Stone's Brigade and the Fight for the McPherson Farm [Hardcover]

James J. Dougherty (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2000

As part of the I Corps at Gettysburg, Stone's (Bucktail) Brigade fought one of the most desperate actions of the battle. The defense of the McPherson farm bought valuable time for more Union units to arrive in the area and deploy for the ultimate victory.The Bucktail Brigade consisted of the 143rd, 149th, and 150th Pennsylvania Volunteers. The 149th were the original "Bucktails" and became as well-known for the deer tails stuck in their hatbands as for their distinguished work as a light infantry unit in the Virginia campaign of 1862. As with many other governments, the Pennsylvania authorities sought to increase their number of elite units by expanding a renowned regiment to brigade strength. Giving two new regiments bucktails to wear, it was hoped, would create an entire elite brigade who all fought as well as the original unit.The men of the 149th took the extension of the bucktail distinction with bad grace, and the two junior regiments initially were given all the least desirable assignments. At Gettysburg on July 1st, 1863, the two new units proved themselves by their gallant stand at McPherson's Farm and the entire brigade remained highly regarded throughout the Army of the Potomac for the rest of the war.James Dougherty describes this action in unprecedented detail, with extensive reference to the surviving diaries and eyewitness accounts. The author's extensive background in emergency medical services also gives him considerable expertise in describing the fearsome wounds sustained in this action and their subsequent treatment.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (November 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 158097032X
• ISBN-13: 978-1580970327
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,399,122 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Pennsylvanian's review, September 11, 2003

By 

Andrew M. Gombos, Jr. - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stone's Brigade and the Fight for the McPherson Farm (Hardcover)

I have read most of the recent general books about Gettysburg and then started on the ones that deal with the First Day and the Second Day and so on. then I read a flurry of Picketts Charge books. Now I am reading individual brigade and regiment books like ht e Coffin book on Stannard's Vermont Brigade and Gibbs on the 11th Pennsylvania. This book on Stone's Brigade started out slow and I thought the style was a bit unpolished, but then it grew on me and I found it exceedingly engrossing for some reason. It documents a terrific battle on the first day in which a very high percentage of casualties were taken by the Pennsylvania Bucktails in their heroic stand against the first advancing waves of rebel invaders. It is as expected, heavy on detail, but not as oppressive as most such books. The inclusion of very adequate full page maps on almost every page helps keep the reader correctly oriented. It is easy to see the advance of the battle, In fact, if you flip the pages just right you can almost see a movie f the movement of the troops! There is maybe a bit much on the early history of McPherson's farm, but this is a book about McPherson's farm, so what. One thing I found very enlightening was the incompetence of the National Park Service in the 1970's. When they sought to restore the barn to its original condition, they restored it to its early 1900's restored condition! Furthermore they made no record of the repairs and took no photographs! The only record is a semi-literate report written by a NPS employee in 1979. One hopes that now the park service hires people who can read and write, and maybe even think. All in all, it is a very good afternoon read and has everything that is known about this important phase of the battle.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must for the Gettysburg historian!, March 23, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Stone's Brigade and the Fight for the McPherson Farm (Hardcover)

Mr. Dougherty uses extensive primary source information to tell the first accurate history of Stone's Bucktail Brigade at Gettysburg. His extensive research and committment to telling a provocative story is evident. His appendixes are as good as the main text of the book giving extensive supporting documentation. I can't believe this book is not yet more widely known by the Gettysburg history crowd!

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Full of good info about Stones Brigade, February 14, 2005

By 

B. Morris (Raytown, Missouri United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Stone's Brigade and the Fight for the McPherson Farm (Hardcover)

I was much surprised by this book. I didn't expect much when I picked it up, but found it to be a rather well done piece examining the participation of Stone's Brigade at Gettysburg and especially it's fight on McPherson's Ridge.

The book doesn't go into a great deal of detail outside of Stone's Brigade so if you are looking for something to cover the entire fighting along McPherson's Ridge on July 1st try David Martin's book on the the first day. However if you are already familiar with Gettysburg then this will make a good addition to your Gettysburg book collection.

The book itself is short but informative. Dougherty has done a great job of weaving in the personal accounts of the men involved in the battle. His writing style is smooth and not at all dry. He's also done a first rate job of including maps showing the Brigade's changing positions during the battle. I wish more Civil War books put in the effort to include maps like this.

After reading this book you should have no trouble walking the battlefield positions of the 143rd, 149th and 150th Pa regiments near the McPherson Farm and understanding the events there better.

The only downside to this book is it's a bit pricey for it's size of only around 170 pages or so but if you are someone really into studying the battle of Gettysburg, you will find this worth picking up.