The Third Day at Gettysburg and Beyond

by Gary W. Gallagher

Book Overview

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...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0807821551
• ISBN13: 9780807821558
• Release Date: September 1994
• Publisher: University of North Carolina Press
• Length: 232 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.1" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

unique history review

I've read the other two books, Day One and Day Two. Unique concept that has different authors reflect on the battle plans each day. Very well rounded forum and that lays the ground work for dissecting the actors and events of the Gettysburg battle. Often different analysis that is thought provoking. Studies of the commanders and their battle plans during the Civil War will always be controvercial. The book shows this from all sides. The 'trilogy', day one,tow, and three, is a excellent source of 'battle plan theory' of the Battle at Gettysburg

Studies of the Third Day of Gettysburg

This book is the 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 Longsteet 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

Interesting views and content!

Similar in format to his books covering Day #1 and Day #2 issues, Gary Gallagher has assembled several writer/historians to offer or explain popular concerns of the Day #3 events. Authors offer their views on various subjects such as Confederate morale, Meade's decision to not pursue Lee, Pickett's Charge as a myth and more. Sadly, I did find Robert Krick's essay on Armistead and Garnett to be quite boring and not as useful for the Day #3 events as intended. He liked to cover their military careers while very little was covered about their Gettysburg involvment. I like Krick's work, but felt this essay could have worked in another book. This book is intended for those who probably already have a good knowledge of the Day #3 events and may have had questions as to popular ideas and concepts of that day. True to the quality of his other books, Gary Gallagher has assembled a very good book with intention to cover these subjects which better explains them. This book is a must read for anyone studying Gettysburg and especially for those who are looking further into the third day fighting. This book won't cover the entire battle as others I would recommend for that. Instead, it focuses on the key issues. 5 STARS!!!!!

Insightful Essays about 3rd day at Gettysburg and aftermath

This book follows the standard format of all Gary Gallagher Military Campaigns of the Civil War books. It contains six essays about various aspects pertaining to the last day at Gettysburg and the immediate aftermath of the battle. Overall the book is solid in that it discusses some of the latest scholarship and academic findings about Gettysburg, and covers a wide range of topics. I enjoy this in depth analysis of battles, while others may find this type of history book slighly dry.Gary Gallagher's essay about the impact the loss at Gettysburg had on the Confederate Army and civilian population is very interesting, and probably the best essay from the book. I did not realize that Vicksburg was considered a much greater loss for most Confederates. Not until Lincoln's address does the magnitude of what happened really sink into the hearts and minds of both sides. Both, Piston's essay about the relationship between Lee and Longstreet during the battle, and Reardon's essay about Pickett's charge, are well researched and written. Robert Krick's essay about the shared history between Generals Armistead and Garnett is a bit long and somewhat boring. Robert Bee's essay conveys a very personal view of the Battle through the letters of one of the participants. I find these types of eye witness accounts fascinating. Finally, Greene argues that Meade was not overly cautious in his pursuit of Lee. Greene presents some decent arguments, but I was not convinced that Meade did not prolong the war through his slow advance towards the defeated Confederate Army. Of course, all this changes once Grant is put in command over Meade.I recommend this book for anyone who is very interested in the Battle of Gettysburg. If you are looking for fresh, relevant, and current material about the third day of the battle, then you will enjoy this book. For those who have read other books in the campaign series and liked them, you will most likely enjoy this one also.

An excellent supplement to the study of Gettysburg

Part of the Military Campaigns of the Civil War series and the third of three books on Gettysburg, Gallagher presents a series of essays on the 3d and 4th days of the Battle of Gettysburg and the immediate aftermath. A key point is that these are essays - the volume does not present a history of the battle. Instead, each essay reviews a particular moment or theme.A strong point of an essay series is that the authors can lay differing interpretations of key events or points without the necessity of retelling the entire story of the battle. For instance, Gallagher's own essay discusses the difficulties Meade faced in launching a pursuit of the Confederates and what he actually managed to accomplish. Little has been written on this since Coddington's The Gettysburg Campaign. Other essays focus on skirmishing by the 14th Connecticutt prior to Pickett's Charge, the importance of Gettysburg to the overall Confederate war effort and some other topics. The essays are uniformly well-written and interesting, if not always completely convincing.I'd recommend that anyone interested in Gettysburg beyond the most basic level read this volume as well as the previous two.