What do you think?
Rate this book
Military Campaigns of the Civil War
The Third Day at Gettysburg and Beyond
The six essays in this volume testify to the enduring impact of the Civil War on our national consciousness. Covering subjects as diverse as tactics, the uses of autobiography, and the power of myth-making in the southern tradition, they illustrate the rewards of imaginative scholarship--even for the most intensely studied battle in America's history.
The Third Day at Gettysburg and Beyond brings current research and interpretation to bear on a range of pivotal issues surrounding the final day of the battle, July 3, 1863. This revisionist approach begins by expanding our knowledge of the engagement itself: individual essays address Confederate general James Longstreet's role in Pickett's Charge and Union general George Meade's failure to pursue Lee after the fighting. Other essays widen the scope of investigation to look at contemporary reactions to the Confederate defeat across the South, the construction of narratives by the participants themselves--from Confederate survivors of Pickett's assault to Union sergeant Ben Hirst--and the reverberations of Pickett's final momentous charge.
Combining fresh evidence with the reinterpretation of standard sources, these essays refocus our view of the third day at Gettysburg to take in its diverse stories of combat and memory.
The contributors are Gary W. Gallagher, William Garrett Piston, Carol Reardon, Robert K. Krick, Robert L. Bee, and A. Wilson Greene.
The Third Day at Gettysburg and Beyond brings current research and interpretation to bear on a range of pivotal issues surrounding the final day of the battle, July 3, 1863. This revisionist approach begins by expanding our knowledge of the engagement itself: individual essays address Confederate general James Longstreet's role in Pickett's Charge and Union general George Meade's failure to pursue Lee after the fighting. Other essays widen the scope of investigation to look at contemporary reactions to the Confederate defeat across the South, the construction of narratives by the participants themselves--from Confederate survivors of Pickett's assault to Union sergeant Ben Hirst--and the reverberations of Pickett's final momentous charge.
Combining fresh evidence with the reinterpretation of standard sources, these essays refocus our view of the third day at Gettysburg to take in its diverse stories of combat and memory.
The contributors are Gary W. Gallagher, William Garrett Piston, Carol Reardon, Robert K. Krick, Robert L. Bee, and A. Wilson Greene.
229 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 31, 1994
6 people are currently reading
74 people want to read
About the author
Gary W. Gallagher
106 books97 followersGary W. Gallagher, the John L. Nau III Professor of History at the University of Virginia, is the author or editor of many books in the field of Civil War history, including The Confederate War; Causes Won, Lost, and Forgotten: How Hollywood and Popular Art Shape What We Know about the Civil War; and The Union War.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 3, 2022
Studies Of The Third Day At Gettysburg
This book is the final volume of essays on each of the three days of the Battle of Gettysburg (July 1 --3, 1863) edited by Professor Gary Gallagher. It includes six essays five of which center upon the final assault on the center of the Union position on Cemetery Ridge on July 3, commonly known as "Pickett's Charge." Although I found the essays illuminating, they do not address the legendary charge itself but deal instead with somewhat collateral issues. Four of these five essays deal predominantly with the Southern assault rather than with the Union defense. The final essay in the volume explores in detail the Confederate retreat following the battle and the Union pursuit.
The book opens with an essay by Professor Gallagher, "Lee's Army has not Lost any of its Prestige". This essay challenges the view that Gettysburg was recognized as a disaster for the Confederacy in the immediate aftermath of the battle. Professor Gallagher argues that the morale of the Southern Army remained high and that the Southern press and people were not of one mind in their reaction to the Battle. There is valuable material in this essay, but even in Professor Gallagher's recounting the evidence of Southern reaction is equivocal. Although the material is interesting, I found it of secondary value in trying to understand the events of July 3.
William Garrett Piston's essay "Longstreet, Lee, and Confederate Attack Plans for July 3 at Gettysburg" is an outstanding study of the Lee-Longstreet controversy as it applied to the formulation of plans for the third day of the Battle. Piston reviews in detail the various plans of General Lee and General Longstreet for the third day of the Battle. He argues persuasively that Longstreet was dilatory and did not follow Lee's orders to attack early in the day on July 3. (Most of Longstreet's critics focus with much less justification on Longstreet's alleged slowness on July 2.) The essay explores the options available to the Army of Northern Virginia on the morning of the third day of the battle. The Southern position was very difficult, in hindsight, and the performance of both Lee and Longstreet was wanting. This is easily the best essay in the volume in terms of understanding the events of July 3.
Carol Reardon's essay "The Convergence of History and Myth in the Southern Past" is one of an increasing number of scholarly efforts to distinguish between history as an actual event and history as memory -- the uses and mythologies which people construct about the past. She discusses how Pickett's charge assumed the status of a legend and she focuses on the war after the Battle in the South. This war over the charge involved attempts to exonerate Robert E. Lee for the failure of the assault, and it also involved disputes between Virginians and North Carolinians over which Southern troops deserved the glory (and which the blame) for the assault. Professor Reardon subsequently addressed the subject of this essay in her book "Pickett's Charge in History and Memory."
Robert Krick's essay "Armistead and Garnett: the parallel lives of two Virginia soldiers" offers biographical insights into the two of General Pickett's brigade commanders who died at Gettysburg. I learned a great deal about Armistead and Garnett from this essay, but it was of limited usefulness in helping me understand Pickett's charge.
Anthropologist Robert Bee's essay "Fredricksburg on the Other Leg" examines the letters of a Union combatant, Sergeant Ben Hirst, of the 14th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry, who participated on the Union side of the line during Pickett's charge. This is a good essay in how a common soldier saw and responded to the Confederate assault.
The final essay in the volume "From Gettysburg to Falling Waters" by A Wilson Greene examines two issues: a) General Meade's decision not to counterattack on July 3 and July 4 following the repulse of Pickett's charge; b) the retreat from Gettysburg and General Meade's alleged failure to pursue with sufficient aggressiveness before the Southern Army crossed the Potomac to Virginia on July 14. The essay includes a careful factual exposition followed by Greene's analysis. Greene argues that Meade acted properly in deciding against a counterattack. The matter of the retreat is more complex. President Lincoln's views, highly critical of Meade, have colored much of the controversy and tarnished Meade's reputation. Greene finds that Meade on the whole performed ably and thoughtfully in his pursuit of the retreating Army of Northern Virginia. He concludes, however, that the Union Army had opportunities for a more aggressive approach which a more daring and imaginative commander could well have exploited to good effect. It is doubtful that Lee's army could have been destroyed by more aggressive pursuit.
This is a thoughtful volume of essays that will interest readers familiar with the basic facts and issues of the Gettysburg campaign
Robin Friedman
This book is the final volume of essays on each of the three days of the Battle of Gettysburg (July 1 --3, 1863) edited by Professor Gary Gallagher. It includes six essays five of which center upon the final assault on the center of the Union position on Cemetery Ridge on July 3, commonly known as "Pickett's Charge." Although I found the essays illuminating, they do not address the legendary charge itself but deal instead with somewhat collateral issues. Four of these five essays deal predominantly with the Southern assault rather than with the Union defense. The final essay in the volume explores in detail the Confederate retreat following the battle and the Union pursuit.
The book opens with an essay by Professor Gallagher, "Lee's Army has not Lost any of its Prestige". This essay challenges the view that Gettysburg was recognized as a disaster for the Confederacy in the immediate aftermath of the battle. Professor Gallagher argues that the morale of the Southern Army remained high and that the Southern press and people were not of one mind in their reaction to the Battle. There is valuable material in this essay, but even in Professor Gallagher's recounting the evidence of Southern reaction is equivocal. Although the material is interesting, I found it of secondary value in trying to understand the events of July 3.
William Garrett Piston's essay "Longstreet, Lee, and Confederate Attack Plans for July 3 at Gettysburg" is an outstanding study of the Lee-Longstreet controversy as it applied to the formulation of plans for the third day of the Battle. Piston reviews in detail the various plans of General Lee and General Longstreet for the third day of the Battle. He argues persuasively that Longstreet was dilatory and did not follow Lee's orders to attack early in the day on July 3. (Most of Longstreet's critics focus with much less justification on Longstreet's alleged slowness on July 2.) The essay explores the options available to the Army of Northern Virginia on the morning of the third day of the battle. The Southern position was very difficult, in hindsight, and the performance of both Lee and Longstreet was wanting. This is easily the best essay in the volume in terms of understanding the events of July 3.
Carol Reardon's essay "The Convergence of History and Myth in the Southern Past" is one of an increasing number of scholarly efforts to distinguish between history as an actual event and history as memory -- the uses and mythologies which people construct about the past. She discusses how Pickett's charge assumed the status of a legend and she focuses on the war after the Battle in the South. This war over the charge involved attempts to exonerate Robert E. Lee for the failure of the assault, and it also involved disputes between Virginians and North Carolinians over which Southern troops deserved the glory (and which the blame) for the assault. Professor Reardon subsequently addressed the subject of this essay in her book "Pickett's Charge in History and Memory."
Robert Krick's essay "Armistead and Garnett: the parallel lives of two Virginia soldiers" offers biographical insights into the two of General Pickett's brigade commanders who died at Gettysburg. I learned a great deal about Armistead and Garnett from this essay, but it was of limited usefulness in helping me understand Pickett's charge.
Anthropologist Robert Bee's essay "Fredricksburg on the Other Leg" examines the letters of a Union combatant, Sergeant Ben Hirst, of the 14th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry, who participated on the Union side of the line during Pickett's charge. This is a good essay in how a common soldier saw and responded to the Confederate assault.
The final essay in the volume "From Gettysburg to Falling Waters" by A Wilson Greene examines two issues: a) General Meade's decision not to counterattack on July 3 and July 4 following the repulse of Pickett's charge; b) the retreat from Gettysburg and General Meade's alleged failure to pursue with sufficient aggressiveness before the Southern Army crossed the Potomac to Virginia on July 14. The essay includes a careful factual exposition followed by Greene's analysis. Greene argues that Meade acted properly in deciding against a counterattack. The matter of the retreat is more complex. President Lincoln's views, highly critical of Meade, have colored much of the controversy and tarnished Meade's reputation. Greene finds that Meade on the whole performed ably and thoughtfully in his pursuit of the retreating Army of Northern Virginia. He concludes, however, that the Union Army had opportunities for a more aggressive approach which a more daring and imaginative commander could well have exploited to good effect. It is doubtful that Lee's army could have been destroyed by more aggressive pursuit.
This is a thoughtful volume of essays that will interest readers familiar with the basic facts and issues of the Gettysburg campaign
Robin Friedman
January 24, 2025
An absolutely fascinating collection of essays dealing with the third day of the Battle of Gettysburg (July 3, 1863) and its aftermath. It covers a gamut of topics from Longstreet's lack of following Lee's plan to strengthen the right flank of Pickett's Charge, to Meade's failure to follow and prevent the Army of Northern Virginia from retreating back across the Potomac River following the defeat at Gettysburg. Well worth reading for any devotee of literature regarding the American Civil War.
March 8, 2018
I own all three books of these essays and they are phenomenal!
May 30, 2013
Another entry in the Gallagher essay collection series. I thought this is one of the better entries as all essays were at least somewhat interesting.
Essay topics:
-the surprisingly limited impact of Gettysburg on Confederate morale
-the murky history of early July 3 and what Lee and Longstreet actually planned
-the postwar arguments about Pickett's Charge, a sort of threeway fight between the Lost Cause, Pickett's men, and men from Pettigrew's and Trimble's divisions
-parallel biography of Lewis Armistead and Richard Garnett, leaders of 2 of Pickett's 3 brigades on July 3
-comparison of different writings by Ben Hirst, a Union infantry Sgt who was involved in the defense against Pickett's Charge
-a very evenhanded examination of Meade's pursuit of Lee after Gettysburg
My favorite essays were those about Meade and Lee-Longstreet as both were interesting looks at very controversial issues.
Essay topics:
-the surprisingly limited impact of Gettysburg on Confederate morale
-the murky history of early July 3 and what Lee and Longstreet actually planned
-the postwar arguments about Pickett's Charge, a sort of threeway fight between the Lost Cause, Pickett's men, and men from Pettigrew's and Trimble's divisions
-parallel biography of Lewis Armistead and Richard Garnett, leaders of 2 of Pickett's 3 brigades on July 3
-comparison of different writings by Ben Hirst, a Union infantry Sgt who was involved in the defense against Pickett's Charge
-a very evenhanded examination of Meade's pursuit of Lee after Gettysburg
My favorite essays were those about Meade and Lee-Longstreet as both were interesting looks at very controversial issues.
September 7, 2024
The six essays in this book are individually very good; however, I don't think some of the essays help with understanding the July 3rd actions and post-battle campaign. The dual biography of Lew Armistead and Richard Garnett was interesting but mostly didn't directly deal with Pickett's Charge; the author also failed to explain why he picked these two men out of the thirteen brigade commanders that took part in the charge. The essay on Ben Hurst, while not bad, simply reproduced parts of his letters, without explaining why his particular experiences were more important than the thousands of other Union soldiers in that section of the battlefield.
Read
September 11, 2009CW9737Gal
Want to read
January 29, 2011I know, I know! More Civil war! I read the first forty pages in three books yesterday and just couldn't get into anything. The Civil War is my old reliable. I never tire of it!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews