Customer Reviews

Gettysburg's Forgotten Cavalry Actions

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Gettysburg's Forgotten Cavalry Actions", by Eric J. Wittenberg, is an important new book on the Gettysburg Campaign. It covers, in much detail and under one cover, the vital cavalry actions which occurred on the southern fields of that battle which so long have remained obscure to most Civil war enthusiasts.

This isn't more Gettysburg "fluff" or rehashed stories to sell a book; far from it. "Gettysburg's Forgotten Cavalry Actions" is a riveting, well-researched narrative of the heroic operations of several of the Union's fastest rising cavalry "stars" at that monumental conflict.

While Custer fought on the more well-known "East Cavalry Field" against JEB Stuart, Wesley Merritt and Elon Farnsworth performed no less brilliantly against Southern forces south and west of Little Round Top.

In a number of vicious clashes between cavalry and Rebel infantry, Farnsworth displayed unmatched heroism while Merritt gave Mea! de a possible yet fleeting opportunity to damage Lee's army severely after the repulse of Pickett's Charge.

Any Civil War cavalry buff will want to read this story. But, for all Gettysburg enthusiasts, it should be considered "required reading" as it fills-in nicely an area of battle historiography which has long been neglected. You can't lose on this one!

Theodore C. Mahr. Former National Park Service Historian. Author of: "The Battle of Cedar Creek: Showdown in the Shenandoah..." and forthcoming works on the Cavalry Battles of the Overland Campaign.

Few know that the Gettysburg campaign did not end with the famous Picketts Charge. There was three cavalry actions during or after Picketts Charge. This book vividly describes these three actions. It describes Farnsworth's Charge and a whole chapter on the brave soldier, Elon Farnsworth and the great controversy surrounding his death. It also includes Merritt's Regulars on South Cavalry Field and the Battle of Fairfield.

A great book that dispels the notion that the heroes at Gettysburg are all remembered today. The reader will never forget the description of the ill fated charge led by Farnsworth at the insistence of Justin Kilpatrick. Very easy to read and engrossing.

I picked up Eric Wittenberg's "Gettysburg's Forgotten Cavalry Actions" half expecting a rehash of the epic fight between George Custer and Jeb Stuart at Rummel's Farm on the 3rd Day of the Battle. Indeed I was humming "Garry Owen" to myself until I opened the book.

Witrenberg gives the reader a fascinating account of the Union cavalry assaults led by Wesley Merritt and Judson "Kilcavalry" Kilpatrick on the Confederate Left flank at the time of the repulse of Pickett's Charge, and culminating in Kilpatrick's insane decision to send Elon Farnsworth and his brigade to charge across a fenced-in, rocky terrain on the slopes of the Round Tops, a charge that ended in the decimation of the Union cavalry and the heroic death of Farnsworth.

The new ground covered here is Wittenberg's strong assertion that if the cavalry had not been sent in piecemeal, Merritt's men charging on foot just west of the Emmitsburg Road, and the doomed charge of Farnsworth towards the Confederates entrenched by the Round Tops, but had been sent in together, the Confederate line would have been turned, and with Union cavalry pouring through, Pickett's retreat might have turned into a full rout of the Army of Northern Virginia - and even the surrender of Lee on the Gettysburg Battlefield. Indeed, as Wittenberg points out, Merritt's charge actually did turn the flank of the Confederate line for a short time, but without support either from Kilpatrick or Union Infantry on the Round Tops it was doomed to fail.

Whether or not one buys Wittenberg's premise, he provides the Civil War and particularly Gettysburg student with new insights and food for thought. While Custer's battle with Stuart is very well known, and even Farnsworth's charge merits a few sentences in most Gettysburg histories, the details of Merritt's operations are almost completely unknown.

To be sure, this is a slim volume that did not run in a precise chronological narrative. The reader has to switch chapters back and forth to see what Merritt was doing at a particular time, or what Kilpatrick was doing at that same time. Instead Wittenberg had Farnsworth's charge, the climax of the cavalry operations near the beginning of the book, while Merritt's assault, which took place a few hours earlier, is near the end of the book. Good maps, again not in chronological order, and many illustrations hitherto not seen by this reader. Also Wittenberg casts light on the bloody sideshow at Fairfield between the 6th U.S. Cavalry and Confederate cavalry under the irascible "Grumble" Jones, an affair that ended the killing and capture of the majority of this elite Union unit. Merritt had diluted the potency of his force by sending these men, whose services would have been much more valuable on South Cavalry field, on a foolhardy search for Confederate supply wagons, and instead they ended up running into a Rebel beehive.

Coming into Gettysburg from the south you will find cavalry markers on the roadside, most will drive by eager to get to the "good stuff" on Cemetery Hill. Very few that stop know about or understand the nasty little action fought in the fields in front of them. On July third, the Union Cavalry face Longstreet's regulars under command of Evander Law. The Union Cavalry probed, pushed and finally attacked the AoNV's right flank in the ill-advised Farnsworth's Charge. This small book covers the almost forgotten battles in this area. Eric J. Wittenberg has given as a readable and informative book on this aspect of the Battle of Gettysburg. Coupled with "Protecting the Flank: The Battles for Brinkerhoff' Ridge and East Cavalry Field" this book gives one of the most detailed accounts of the Union Cavalry on July 2 - 3, 1863.

I picked up this study of cavalry action at Gettysburg because of an interest in Elon John Farnsworth, and Wittenberg devotes two chapters to the boy general and his ill-fated charge on the third day of battle. But I was pleasantly surprised by the chapter on the battle at south cavalry field, which I knew very little about (the east cavalry field battle usually getting all the attention), and the battle of Fairfield, which I knew absolutely nothing about. After reading about the Fairfield conflict, I immediately hopped in my car and headed toward the village (I live in Gettysburg) to scout out the site.

Wittenberg's prose, contrary to the criticism of one of the reviewers here, is fluid and highly readable. I may disagree with some of his conclusions--for example, it's not at all as clear to me as it is to him that Farnsworth didn't commit suicide when he was mortally wounded by Confederate infantry--but I respect his skills as an author and a researcher. He stands in the fine tradition of nonprofessional historians who've done so much fine work on the Civil War.

Hopefully, a new printing of Wittenberg's book will see the light of day. Used copies are scarce, and so their prices are generally sky-high and prohibitive.

Finally, the line-drawn maps in the book are pretty good--a real plus for readers like myself who don't have especially good imaginations when it comes to visualizing terrain.

Gettysburg's Forgotten Cavalry Actions, Wittenberg, Eric J., Thomas Publications, paperback, 182 pp., photographs, maps, notes, index, 1998, $12.95

The cavalry actions at Gettysburg are often reduced to Buford's Federal Cavalry Division defending itself from attacks from Heth's Confederate Division. Some narratives give a nod to the July 3rd cavalry fight, between Gregg and Stuart east of Gettysburg, especially as it relates to the Pickett, Pettigrew, Trimble Charge. Less frequently, the Federal cavalry charge on the Confederate right flank is discussed as a coda to the famed CSA charge on the Federal center. This book focuses upon the Federal cavalry attacks on the Confederate right on July 3rd: Farnsworth's Charge, Merritt's Charge, south of the Big Round Top and Starr's 6th U.S. Cavalry Charge at Fairfield, eight miles into the Confederate rear.

A reader who approaches this book as a story of Gettysburg cavalry triva, would be in errror. This work is the story of remarkable and heroic soldiers ordered into unplanned battles that occurred on the Confederate right flank after the Pickett- Pettigrew-Trimble Charge. The outcome of this late afternoon July 3rd fight set in part the tenor of the Federal pursuit on July 5th.

The author sets the stage for these climatic and crucial fights: two engagements of Federal cavalry versus Confederate infantry on the Rebel right and one engagement of Federal cavalry versus Confederate cavalry in the Rebel rear. Wiitenberg is thorough and brief in his presentation; the key officers, the terrain, the condition of the troops engaged and their weapons are concisely presented. The conflicts are illustrated with clear, well drawn maps. An ample number of portaits of officers, monuments, farmsteads, and terrain accompany the text. The strategic situation of July 3rd is covered as are the personalities of the leaders. Personal accounts of the battles from the rank and file are generous in number and appropriate the moving the action forward in the book.

The laziness of Major General Alfred Pleasanton, commander of the Federal cavalry of the Army of the Potomac is revealed. The rashness of Brigadier General Judson Kilpatrick, commander of the 3rd Federal cavalry division is described. The heroic attributes of Brigadier Generals Wesley Merritt and Elon Farnsworth are presented. The question of Farnsworth suicide in order to escape capture is thoroughly grounded in both USA and CSA eyewitness reports. The story of the two troopers who won Medals of Honor at Fairfield leaves this reader asking for recognition for these heroics on this particular battlefield.

Infantrymen and artillerymen are not neglected in this book. It is refreshing to have Confederate diarists quoted in describing their enemy's assaults. The bravery of Law's Alabamians, Robertson's Texans, and Anderson's Georgians, supported by CSA artillerymen is equal to their Federal counterparts. Wittenberg's writing style is both clear and concise. No extra information pads the book; no essential information is left out. The book is not a tourguide with maps and designated stops, though it works well as such; the accompanying maps are not vague and the photographs of the monuments allow the reader to use it as a tourguide. This reviewer recommends this book to both the casual reader and those who subscribe to Gettysburg Magazine. It is essential reading for anyone taking the Licensed Battlefield Guide exam.

This book is lacking in length and in depth of analysis. To say this book is 144 pages long is stretching things. The Epilogue ends on page 104; at least 20 pages (a conservative estimate, I think) before this are occupied by maps and/or photos. This leaves only about 85 pages of text. In reality, GETTYSBURG'S FORGOTTEN CAVALRY ACTIONS resembles a lengthy article more than it does a book. One stylistic criticism is the author's excessive use of long block quotes, which often disrupt his narrative.