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The Most Glorious Fourth: Vicksburg and Gettysburg, July 4th, 1863
Recreates the most pivotal point of the Civil War by interconnecting gripping narratives of the surrender of Vicksburg and the retreat of General Lee's Army of Northern Virginia after a brutal defeat at Gettysburg, and portraying all of the critical figures, from Lincoln waiting in the telegraph office for news from Generals Grant and Meade to the women from both towns taking care of the the wounded soldiers.
408 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 2001
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
February 20, 2016
"The Most Glorious Fourth" brings the stories of Gettysburg and Vicksburg together in a single narrative. Duane Schultz does excellent work bringing both events to life, with many accounts from both civilians and soldiers, from both northern and southern perspectives. He also does an exceptional job of exploring the aftermath of each battle, and how both towns attempted to pull themselves together after their respective battles. My only criticism is that while Schultz explores the lives of Gettysburg's military leaders (Lee and Meade) and Vicksburg's Union commander (Grant) in great detail, he seems to pass over a similar treatment of Vicksburg's Southern commander, Pemberton. (Which is a pity, since Pemberton -- a Northerner who fought for the South -- seems to have an interesting background.) Nonetheless, this is a minor complaint. Overall, "The Most Glorious Fourth" is a memorable look at a milestone period of days during the Civil War.
September 12, 2017
This book boasts about being a Vicksburg and Gettysburg book...and for all intents and purposes that is what it is. However the author dedicates most of the book to Gettysburg and Vicksburg is only peppered throughout here and there...which was disappointing...because there are already so so many Gettysburg books.
That being said, the author writes very well and he is engaging. He gives back stories on many of the major players in this story which I appreciated. I already knew a lot about Lee and Grant, as any Civil War historian does but I did not know a lot about Pickett for example....or even Pemberton besides the fact that he was a Northerner....
If you don't know anything about either battle it is a fantastic book, but don't go into this expecting it to give equal time to both battles....because it didn't do that at all.
That being said, the author writes very well and he is engaging. He gives back stories on many of the major players in this story which I appreciated. I already knew a lot about Lee and Grant, as any Civil War historian does but I did not know a lot about Pickett for example....or even Pemberton besides the fact that he was a Northerner....
If you don't know anything about either battle it is a fantastic book, but don't go into this expecting it to give equal time to both battles....because it didn't do that at all.
November 1, 2021
I picked this unique 408 page book because the author wrote that two of biggest turning points of the Civil War -Gettysburg and the fall of Vicksburg - both came to their conclusion on July 4, 1863. I’ve toured the Gettysburg battle site … and I will be touring Vicksburg in my winter travels in February 2022 …. so I was very interested in reading how this history played out before I went to Vicksburg. The author uses a very descriptive and effective style of moving back and forth between each conflict (Gettysburg in the East and Vicksburg in the West), covering about the three weeks stretch leading up to and shortly after the July culmination of both battles. He uses detailed descriptions of the strategies, the failures and successes, the many individuals on both sides, and of military figures, politicians and numerous innocent civilian bystanders. His graphic descriptions were like pictures in my mind as I read his easy to follow style. It served as a great refresher on the events of the more widely known Eastern conflict which occurred close to Washington DC …. and in bringing me fresh understanding of the western conflict closer to the Mississippi River, it helped to do this in a distinct timeline fashion, using the coincidence of both landing on July 4, 1863 as a cornerstone.
A very unique writers angle.
I highly recommend this book. It highlights two major conflicts, it represented turning points in history, and it contains most all of major personalities you’ve read about in the war (telling you what their status was at this point in time), I.e. General Grant was still struggling for fame.
A good read. You won’t be bored.
A very unique writers angle.
I highly recommend this book. It highlights two major conflicts, it represented turning points in history, and it contains most all of major personalities you’ve read about in the war (telling you what their status was at this point in time), I.e. General Grant was still struggling for fame.
A good read. You won’t be bored.
July 16, 2017
Back to Gettysburg
A nice refresher for those familiar with the history, a worthy introduction for newbies. An account of what may have been the most critical four days in the history of the American Republic, July 1 through 4, 1863, the Battle of Gettysburg, and the surrender of Vicksburg. Before these two events, the outcome of the Civil War was very much in doubt. Vicksburg, the Gibraltar of the Confederacy, was impregnable, and Robert E. Lee, in command of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, was invincible. In the four days, Vicksburg falls, Lee is soundly thrashed. It’s still a long way to the end of America’s bloodiest war, but the end is finally in sight.
In the West, the Confederates are trying to not lose the war, in the East, to win it. The fall of Vicksburg will give the Union control of the entire length of the Mississippi River, splitting the Confederacy. In the East, Lee mounts his audacious invasion, and if he can destroy the Grand Army of the Republic, the North may very well acquiesce to the sundering of the American Union.
The Confederate Army of Northern Virginia is brimming with (maybe too much) confidence. It has won a succession of astonishing victories over the North and one more win, on Northern soil, will seal the deal. The Union soldiers are confident too, and one wonders why. They’ve been defeated over and over, led into disaster by a succession of incompetent generals, and now they’ve got a new man, George Meade. He’s been in command for barely a week and wishes he were somewhere else.
The book moves easily between the two theaters. It makes clear what’s at stake and provides plenty of interesting background, the lead-up to the four days, the soaring hopes, the trepidation. We get concise biographies of the people involved in the dramas, the length of the biography a hint of the importance the man (or woman) will play in the narrative. The deprivations inside the besieged Vicksburg are stark, the carnage and bravery of Gettysburg incomprehensible. The author isn’t going for shock value, although there’s plenty of it here, he’s giving us the straight dope.
We see how the war plays upon the civilians, the starving, shell-shocked citizens of Vicksburg, the interplay between the prosperous farmers of south-central Pennsylvania and the rag-tag, scarecrow rebel soldiers. It’s as if they’re from different planets instead of contiguous nations. We see how differently wars and armies treated civilians in the nineteenth century than in the twentieth and twenty-first. (Alas, no gallantry could save poor, tragic, bread-baking Jenny Wade.)
We get the aftermath of the siege and of the battle, all the recriminations and what-ifs. Where would Lee have gone, had he crushed Meade? Baltimore? New York? Philly? D.C? What the hell did Jeb Stuart think he was doing, besides feeding his ego, with his gallivanting in the days preceding Gettysburg? Who got it right, regarding Pickett’s Charge, Longstreet or Lee, and with regard to pursuing the rebels after the battle, Lincoln or Meade?
If you’re like me, you’ll appreciate all the author does here to bring the siege of Vicksburg to life, but all the time you’re reading about the siege, you’ll be flipping ahead to see when you’ll be taken back to Gettysburg. It’s so much more than a battle. It’s the personification of nineteenth-century America. To paraphrase Jacques Barzun, whoever wants to know the heart and mind of America had better learn Gettysburg. This book is a good place to start.
A nice refresher for those familiar with the history, a worthy introduction for newbies. An account of what may have been the most critical four days in the history of the American Republic, July 1 through 4, 1863, the Battle of Gettysburg, and the surrender of Vicksburg. Before these two events, the outcome of the Civil War was very much in doubt. Vicksburg, the Gibraltar of the Confederacy, was impregnable, and Robert E. Lee, in command of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, was invincible. In the four days, Vicksburg falls, Lee is soundly thrashed. It’s still a long way to the end of America’s bloodiest war, but the end is finally in sight.
In the West, the Confederates are trying to not lose the war, in the East, to win it. The fall of Vicksburg will give the Union control of the entire length of the Mississippi River, splitting the Confederacy. In the East, Lee mounts his audacious invasion, and if he can destroy the Grand Army of the Republic, the North may very well acquiesce to the sundering of the American Union.
The Confederate Army of Northern Virginia is brimming with (maybe too much) confidence. It has won a succession of astonishing victories over the North and one more win, on Northern soil, will seal the deal. The Union soldiers are confident too, and one wonders why. They’ve been defeated over and over, led into disaster by a succession of incompetent generals, and now they’ve got a new man, George Meade. He’s been in command for barely a week and wishes he were somewhere else.
The book moves easily between the two theaters. It makes clear what’s at stake and provides plenty of interesting background, the lead-up to the four days, the soaring hopes, the trepidation. We get concise biographies of the people involved in the dramas, the length of the biography a hint of the importance the man (or woman) will play in the narrative. The deprivations inside the besieged Vicksburg are stark, the carnage and bravery of Gettysburg incomprehensible. The author isn’t going for shock value, although there’s plenty of it here, he’s giving us the straight dope.
We see how the war plays upon the civilians, the starving, shell-shocked citizens of Vicksburg, the interplay between the prosperous farmers of south-central Pennsylvania and the rag-tag, scarecrow rebel soldiers. It’s as if they’re from different planets instead of contiguous nations. We see how differently wars and armies treated civilians in the nineteenth century than in the twentieth and twenty-first. (Alas, no gallantry could save poor, tragic, bread-baking Jenny Wade.)
We get the aftermath of the siege and of the battle, all the recriminations and what-ifs. Where would Lee have gone, had he crushed Meade? Baltimore? New York? Philly? D.C? What the hell did Jeb Stuart think he was doing, besides feeding his ego, with his gallivanting in the days preceding Gettysburg? Who got it right, regarding Pickett’s Charge, Longstreet or Lee, and with regard to pursuing the rebels after the battle, Lincoln or Meade?
If you’re like me, you’ll appreciate all the author does here to bring the siege of Vicksburg to life, but all the time you’re reading about the siege, you’ll be flipping ahead to see when you’ll be taken back to Gettysburg. It’s so much more than a battle. It’s the personification of nineteenth-century America. To paraphrase Jacques Barzun, whoever wants to know the heart and mind of America had better learn Gettysburg. This book is a good place to start.
December 8, 2025
A riveting non-fiction, historical page-turner. Civilians and soldiers pushed to their limits.
May 10, 2021
You know you have a great novel when you want to savor every page, this is that novel.
Just finished, a great novel on the history of these pivotal battles during the Civil War. Mr. Schultz tells a informative and compelling narrative. Highly recommend.
Just finished, a great novel on the history of these pivotal battles during the Civil War. Mr. Schultz tells a informative and compelling narrative. Highly recommend.
April 10, 2013
When the American Civil War began in 1861, no one imagined that it would devastate the countryside for four long years. All the attempts to bring the war to a quick end, in one decisive battle, failed, turning the war into one of attrition. Most of those failures were those of the Union army's, and for the first two years of the conflict it seemed as though the Union might actually remain broken. But then, on the Fourth of July in 1863 -- the anniversary of the nation's birthday -- two battles came to an end. In the west, the Federal siege of Vicksburg ended in the surrender of the city to General Grant; in the east, General Lee sent the pride of his army to be slaughtered on the center of the Union lines in Gettysburg -- ending his invasion of the north, and crippling his strength. Either battle might have marked the turning point of the war: together, they were death knell of the ill-born confederacy. The Most Glorious Fourth is the story of the struggles that culminated on that Independence Day, but not one that celebrates the turning point of the war: instead, using Abraham Lincoln as a grounding figure, Schultz paints the day as a mixed blessing -- both a triumph and a tragedy as a missed opportunity to end the war in 1863.
Telling the story of these two struggles at the same time is difficult, given their varying scales. The Vicksburg campaign lasted months; Gettysburg was a three-day affair. The whole of Gettysburg -- all of the skirmishes, movements, what-if questions, stunning decisions -- took place during three days where Vicksburg was a foregone conclusion. Schultz tries mightily, though, and manages to make it work for the most part. The spotlight is somewhat split: Vicksburg takes center stage in the first half of the book, while Gettysburg dominates the second half. Schultz's approach is more casual than one might expect from a serious history of the period; at times, it reads almost like a novel, complete with dialogue. It's definitely more popular history than scholarly, but that's no serious detraction. Readers completely unfamiliar with the history of the war, but nonetheless interested in these two battles, will be served ably. The section on Vicksburg isn't as detailed or harrowing as I expected: Schultz is strongest when addressing Gettysburg.
Ultimately, Schultz's recommends itself not because of the military narrative, but for the way he demonstrates the human side of war and reflects on the battle's aftermath. While it' s not a social history of the war, nor does it use the harrowing experiences to criticize the conflict, the recurring role of civilians was refreshing and illustrates that the costs of war are not limited to those who volunteered to go into danger. At Vicksburg, mothers are forced to flee with their children into caves to take refuge from the shelling of the city, while living on increasingly-scarce rations: in Gettysburg, not only were the food and goods of the town in demand by both armies, but the town itself became a battlefield. One woman rebuked a Confederate sharpshooter from trying to use her attic as his nest, realizing he would draw fire upon her home. Her concern was not unjustified, for Gettysburg did claim its civilian casualties. And rather than exulting in the days' triumphs, Schultz reflects on the day as one that was ultimately disappointing. Abraham Lincoln, who is seen throughout the work visiting the telegraph office to find out if there's any news of the fate of his army -- and the nation -- is not overjoyed to learn that Vicksburg has fallen, thus giving the Union complete control of the Mississippi and dividing the Confederacy on the same day that Lee's invasion was repulsed. Instead, he is disappointed at his newly-appointed general (Meade)'s lack of tenacity. Instead of seizing the opportunity to crush or trap Lee, Meade licks his wounds for days after the battle. By the time he orders the army into action, the Army of Virginia had stolen across the Potomac to the safe retreat of the south. Schultz's work is the first Gettysburg history I've read which doesn't end with Lee's defeat, but follows the action of his and Meade's army in the days that follow.
The Most Glorious Fourth is an easy and engaging read, obviously of interest to American Civil War aficionados.
Telling the story of these two struggles at the same time is difficult, given their varying scales. The Vicksburg campaign lasted months; Gettysburg was a three-day affair. The whole of Gettysburg -- all of the skirmishes, movements, what-if questions, stunning decisions -- took place during three days where Vicksburg was a foregone conclusion. Schultz tries mightily, though, and manages to make it work for the most part. The spotlight is somewhat split: Vicksburg takes center stage in the first half of the book, while Gettysburg dominates the second half. Schultz's approach is more casual than one might expect from a serious history of the period; at times, it reads almost like a novel, complete with dialogue. It's definitely more popular history than scholarly, but that's no serious detraction. Readers completely unfamiliar with the history of the war, but nonetheless interested in these two battles, will be served ably. The section on Vicksburg isn't as detailed or harrowing as I expected: Schultz is strongest when addressing Gettysburg.
Ultimately, Schultz's recommends itself not because of the military narrative, but for the way he demonstrates the human side of war and reflects on the battle's aftermath. While it' s not a social history of the war, nor does it use the harrowing experiences to criticize the conflict, the recurring role of civilians was refreshing and illustrates that the costs of war are not limited to those who volunteered to go into danger. At Vicksburg, mothers are forced to flee with their children into caves to take refuge from the shelling of the city, while living on increasingly-scarce rations: in Gettysburg, not only were the food and goods of the town in demand by both armies, but the town itself became a battlefield. One woman rebuked a Confederate sharpshooter from trying to use her attic as his nest, realizing he would draw fire upon her home. Her concern was not unjustified, for Gettysburg did claim its civilian casualties. And rather than exulting in the days' triumphs, Schultz reflects on the day as one that was ultimately disappointing. Abraham Lincoln, who is seen throughout the work visiting the telegraph office to find out if there's any news of the fate of his army -- and the nation -- is not overjoyed to learn that Vicksburg has fallen, thus giving the Union complete control of the Mississippi and dividing the Confederacy on the same day that Lee's invasion was repulsed. Instead, he is disappointed at his newly-appointed general (Meade)'s lack of tenacity. Instead of seizing the opportunity to crush or trap Lee, Meade licks his wounds for days after the battle. By the time he orders the army into action, the Army of Virginia had stolen across the Potomac to the safe retreat of the south. Schultz's work is the first Gettysburg history I've read which doesn't end with Lee's defeat, but follows the action of his and Meade's army in the days that follow.
The Most Glorious Fourth is an easy and engaging read, obviously of interest to American Civil War aficionados.
February 12, 2010
Not sure I can say enough about this book! It is so well written and informative. He gives you the whole story and not just pieces. He follows up too and gives you that extra info you are wanting to know. This is ten times the book that, "Killer Angels" is. You get the Vicksburg story that is incredibly, unfolding at the same time as Gettysburg. I loved it. I may have liked it more than, "Team of Rivals" and I adored that book, so that is saying something! Amazing, awesome history!
May 1, 2009
I prefer this to Killer Angels. Also quite readable, makes history come alive without adding the one fictional character that Shaara put in his novel about Gettysburg. By treating the siege of Vickburg equally, gives a broader sense of the scope of the conflict. Also I think it's a better overview of Gettysburg than Killer Angels, but then, it's not a novel.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews