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Title: Gettysburg 1863: High Tide of the Confederacy (Osprey Military Series) by Carl Smith, Adam Hook ISBN: 1-85532-336-2 Publisher: Osprey Pub Co Pub. Date: September, 1998 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.2 (10 reviews)
Rating: 2
Summary: A concise, but splendid history of Gettysburg
Comment: Carl Smith's first book for Osprey Military is a winner. The book, #52 of the Osprey campaign series, gives a very detailed look at the background, battle, and post battle manuevering of the Confederate and Union armies. Smith is to be praised for his detailed order of battle. The text is supplemented with excellent three 3-dimensional maps that show a section of the battle, such as Little Round Top. There are six other maps and a plethora of pictures. A special bonus are the battle painting by Adam Hook which help to bring the battle to life. The 128 page book is 32 pages longer than the average Osprey Campaign book, but has the same price. The books only weakness is that in being so detailed, some readability is sacrificed. However, the text flows smoothly and the topic is gripping.
Rating: 4
Summary: An adequate battlefield companion guide for Gettysburgh
Comment: "Gettysburg 1986: High Tide of the Confederacy" is indeed a good choice for taking with you on a visit to the National Battlefield at Gettysburg, although be careful what continual use will do to the binding of this Osprey Military Campaign Series volume (however, the front and back cover flaps are useful for marking particular pages as your tour Gettysburg). Carl Smith's volume is organized like most books in this series, looking at the origins of the campaign, detailing the opposing commanders and armies, and then providing a day-by-day analysis of the three days of the battle. There are not as many maps as I would have expected, or have liked to have seen, but those included are pretty good. There are photographs of as many participants as possible throughout the book as well as photographs of the battlefield taken shortly after it was over and battle scene artwork by Adam Hook. The descriptions of the engagement are straightforward, detailing what happened when and where and to who. Do not expect in-depth analysis or lyrical narratives from this volume, because the emphasis is clearly on a detailed recitation of the relevant facts. I was struck by Smith's observation that the nail that pierced Winfield Scott Hancock when he was hit at the Bloody Angle probably came from the pommel of the general's saddle. I think that is a particularly telling detail of the standard Smith sets for himself in this volume.
Ironically, one of the strongest sections of this book for me is the one that deals with what happened on July 4th and afterwards, which looks at Lee's retreat across the Potomac back into Virginia. This volume also claims to have one of the most detailed order of battles for the combatants at Gettysburg yet published, but, of course, Osprey's Order of Battle series, which offers six volumes up on this pivotal Civil War battle (both sides for each of the three days) goes well beyond this effort. The book also includes some hints for wargaming the Battle of Gettysburg and suggestions for further reading. I would agree with Smith's notion that this is the most popular battle refought by wargamers (so why is this volume #52 I wonder?), usually testing the hypothesis that if Lee could have gotten the high ground on the First Day he might have carried the battle. However, I have always been interested in Meade's ability to destroy the Army of Northern Virginia after repelling Pickett's charge. Either way, this volume is of above average utility in that regard.
Rating: 1
Summary: Buy the Park's Guidebook Instead
Comment: Another Carl Smith Osprey effort, though this one isn't quite as bad as his Chancellorsville. The maps by Adam Hook are quite good, but I found it annoying that there wasn't a _single_ overhead view of the battlefield showing the reader the distinctive "fish hook" formation of the Union lines. The problem, though, isn't with the maps, it's with the text.
Like his other Osprey books, Smith's text has a number of factual errors and sloppy editing. Some of the errors are fairly minor, like Captain W. A. Tanner of the Courtney Artillery (Confederate II Corps artillery) being named Turner, but when there are so many of them you start to really wonder about the accuracy of the work. For instance, he suggests that Buford heard about the Confederates marching through Gettysburg on the 26th when he arrived in the town on the 30th. In actuality Buford new of this before he entered Gettysburg on the 30th because Union troops went through the town on the 28th.
The previous review mentions the wounding of Hancock, and how it shows Smith's accuracy and the "bar he set for himself". This is rather ironic as Smith gets the incident wrong. In the book he makes a big deal of a bullet smashing the pommel of Hancock's saddle, sending shrapnel and a nail into his thigh, and bouncing off his belt buckle. The buckle supposedly saved Hancock's life, leaving him with a wound that was "merely painful". I would like to know the source of this (there are no footnotes or end notes), for that's not what happened. According to Earl Hess (_Pickett's Charge: The Last Attack at Gettysburg_) and Jeffry Wert (_Gettysburg: Day Three_) the bullet hit the pommel and entered Hancock's leg. A nail was removed from his leg, but the bullet remained until August when it was finally pulled out. The bullet broke part of his hip, and he spent most of the rest of his service in the war riding in an ambulance. As for the "smashed" pommel, that is not mentioned in the other books. In fact Hess brings in evidence to suggest that the nail did not come from the pommel but might have been in the musket when it was fired! In any case, Smith appears to have made up the part about the belt buckle.
There are plenty of books about Gettysburg, but admittedly the Osprey book fills an important niche: a short overall volume on the battle. The many errors, however, perpetuate inaccuracies in the minds of those who use this as their only reference to the battle. I'd give it 1.5 stars due to its length and the maps but 2 stars is too generous. The Osprey books are usually much better than this one. I can recommend Osprey's 6 volume Order of Battle series for Gettysburg. If you want a single short book on the battle buy the guide they sell at the battlefield.
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Title: Chancellorsville 1863: Jackson's Lightning Strike by Carl Smith, Adam Hook ISBN: 185532721X Publisher: Osprey Pub Co Pub. Date: September, 1998 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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Title: Shiloh 1862: The Death of Innocence (Osprey Military Campaign Series: 54) by James R. Arnold, Jim Arnold, Carl Smith ISBN: 185532606X Publisher: Osprey Pub Co Pub. Date: October, 1998 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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Title: Antietam 1862 (Campaign Series) by Norman S. Stevens ISBN: 1855323702 Publisher: Osprey Pub Co Pub. Date: May, 1994 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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Title: Second Manassas 1862: Robert E Lee's Greatest Victory (Campaign, 95) by John P. Langellier, Mike Adams, Osprey Publishing ISBN: 184176230X Publisher: Osprey Pub Co Pub. Date: February, 2002 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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Title: Waterloo 1815: Birth of Modern Europe (Campaign Series No. 15) by Geoffrey Wootten ISBN: 1855322102 Publisher: Osprey Pub Co Pub. Date: May, 1992 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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