Hancock at Gettysburg...and Beyond: And Beyond (Army of the Potomac Series, V. 18) [Hardcover]

A. M. Gambone (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 340 pages
• Publisher: Butternut & Blue; 1st edition (July 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0935523596
• ISBN-13: 978-0935523591
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,524,309 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Carefully researched, superbly constructed., October 15, 1997

By 

[e-mail] (Barbara Jones, Pullman, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hancock at Gettysburg...and Beyond: And Beyond (Army of the Potomac Series, V. 18) (Hardcover)

A fascinating look at the minute by minute days of the immortal Battle of Gettysburg through the eyes of the man who is credited with saving the Army of the Potomac on the first day of the fight. Winfield Scott Hancock - an army called him "The Superb", and Gambone's fine biography shows us that this was simply a description of the man himself. Loud, profane, passionate, often angry, Hancock was all of those things...but he was a man of whom his officers said "you feel safe when you're near him." Gambone's well written book takes us from Hancock's first days as a handsome young lieutenant in the Mexican War through the horror of the Civil War to his last sad days, nearly penniless, old and sick. But he never lost his luster, his ability to command and to inspire men, his charisma and his passion. Gambone brings the exciting days of the Civil War back to us, takes his readers along to many bitter battlefields, and in the end, presents the general's last days poignantly and beautifully. The reader will want to salute as the soldiers did on that rainy February afternoon when Hancock the Superb passed them for the last time. This is a "DO NOT MISS THIS ONE!" book.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Useful study of one general at Gettysburg, May 21, 2000

By 

Bruce Trinque (Amston, CT United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Hancock at Gettysburg...and Beyond: And Beyond (Army of the Potomac Series, V. 18) (Hardcover)

Don't expect "Hancock at Gettysburg" to provide a comprehensive narrative of the battle. That was not Gambone's purpose. Instead, he set out to portray one particular general's part in that crucial fight: Winfield Scott Hancock, "Hancock the Superb". I wouldn't recommend the book to someone without a good understanding of the battle beforehand, but it does provide solid information to anyone wishing to learn more about how the Union high command functioned during the three days of combat. In particular, two controversial episodes are highlighted: Hancock being assigned to take charge over officers more senior than himself, and Hancock's disagreement about how the artillery should be employed during the great bombardment preceding the so-called Pickett's Charge. In workmanlike prose and with excerpts from firsthand accounts, Gambone presents the story of his hero. Occasionally, his choice of material is a little peculiar (why does he quote Rutherford B. Hayes, a man who was not at Gettysburg, about Hancock's dramatic ride before his troops during the bombardment?) but for the most part a good range of opinions is presented.

This is a worthwhile addition to the ever-growing bookshelf of Gettysburg studies.