Eyewitness Gettysburg: The Civil War's Greatest Battle

by Rod Gragg

One hundred and fifty years after the Battle of Gettysburg, the words of the soldiers and onlookers present for those three fateful days still reverberate with the power of their courage and sacrifice. Eyewitness Gettysburg gathers letters, journals, articles and speeches from the people who lived through those legendary three days. Tied together with narrative by historian Rod Gragg and illustrated with a wealth of photographs and images, Eyewitness Gettysburg will transport you to the battlefield, immersing you in the emotional intensity of the struggle of brother against brother for the future of the United States of America.

416 pages, Paperback

First published September 2, 2014

Reviews

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! It was a perfect blend of battle summaries and first hand accounts. I would say it's a must read for Civil War nuts, especially people who are interested in Gettysburg.

[Scott L. · Rating 3 out of 5]

In all honesty, I was torn as to whether I should like or dislike this book.

Likes: the first person narratives of the Battle of Gettysburg; the near chronological order in describing the events surrounding that battle; the attention to some parts of the battle generally overlooked by historians in books.

Dislikes: considering the amount of people who helped Gragg with the narrative, there are blatant factual errors that should have been discovered in a peer review; more maps or more descriptive maps would be helpful to someone unfamiliar with the battle.

Overall, this was a good book but unfortunately not as great as I was hoping for. I would not recommend it to someone reading about the battle for the first time; but students of the battle or historians might be interested in the first-person accounts.

[Elaina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Despite having earned a history degree, i will admit that many books on this subject are dry, dull, hard to read. This book isnt. It brings the battle into human terms, shows it from all perspectives and has great photos, maps and illustrations.

[Joel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great history of the greatest battle and turning point of the Civil War. Told battle by battle through the historian's eyes and the words (in diaries, letters, articles) of the soldiers on both sides of the lines.

[Gino · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m torn between 3 and 5 stars. Gragg through significant research has put together a terrific collection of thrilling first hand narratives, exciting and informative for anyone interested in Gettysburg. Any reader who’s well studied on Gettysburg should ABSOLUTELY consider this book.

The (dare I say) downfall of Eyewitness Gettysburg however lies with the structure and narrative. While chronology of the battle can easily be debated, at times the order of events within the collection breaks from what is commonly accepted at present. Statements by the writer made as fact are long standing stories which have through latest research been questioned and in some cases accepted as untrue. The overarching narrative is a bit oversimplified due to the nature of the work (collecting first hand accounts) and may be hard to understand for a new student to Gettysburg or leave them with a false impression on certain key points.

Overall, I would not recommend this to someone who is either new to the history of the battle or not intimately familiar with the geography of the battlefield. Instead, consider saving it for a later date to enhance your knowledge base, to gain better insight into the thoughts of those who fought there.

[Justin Howe · Rating 3 out of 5]

While a fine book in its own right, this is not the best book for a new Gettysburg scholar (try Sears or Guelzo). This is however, a very good compilation of first hand accounts to fit into the mind of an already learned Gettysburg scholar. Hardly any opinions or judgements are shared by the author, as he keeps mainly to factual events, as told by the men who were there. Some of the lengthy quotations were quite touching.

[Veronica]

Interesting book, tying narrative into historic letters, articles, speeches, etc. It does a nice job of covering the entire battle and the days leading up to it without getting too bogged down in details that would only interest a military strategist.