunate reason, DSI's editions usually don't appear when you search these titles. Try searching a title with DSI after the name, but even that doesn't always work. Here is the DSI edition:

[...]

The Da Capo edition is also good. It's editions are a little smaller in size but of high quality and with excellent contemporary introductions.