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The Colors of Courage: Gettysburg's Forgotten History: Immigrants, Women, and African Americans in the Civil War's Defining Battle
Gettysburg has been written about and studied in great detail over the last 140 years, but there are still many participants whose experiences have been overlooked. In augmenting this incomplete history, Margaret Creighton presents a new look at the decisive battle through the eyes of Gettysburg's women, immigrant soldiers, and African Americans.An academic with a superb flair for storytelling, Creighton draws on memoirs, letters, diaries, and newspapers to get to the hearts of her subjects. Mag Palm, a free black woman living with her family outside of town on Cemetery Ridge, was understandably threatened by the arrival of Lee's Confederate Army; slavers had tried to capture her three years before. Carl Schurz, a political exile who had fled Germany after the failed 1848 revolution, brought a deeply held fervor for abolitionism to the Union Army. Sadie Bushman, a nine-year-old cabinetmaker's daughter, was commandeered by a Union doctor to assist at a field hospital. In telling the stories of these and a dozen other participants, Margaret Creighton has written a stunningly fluid work of original history--a narrative that is sure to redefine the Civil War's most essential battle.
360 pages, Hardcover
First published January 2, 2005
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July 4, 2025
Gettysburg's Unsung Heroes
So much has been written about the Battle of Gettysburg (July 1 -- July 3, 1863), that it is difficult to find something new to say or a new and interesting way to say it. Margaret Creighton's book, "The Colors of Courage: Gettysburg's Forgotten History" (2005) succeeds on both counts. Margaret Creighton is Professor of History at Bates College, Maine. Her study of the Battle of Gettysburg focuses on the people and groups that frequently do not receive their full due: the Union XIth Corps, composed in large part of German immigrants, slightingly referred to as "Dutch", and its leaders, the German immigrants in the Borough of Gettysburg, the women of Gettysburg, and the African-American community in Gettysburg and its environs. Professor Creighton also discusses the "Louisiana Tigers" a much-feared unit of the Confederate Army. Each of these groups, Professor Creighton shows the reader, had something at stake in the Battle of Gettysburg over and above the military maneuvers and strategies, and each contributed something important to the result of the battle and to its significance.
The book begins with some stage-setting of where each group stood just before the Battle. Thus the Union XI Corps was smarting from the defeat of the Union Army at Chancellorsville, and it was viewed as the scapegoat because it was the victim of Stonewall Jackson's surprise attack on the far Union flank.
Professor Creighton gives a good picture of life in pre-war Gettysburg, a subject most other histories treat too lightly. She pays particular attention to the women on the eve of the battle. Gettysburg women were of varying economic and social status and had to bear much of the brunt of the invasion because many of the men were in military service or had left the town in anticipation of the invasion.
Approximately eight percent of Gettysburg's population was African-American. Most of the African-American population was poor and struggling, but some individuals had managed to acquire land and property and to attain positions of influence and respect within their community. With the Confederate invasion, most of the African-American population that was able to do so left town. And with good reason. The Southern Army seized African-Americans as "contraband," including those who had never spent a day in Southern slavery, and sent them South to a life of slavery. Professor Creighton describes this well as the "reverse Underground Railroad."
In Professor Creighton's account, we see how the XI Corps and its leaders tried to redeem themselves at Gettysburg. She shows how women conducted themselves heroically during the battle by offering a mixture of cooperation with and resistance to the invading troops. After the Battle, many women in the town made tireless and demanding efforts in caring for the wounded and the dying.
There is a great deal of attention paid to Gettysburg's African-American community and how it was changed by the Battle. I found the discussion of the African-American residents of Gettysburg the most fascinating part of the book and the part which has been least explored in other studies.
The book is brought to life by its treatment of individuals as well as groups. Thus we meet a variety of people in the XI Corps, from its Commander, General Otis Howard, through the German immigrant Generals Schurz and Schimmelfennig on Howard's staff, through the enlisted corporal Adam Muenzenberger who is taken prisoner on July 1 and dies in a prison camp. We see a great deal of Georgia Wade McClellan and her more famous sister, Jennie Wade, and learn more about them than is usual in battle studies. We also hear a great deal about Elizabeth Thorn, who in 2002 at last received a monument in her honor. Mrs. Thorn, pregnant and the keeper of the Evergreen Cemetery provided great and hazardous service before, during, and after the Battle of Gettysburg. Again Professor Creighton makes nuances and details of her story come alive that often get little attention.
The African-Americans described in Professor Creighton's study include Abraham Brian, whose home remains on the Gettysburg Battlefield on Cemetery Ridge at the center of the Confederate attack, the flamboyant Mag Palm, Owen Robinson, a successful businessman, and Basil Biggs, who did a great deal of work burying fallen soldiers after the Battle. Professor Creighton also uses a great deal of oral histories based upon her interviews with Catherine Carter and Margaret Nutter, descendants of African-Americans in Gettysburg at the time of the Battle. These sources are unusual and have much to teach about the Battle.
Professor Creighton tells her story in a clear, dignified way which, for the most part, is free of polemic. She reminds the reader that Gettysburg was fought for human freedom and that the goals of the battle and the Civil War, particularly the promise of freedom and dignity to African-Americans, sometimes were forgotten in the spirit of reconciliation that came to pervade American life following Reconstruction. Professor Creighton tells an important story, or a series of important stories, and she tells them well. Her book was a pleasure to read and taught me a great deal about the facts and the meaning of the Battle of Gettysburg.
Robin Friedman
So much has been written about the Battle of Gettysburg (July 1 -- July 3, 1863), that it is difficult to find something new to say or a new and interesting way to say it. Margaret Creighton's book, "The Colors of Courage: Gettysburg's Forgotten History" (2005) succeeds on both counts. Margaret Creighton is Professor of History at Bates College, Maine. Her study of the Battle of Gettysburg focuses on the people and groups that frequently do not receive their full due: the Union XIth Corps, composed in large part of German immigrants, slightingly referred to as "Dutch", and its leaders, the German immigrants in the Borough of Gettysburg, the women of Gettysburg, and the African-American community in Gettysburg and its environs. Professor Creighton also discusses the "Louisiana Tigers" a much-feared unit of the Confederate Army. Each of these groups, Professor Creighton shows the reader, had something at stake in the Battle of Gettysburg over and above the military maneuvers and strategies, and each contributed something important to the result of the battle and to its significance.
The book begins with some stage-setting of where each group stood just before the Battle. Thus the Union XI Corps was smarting from the defeat of the Union Army at Chancellorsville, and it was viewed as the scapegoat because it was the victim of Stonewall Jackson's surprise attack on the far Union flank.
Professor Creighton gives a good picture of life in pre-war Gettysburg, a subject most other histories treat too lightly. She pays particular attention to the women on the eve of the battle. Gettysburg women were of varying economic and social status and had to bear much of the brunt of the invasion because many of the men were in military service or had left the town in anticipation of the invasion.
Approximately eight percent of Gettysburg's population was African-American. Most of the African-American population was poor and struggling, but some individuals had managed to acquire land and property and to attain positions of influence and respect within their community. With the Confederate invasion, most of the African-American population that was able to do so left town. And with good reason. The Southern Army seized African-Americans as "contraband," including those who had never spent a day in Southern slavery, and sent them South to a life of slavery. Professor Creighton describes this well as the "reverse Underground Railroad."
In Professor Creighton's account, we see how the XI Corps and its leaders tried to redeem themselves at Gettysburg. She shows how women conducted themselves heroically during the battle by offering a mixture of cooperation with and resistance to the invading troops. After the Battle, many women in the town made tireless and demanding efforts in caring for the wounded and the dying.
There is a great deal of attention paid to Gettysburg's African-American community and how it was changed by the Battle. I found the discussion of the African-American residents of Gettysburg the most fascinating part of the book and the part which has been least explored in other studies.
The book is brought to life by its treatment of individuals as well as groups. Thus we meet a variety of people in the XI Corps, from its Commander, General Otis Howard, through the German immigrant Generals Schurz and Schimmelfennig on Howard's staff, through the enlisted corporal Adam Muenzenberger who is taken prisoner on July 1 and dies in a prison camp. We see a great deal of Georgia Wade McClellan and her more famous sister, Jennie Wade, and learn more about them than is usual in battle studies. We also hear a great deal about Elizabeth Thorn, who in 2002 at last received a monument in her honor. Mrs. Thorn, pregnant and the keeper of the Evergreen Cemetery provided great and hazardous service before, during, and after the Battle of Gettysburg. Again Professor Creighton makes nuances and details of her story come alive that often get little attention.
The African-Americans described in Professor Creighton's study include Abraham Brian, whose home remains on the Gettysburg Battlefield on Cemetery Ridge at the center of the Confederate attack, the flamboyant Mag Palm, Owen Robinson, a successful businessman, and Basil Biggs, who did a great deal of work burying fallen soldiers after the Battle. Professor Creighton also uses a great deal of oral histories based upon her interviews with Catherine Carter and Margaret Nutter, descendants of African-Americans in Gettysburg at the time of the Battle. These sources are unusual and have much to teach about the Battle.
Professor Creighton tells her story in a clear, dignified way which, for the most part, is free of polemic. She reminds the reader that Gettysburg was fought for human freedom and that the goals of the battle and the Civil War, particularly the promise of freedom and dignity to African-Americans, sometimes were forgotten in the spirit of reconciliation that came to pervade American life following Reconstruction. Professor Creighton tells an important story, or a series of important stories, and she tells them well. Her book was a pleasure to read and taught me a great deal about the facts and the meaning of the Battle of Gettysburg.
Robin Friedman
November 15, 2013
An examination of the Battle of Gettysburg with the emphasis on the immigrants who fought as soldiers (especially the Germans), African-Americans, and women. Oshkoshers might be interested in the information about Carl Schurz—the subject of the statue in Menominee Park, and of the other tales of the men of the Iron Brigade.
The contributions of immigrants, African-Americans, and women to the civil war are examined in author’s book. German-American soldiers, such as Corporal Adam Muezenberger, of Greenfield, WI, fought in the Union Army. Sometimes they were disparaged by native born Yankee troops, and called cowards.
Major General Carl Schurz, who came to American as a political exile in 1852 from Germany, was a commander of the Eleventh Corps. He joined the army in large part because he hated slavery and was committed to abolitionism and civil rights. For those who want to look beyond the military strategy, weapons, and army histories, this book shows the impact on most important battle of the war by immigrant soldiers, slaves and free men of color, and women.
Why bother? War is so much more than the armies and soldiers who fight it. Even those groups which had few rights under the government believed that freedom was worth sacrifice.
The contributions of immigrants, African-Americans, and women to the civil war are examined in author’s book. German-American soldiers, such as Corporal Adam Muezenberger, of Greenfield, WI, fought in the Union Army. Sometimes they were disparaged by native born Yankee troops, and called cowards.
Major General Carl Schurz, who came to American as a political exile in 1852 from Germany, was a commander of the Eleventh Corps. He joined the army in large part because he hated slavery and was committed to abolitionism and civil rights. For those who want to look beyond the military strategy, weapons, and army histories, this book shows the impact on most important battle of the war by immigrant soldiers, slaves and free men of color, and women.
Why bother? War is so much more than the armies and soldiers who fight it. Even those groups which had few rights under the government believed that freedom was worth sacrifice.
July 15, 2012
What a fascinating read and especially living as I do in Gettysburg! This well researched book offers insights into the battle as told from the perspective of women, African Americans, and immigrants (German Americans) in the Northern army. As much as I have heard, read, and studied about the battle, I have never heard that the Confederate army was taking blacks captive to return to the South--with no regard to whether they were free or escaped slaves! My husband actually knew two of the women who were descendants of slaves and lived in Gettysburg until their recent deaths! How interesting to hear their "take" on the battle, which over the years has forgotten or shoved into the background the slavery issue, the main reason the battle and war was fought! Instead, over the years, histories have focused on reconciliation between the two armies, glorifying the military prowess of the white male "American" soldiers from both sides, neglecting the trauma experienced by the women, black and white, the free blacks having to leave their homes, crops, and land in order not to be kidnapped, and the discrimination and hatred directed at immigrants fighting for their new country!
August 29, 2024
This book was okay. It was not terrible, but it could have been better. I wish Margaret Creighton had just focused on the African American experience. Think about it. The African American residents lived close to a slave state and the reality of being abducted and sold into slavery is quite haunting. When the Army of Northern Virginia came into Pennsylvania during the Gettysburg Campaign they kidnapped free African Americans and brought them South to be sold into slavery. The immigrant portion focuses on the Germans in the 11th Corps of the Army of the Potomac. You can read better history for that in other books.
This book was short, but Creighton's writing made it seem longer. I just could not get into the book for the most part. There were interesting moments, but I found them far and in between. The topic had potential to be a powerful narrative that could have contributed to the Battle of Gettysburg, but I did not get that out of this book. It was a so-so read.
This book was short, but Creighton's writing made it seem longer. I just could not get into the book for the most part. There were interesting moments, but I found them far and in between. The topic had potential to be a powerful narrative that could have contributed to the Battle of Gettysburg, but I did not get that out of this book. It was a so-so read.
November 1, 2013
I had no idea when I started this book that I would enjoy a non-fiction book about Gettysburg so much. Although the author does not neglect a brief overview of the battle movements, the focus is on the stories of individuals who are left out of the usual retellings.
By researching newspapers, diaries, letters, etc., the author paints a picture of three communities of people in Gettysburg: German imigrants, women, and African Americans. We follow individuals from these communities before the battle, after the battle, and through the rebuilding time that followed. In addition, Creighton tells the "history of the history," or how the telling of the story of Gettysburg has changed as each era to follow wanted to see its own values in the battle.
My daughter and I participated in this summer's 145 Anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg reenactment. I found lots of books (and videos) that detail every military movement of the battle, but this is the only one that made the location and the people come alive for me.
By researching newspapers, diaries, letters, etc., the author paints a picture of three communities of people in Gettysburg: German imigrants, women, and African Americans. We follow individuals from these communities before the battle, after the battle, and through the rebuilding time that followed. In addition, Creighton tells the "history of the history," or how the telling of the story of Gettysburg has changed as each era to follow wanted to see its own values in the battle.
My daughter and I participated in this summer's 145 Anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg reenactment. I found lots of books (and videos) that detail every military movement of the battle, but this is the only one that made the location and the people come alive for me.
Read
September 15, 2011A MUST read!! I will definitely pick this book up again, and read it once or twice more!!
September 21, 2019
This was an interesting and well-researched look at the immediate and long-range impacts of the events of June-July 1863 on three often over-looked groups of people: immigrants (i.e. German-Americans), Women, and African American. For those who have an interest in Gettysburg, the Civil War or nineteenth century life in general, this book offers a view that provides and alternative to the many narratives of troop movements, bravery and butchery and narrows the focus to the impacts on individual lives that came along with the horrendous battles and remained long after the soldiers left to spill blood on other fields.
January 22, 2015
I have recently moved to York, PA, which is just down the road from Gettysburg, and is in fact one of the purported targets of the Confederate Army that amassed in Gettysburg and was defeated there. My husband works for York College, and this book caught my eye at the college bookstore. I picked it up to give it to my father, with the intention of reading it first so I can someday visit Gettysburg with him and really appreciate what he might tell me about our ancestor who fought there. It made for slightly depressing holiday reading, but I was glad I read it.
The subtitle implies the book follows all three of these groups through the battle itself, but I think it's good to clarify some things to set more appropriate expectations.
First, almost no African Americans were in Gettysburg during the fighting, having fled based on the fact that previous Confederate raids into Union lands had taken blacks back over the border indiscriminately, regardless of age, gender, or their status as either freemen or runaway slaves. However, African Americans owned much of the land that was the setting for crucial battles; their farms fed the soldiers; their homes sheltered the besieged. Some had previously fought for their freedom in the face of attempts to capture them Some wanted to serve in the Union army but were initially denied; some helped defend Harrisburg before the battle at Gettysburg, and some founded a black regiment that later fought valiantly elsewhere in the war. African-American workers were also the ones who diligently moved the remains of the fallen in order to create the memorial cemetery that is there now.
Also, the book provides very interesting background and follow-up regarding the abolitionist motivations of prominent officers, one of which, General Howard, went on to lead black Union troops elsewhere, and then to head the Freedman's Bureau, which worked to provide for the food, shelter, and education of freed slaves. Howard is the one who tried to enforce the "40 acres and a mule" seized property allocation in the South (canceled by higher powers capitulating to white interests). He also founded Howard University to educate black people, a very successful school that has educated many black leaders. Revisionist history post-reconstruction is examined, in which other reasons than the abolition of (or preservation of) slavery are misrepresented as the primary motives for the civil war.
Second, the immigrant population in question is pretty much limited to then-recent German immigrants. Many of these had previous military experience abroad, and it is clearly the opinion of the author that their overall contribution to the Union victory has gone unappreciated, partly because they were unfairly excoriated as cowards in stories focused on by nativist newspapers. I thought this section was very interesting, not least because one of the personal histories it focuses on illustrates the poor treatment that prisoners of war received, some of whom died in starvation without the luxury of hearing from their families, if those families wrote to them in a language other than English and therefore had such correspondence confiscated as suspect.
Women in Gettysburg had a particularly hard time of it, as the prominent male citizens had largely either joined the army, or fled the city just as the blacks had. Women were left to defend their homes and children as best they could. At least half the city was held by the Confederates and the families there were under pressure to either feed and supply that army or feel the wrath of it. Some of the people who dealt with that choice were later criticized for capitulating too much or too easily. In the meantime, womanly contributions to the Union war effort such as cooking, preparing supplies, and care for the wounded were taken for granted without any compensation.
Apparently some companies that served at Gettysburg, and one doctor, later took the opportunity to show their appreciation for some of the women who served them, giving them medals (and in one case a house), and space in the war memorials. But largely it is up to books like this one to help us appreciate the contributions of those who were not soldiers, as well as the challenges they faced before, during, and after the battle of Gettysburg. As the book points out, one of the speeches during the first memorial event at Gettysburg gave accolades to the women who served during it, and gave recognition to the abolitionist desires that fueled some of the most influential fighters. We should pay attention to what was said, both then, and later, and view both with a critical and educated eye.
Kudos to Margaret S. Creighton for providing us the opportunity to do that.
The subtitle implies the book follows all three of these groups through the battle itself, but I think it's good to clarify some things to set more appropriate expectations.
First, almost no African Americans were in Gettysburg during the fighting, having fled based on the fact that previous Confederate raids into Union lands had taken blacks back over the border indiscriminately, regardless of age, gender, or their status as either freemen or runaway slaves. However, African Americans owned much of the land that was the setting for crucial battles; their farms fed the soldiers; their homes sheltered the besieged. Some had previously fought for their freedom in the face of attempts to capture them Some wanted to serve in the Union army but were initially denied; some helped defend Harrisburg before the battle at Gettysburg, and some founded a black regiment that later fought valiantly elsewhere in the war. African-American workers were also the ones who diligently moved the remains of the fallen in order to create the memorial cemetery that is there now.
Also, the book provides very interesting background and follow-up regarding the abolitionist motivations of prominent officers, one of which, General Howard, went on to lead black Union troops elsewhere, and then to head the Freedman's Bureau, which worked to provide for the food, shelter, and education of freed slaves. Howard is the one who tried to enforce the "40 acres and a mule" seized property allocation in the South (canceled by higher powers capitulating to white interests). He also founded Howard University to educate black people, a very successful school that has educated many black leaders. Revisionist history post-reconstruction is examined, in which other reasons than the abolition of (or preservation of) slavery are misrepresented as the primary motives for the civil war.
Second, the immigrant population in question is pretty much limited to then-recent German immigrants. Many of these had previous military experience abroad, and it is clearly the opinion of the author that their overall contribution to the Union victory has gone unappreciated, partly because they were unfairly excoriated as cowards in stories focused on by nativist newspapers. I thought this section was very interesting, not least because one of the personal histories it focuses on illustrates the poor treatment that prisoners of war received, some of whom died in starvation without the luxury of hearing from their families, if those families wrote to them in a language other than English and therefore had such correspondence confiscated as suspect.
Women in Gettysburg had a particularly hard time of it, as the prominent male citizens had largely either joined the army, or fled the city just as the blacks had. Women were left to defend their homes and children as best they could. At least half the city was held by the Confederates and the families there were under pressure to either feed and supply that army or feel the wrath of it. Some of the people who dealt with that choice were later criticized for capitulating too much or too easily. In the meantime, womanly contributions to the Union war effort such as cooking, preparing supplies, and care for the wounded were taken for granted without any compensation.
Apparently some companies that served at Gettysburg, and one doctor, later took the opportunity to show their appreciation for some of the women who served them, giving them medals (and in one case a house), and space in the war memorials. But largely it is up to books like this one to help us appreciate the contributions of those who were not soldiers, as well as the challenges they faced before, during, and after the battle of Gettysburg. As the book points out, one of the speeches during the first memorial event at Gettysburg gave accolades to the women who served during it, and gave recognition to the abolitionist desires that fueled some of the most influential fighters. We should pay attention to what was said, both then, and later, and view both with a critical and educated eye.
Kudos to Margaret S. Creighton for providing us the opportunity to do that.
March 21, 2012
Apparently this book was sorely needed and is considered a new and important topic in Civil War history. The author explores the role of (white) women, immigrants, and black people in the battle of Gettysburg and the aftermath. It was very well written and she did a good job of weaving the stories of the 3 groups together. It is shocking, really, that it took this long for someone look beyond the purely military history of the battle. Reading it after a visit to Gettysburg was perfect.
March 31, 2013
Interesting read about the civilians who were placed in harms way before, during, and after the battle. The books gives a variety of stories concerning the many overlooked aspects of war and the affects o people. I read this book to get a better insight into my husband's family history. Jennie wade is my husband's great, great, great aunt and georgia wade McClellan is his great, great, grandmother.
May 9, 2013
This was a great side-book to read. I've been reading a lot about the Civil War and this book was almost the "behind-the-scenes" of all the other books that I've read. It was interesting to read the African American's point-of-view as well as the immigrants and the women. You don't think of those things usually when you think of the Civil War but those people were highly involved in the war whether they wanted to be or not. It was a great read and I'm glad I've had the time to read that one.
January 13, 2010
Intriguing histories surrounding the monumental battle - eye-opening facts about the civilians involved and then marginalized.
May 29, 2017
My own long-standing concern about the way that social histories telling the stories of supposedly subaltern groups notwithstanding, this book does tell an interesting and worthwhile set of stories that is seldom told. As a native of Pennsylvania, and someone who has read about and visited many sites connected with the Civil War, including Gettysburg, I am very familiar with the military history of the place. In most of the books one reads, though, there is a focus on military and political history to the exclusion of the experience of civilians or the long-term recovery after the destructiveness of battle [1]. And, when it comes to Gettysburg and its tale of bravery and heroism, there are some people who simply fall short when it comes to being remembered. I have read a great deal about the Battle of Gettysburg, and most of what I have read comments on the German soldiers of the Union XI corps of being quick to flee just as they had at Chancelorsville, largely ignored any discussion of civilians caught in the middle, and completely ignored a discussion of the local black community and the special dangers faced by Southern kidnappers praised today for their courage in battle.
In terms of its contents, this book has a lot to offer, being about 230 pages or so and taking a largely chronological as well as topical division in terms of how the Battle of Gettysburg has been remembered in a particularly narrow and incomplete way. After various introductory material, including a chronology of the Gettysburg campaign, the author begins the first part of the book with a discussion of the lay of the land, and Gettysburg citizens' lack of awareness that they would be in the midst of a terrible battle. After that the author discusses the experiences of German-American soldiers at Chancellorsville and how the shame of that battle led them to desire redemption. The author then moves to the disbelief among civilians in Gettysburg that their homes would be a battlefield in the face of the rebel invasion. After this the author discusses the desolation faced by many blacks at the threat of being kidnapped and sent to slavery by rebel soldiers. The second part of the book looks at the course of the battle itself, with chapters on the experience of the Germans on the first day of the battle, where they were again hit on the flank and driven back, on the dangers faced by women dealing with soldiers on both sides, and on the experience faced by black refugees from the battle as well as those who encountered enemy troops. After this, the author moves her focus to a discussion of the aftermath of battle, looking at the experience of a few of the German-Americans, including a prisoner who died in Belle Isle, a general who hid out in a "pigsty," and the Christian warrior who led the XI core, Oliver Howard in a moving chapter about the tricky nature of honor for immigrants and virtuous Christians. After this come chapters that deal with the tricky nature of women and remembrance as well as the way that black people had to make a living on hallowed ground that largely forgot their stories and their experiences and even the fact that they existed as part of Gettysburg or part of the war's meanings. The author then ends with a short conclusion that discusses various historical trends.
Ultimately, there are a few factors that lead me to be more favorable to this book than I would be to many books of its kind that I have read elsewhere. For one, I am a sufferer of PTSD myself, and have been for all of my life, and so the lingering traumas of the past are something that is always before my own eyes and in the horrors of my nightmares. For another, I happen to know a great deal about the military aspects of the Battle of Gettysburg, enough that it is fairly natural to want to know the forgotten stories of the battle and its surroundings. That is the area where this book excels particularly. The author has done a great deal of research and tells compelling stories that have not frequently been told about the context of the Battle of Gettysburg and its long aftermath. Surely, we ought to remember the experience of people who do not often come to mind as a way of better understanding the larger context of battles and the way that the effects of warfare linger long after the shooting stops, and that there are moral grounds to battle and not mere bravery.
[1] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
In terms of its contents, this book has a lot to offer, being about 230 pages or so and taking a largely chronological as well as topical division in terms of how the Battle of Gettysburg has been remembered in a particularly narrow and incomplete way. After various introductory material, including a chronology of the Gettysburg campaign, the author begins the first part of the book with a discussion of the lay of the land, and Gettysburg citizens' lack of awareness that they would be in the midst of a terrible battle. After that the author discusses the experiences of German-American soldiers at Chancellorsville and how the shame of that battle led them to desire redemption. The author then moves to the disbelief among civilians in Gettysburg that their homes would be a battlefield in the face of the rebel invasion. After this the author discusses the desolation faced by many blacks at the threat of being kidnapped and sent to slavery by rebel soldiers. The second part of the book looks at the course of the battle itself, with chapters on the experience of the Germans on the first day of the battle, where they were again hit on the flank and driven back, on the dangers faced by women dealing with soldiers on both sides, and on the experience faced by black refugees from the battle as well as those who encountered enemy troops. After this, the author moves her focus to a discussion of the aftermath of battle, looking at the experience of a few of the German-Americans, including a prisoner who died in Belle Isle, a general who hid out in a "pigsty," and the Christian warrior who led the XI core, Oliver Howard in a moving chapter about the tricky nature of honor for immigrants and virtuous Christians. After this come chapters that deal with the tricky nature of women and remembrance as well as the way that black people had to make a living on hallowed ground that largely forgot their stories and their experiences and even the fact that they existed as part of Gettysburg or part of the war's meanings. The author then ends with a short conclusion that discusses various historical trends.
Ultimately, there are a few factors that lead me to be more favorable to this book than I would be to many books of its kind that I have read elsewhere. For one, I am a sufferer of PTSD myself, and have been for all of my life, and so the lingering traumas of the past are something that is always before my own eyes and in the horrors of my nightmares. For another, I happen to know a great deal about the military aspects of the Battle of Gettysburg, enough that it is fairly natural to want to know the forgotten stories of the battle and its surroundings. That is the area where this book excels particularly. The author has done a great deal of research and tells compelling stories that have not frequently been told about the context of the Battle of Gettysburg and its long aftermath. Surely, we ought to remember the experience of people who do not often come to mind as a way of better understanding the larger context of battles and the way that the effects of warfare linger long after the shooting stops, and that there are moral grounds to battle and not mere bravery.
[1] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2016...
January 25, 2018
It took a while for me to get into the book. I am happy I finished reading it and then visited the museum in Gettysburg at the Lutheran Seminary. Both the book and museum were very good and told the story of the people that were left behind during the battle. Many strong men and women left behind to tend to the children, fields, friends, family and heal the wounded and bury the dead. Unfortunately we don't seem to learn from our mistakes.
July 8, 2025
Very helpful book for learning about civilians' points of view in Gettysburg, which is hard to find sources on! Many thanks to this author for considering multiple points of view, including those usually marginalized or overlooked. Really, many people had their own personal "battles" at that time, including ones of prejudice. I really appreciate how Creighton takes a traditionally static and accepted telling of the narrative and makes it dynamic with these added voices.
June 29, 2018
Again to much space dedicated to the details of the battle and less on what the book claims to be about.
September 9, 2018
An interesting take on a major battle site.
May 28, 2020
2.5 stars
September 29, 2024
Wasn't sure I'd like this but I especially enjoyed the stories of women and girls on the battlefield. An easy read that flowed.
December 17, 2007
This book would have been stronger had it focused on one of the three topics. Afircan-Americans civilians get a raw deal in this book as there is not much learned about them. This could be a result of the evidence or lack of left behind. The German soldiers info was repetitive to other books on the 11th corps and German immigrants in Adams county in 1863 and seemed as a filler for this book. The book should have been shorter and focused solely on women civilians in Gettysburg. Most of the women covered here have been covered before, though there is some quality ancedotal facts in this book. This is an ok book for reviewing what was going on in Gettysburg besides the fighting on July 1-3. I would have liked more emphasis on the cleanup after the battle and a more complete narrative of what happened in the town and to African-Americans, but this book is what it is.
February 28, 2016
It must have been tremendously exciting for the author researching this book. All three subjects were and remained disenfranchised long after the battle, some longer than others. Other than that, there isn't much that threads the three subjects together into a cohesive book. It is particularly interesting during these raucous Republican presidential debates to read how European, particularly German, immigrants were shunned, blamed, and generally disparaged by whites even while serving and fighting for the Union. Nothing really is new under the sun.
February 1, 2016
Interesting look at how Gettysburg impacted immigrants, women, and African Americans, but too much a retelling of individual stories rather than a compelling whole. Interesting sections on anti-German feelings in US at the time, Confederate "raiding parties" to take free Blacks south, ant post-war issues of rememberance for Blacks at the battlefield.
May 2, 2008
Some fascinating history about Gettysburg, especially the role women played, particularly black women. However, it was hard not to get bogged down in all the detail. I admit I finally resorted to skimming it to get the "general drift".
August 4, 2013
To be fair, I've read a lot of books about Gettysburg that have already addressed this subject matter. I think the other authors probably just used the research from this book. That being said it was nothing new to me, and the writing was not very spectacular.
June 23, 2014
An engaging scholarly study that genuinely widens the scope of what is meant by "The Battle of Gettysburg."
January 26, 2016
Gives a different view of the battle of Gettysburg. Informative.
October 3, 2023
A fantastic read about lesser known human interest stories of Gettysburg.
June 22, 2024
a very inhabited, evocative book that places you on the ground of the civil war’s battles and sieges. brilliantly and poignantly written.
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