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The Gettysburg Campaign: A Study in Command

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Edwin Coddington's (1905-1963) "The Gettysburg Campaign" (1963) remains not only the seminal account of the Battle of Gettysburg but also a model of Civil War and historical writing. The book is an inspiring example of scholarship at its best. Coddington writes in a clear, eloquent, yet non-polemical style as he explores his subject. He does not back away from offering opinions and conclusions, which flow clearly from his narrative account. The reader can understand the basis of the judgments which Coddington offers. The account is detailed and yet selective. Coddington focuses on the broad picture of the Gettysburg story without getting bogged down in the minutae and legends that mar some otherwise excellent treatments of this battle. Coddington focuses on "why" things happened as well as "what" happened. The reader is given a context for the Gettysburg campaign and is seldom at a loss over the reason the author is discussing and devoting time to an issue. The book is thoroughly documented and the footnotes include much essential material.

Coddington begins with a lengthy consideration of the factors that led Robert E. Lee to propose an invasion of the North following the Battle of Chancellorsville. He concludes with a discussion of the Confederate retreat from Gettysburg, culminating in the return to Virginia on July 14, 1863. He discusses well the Union pursuit and considers judiciously whether Meade should have been more aggressive in trying to cut off the fleeing foe.

I found the factual account comprehensive on the major points of the Battle and careful and circumspect in its conclusions. Coddington allows the reader to see the deficiencies in the Confederate command structure (lack of coordination) and the overconfidence of the Southern forces at virtually every level as contributing factors to the defeat at Gettysburg. He is more critical of General Longstreet's role in the Battle than are many more recent accounts. On the Union side of the line, Coddington is highly critical of Third Corps General Sickles and his salient on July 2, which came close to costing the Union the Battle. The longest critical section of the book consists of an examination of the dispute between Meade and Sickles and his supporters following the battle regarding the wisdom, or lack of it, in Sickles's movement of the Third Corps.

Coddington has high, but careful praise for Commanding General Meade, for Hancock, Reynolds, Buford,Howard, and Slocum. He shows how the Army of the Potomac, for all its awkward structure (seven Corps at Gettysburg compared to the Confederate three) and for all the rivalries between its leaders was able to function as a coordinated unit when it needed to do so and hold the Union position at Gettysburg. Coddington has high praise for the valor of the fighting troops on both sides of the line.

Sometimes implicitly and sometimes explicitly, Coddington's book comes to grips with many competing accounts of the Battle of Gettysburg. He points to the tendence of many students to view the battle as a series of speculative "ifs" -- if General Early, Longstreet, what have you had done this at the time, the result would have been different. Most such analyses, Coddington argues, are fruitless, Furthermore, they tend to ignore, or downplay, the mistakes that, hindsight suggests, occurred in the Battle of the other side of the line. Coddington shows the reader what happened, marshalls the evidence about why it happened, and allows the reader to think the matter through.

This is a detailed, close and thorough account of the Battle of Gettysburg that is probably best approached by a reader who has a basic familiarity with the Civil War and a general understanding of the action at Gettysburg. It is not the only account of this endlessly fascinating battle, but it remains the standard work which needs to be considered in understanding the events of the Gettysburg campaign.

--read Coddington. But not until you have read a few other accounts (Catton, Friedman, & Foote or whoever else strikes your fancy) and visited the site with one of their experienced guides.

This is a massive book, written by a scholar and sometimes the writing is dry, but never passionless. It is meticulously researched and foot noted. I use it as a reference constantly; therefore, I'm nearly at the place to buy another copy for show and hide my battered, much thumbed (eye tracks all over it!) much beloved book where only I can find it.

I find it very balanced with no hero worship for either side. He does go into detail about Meade that I find invaluable. Meade is the forgotten man at Gettysburg. Ask any average citizen who was the winning general of the battle--I'll save you some time. They don't know.

Some very minor quibbles. He refers to Col. Chamberlain as "Josh." Chamberlain vastly preferred to be called "David," and I am sure would never have answered to "Josh." Longstreet is treated somewhat harshly (I am a Longstreet fan), but, as the general himself defended his actions in print until his dying day, he is not in need of rescuing from Coddington.

A fine definitive work. I am saddened that Dr. Coddington did not live to see his fine work published and praised.

While most books regarding Gettysburg focus on the three days of the battle, Coddington takes the time to review the entire campaign, helping to explain why the battle was fought where and when it was. His analysis of Lee's difficulties with his new command structure provide an excellent explanation of the consistent failures of the Army of Northern Virginia to take advantage of the slow Federal arrival at the battlefield and Meade's errors. In short, if you're looking for a comprehensive review of the Gettysburg Campaign and the Battle of Gettyburg accompanied with incisive analysis, try this book.

"The Gettysburg Campaign" was the life work of Edwin B. Coddington. He unfortunately died before its publication, but his and his book's influence stretches well into the modern day. "The Gettysburg Campaign" is a monumental work that leaves very little to be desired. Every aspect of the campaign, which began with the Union defeat at Chancellorsville on May 5, 1863 and ended on July 15, 1863 with Confederate retreat across the Potomac, is covered in this book. While his writing style can be somewhat slow at times, he knows his material very well, and does a good job of relaying the information to the reader. However, for someone who does not know much about the battle, it can be a bit overwhelming. His battle descriptions are crisp and detailed, but lack the excitment of an experienced writer. This is his only fault.

This book is not for someone who is new to Civil War studies and to fully grasp what he is saying, I would suggest that you visit the battlefield first and get a tour. This will make a the book much less ambiguous, especially because the maps included are not very clear. I have read this book four times, and each time, I come away amazed at everything that occurred during this epic battle. If you truly want to understand the battle of Gettysburg and its place in Civil War history, Coddington's masterpiece is a must own.

I have read almost every book written on gettysburg and I would without hesitation say that Coddington's book on the Campaign is the most thorough and best book on the battle. You can read other for quick overviews and or abridged editions, but, only Coddington delivers with unrivaled research,in-depth battle descriptions and a full history of the regiments invloved and thier role in the battle. This is a must read for anyone seriously interested in what transpired on those hot, humid days in July 1863.

Coddington presents a very detailed description of the Gettysburg campaign from events following Hooker's defeat at Chancellorville to Lee's retreat across the Potomac. I have always been fasinated with this chapter of Civil War and the arguments which have risen among various historians and military strategists. In the course of the book Coddington presents the various sides and analyzes them based upon different source materials, testimonials and logical sequences of events. One of the main points he makes is that the Union victory at Gettysburg was more likely as a result of the Union commanders good strategy, tactics and logistics, and finally the termendous valor in battle and tireless efforts in marches of the Union veterans rather than only as a result of mistakes committed by Lee, Longstreet, Stuart, Ewell.... The latter being the more popular theory among some historians. The maps provided both of the battles and troop movements are quite detailed and helpful. As a whole, Coddington gives relatively fair assessment of commanders of both sides and points out both merit and fault equally. As a result, he does burst some the more romantic myths associated with Battle of Gettysburg by shedding the light of more realistic explanations on them. All in all, I would recommend this book for Civil War buffs but beware, this is not a light read!!!

When I visited Gettysburg Battlefield Park in 1993, I asked the manager of the giftshop at the Visitor's Center what book is the best detailed analysis of the Battle Of Gettysburg. She showed me this book and informed me that almost everything I wanted to know about the strategy and outcome of tactics of the battle would be in Edwin B. Coddington's book. She was correct. Coddington definitely did his homework when he wrote this book. Everything from the decisions of the Generals strategies to the formation and location of brigades, divisions, regiments and squads of both Union and Confederate troops. This has so much detailed that a person who reads this should read other books about the battle before reading this one. This is not for the casual reader, who would get very lost and possibly bored. This is for the reader who would like to know about unit placements, the strategy of General Robert E. Lee and General George Meade and the Generals below them. Highly recommeded to "arm chair" Generals and Strategests and those teaching military history.

This is the standard book on the Gettysburg battle having been written in the early 1960s. It is also a very good book. But, it is not the best. In my opinion, Sears' and Trudea's books are better. As stated in the title, this book is a study in command. So, that is what it focuses on, the commanders of the battle, the different generals and how they responded. In the process, Coddington does a good job of covering the battle. However, at times, I find this book to be confusing, especially during the afternoon of July 2nd. In fact, in late 1980s when Pfanz' book on the 2nd day came out, it was refreshing because, to me, it provided some clarity around this confusion. Further, the book really doesn't get down to the regiment level of the battle like Sears and Trudeau do. Yes, the book covers the 20th Maine, and the 1st Minnesota, but that is about as far as it goes. There isn't good coverage of the regiments and brigades even that fought in the Wheatfield example (even the Irish Brigade and Caldwell's other brigades are not given good coverage). Nor is there good coverage of the attack of Weed's brigade and heroics of Paddy O'Rorke. Yes, this is a good book but not the best. Sears and Trudeau do a better job of coverage at the regiment and brigade level, and they are better organized. For a single book on the Gettysburg battle, I recommend either of them over Coddington (to determine which one see my evaluations of those books for more on their coverage).

I used Coddington's 600-page "The Gettysburg Campaign" as a study aid before conducting a staff ride with a group of Marine Corps officers. After completion, I was well prepared for walking the battlefield. As the title indicates, the focus is on command. The great majority of the book is dedicated to an extremely detailed account of the choices made by commanders on both sides. It seemed as if thousands of officers and regiments were mentioned. The actions of Lee, Longstreet, Meade, Hancock, Hill and other senior commanders are deeply analyzed and dissected.

Coddington does not hesitate to critique the decisions made at Gettysburg. He attributes blame to every operational mistake he felt was made on the battlefield. He also comments on the statements made by other authors about command decisions at Gettysburg. It was obvious from his comments that Coddington has a preference for action. Officers who took daring risks to attack are routinely praised, while those who showed restraint or hesitation are thoroughly criticized.

I did find the maps difficult to use. The book does not use standard military symbology, instead the author invents a strange design using jagged lines to depict military units.

Despite being forty years old, the book holds up well. If you are looking for a civil war book that is deep in narrative about the life of individual soldiers and what is felt like to be at Gettysburg, this is not the book for you. If you are looking for a deep analysis of the command decisions made at the battle then this is for you, just do not expect a quick read.

This is my favorite "Gettysburg book". Coddington renders a thorough analytical tome on the campaign. I found the writing to be impartial and guided mostly by historical facts. Yes, in parts Coddington does give his opinion but that is clearly implied in the narrative.

I have the paperback edition and the maps are somewhat lacking in definition. Therefore, while reading have a Civil War Atlas handy. I found that this vastly increased my understanding and appreciation of the work.

This work, in my opinion, is the gold standard of the Gettysburg genre. Excellent work.