Gettysburg--Culp's Hill and Cemetery Hill
Reviews (54)
Great Detailed Work of an Under-appreciated Part of the Battle.
This is a very good book for Gettysburg enthusiasts. Pfanz does justice to an important part of the Union position that is always overshadowed by stories of the assault on Little Round Top and Pickett's Charge. The casual Civil War buff may be overwhelmed. Pfanz is very detailed and much of the book is written at the regimental level. One not generally familiar with the right part of the Union line and the generals involved may find themselves getting lost. But for those who want to know the Battle of Gettysburg, this is an excellent work that gives great detail while preserving the flow of the story. I always enjoy Gettysburg works that focus on General Greene and his defense of Culps Hill against superior Confederate numbers. One could argue that he did the same service in holding the right flank that Chamberlain performed on the left with the 20th Maine. Greene, who was old, did not have the further battle opportunities Chamberlain would enjoy, and did not go on to be a Governor and become known, is unfortunately an unsung savior of the Union cause. This book does him and his men justice. I was struck by the fact that both Union and Confederate battle reports (through more Confederate) from Cemetery Hill / Culp's Hill don't seem to go into the detail that has produced fairly certain histories of other parts of the battle. Perhaps the fact that some of the fighting was at night or late evening and much of it in wooded terrain made the General less sure of their positions had something to do with it. Or perhaps Pfanz (this is the first one of his books I have read) is more diligent in writing about what is not known than other authors, but the difference is noticeable to the serious student of the battlefield. The book is almost all action. Bios of various commanders (down to the regimental level) who figure in the fight are given, but thankfully the author did a nice job of performing this background in a paragraph and not digressing from the battle progression the way some authors do. A very good and highly detailed work that is accessible and holds the reader's interest.
Gettysburg Research Essential
As a student of the Civil War, and particularly the Gettysburg campaign, I've read many accounts of the battle in preparation for seminars and tours. The Pfanz books on The First Day, The Second Day, and Culp's Hill & Cemetery Hill have proven to be the best and most comprehensive of the lot - they are the definitive reference materials for my purposes. Too often the activities on the southern end of the battlefield on the 2nd Day and the middle of the union line on the 3rd Day receive the preponderance of visitor, guide, and author attention, with the actions at Cemetery Hill and Culp's Hill relegated to a cursory treatment or a late-day visit or drive-by. Pfanz has addressed the need for a detailed tactical study of the actions on the north end of the Gettysburg battlefield in readable and engrossing style - I enjoyed this book as I read it, which I can't say about much of the civil war research materials. I anticipate rereading it often in preparation for future Gettysburg tours.
Terrific telling of a largely forgotten part of the Gettysburg story
Harry Pfanz is easily one of the most recognized names when it comes to knowledge on the battle of Gettysburg. Pfanz, the former Chief Historian of the National Park Service, has also written two outstanding books on the battle, Gettysburg: The First Day and Gettysburg: The Second Day. These books are simply mandatory reading for anyone trying to gain an understanding of the importance of the most definitive battle of the American Civil War, and this book offers terrific insight into why July 2nd is ultimately what decided Gettysburg. This work sets the scene perfectly for the second day, giving the reader an enormous amount of information as to why July 2nd represented the best opportunity for the South to achieve ultimate victory at the battle, as well as possibly the war. The second day of the battle of Gettysburg is easily the most impressive and important day of the three-day struggle in south-central Pennsylvania. Places like the Devil’s Den, Peach Orchard, Little Round Top, and the Wheat Field are cemented in the American psyche, and the sheer mention of their name remunerates the reader with scenes of blatant tenacity and bloodcurdling horror. However, other places like Culp’s Hill and East Cemetery Hill encompassed just about as much carnage and importance as these aforementioned locations. Pfanz does these places justice by meticulously recounting the actions on the evening of July 2nd, 1863, and the consequences they had on the battle at large. This book covers every minute aspect of the action at Culp’s Hill and East Cemetery Hill on July 2nd, 1863. Most impressively it showcases how porous the southern leadership from the top down was on July 2nd, while also showcasing the terrible performance of Pendleton’s artillery wing during the engagement. Pfanz offers a scything assessment of every southern leader’s performance during the battle, and it really made me rethink my how different the battle could have been, had July 2nd been a more concerted effort on the part of Lee and his lieutenants. Pfanz’s retelling of the intrepid assault by Harry Hays’ Louisianans and Isaac Avery’s North Carolina Brigade on the evening of July 2nd, is simply the best telling of this attack I have ever read. Why these locations remain relatively unknown is a mystery to me, and after reading this book, it has become moreso. The actions taken on the northern end of the Union defenses was as tenacious and bitter as anything at the Wheatfield or Peach Orchard, and could have reaped immense rewards for Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia, had these efforts been better exploited by men like Jubal Early and Robert Rodes. While Pfanz takes little time pointing the finger at anyone particular, the reader is made aware, and remains well aware that there were fundamental problems with southern command during the Gettysburg campaign. These issues that are brought to light by Pfanz makes the reader openly question how different this campaign could have been had the southern command structure been handled more efficiently in July of 1863. While this question will remain lost to history, Pfanz’s work does its best to answer whatever questions one may have about the action on Culp’s Hill and East Cemetery Hill. Pfanz’s work is as close to essential on Gettysburg as anything I have ever read before. The book offers immense, and sometimes inundating details about the battle and the men who waged it, but it never lets the reader forget that this battle was more of street brawl than a boxing match. I challenge anyone to read over the actions on Culp’s Hill and East Cemetery Hill and not be totally confused as to unit locations and performances. It simply, at times, leaves you needing time to digest all of the research. While this, in itself, may be off-putting to less-than-serious students of the battle, I was fascinated by Pfanz’s research and knowledge, and I gained a much more focused understanding of the second day at Gettysburg. I recommend this work for anyone that is in need of a better understanding of the battle of Gettysburg. This book, along with Pfanz’s other books on the battle, are simply must own for fans and scholars alike. I bought the set for my dad for Father’s Day and liked them so much I got myself a set, too. No serious student of the battle of Gettysburg should be without Pfanz’s essential works on July 1st and 2nd, and I only wish he would have done one on the 3rd of July as well. I guess we will never see that book, but here is to hoping Harry would consider it
The When, Where, and Why of the Battle of Gettysburg as it Occurred on Culp's and Cemetery Hill
Do you want a classic hour-by-hour account of what took place on Culp's Hill and Cemetery Hill beginning at the end of Day 1 and ending with the Confederate withdrawal on Day 3 of the Battle of Gettysburg? If you are a serious student, historian, or follower of the battle, then this is a good book for you. If you are looking for some light reading, then choose something else. Mr. Pfanz meticulously researched this book and it is alive with minute details relating to the movements, decisions - both good and bad - of the commanders, soldiers and citizens impacted by 3 days of battle on Culp's and Cemetery Hill. It should be read with the other books by Mr. Phanz relating to the battle as it provides ancillary detail associated with the retreat by union forces back into the town of Gettysburg and how they recovered from the Day 1 defeats and took advantage of many mistakes made by Confederate decision makers during the subsequent days of the battle.
Just Excellent!
This is one of the best books I have ever read on the American Civil War. The amazing part of that statement is that Pfanz writes about actions at Gettysburg not only ignored by almost every other Civil War author but also largely ignored by the National Park Service itself. If you visit the park, these second and third day's battles are considered secondary in nature. No one really knows that the arched Cemetery entrance, just across from today's Visitor's Center, was Union headquarters the first night of the battle and a Union hospital thereafter. But Culp's Hill was a critical part of the Union army defensive line, the right flank, or "barbed" portion of what is described as the Union's "fish-hook" defesive position. Its loss would have been catastrophic to the Union army. It dominated Cemetery Hill and the Baltimore Pike, the latter being critical for keeping the Union army supplied and for blocking any Confederate advance on Baltimore or Washington, D.C. Cemetery Hill was initially occupied on the evening of July 1, 1863 by Union troops as a rallying point following their retreat from the Confederate victory north and west of town. Lee had given Ewell discretionary orders to seize the heights south of town. He believed Culp's Hill unoccupied and therefore a good target, one that would make the Union position on Cemetery Hill untenable. But this hill was not taken and unfortunately for Ewell, his failure to take Culp's Hill or Cemetery Hill the evening of the 1st is considered one of the great missed opportunities of the battle, possibly even the entire war. However, the reason for not assaulting these heights was intelligence that Slocum's entire Corps was approaching from the east on the Hanover Road. If those troops had arrived at the wrong time, Ewell's flank (and the entire Confederate Gettysburg line) would have been turned. But history has not seen fit to cut Ewell any slack. Thereafter, Culp's and Cemetery Hills were the scene of diversionary attacks by Lee on the second and third days. The second day's assault was to assist Longstreet's attack on the Confederate far right through the Wheat Field and along the Round Tops. But the Culp's Hill-Cemetery Hill attack was ill timed and the Confederate's suffered grievously during this action on both the right and left portions of their Gettysburg line. On the third day, Lee sought to coordinate attacks on Culp's Hill with Pickett's Charge against Cemetery Ridge. But again, the Army of Northern Virginia's movements were disjointed, Pickett attacking in the afternoon and the Culp's charges, three successive attacks, beginning at daybreak and ending around noon. Supplemental to Lee's overall strategy, the savage battles on days 2 and 3 at Culp's and Cemetery Hills have all but been ignored in most historians' Gettysburg analyses. In the interest of brevity, history simply does not detail these actions. But as you read Pfanz's most excellent work, you begin to understand the almost central role these actions had to Lee's overall Gettysburg campaign, and, as a result, begin to better understand the complexity and thoroughness of the Gettysburg campaign from the Confederate point of view. This is a very well written and well thought out work. I wish there were 6 stars.
Best detail I've read
I had relatives fighting for the Union VI, Onondagas, on Culp's Hill and have looked for details of their unit's performance. They only arrived for the third day's fighting. Still looking for more detail, but this book sets the stage very well. I heartily recommend it as a valuable addition to the story of the Gettysburg battle.
Superb Read
I am a lifelong student of the Civil War and the Battle at Gettysburg in particular. As an armchair general I have debated and discussed this battle more than any other with a whole host of others. I visit Gettysburg on a regular basis to continue my study of the ground on which it was fought. I have been there in July with identical weather to that of the time the battle was fought and still cannot comprehend how the men of both armies were able to fight so ferociously under such grueling conditions. Harry Pfanz has given the best treatment of this part of the battle I have found to date. The minute detail he presents gives life and body to what occurred during the battle. I would recommend this read to any and all who seek to learn the real story of why Ewell didn't take that "bloody hill." He didn't, because he couldn't, and not because he didn't try. The movie Gettysburg distorts the actual facts so I would recommend those who think Ewell was derelict in this matter to read this book.
Awesome book. The book goes into great detail Culp's ...
Awesome book. The book goes into great detail Culp's and Cemetery Hill which will be of interest to those who want more in depth knowledge of the key portions of the battle. I do not suggest this book for the average reader who only want a broad overview of the battle.
Pfanz Fan Finds Fulfillment!
Item delivered on time and in the condition promised. This is a classic volume on the second day at Gettysburg, and I had long ago misplaced my original copy.
Culp's and Cemetery Hills - an in-depth study
Harry Pfanz does it again! Along with his previous books on the First and Second days at Gettysburg, Pfanz provides the minute details that books on the entire campaign can't include. For anyone who wants to drill down below the surface and understand all the aspects of the battle of Gettysburg, this book is a must. Whether you are adding it to the other two of his books or looking at the entire trilogy, they are well worth the price. You will find details about the people, places and action in this book, that brings the battle alive for me. The Coddington book may be the textbook on command decisions, but books like Pfanz writes make the reader feel like they could have been there.
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