Library's review
What makes the whole book difficult to follow, is the complete absence of campaign maps. There are no big picture/area maps that connect the locations of all the other maps. There also are campaign maps that show the progress of the corps and divisions across Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania. There are also no maps that show the locations of the armies at the beginning or the end of a battle’s day. Thus the six maps that cover the first day at Gettysburg are difficult to put into their proper context. Map coverage ends with the fight for Barlow’s knoll (and the flight through Gettysburg) at 5 pm on the one hand and the Confederate clear McPherson’s ridge at 5pm. Map coverage resumes on July 2, 4:30 pm, that is there is not a single map that covers the positions and movements of the armies for nearly 24 hours. The author’s love and attention is clearly not lavished on the main battle. Despite the huge number of Confederate battery markers for Day 3, the individual batteries are not labeled on the maps for Pickett’s charge (despite ample space). While this is not a book for the Gettysburg novice, the book could have been easily improved with a bit of editorship, care and critical thinking. Given their gap tooth nature, the strengths and losses graphics are hard to interpret and what Tufte calls a misuse of data ink. A simple table would have been more effective and freed up space for commentary and further maps.
The orders of battle, especially for the smaller engagements, are nice, but give no indication of their source. The authors list some of the key works about the strengths and losses at Gettysburg but do not connect them to their own numbers. It would have been great to know which numbers are based on consensus and which are disputed. Finally, they should have included an essay on the strengths and losses highlighting some of the numbers they present to provide guidance for rookies what to look out for. Overall, this is still a very valuable book to own but with a little bit of editorship it could have been a much better book.
Genres
Description
The Gettysburg Campaign in Numbers and Losses is a full-color, master work decades in the making. Presented for the first time in print are comprehensive orders of battle for more than three dozen engagements both large and small waged during the five weeks of the Gettysburg Campaign (June 9 - July 14, 1863). Each presentation includes a synopsis of the engagement, photos of the commanders, an original full page map of the fighting, an order of battle with numbers and losses (including killed, wounded, captured, and missing), charts and graphs of relative strengths and losses, a conclusion of how the fighting affected each side and the course of the campaign, and a brief suggested reading list. J. David Petruzzi and Steven Stanley use a staggering array of primary resources to compile the text and craft the original maps, including the Official Records, soldier letters and diaries, period newspapers, regimental histories, reminiscences, muster rolls, and other published and unpublished sources. For the first time students of the campaign can turn page-by-page to read, visualize, and understand blow-by-blow how the unfolding action affected the individual corps, divisions, brigades, and regiments, and by extension influenced decision-making at the highest levels of command. The Gettysburg Campaign in Numbers and Losses: Synopses, Orders of Battle, Strengths, Casualties, and Maps, June 9 - July 14, 1863 is a stunning original presentation destined to become a constant companion for anyone interested in this always fascinating slice of Civil War history. About the Authors: J. David Petruzzi is an award-winning Civil War cavalry historian. He is the author of many articles for a wide variety of publications, and has written or co-authored several books including: (with Eric Wittenberg) Plenty of Blame to Go Around: Jeb Stuart's Controversial Ride to Gettysburg (Savas Beatie, 2006); (with Wittenberg and Michael F. Nugent) One Continuous Fight: The Retreat from Gettysburg and the Pursuit of Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, July 4-14, 1863 (Savas Beatie, 2008); and (with Steven Stanley) The Complete Gettysburg Guide: Walking and Driving Tours of the Battlefield, Town, Cemeteries, Field Hospital Sites, and other Topics of Historical Interest (Savas Beatie, 2009), winner of the U.S. Army Historical Foundation's 2009 Distinguished Writing Award, Reference Category. With Stanley, he also produced The Complete Gettysburg Guide: Audio Driving and Walking Tour, Volume One: The Battlefield (Savas Beatie, 2010). Steven Stanley lives in Gettysburg and is a graphic artist specializing in historical map design and battlefield photography. His maps, considered among the best in historical cartography, have been a longtime staple of the Civil War Trust and have helped raise millions of dollars for the Trust through their preservation appeals and interpretation projects. Steve's maps have appeared in a wide variety of publications. Co-authored by J. David Petruzzi, Steve produced the maps and the complete design of The Complete Gettysburg Guide: Walking and Driving Tours of the Battlefield, Town, Cemeteries, Field Hospital Sites, and other Topics of Historical Interest (Savas Beatie, 2009), the winner of the U.S. Army Historical Foundation's 2009 Distinguished Writing Award, Reference Category, as well as The Complete Gettysburg Guide: Audio Driving and Walking Tour, Volume One: The Battlefield (Savas Beatie, 2010).… (more)