Customer Reviews

Courage on Little Round Top: A Historical Novel

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Robert Wicker of the Fifteenth Alabama Regiment is promoted to Second Lieutentant after his predecessor was killed in action. Robert's regiment along with the rest of Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia are now on northern soil. Soon they will be at the crossroads of a small Pennsylvania town. It is here that Wicker will take part in the deciding battle of the Civil War. At a place named Gettysburg. Commanding the Army of the Potomac is George Meade. It is his responsibility to defeat Lee and prevent the southern army from marching on Washington. Among the many officers in Meade's command is a former professor at Bowdoin College in Maine. Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, the commanding officer of the 20th Regiment of Infantry, Maine Volunteers. Brigadier General Evander Law's brigade, in which Robert is a part of, is ordered to turn the Union left flank. This will require attacking up the hill of a formation known as Little Round Top. With the Confederates gaining ground and moving up the hill, Colonel Chamberlain and his men find themselves out of ammunition with few options. It is then that Lawrence did the unthinkable. He orders his men to fix bayonets and charge down the hill to meet the advancing Rebels. In this fierce fighting Chamberlain and Wicker come face to face. Lawrence with is drawn sword and Robert with his Colt. Wicker takes aim at Chamberlain's head. COURAGE ON LITTLE ROUND TOP recounts those events leading up to the confrontation between Chamberlain and Wicker. Thomas M. Eishen helps us understand this historic Civil War battle and the brave men who fought and died on three hot days in July of 1863.

If you have read Michael Shaara's "The Killer Angels" and Stephen Crane's "The Red Badge of Courage" you have an excellent basis to read and enjoy Thomas Eishen's novel that combines some of the aspects of both. This book features Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, a prominent character in Shaara's novel, and Lt. Robert Wicker, who is only alluded to by Shaara.
Eishen's novel unfolds around the impending confrontation between these two men on July 2, 1863 on Little Round Top during the Battle of Gettysburg. Wicker, whose unit is the 15th Alabama, had fled the scene during a previous battle, and, like Private Henry Fleming in "The Red Badge of Courage" worries that he in fact may be a coward. Since many of the soldiers in his company are friends and relatives from back home in Alabama, his fear is that a repeat performance in battle will make him a laughingstock and he will become an embarrassment to his family members. Chamberlain, on the other hand, has to deal with his two well-intentioned but meddlesome brothers who are members of his staff.
Eishen does a fine job of relating the evolution of these events through dialogue fashioned for these characters. The run-up to the actual confrontation between Chamberlain and Wicker is an interesting perspective on the daily lives of the common soldier in camp and while on the march.
First time novelist Thomas Eishen has done a commendable job of describing these fast-paced events, and readers will find that the situation only alluded to in "The Killer Angels" takes on new meaning, and the characters involved come alive.

Mr. Eishen's book is entertaining and historically factual. A lot of research has obviously gone into this novel. This book challenges "Killer Angels" as an equally respectable and educational novel that could be read in jr. highs and middle schools throughout the nation. This novel is hard to put down because it draws you into the action and doesn't let you go. I would love to see this book on future reading lists for schools.

I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Eishen at a book signing in Gettysburg on the anniversary of the battle. Eishen does a great job of portraying both sides for the struggle of Little Round Top. It is too often the case that Oates at the Alabama soldiers are forgotten and overshadowed by the legend of Chamberlain and the 20th Maine- but not in this book. We see the Confederate point of view through the eyes of Robert Wicker, a Lt. in the 15th Alabama. This novel adds even more insight to the already well known battle.

Everyone who has read "The Killer Angels" or knows something about the Civil War, probably knows the outcome of the story in "Courage On Little Round Top." Probably everyone knows the outcome of "Moby Dick" too. Like Melville, Thomas M. Eishen makes the journey to that conclusion the best part of this read. Eishen has obviously done a lot of research, but he seamlessly works the information and asides into the story -- a soldier finding a copy of Melville's "The Whale" and pondering reading it is just one such instance. Although the machinations of the officers are not neglected, it is the moment to moment existence of the ordinary solder, and even some of what is happening on the homefront, that is brought life with Eishen's research and writing. You drudge along through long marches; you thirst for more water in the canteen; you are caught up in the unknowing chaos of the preparation for and actual engagement in battle. Both the Civil War re-enactor and the novice will be drawn to this presentation of some of the most important days in American history with some dollops of earlier battles swirled in to add to the context and understanding.

There are two people I would like to see take advantage of this book. One would be a moviemaker who could easily end up with a minor war classic on the order of "The Red Badge of Courage" not a sweeping epic like "Gettysburg." The second one would be someone who teaches high school (or maybe even lower grades) and wants to find a literate and historical way to engage students in our Civil War. Put it on your reading list.

A very good book to read. the author did a lot of research to make sure the book was accurate. Which is something that I appreciate. The story is very well written with very good characters. I have been to Gettysburg many times and every time I find myself at the 20th Maine monument. Before I purchased this book it was always just thinking about guys fighting and dying there. But now I feel like I know the people that fought and died there. Which makes it even a more special place for me to visit on the battlefield

As I read this book I couldn't help but note the similarities to Michael Shaara's
"The Killer Angels" which has become the standard for Civil War novels in
general and the Battle of Gettysburg in particular. The similarity of course
stems from both books dealing with the same event and some of the same
historical characters. While it is certainly not fair to compare the two
works based on literary merit, they do provide interesting parallels and
take similar approaches to telling the story of America's bloodiest battle.

Fortunately, Mr. Eishen, rather than penning an imitation of Shaara's work,
has taken a single incident of the battle and focused on the events and
characters leading up to that event. In this sense the book succeeds in
funneling the reader towards the inevitable climax, weaving together the
threads of separate lives until they converge in a single, unforgettable
moment in time.

Rather than focusing on the battle per se, Mr. Eishen builds upon the
experiences that brought the various characters to this point in time. In so
doing, he not only puts flesh and bone on historic characters like Joshua
Lawrence Chamberlain, but he emphasizes the people around them with whom
they interacted and with whom they formed bonds of comradery which can only
be understood by those who have faced life and death together.

"Courage On Little Round Top" provides interesting and well-researched
reading for anyone who enjoys historical fiction. The story well illustrates
how a single historic event can be the culmination of multiple,
less-significant events which ultimately affect the fate of individuals as
well as nations.

This book was very enjoyable to read - I couldn't wait to read what happened next to the men on both sides of the conflict. It gave me new insight into the Battle of Gettysburg, as well as the individual men who fought and how they lived day to day. I can't wait for Tom Eishen's next historical novel

Thomas Eishen's book about Joshua Chamberlain at Gettysburg is entitled "Courage on Little Round Top".

The author takes the reader into the minds and emotions of the men from both sides who fought at Little Round Top. As I shared each one's experiences and thoughts, I found myself caring deeply about each one,hoping for his success and well-being.

Having brought the Confederate and Union soldiers to life so vividly,Mr. Eishen makes the human carnage of Little Round Top all the more devastating. One mourns for all those who did not survive it.

Thomas Eishen's "Courage on Little Round Top" proved extemely satisfying to an avid civil war reader. Meticulous research and attention to detail brought to life the story of Union Colonel Joshua Chamberlain and his battlefield opponent, the Confederate 2nd Lieutenant Robert Wicker. Eishen's treatment of the subject showed a side of Chamberlain I had not been introduced to before and Wicker's role in this historical novel gave me a new understanding of the events that took place at Gettysburg in the Battle of Little Round Top. Though packed with historical fact, the book was an enjoyable read, a vivid glimpse of the American past. I wish I had read the book before a recent visit to the Gettysburg Battlefield. Even so, my memory (and photos) of the battle site are more real for this reading. As a real enthusiast of American Civil War History, I highly recommend this book for a pleasurable journey into the world of two memorable characters, the well-known Chamberlain and the lesser-known, though no less interesting Lt. Wicker. I look forward to more from the author.