Gettysburg 1863: Campaign of Endless Echoes [Paperback]

Richard S. Wheeler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1999

Drawing on a lifetime of research and knowledge, Civil War historian Richard Wheeler caps his career with this masterful account of the bloodiest battle--as well as the single-most important--of the Civil War. By interweaving the stories of actual soldiers and civilians with the technical details of the battle, Wheeler provides a distinguished work of historic literature that re-creates the infamous Gettysburg battle as experienced by those who fought in it and witnessed it first-hand. Illustrated by a dozen original maps and more than one hundred line drawings depicting scenes and portraits of the period, Gettysburg 1863 gives today's readers a fresh and unique look at one of the most significant events in American history.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

A sign near Evergreen Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, once announced: "All persons using firearms in these grounds will be prosecuted with the utmost rigor of the law." These words assumed an unanticipated irony in July 1863, when Union and Confederate forces clashed nearby in what veteran author Richard Wheeler describes as "one of the most significant military events in history." Telling little details like this are what make Wheeler's account of the events surrounding the Battle of Gettysburg so riveting. He has written a popular story about people and places, rather than a dry chronicle recording the minutiae of troop movements and tactical choices. Readers who have studied the battle elsewhere will find themselves on familiar terrain here, but all will agree that Gettysburg 1863 is a fine introduction to these momentous events. Wheeler allows characters, such as Robert E. Lee and Ambrose Burnside, to drive his narrative, and the pages are full of contemporary illustrations. He also does more than merely cover the three days of fighting at Gettysburg. Wheeler begins by describing the aftermath of Chancellorsville, and more than half the book expires before readers finally arrive at Gettysburg. When they do, they discover an engaging account of the action, and one that includes the roles played by the town's noncombatant citizens. In all, Gettysburg 1863 is an excellent overview of a much-covered subject. --John J. Miller

From Publishers Weekly

Although he sheds no new light on the well-known story of the Civil War's greatest battle, Wheeler (Voices of the Civil War) provides a generally reliable account of the altercation that ended the South's desperate attempt to win the war by invading Union territory. Still, Wheeler's brief narrative is no replacement for such classics as Bruce Catton's Gettysburg: The Final Fury, Harry Pfanz's more focused Gettysburg: The Second Day or Edwin Coddington's The Gettysburg Campaign: A Study in Command. Serious students of the battle will find the absence of source notes frustratingAand even annoying in the case of long, unattributed direct quotes of dialogue supposedly uttered by key commanders in the field. They will likewise find the extensive illustrations less than satisfying. The more than 100 line drawings in the book are drawn from heavily censored Northern publications of the period, such as Frank Leslie's Illustrated Weekly and Harper's. These provide a glamorized and highly sanitized visual record of the slaughter that will leave most readers yearning for the grim and bloody truth of the compelling images captured by Mathew Brady and other battlefield photographers. As a popular summary, Wheeler's book suffices, but readers need not settle for an adequate account of Gettysburg when there are so many superlative ones to choose from. (Sept.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Plume (September 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0452281393
• ISBN-13: 978-0452281394
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,792,471 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read for Fans of the Battle of Gettysburg, March 28, 2000

By 

Charles Rhoads (Newark, DE) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gettysburg 1863: Campaign of Endless Echoes (Paperback)

I visited the Gettysburg battlefield for the first time in Nov 99. Not being that familiar with the events of Gettysburg, I decided to read a book about it before I traveled to the site. I was very fortunate to have selected Gettysburg 1863 by Richard Wheeler. The book thoroughly explains the events surrounding the battle of July 1863. In addition to the outstanding narrative, Mr. Wheeler has included many drawings and maps that further detail the battles fought and the military strategy of the two armies. The book was very easy to read and extremely interesting. I couldn't put it down. By the time I arrived at Gettysburg, I felt like I had been there before. Thanks to this well written book, my visit to Gettysburg was twice as enjoyable. If one wants a quick, complete and accurate history of the Battle of Gettysburg, this is the book. Any sincere Civil War buff should have this book in his or her library.

5 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Shallow and tendentious, April 11, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Gettysburg 1863: Campaign of Endless Echoes (Paperback)

Wheeler has written his history of the battle of Gettysburg and the campaign leading up to it in narrative style, without footnotes. This works if you're a great writer like Catton or Foote. But Wheeler is not a great writer; his use of language is quite pedestrian, so the "story" aspect of the book doesn't really work. Also, without footnotes, some of the dialogue and the accounts of individuals' experiences becomes suspect. Is this material accurate, or is he making it up? The depiction of the battle is quite simplistic, giving rather little attention to events on the Confederate left. Wheeler puts great emphasis on General Stuart's activities before the battle, which makes sense when you realize that he has decided to be one of the Stuart-scapegoaters (as opposed to the anti-Longstreet and critical-of-Lee and where-was-Anderson crowds). In pursuit of that thesis, he puts thoughts in Stuart's head in a way which, without corroborating quotes from primary sources, seems unjustified. Overall, this book reads rather like a pamphlet written for battlefield tourists or an indifferent young adult history textbook. It isn't serious scholarship, and I don't recommend it.