Customer Reviews

Pickett's Charge--The Last Attack at Gettysburg

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I have thought Stewart's "Pickets Charge" to be the best source for the past 40 years. Hess has written a book that will replace Stewart for more than 40 years. While a master of the sources, Hess is a thoughtful military historian and a writer of a judicious narrative. I have been reading, writing and teaching about the Civil War since 1960 (and graduated from Gettysburg College) and Hess tells me things that I never knew or failed to consider. This is an essential book on the Battle of Gettysburg and one of the better military history works at the beginning of the new century.

Move over Stewart and other authors who have written about Pickett's Charge, Earl Hess is the new sheriff in town! Hess leaves the polictics and modern day views of the battle far away and gets down to just the battle itself. Hess is careful to explain Confederate positions on the morning of July 3rd with great detail. Gibbon and the First Corps, Hay's Division and other Federal Unit positions are closely written about as to time and place. The bombardment is covered from Confedarate and Union perspective which I found to be very helpful in questions that I had in understanding time and effect. Hess is careful in explaining not only Pickett's Division's crossing but also covers Pettigrew's assault completely. What is interesting is that each segment or piece of time of the battle is presented from both Union and Confederate view points. I liked reading about how Gibbon's Division prepared and fought as well as I liked reading about Pickett's men reaching the stone wall. Cadmus Wilcox's futile attempts to support Pickett along with evening accounts from both sides complete this lengthy and thorough book. Hess' exhaustive detail and care make this book an important asset to one understanding Pickett's Charge. Without a doubt it my new favorite on the subject.

For many people, Pickett's July 3, 1863 charge up Cemetery Ridge is the climactic event of the Battle of Gettysburg and the defining moment of the Civil War. Earl J. Hess has written a detailed, scholarly account of Pickett's charge which draws copiously upon contemporary sources. His book is clear and easy to follow, given the subject matter, and is poignant to read. I found myself riveted to his account.

I found a major virtue of the book was the manner in which Hess shifted his focus back and forth from the Confederate to the Union side of the line. The book begins with a discussion of the planning of the charge, focusing on the interactions between Lee and Longstreet. This is followed by two chapters dealing with, respectively, the disposition of the Confederate troops before the attack and the Union lines before the attack. I found this invaluable in helping me understand the events of the day and their sequence.

Hess follows this discussion with a discussion of the Confederate cannonading barrage, and the Union response, that proceeded the infantry advance. Again, he shifts his focus from the Confederate side of the line, and the effect of the cannonading on the Union, to the Union response and its effect on the Confederacy. He spends a great deal of time explaining the decision of the Union artillerists to hold their fire and the disagreement this decision provoked with General Hancock. This theme pervades the book and is well-treated. Hess concludes that the cannonading was about one hour in duration before the infantry charge,(i.e. from about 1:00p.m. to 2:00p.m.) contrary to some other accounts which make it substantially longer.

There are detailed discussions of the Confederate infantry advance to the Emmitsburg Road, to the Stone Fence, and, for a small number of intrepid southern soldiers, over the wall and into the Union lines. We learn about the Union artillery and infantry responses and about their effect on the charge at each stage.

There is an excellent but somewhat brief chapter on the repulse of the charge and on the subsequent Confederate retreat back to Virginia. There is an excellent chapter discussing the careers of the principle protagonists of the battle following the events of July 3 through the end of the War and beyond.

The book lays a great deal of emphasis on the topography of the battlefield, the hills, ridges, swales, and fences which played a major role in the fighting of July 3. But the key emphasis on the book is on the fighting men on both sides -- on their determination and their heroism. Hess argues that the activities of the troops and their immediate commanders were more important to the results of the day than the decisions of the generals.

Hess has many thoughtful things to say about the attack, its planning, and about its possibilities for success. He finds the attack a long chance indeed but is able to present a convincing case about why Lee believed he needed to try. Hess is highly critical of James Longstreet for the manner in which he deployed the attacking divisions and for his failure to provide support to the attack. But he does not believe the attack would have succeeded even if Longstreet had carried out his responsibilities more aggressively. I learned a great deal from Hess's study.

This book will help the reader understand the events of July 3. It shows why Pickett's charge, with its suffering, its folly, and its glory retains its hold on the imagination of many Americans.

This book is about as well a researched work as I have seen in a while. That in itself is enough to gain high marks for Mr. Hess and his effort but there is more. The writing style is super. It is very hard for any writer to go into the details of a military action without the account becoming very dry. Mr. Hess does as good a job of this as I have ever seen. He does this be adding in personal stories from average soilders not just generals. At least that is how I think he does it but however he pulls it off this book is a great read. Sometimes one just can't put it down.

I guess that being from Tennessee I was also happy to see that Mr. Hess gave due credit to the Tennessee and North Carolina troops involved in the attack. Hess points out that Lee simply used Pettigrew's division because it was handy even though it had been chewed up on July 1st. Still the division did well. Especially the the brigades from North Carolina, Tennessee, and Alabama. The only brigade to shame itself was indeed a Virginia brigade. Hess does a fine job of pointing out that almost every soilder involved on both sides answered the call of duty in fine fashion. The bravery of Union troops who could have broken and ran in the face of such an attack is often overlooked but not by Hess.

Finally, Hess draws some conclusions at the end of the book with which the reader might not agree. Agree or not the book presents its case and allows the reader to decide for themselves after reading a clear argument for the conclusion.

Any student of the Civil War or of Gettysburg needs this book. No matter how much a reader has learned about Gettysburg they will find new information here. Worth the price and more!

Earl J. Hess has written a masterful text on a topic not missed by many civil war authors. His treatment is almost minute by minute beginning with the artillery battle preceding the actual charge. Hess deals with the major players on both the confederate and union sides. I feel he is particularly accurate in his discussion about the lack of leadership exhibited by General Longstreet. While Longstreet objected to the attack, he did little to dissuade his commander. Once the attack was underway, Longstreet did little to lead as best he could. Instead he sat on a fence.
Hess is also on target when he discusses the role of North Carolina and Virginian troops taking part in the attack. The Tar Heels have been maligned long enough for the actions of others.
I really like the tender way in which Hess deals with the problems of the troops that made the attack. It is not widely known that some confederate soldiers may have faked heat exhaustion to avoid what they new to be a suicide attack. While Hess points this out, he avoids making judgements from the safety of nearly 140 years of separation in time.
I highly recommend this book for those who have not read extensively about the battle and this charge in particular. Those that have read much on Gettysburg will appreciate the fresh approach of this author.

Mr. Hess purports to present the first tactical history of one of the most famous military actions of the Civil War. He therefore sets high expectations for himself. Mr. Hess does accomplish this forensic and encylopedic presentation, but either this approach to the subject or Hess's style is dry and emotionally unengaging. Hess does a great job in researching soldiers letters and accounts of events surrounding July 3, some of which see the light of day for the first time I have no doubt. These annecdotes are wonderful.

Mr. Hess also does a good job in rebalancing the participation of Pettigrew's and Trimble's commands in the charge. Many accounts of this engagement focus on Pickett's Virginians, partly because these men appear to have left left a better aggregate record of their impressions soon after the fact, and partly as a result of post-war recollections and recriminations published by many general officers who were engaged in this battle, many of them Virginians. Partly too may be that as a group Virginians had better access to educations in the east than their western countrymen and were simply able to be more articulate.

There are some gaps that are left to the imagination. A Confederate account of immediate post-charge impressions is thin. Is it due to lack of sources or just lack of presentation? Does Mr. Hess credit the account found in many histories that Lee lets loose his despair that night telling John Imboden, "Too bad, too bad, Oh too bad." Did that happen? Is it post-war hyperbole? The account is extant but Hess is silent about what he knows about it. You are begging for a glimpse of Longstreet's post-charge movements that night or over the next few days. Who did he talk to? What was he thinking? Did Lee and Longstreet meet within the days following the attack? If Hess doesn't report it you are left to conclude it didn't happen, but is that an accurate conclusion? The Imboden encounter leaves a little doubt about how thorough the author could have been. If Mr. Hess sets himself such high expectations the reader has the obligation to raise an alert it if he seems to fall short.

Hess has written what probably is and will be for some time the definitive account of Pickett's/Pettigrew's/Trimble's/whatever charge.

Hess presents the Union and Confederate (officer and enlisted) accounts of the charge and includes many details of what the men of both sides experienced. The narrative is engaging and keeps the reader's interest throughout the book.

The main problem I had with the book was the maps - there simply are not enough. While the maps are of high quality and detailed, there are not nearly enough to correlate with Hess' intricate descriptions of the troop movements during the charge. Admittingly, I have found this to be a common problem in Civil War books. I am not a military historian or expert, I simply enjoy learning more about what sacrifices were made for our great country during the Civil War by men of both sides. On many occasions I had to flip back several pages to a map to better understand the descriptions of troop movements during the charge. Having about 10 more maps would have made this less frustrating and much easier to follow.

Complaint aside, I highly recommend the book as the definitive account of "The Charge". Read and enjoy!

Mr. Hess clears up the much muddled defense of the Bloody Angle on July 3, 1862. Layers of credit from many authors and looming statue of the 72nd Pennsylvania Fire Zouave at the Angle have stamped the impression that the 72nd Pennsylvania was the heroic defender of the Army of the Potomac.
Mr. Hess, through meticulous research, establishes the little known fact that the 69th Pennsylvania was indeed the Union unit
that made the difference. Mr. Hess' book will be the standard work on Pickett's Charge for many decades in the future

Earl J. Hess has written one of the best researched accounts of Pickett's charge ever written. Working from primary sources with some secondary sources thrown in, Hess takes the reader through a step by step account of what happened on July 3, 1863. The author provides the reader with everything they need to understand the place this event holds in the battle of Gettysburg specifically, but also in the course of the war generally. The major actors; Lee, Longstreet, Pickett, Pettigrew and others are revealed in detail. Hess also introduces voices often overlooked. In this case the foot soldier who made history. Enlisted and commissioned remembrances are used and both confederate and union participants are included. Due homeage is paid to the bravery of the confederates. However the author also reveals the courage of the union forces that repulsed the attack.
For civil war buffs this is a must read.

Definitive study of Pickett's Charge
Earl Hess's well researched Pickett's Charge--The Last Attack at Gettysburg is the definitive study of Gettysburg's final bloody battle on July 3, 1863. Hess spares no investigative resource in his exhaustive examination of all aspects of this crucial doomed attack. He breaks the attack down along chronological stages while examining all personal and logistical aspects. Mr. Hess further examines all tactical and strategic components of the doomed attack while comparing pros and cons of the event's reality in conjunction with other various possible outcomes. Could Pickett's Charge have worked? What if Pickett's Charge had broken the Union's center, what then? These and a myriad of other cogent questions were both asked and answered by Mr. Hess. Yes, the book is mind-numbing in its exhaustive detail but that is the beauty of this definitive history. Reading it I found myself totally immersed in the events of that hot July day when Marse Robert sent his wonderful boys to assault the unassailable, knowing that the possibility of victory was slight but still doing their duty in light of the most difficult of odds. Could success have been achieved? Yes, but everything had to go perfectly--IT DIDN'T. Mr. Hess's up close and personal examination of this horrific event was both illuminating and instructive. 5+ stars for a very well done historical monograph of the first order.
Excellent in-depth analysis of not only the attack but also of the individuals involved. I liked how Mr. Hess informed the reader what happened to the various players after Gettysburg. I also liked how Mr. Hess discussed the insider bickering that follows every major historical event. Nothing ends with the last shot, there are always loose ends, blame, intrigue, what-ifs, dissembling, parsing, misinformation and yes even disinformation. History is written by the victors. Further, history is not what happened per se but rather what was /is written down. Mr. Hess cuts through the fog of Pickett's Charge to present an accurate portrayal of those most difficult hours on a very hot July 3rd afternoon. Good use of maps to keep the reader orientated and wonderful presentation of photographs to give the reader a personal connection to the men involved. Abundant facts and statistics that gives depth to the author's assertions and What If scenarios. I liked that Mr. Hess did NOT write from the typical POST analysis "the-attack-was-doomed" view. Rather, he presented the facts with clarity and critical analysis, and viewed the event from the perspective of the historical times involved. Mr. Hess is not a revisionist, but rather a critical chronicler of the event-A historical objectivist if you will. Most refreshing compared to the plethora of nuanced, subjective, historical relativism that dominates so many "sophisticated" histories today.
Still, as I read Hess's account of Pickett's, Pettigrew's, and Trimble's men stepping off into glory I couldn't help but think of the immortal words of William Faulkner from his novel Intruder in the Dust, "....This Time. Maybe This Time..."
Must read for Civil War history buffs. This is the definitive study of Pickett's Charge and will only gain in historical stature. Well done Earl Hess.