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Gettysburg

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The greatest of all Civil War campaigns, Gettysburg was the turning point of the turning point in our nation’s history. Volumes have been written about this momentous three-day battle, but recent histories have tended to focus on the particulars rather than the big picture: on the generals or on single days of battle—even on single charges—or on the daily lives of the soldiers. In Gettysburg Sears tells the whole story in a single volume. From the first gleam in Lee’s eye to the last Rebel hightailing it back across the Potomac, every moment of the battle is brought to life with the vivid narrative skill and impeccable scholarship that has made Stephen Sears’s other histories so successful. Based on years of research, this is the first book in a generation that brings everything together, sorts it all out, makes informed judgments, and takes stands. Even the most knowledgeable of Civil War buffs will find fascinating new material and new interpretations, and Sears’s famously accessible style will make the book just as appealing to the general reader. In short, this is the one book on Gettysburg that anyone interested in the Civil War should own.

 Military Civil War War
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To my mind, Sears writes the best narrative history. He does not waste time apologising for the Confederacy or over-congratulating the Union - indeed - he reflects equally the good and bad within each. I would add an element he plays down or omits - and that is the Confederate hope that England and France would recognise the South as a separate nation - and send troops down from Canada in support of Richmond. For the Confederates, this hope was just around the corner and all the Southern soldiers had to do to earn it - was fight and die bravely in high enough numbers to warrant this shift in political balance. When viewed through this lense - Gettysburg (and everything that led up to it) was worth the effort and risk. Perhaps it was England that let Richmond down and assisted Washington through its inactivity (despite many British fighting in the Confederate ranks as individuals). The false assumption is that everything was equal between the two armies - it was not. The South often prevailed because its troops were braver and it's leaders cleverer. The North eventually prevailed because it possessed a greater material base in both men, machines, and manufacturing.

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