Customer Reviews

Devil's Den: A History and Guide

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The only other book dedicated exclusively to the fighting at Devil's Den, on Day 2 on the southern flank of both the Union and Confederate lines is Charles Boyd's book, "Devil's Den," however Boyd's book is in fact a history of the 44th Alabama Infantry. Adelman and Smith overcome that book's narrow focus by dealing with the battle from hour to hour, all along Houck's Ridge, The Devil's Den, The Wheatfield, the Slaughter Pen, and Little Round Top. The book is organized into a Pre-Battle History, The Battle for Devil's Den, and a Post Battle History. And since Smith and Adelman are Licensed Battlefield Guides at Gettysburg National Military Park, they finish up with a walking tour of the areas described in the book.

The action pits Ward's Brigade and Smith's 4th New York Artillery against Benning's and Laws' Brigades. The authors follow the actions of the individual regiments involved in the fighting, with particular attention to the leadership and valor on both sides. They rely principally on primary sources, such as the letters of veterans, military archives, and the text of speeches. For some reason they also include some spurious stories which they point out are not true, but which have become part of the Gettysburg lore.

This was a most remarkable engagement. General Sickles had at least exceeded his orders (and probably entirely disregarded them) in advancing down from Cemetery Ridge to occupy the more vulnerable Houck's Ridge. The placement of Smith's artillery (putting aside the controversy over their precise placement) was reckless and unwarranted. Artillery has no place out in front of infantry, and it is axiomatic that the determined charges of the Alabamans and Texans would eventually overtake Smith's artillery (Parrott Rifles). Were it not for the lack of room atop Houck's Ridge for all six of Smith's guns, then the two that were placed at the north end of the Slaughter Pen would not have played such a significant role. (Some of Smith's guns would not have ended up in the right location if there had been enough room for all of them in the wrong location.)

But if the deployment of the Union troops to Houck's was a tactical blunder, it was offset by the suicidal orders Longstreet received from Lee, leading him, reluctantly to send Laws and Benning into the Slaughter Pen. It was valor and the rebel yell against a Union crossfire from Houcks Ridge, Little Round Top, and Smith's deadly Parrotts to the north.

Compressed in space and time, and now known by the name of the rocks around which the blood flowed, Devil's Den, this battle set a new standard for canage. Even 150 years later we are drawn back to Devil's Den for its reputation as a mass grave for the valorous.

This book drew me in. It is wonderful for both Civil War scholars and beginning history buffs alike. One of the most fascinating aspects of the Battle of Gettysburg comes alive in this volume. I look forward to their next work.

Adelman and Smith deliver in this excellent microhistory of the Devil's Den area. Yes, the battle action is covered, but in true form the authors cover the history of the area from before the time of the battle until the present. Find out who made the rock carvings (spoiler: not a "fiery finger of hell!") and what other shenanigans went on in the Den. Would love to see them give some other areas a similar treatment.

If you are interested in the 2nd day at Gettysburg and the Devil's Den in particular, then you should buy this book. Lots of neat photos and exhaustive history about the the Devil's Den area.

The historical work is right up to par. There are things in this book that I was not aware of, and that was a real treat.

However. The reproduction of the photos in the book are really of poor quality. In some cases, to the point of being ridiculous. Old period photos and recent ones. Both are very poor in quality. I am no printing expert, but I would say that the paper is fine for printing text but of too poor a quality for pictures.

The problem does not fall on the originals. I am familiar with them all.

There should be a reprinting of the book. Even though I have purchased one already, I would purchase another that was printed on a quality parer.

If you don't care about the pictures, no problem. It's a piece great work.

Garry Adelman And Timothy Smith write a wonderful book about Devil's Den. It was very inspitational and I will never take devil's den for granite. I want to go on the tour this summer and I think that you will once ou read it. I reccomend this book to any war buff.