Customer Reviews

Gettysburg (Voices of the Civil War)

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I like to refer to this book as a colorful, well done "coffee table" book as it features many drawings, photos and skips the details you would find in other books about the battle. This book is probably not for those looking for details or heavy explanations about a specific conflict in the battle. For one that is looking to get a basic understanding of the battle and aftermath quickly it is perfect. For those new to understanding Gettysburg this is an excellent book. Having read many books about the battle I found this book interesting in regards to the personal accounts that are found on just about every page. Time Life has made a great book and continues their quality as with other series in the past.

This is one of the books in the Time-Life Series, "Voices of the Civil War". In these books the authors/editors have taken passages out of diaries, letters to home, and personal observations of Union and Confederate Soldiers, along with photographs and pictures (of the soldiers, if a photograph is available), and given the soldier's viewpoints of the Battle. This is an insightful, moving, inspiring, and tragic account of the particular battle. In this case, the great and terrible Battle Of Gettysburg.

From such Generals as Robert E. Lee, James Longstreet, W. Scott Hancock, to low ranking officers, to the enlisted men, there are letters, diary entries, and viewpoints taken from these soldiers as they write about "Little Round Top", "The Devils Den", "Culps Hill", "Cemetary Ridge", and other locations where the battle took place around Gettysburg. The letters and viewpoints range from the patriotic, others talk about the terror of the battle, others inform about lost loved ones, and yet there are humorous tales taken from the diaries of the soldiers.

This is such an interesting book, that once you pick it up, it is hard to put down. The other books in the "Voices of the Civil War" series are just as interesting as "Gettysburg".

Highly recommended!

Well over a decade ago, I ran across this series by Time-Life Books, "Voices of the Civil War." I ended up acquiring the basic volumes in this series and came to enjoy them greatly. What is different about this series than others is the construction of each volume. As the front dust jacket says: "Through [the soldiers' and civilians' of Gettysburg] words and images you can relive the emotions, the terrifying rush of events, the horrors--and even the human comedy--of the Civil War's pivotal event. Thus, you hold in your hands an album of personal recollection s from letters, diaries, photographs, sketches, and artifacts."

The book itself features some brief essays putting the battle into context. On the first couple pages of the book itself is a rendering of the full battlefield. Then, an introductory essay on the campaign and the day-by-day actions during the battle itself. Page 14 provides the Order of Battle (corps and divisions and brigades involved, with commanders of each unit). Coverage of the campaign itself begins with a letter from Alexander Barclay to his sister on June 12th. The last letters provided are from mid-July. And the book ends with a photo of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. In between, we get a sense of the battle from the eyes of soldiers and citizens. Many photographs are included, to provide a sense of people, places, and events. Etchings are also included.

The end result is a more intimate coverage. If you want a detailed discussion of the fight at Gettysburg, this book would not work for you. If a reader, though, wants some broader context and the perspectives from individuals involved in one way or another, this can be a very useful read.

There are probably thousands of books written about the Civil War, and many of them cover the same territory. But Gettysburg: Voices of the Civil War by the editors of Time-Life Books, provides a new look at this monumental battle.

Voices of the Civil War is filled with first hand accounts of the events leading up to and including the Battle of Gettysburg. Instead of a dry narrative, the authors provide a brief description of events. But they then turn the story over to the soldiers, civilians, families and newsmen who were eyewitnesses. They spent thousands of hours searching out letters, journals, and dairies as well as photographs and sketches. In reading these accounts, we get a more vivid picture of the battle. We can almost see the bullets flying by our heads, hear the constant roar of cannons and guns followed by the anguished cries and moaning of the injured and dying soldiers and horses. We also read about the mayhem and chaos of battle. One soldier writes "I could have walked a half or three quarters of a mile on the dead soldiers of the enemy and not have put my feet on the ground. In some places, they were lying three deep." Recalls a Virginia artillery lieutenant, "The sights and sounds that assailed us were simply indescribable" with "corpses swollen to twice their original size, some of them actually burst asunder with the pressure of foul gases and vapors." Civilians were left to deal with the carnage, and one resident reports on "piles of amputated limbs were heaped outside the open windows." Yet, despite the death and destruction, there was a determination that this battle needed to be fought for a noble cause. A New York Times reporter lamented upon finding the body of his dead son, "O, you dead, who at Gettysburg have baptized with your blood the second birth of Freedom in America."

Yet, throughout the battle, there were tender scenes as well. Civilians especially, helped provide food and medical care to the soldiers of both sides. Even the soldiers could put aside regional hatred. One Confederate soldier came upon a wounded Union man. "I saw that all one side of his lower jaw was torn off. I got him to a shade and fixed him down with his oil cloth, blanket and knapsack, then brought him a canteen of water and how pitiful to see him trying to drink by pushing the mouth of the canteen through the wound in his throat."

I have a selfish reason for being fascinated by Voices from The Civil War. My great-great grandfather fought in the Civil War and was wounded on the second day of fighting at Gettysburg. Having left no written record of his war experiences in diaries or letters, Voices of the Civil War is as close as I can get to understanding what he lived through.

This book has three things that should be required for all Gettysburg books. First, it has an artist's rendering of the battle ground. Second, it has a chronology of the sequence of events. And finally, it includes a list of officers for both armies that includes the generals, corps, divisions and brigades. These three items makes it much easier to see the full picture while reading.

So while some Gettysburg books may give you a more complete description of battles and such, no book will capture your attention, your imagination or your heart like Voices of the Civil War.