Gettysburg (The Civil War Battle Series, Book 6) [Hardcover]

James Reasoner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 17, 2001

Although Stonewall Jackson was dead, Confederate morale was never higher. The victory at Chancellorsville had come against overwhelming odds, and the Southerners savored the sight of the Union army in retreat. In less than a year's time, the Federals had been pushed back from the outskirts of Richmond and now virtually out of Virginia.

Thus begins Gettysburg, the newest addition to The Civil War Battle Series, the Brannon family saga that has been praised as robust, detail-rich and well-paced...equal parts pathos and accuracy" (Publishers Weekly) and "fraught with passion, tension, and tenderness" (Booklist).

Will and Mac, the two eldest Brannon sons, are in the ranks of the Stonewall Brigade and Jeb Stuart's cavalry. A short bivouac allows them to visit the family farm for some rest and recuperation from the fighting. Almost as soon as Will rejoins his company, Jackson's former corps marches up the Shenandoah Valley, sweeping the Union troops out of Winchester. A natural route to the North lies open, and Lee's army heads in that direction.

The eventual clash known as the battle of Gettysburg occupies the rest of the book. Will, who is involved from the first day, is kept in the thick of the combat around Culp's Hill and the right side of the Union line. Mac arrives on the evening of the second day, and he sees action with the Southern cavalry at Hanover. Both are swallowed up in the melee of the fighting, and neither emerges unscathed.

Bruised and bleeding, the Confederate army stumbles back into Virginia, leaving a fourth of their number behind on the Pennsylvania ground. News of the defeat and the huge number of casualties spreads quickly. Like thousands of families acrossthe South, the Brannon clan in Culpeper County anxiously awaits word of the fates of two sons.

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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

James Reasoner is a veteran writer of historical fiction and author of several volumes in the Wagons West Series. In addition to Shiloh, Antietam, Chancellorsville, Vicksburg, and Gettysburg in the Civil War Battle Series, he has written a frontier trilogy set in the years before the Lewis and Clarke expedition. Reasoner lives in Forth Worth, Texas.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 432 pages
• Publisher: Cumberland House Publishing; First Edition edition (September 17, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1581822200
• ISBN-13: 978-1581822205
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,384,914 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

A lifelong Texan, Reasoner has been a professional writer for more than thirty years. In that time, he has authored several hundred novels and short stories in numerous genres. Best known for his Westerns, historical novels, and war novels, he is also the author of two mystery novels that have achieved cult classic status, Texas Wind and Dust Devils. Writing under his own name and various pseudonyms, his novels have garnered praise from Publishers Weekly, Booklist, and the Los Angeles Times, as well as appearing on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists. He lives in a small town in Texas with his wife, award-winning fellow author Livia J. Washburn.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Gettysburg: the 6th volume, October 25, 2001

By 

C. G. McEnery (Raleigh, NC USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gettysburg (The Civil War Battle Series, Book 6) (Hardcover)

This novel, number 6 in a wonderful collection, is most entertaining. Unlike the other 5 novels, this one combines activites of both Will and Mac. Interwoven in the book is mention of the other family members. The depiction of the numerous encounters at Gettysburg was very exciting and served to capture the reader's attention and imagination. As always, one is left with a desire to quickly order and read the next novel. Reasoner continues to blend history with adventure in a most enlightening and engaging fashion. I prefer this book to many of the others because it is muti-faceted in approach and weaves all the characters, with the exception of Cory, into the story. I recommend it.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The High Water Mark, May 8, 2003

By 

Westy (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gettysburg (The Civil War Battle Series, Book 6) (Hardcover)

July, 1863... Mac and Will Brannon, along with thousands of Confederate and Union soldiers, are converging on the small town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, as General Robert E. Lee, in a bold move, hopes to obtain a decisive victory over the Union forces in their own territory.

Soon, the two Brannon brothers find themselves in the midst of the bloodiest battle ever fought on American soil. While Mac rides through the Pennsylvania countryside with Jeb Stuart's cavalry, Will heads into the battle alongside his friend and sergeant from Culpepper, Darcy Bennett......

GETTYSBURG is fraught with tension and dramatic battle scenes, written with James Reasoner's usual attention to accuracy and detail. My two brothers-in-law, who are Civil War buffs and Battle of Gettysburg fanatics, visiting there whenever they get the chance, LOVED this book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Brannons at the high water mark of the Confederacy, May 17, 2002

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Gettysburg (The Civil War Battle Series, Book 6) (Hardcover)

"Gettysburg," Book 6 in The Civil War Battle Series was always destined to be the most troublesome novel for James Reasoner because its climax would cover the same time and place as Michael Shaara's Pulitzer-Prize winner "The Killer Angels." Many of us interested in historical fiction about the Civil War have read Shaara's novel and it is impossible not to make comparisons. To a large extent, Reasoner tries to cover different ground. The story of the title battle, which readers of the series are well aware always takes place in the last two dozen pages of the novel, is told entirely from the perspective of the Confederate Army. Furthermore, the two Brannon brothers fighting at Gettysburg are involved in different parts of the battle from what Shaara covered: Will Brannon and the Stonewall Brigade attack Culp's Hill on the second day of the battle (while Shaara deals with Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain and the 20th of Maine's defense of Little Round Top at the other end of the battlefield), while Mac Brannon is off on Jeb Stuart's joy ride around the Union army and arrives in time to have a cavalry fight with troops led by Custer. Of course, Custer is not mentioned by name, but then neither are Buford, Reynolds, or other key figures on the Union side in the battle (but Howard does get mentioned; go figure). However, those who have read "The Killer Angels" will be less than satisfied with the brief sketches of several memorable scenes they remember between Lee, Longstreet, and Stuart.

This book is also surprising in that the soap opera elements which have tended to dominate previous books in the series have been greatly reduced. Relatively little time is spent back on the Brannon farm, although the trouble between the Brannons and Duncan Ebersole is far from over. The novel begins focusing on Titus Brannon, who is a prisoner at the infamous Union prison camp Fort Douglas, and the stage is certainly being set for more soap elements in regards to that plot line, but most of this book focuses on how Will and Mac come to Gettysburg. For the first time in the series we really get the idea that the war is going on too long and even mother Abigail comes to the realization that her family is not going to make it through the war unscathed. Like Reasoner's other books, "Gettysburg" is a quick read and I think it is pretty clear that all of the elements are now in play in terms of setting up the conclusion. Although I do not remember Reasoner planning a 10-volume series, that is clearly the plan now and we can the remaining battles will focus on the war in the "west" with Cory Brannon (Chattanooga, Atlanta, Sherman's March), and the finale in the east with the Wilderness, the siege of Petersburg, and the surrender at Appomattox. It will be interesting to see how he breaks this all down into four volumes and since it is pretty clear how the war is going to end, all I can say is that as long as Ebersole gets his just deserts I will be happy.