General Lee’s Immortals: The Battles and Campaigns of the Branch-Lane Brigade in the Army of Northern Virginia, 1861-1865
Michael C. Hardy
Savas Beatie, 2018, 408 pp., $34.95
ISBN: 978-1-61121-362-1
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For those who have read a number of my reviews over the past few years, there is nothing I love more than a book that chronicles a regiment or brigade’s actions throughout the Civil War.  The intimate history which can be laid down through the stories of the sacrifice and valor of these troops is something that is quite inspiring.  General Lee’s Immortals is one such book that details the history of the Branch-Lane Brigade from 1861 to 1865 while in the Army of Northern Virginia.  Not only that, but this well written and well researched book about this brigade is surely going to be used as one of the great source materials for these soldiers.

                Michael C. Hardy is a graduate of the University of Alabama and has written a number of works and articles in prominent Civil War publications.  He was named the North Carolina Historian of the Year in 2010 and blogs regularly at Looking for North Carolina’s Civil War.  He, and his family, are often seen as interpreters at many historic sites throughout western North Carolina and East Tennessee.  He is recognized by many to be one of the experts on the Civil War and has authored other works on North Carolina forces during the conflict.

                While I always appreciate a brigade history, there is one thing which stands out to me in this work.  I am surprised that there have not been any works, primary or secondary, which chronicle this brigade.  I, for one, had only heard of the Branch-Lane Brigade, but never read anything specific about them.  This works corrects that gap in our Civil War Scholarship.  In fact, jumping ahead just a bit, this brigade history is one of the more well designed and organized I have seen in the past year.  Never once was I confused about any of the events happening throughout the book as Hardy goes into great detail about the events in front of us.  Even if you were just getting into the Civil War and saw this book on the shelf, there would be enough in the narrative to move the reader throughout the events of this brigade.  On top of that, I was impressed with the amount of campaigns that the Branch-Lane Brigade were a part of.  When I first received this book and saw the battle flag on the cover, I saw the immense amount of names on the cover and knew that there was something special about this brigade.  As I was reading, I began to have a great appreciation not only for the men of the unit, but for the research that went into this work.
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                I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the American Civil War.  This brigade’s story can bring any reader throughout the conflict in the eastern theater of the war.  Michael Hardy has done an amazing job of research and the narrative he gives proves his mastery of the craft.  I hope that for years to come, this is the reference material when looking into the details for the Branch-Lane Brigade.  Highly Recommended!  

​The Generals of Shiloh: Character in Leadership, April 6-7, 1862
Larry Tagg
Savas Beatie, 2017, 256 pp., $32.95
ISBN: 978-1-61121-369-0
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There are certain volumes within Civil War scholarship that are well known to the masses, and some campaign specific studies tend to go along with that notion.  The Generals of Gettysburg is one of those well known books specifying itself on intense campaign study.  Now, Larry Tagg has offered a new study much in the same vein as The Generals of Gettysburg but with a different campaign.  The Generals of Shiloh is a new work that gives the reader information regarding the commanders of the previous mentioned engagement and their actions while there.  Once again, Mr. Tagg has given us a fine reference book that will be remembered and used for scholarship for the Shiloh Campaign.    
                Larry Tagg graduated from the University of Texas and is well known as a bass player and singer.  He co-founded “Bourgeois Tagg” and enjoyed great success with the group in the mid 1980s.  He also played bass for Tood Rundgren, Heart, Hall and Oates, and other musical groups.  He has also taught High School English and drama while in Sacremento at the Humanities and International Studies Program.  He is also the author of The Generals at Gettysburg and The Battles That Made Abraham Lincoln. 
                As stated in the introduction, The Generals of Shiloh is a fine reference book to the campaign that any student, or even master, of Shiloh should own.  The format of the book is much like its predecessor and allows an ease of use to the researcher.  As a book to read, some of the biographies of the commanders are quite interesting.  Some of the commanders are well known while others have flown under the radar for years.  That, in my opinion, is one of the nice things about this book.  The war in the west has often been too ignored by many and therefore, many of the commanders who fought in this engagement are often too easily forgotten.  Tagg, by using this format he used in his Gettysburg book, has brought to light some of the more interesting characters of this war I have only briefly read about.  On top of the biographies about the generals, there are many sections in the book that give details on the army and brigade level of what occurred during battle.  Right after the biography of the commander is a narration as to what their branch performed during the conflict.  There is no doubt in my mind that this book gives me a larger appreciation for the Battle of Shiloh.
                I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the War in the West, in particular, the Battle of Shiloh.  The format gives many researchers and ease of use and if one is going through the text to read it, they will find some fascinating, well written narrations of what occurred at this conflict.  Overall, I hope to see more books like this in the future from Mr. Tagg and some of the other major battles throughout the Civil War.  Highly recommended!

​A Vast Sea of Misery: A History and Guide to the Union and Confederate Field Hospitals at Gettysburg: July 1 – November 20, 1863
Gregory A. Coco
Thomas Publications, 1988
Savas Beatie, 2017, 210 pp., $19.95
ISBN: 978-1-61121-406-2
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As many who tour the battlefield notice, there are a number of signs delineating where the field hospitals of Gettysburg were located.  However, while there have been a number of books talking about the field hospitals of Gettysburg, they usually focus on a few of the locations and what they did there.  In A Vast Sea of Misery, Gregory A. Coco chronicles the location of each field hospital and some of the interesting cases which came from them.  In this printing of Coco’s work, the reference of the field hospitals throughout the town are a welcome sight to see back in print once again.
                Gregory A. Coco lived in Gettysburg for nearly thirty-five years.  He served in the United States Army and also earned a degree in American History from the University of Southwestern Louisiana.  While he was in the army, he served as a prisoner of war military interrogator and also served as an infantry platoon radio operator with the 25th Infantry.  He received the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star.  While living in Gettysburg, he served as a Park Ranger for the National Park and was a Licensed Battlefield Guide.  He has written many other articles and books on the Civil War, but his most famous is A Strange and Blighted Land.  Gettysburg: the Aftermath of Battle.
                This book is separated into six parts all chronicling the field hospitals throughout Gettysburg.  The first is the hospitals in the borough of Gettysburg, the second is the Union controlled hospitals, the third is the Confederate controlled hospitals, the fourth are other important medical sites, the fifth being the field hospitals of nearby towns, and the last being Camp Letterman.  Overall, the entirety of the book is comprehensive when it comes to the study of what these hospitals performed.  Going  through the text are intricate details on the location of the hospital, who served there, who most likely was healed due to regimental position, and even a short narrative on what happened.  In the end, what I’m getting at is, this is one of the most comprehensive books on Gettysburg hospitals I have ever read.  Since this is a new printing of the book, I should mention that I had not read the first edition since I could never seem to get a copy.  But this printing of the book is quite gorgeous, just as well done as Savas Beatie’s reprint of A Strange and Blighted Land.  Even after the six parts are completed, the appendices are something to behold as they are a wealth of even more information.
                I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the Battle of Gettysburg.  Especially since the new printing is out, the accessibility of this work has reached even more than before.  I will forever enjoy this reference material of the medical work which was done in the aftermath of battle and I thank Gregory Coco for writing it.  While  A Strange and Blighted Land is his most famous work, I find A Vast Sea of Misery to be just as important and a great companion book to the former.  Highly Recommended.  

​Under the Crescent Moon with the XI Corps in the Civil War: Volume I: From the Defenses of Washington to Chancellorsville, 1862-1863
James S. Pula
Savas Beatie, 2017, 312 pp., $34.95
ISBN: 978-1-61121-337-9
Image courtesy of amazon.com
 
One of the facets of the American Civil War which people tend to gravitate towards is the immigrants who served in the army during the conflict.  One of the nations which seems to get a great deal of attention for their service is Ireland, but according to research, the German nation brought more immigrants to armed service for the Union.  However, in my reading, I have not yet found a book which signifies their service quite well.  While Under the Crescent Moon talks more about the service of the Germans in the Civil War, it is a book surrounding the Eleventh Corps which was heavily German during its year in service.
                James S. Pula is a professor at Purdue University Northwest.  He has authored more than two dozen books including For Liberty and Justice: A Biography of Brig. Gen. Wlodzimierz B. Krzyzanowski, and The Sigel Regiment: A History of the 26th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry 1862-1865.  He is also the editor-in-chief of Gettysburg Magazine.  He has received the Gambrinus Prize in History from the Milwaukee County Historical Society for his work on that book.  He has also received honors from the Oskar Halecki Prize, the Rudewicz Medal, and the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland. 
                The Eleventh Corps has largely been ignored through most of the writings of history due to the failures it gained throughout its career.  However, Mr. Pula has brought us this book which not only outlines the year of service from this corps, but uses this format to speak on the enlistment and the makeup of the corps.  As stated in the introduction, there were a great deal of German Immigrants who made up the corps and I often feel that the contributions of the German people during the Civil War are largely ignored.  For that, I thank Mr. Pula for bringing this knowledge to the forefront.  This book also throws away the myth that many within the Eleventh Corps were cowards due to them being at Jackson’s attack during the Battle of Chancellorsville.  Instead, Pula brings us into the battle narrative and shows us what the corps completed after they were attacked that day.  He shows us that while they may have been prey to the flank attack that they did not stop fighting.  Sadly, the Eleventh Corps was the group which hefted the burden in the amazing chapter of this work called “There Must Be Scapegoats.” 
                I highly recommend this book not only to students of the Civil War in the East, but the Civil War in general.  I have not yet come across a well written and researched book on the Eleventh Corps and I applaud James S. Pula for doing so.  I do hope that with the release of the second volume that many of the myths and misstatements about the corps get put to rest.  There were a great many deeds which these people accomplished and Pula has brought them to light.  Accompanied by excellent maps and photographs, this is a book not to be missed.  

​The Battles and Campaigns of Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest 1861-1865
John R. Scales – Brig. Gen., U.S. Army (Ret.)
Savas Beatie, 2017, 480 pp., $32.95
ISBN: 978-1-61121-284-6
Image courtesy of amazon.com
 
There are many military leaders of interest in the American Civil War, yet one who seems to garner a great deal of attention is Nathan Bedford Forest.  He is one of those characters of controversy, even to this day, but to me, one of the more interesting parts about his participation in the war is his rise in the ranks from the onset of the conflict.  And there are even points in the book which prove how his actions and encounters shaped the Western Theater of the war.  John R. Scales, Brig. Gen., U.S. Army (Ret.), brings to life some of the points throughout Forrest’s life, especially the campaigns he fought during the Civil War.
                John R. Scales is a returned Brigadier General of the Special Forces.  He has served for three decades, including tours in Vietnam and Afghanistan.  He has a Ph.D. in engineering and has worked in that field since retiring from the military.  He has written two previous works: Sherman Invades Georgia, and A Reluctant Hero’s Footsteps.  He is a past president of the Tennessee Valley Civil War Rountable and often leads tours in Alabama, Tennessee, and Georgia.  He has also received a number of patents for inventions during his time as an engineer.
                One of the things that I appreciate about this book that it not only looks at Forrest, but looks at the battles and campaigns which surround him.  Being part of the Western Theater of the war, one of the issues I have is that there are a great deal fewer works on those engagements than the Eastern Theater.  Throughout the book, Gen. Scales presents the engagements in each chapter.  Sometimes they even read as though they area guide to anyone interested in visiting the battlefield.  It almost feels as though he is taking the reader through the field himself in a way that I have not read in the past few years.    His cumulative review of the raid or battle at the end of each chapter is also quite insightful as Gen. Scales excels at the narrative in this book.  Aided by some fine maps and photographs, this book not only is a great insight into Forrest, but into the west.  For those readers looking for a deeper book into the life of Forrest, you will find some interesting reading here, but the focus is more on the battles and raids which Forrest conducted during his military career.      
                I highly recommend this book, not only as a look into Forrest himself, but into the Western Theater of the Civil War.  I found that Gen. Scales not only brings those battles to life, but walks hand in hand with you on the trails to point out the importance of certain things never pointed out before.  Forrest may be a character deeply steeped in controversy, but this book puts that aside and instead focuses on his military career instead, even giving you glimpses into other commanders who surrounded Forrest.  Overall, if you are interested in the Western Theater of the war, this book is highly recommended.

​A Strange and Blighted Land: Gettysburg – The Aftermath of Battle
Gregory A. Coco
Savas Beatie, 2017 ed., 432 pp., $24.95
Thomas Publications, 1995 ed.
ISBN: 978 – 1-61121-405-5
Image courtesy of amazon.com
 
When it comes to the Battle of Gettysburg, there are numerous books about the battle, the tactics, and the losses which occurred on those three infamous days.  Every once in a while, a book will come along that gives us a new outlook onto the scene which happened at that location and when those books come along, they are grasped as important writings since they give us that which we have not yet gotten.  Gregory A. Coco’s book, A Strange and Blighted Land, is not only one of those books, it is one of the most important works about the town of Gettysburg we have today.  Not only is it a book about the town, itself, but a book about the aftermath of the battle and the toll it took on the people.
                Gregory A. Coco served in the United States Army and after his service, received his degree in American History from the University of Southwestern Louisiana.  During his service, he was a military interrogator and radio operator with the 25th Infantry where he received the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star.  While living in Gettysburg he was a National Park Service Ranger and a Licensed Battlefield Guide.  He has written sixteen books and many articles on the Battle of Gettysburg and the Civil War. 
                A Strange and Blighted Land is hailed as a classic in the scholastic of the Battle of Gettysburg and as stated in the introduction, for the reason that it brought something different to the study.  Not only was it a study on the town of Gettysburg in some respects, but it was more a study of the effect the battle had on the people there.  Previously published by Thomas Publications, this book was quite difficult to find outside of Gettysburg for the past few years.  This reprint of the work brings an accessibility to the work for those who had a difficult time getting their hands on this seminal work.  Coco’s narrative is interesting as he gives you many tours of places around the battlefield and within the town through the eyes of civilians.  There are some excerpts from soldiers, but the focus seems to be more on the civilians.  He touches on subjects like the care of the dead after the battle, along with the care of the wounded and even touches on some of the aggregate numbers which the people of Gettysburg saw after the battle.  Nevertheless, while this book is about the aftermath of Gettysburg, many of these thoughts could be placed on other towns effected by the war in general.  The experiences might not have been exactly the same, but the book shows that this effect is what happened to the civilian populous throughout the war. 
                There is a reason that A Strange and Blighted Land is hailed as one of the greatest Civil War books ever written.  It gives a look into the lives of the people who had to “clean up” after the battle was over.  It gives the reader a chance to see what life was like for those who endured great sacrifice beyond the life of a soldier.  I highly recommend this book, especially now that it is back in print.  No detail is left unturned and what you read might change the way you look at the battle.  Gregory A. Coco’s will always be hailed for this work.  And a thank you for Savas Beatie for reprinting this wonderful work.  

​Silent Sentinels: A Reference Guide to the Artillery at Gettysburg
George W. Newton
Savas Beatie, 2017, 288 pp., $22.95
ISBN: 978-1-61121-247-1
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If there’s anything I love about Civil War books, it is the occasional reference work on something which I think is needed.  While there are plenty of refence materials out there concerning the Battle of Gettysburg, there was always something which I thought was missing from those texts.  Silent Sentinels: A Reference Guide to the Artillery at Gettysburg is a welcome addition to the reference work of Gettysburg.  While there has been books on the artillery at Gettysburg, only one other is a reference work mentioning Confederate artillery, this book takes the whole battlefield into consideration.  
                George W. Newton hails from Baltimore and graduated from McMurry University in Abilene, Texas in 1973.  He is a veteran of the United States Air Force and served during the Vietnam War.  Newton is retired as an executive of the insurance industry.  He is also a Licensed Battlefield Guide at Gettysburg National Military Park.
                One of the highlights of this book which I greatly appreciate is that while it is subtitled as a reference guide, Newton also gives a great deal of narrative at the opening of the book, not only on the battle itself, but the nature of artillery.  He gives details into the loading and firing of the machines, the makeup of the cannisters and all around gives the reader details into how the cannons worked.  He even gives the reader a tour of the battlefield when it comes to the artillery meaning that you can easily bring this book along with you on any trip to Gettysburg.  It is in the appendices where the reader will find the organization of artillery given by each state, the makeup of the guns used, and the officers for the grouping.  Overall, there is little to say here besides that this book should be used when researching the Battle of Gettysburg and the effect in which the artillery had on the battle.  While other works have just told the story, Newton gives us what we were looking for.  The book is aided by many photographs and maps of the battle which are always good, but the illustrations of artillery are where this book shines in its descriptions.  There are numerous illustrations on how the artillery worked, how they were organized when it company form, and others on how to load and fire depending on the strategies used.  Those were some of the more excellent additions to the work in my opinion when it comes to accompanying material for a reference work.
                I highly recommend this work to anyone interested in the Battle of Gettysburg.  More and more, we are seeing people scratch their heads at the necessity for another book on Gettysburg, but when they are released, I find them to each bring something new and interesting to the study.  This book is a welcome addition to the Gettysburg scholarship and will be used not only by students of the war, but by scholars for years to come.  Highly Recommended.

​Gabriel Rains and the Confederate Torpedo Bureau
W. Davis Waters and Joseph I. Brown
Savas Beatie, 2017, 168 pp., $16.95
ISBN: 978-1-61121-350-8
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If there is one aspect of the American Civil War I wish there were more works on, it would be the naval activity during the conflict.  While there are some books out there which encapsulate the war as a whole on the seas, there are very few which deal with specific parts of that theater.  One of the new works by excellent publisher Savas Beatie which has been recently released is Gabriel Rains and the Confederate Torpedo Bureau.  The book not only focuses on the torpedo bureau for the Confederacy, but looks at some of the land conflicts which took advantage of Gabriel Rains’ invention.  This work by W. Davis Waters and Joseph I. Brown showcases the man who invented the “subterra shell” and the “submarine mortar battery,” not only spanning his career, but going over the journal and notebooks used for the creation of min warfare.
                W. Davis Waters received his MA degree at Wake Forest University, then working for the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources for over thirty years.  He has authored many articles including “Deception is the Art of War,” for the North Carolina Historical Review.  In 2005, he received the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, the highest civilian award given by the governor for his services to the state of North Carolina.  Joseph I. Brown earned his MA from George Washington University and spent time working at the Naval Mine Engineering Facility in Yorktown, VA for thirty-one years.  He aided in the design of mines used in the Vietnam War.
                I have to say off the bat, this book has some fascinating details about an officer which some might not be familiar with.  For that alone, this book is worth picking up.  The explicit descriptions of the designs which Rains created are incredible and a great deal of research went into making this pop off the page for me.  As a reader of Civil War works, I had not though much about the design and make up of land mines, or even the submarine mines, which Rains provided throughout the war, but this book has given me the new perspective on things.  The book opens with a biographical sketch of Rains and mentions his service to the United States Army.  But the meat of the book is when the text goes into the detail about how the mines were used in combat, including many accounts which just make the narrative flow incredibly.  To then learn about his career after the war, writing the book for West Point on mine warfare, shows the breadth of the work this man put into the industrialization of warfare and even pointing us in the direction towards what some would consider modern warfare. 
                I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the American Civil War.  While some might think this book would reach more of a niche market, I would ask that you reconsider.  The art of mine warfare and the creation of such a thing should be looked into and if you are interested in the Civil War, this is one to check out.  I want to thank both W. Davis Waters and Joseph I. Brown for this work.  I did not know too much about Gabriel Rains before reading this book, but now I can see the imprint which he left not only on the Civil War, but the world as a whole now.

​Richmond Shall Not Be Given Up: The Seven Days’ Battles, June 25 – July 1, 1862
Doug Crenshaw
Savas Beatie, 2017, 192 pp., $14.95
ISBN: 978-1-61121-355-3
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The Emerging Civil War Series has introduced many readers across the country to specific cites of the American Civil War.  For all of the writing which has been done, I was surprised that the Seven Day’s Battles had not yet been covered.  Thanks to Doug Crenshaw, Richmond Shall Not Be Given Up is the book from that series which strives to bring an introductory treatment to the Seven Day’s Battles.  Personally, I don’t think those battles get enough attention as it is, but that is only myself as a Civil War reader.  While we focus greatly on the Battles of Antietam and Second Manassas, this book gives us some much needed information regarding the actions between the dates of June 25 to July 1, 1862
                Doug Crenshaw is a volunteer historic interpreter at the Richmond National Battlefield Park.  As a member of the Richmond Civil War Roundtable, Doug is a speaker, presenter, tour guide, and author of books on both Glendale and Fort Harrison.  He is a descendant of the Sydnor family from Beaver Dam Creek during that battle, and the Binford family, who lived in the area of Malvern Hill.  He has also written Fort Harrison and the Battle of Chaffin’s Farm,  and The Battle of Glendale: Robert E. Lee’s Lost Opportunity.
                As it is with all of the Emerging Civil War Series books, there is great appreciation for the photographs, maps, and even drawings placed on every page.  As an introductory to these engagements, they are greatly needed for those who know little.  For myself, one of the most interesting parts about the Seven Day’s Battles as a whole was when Lee took command before the conflicts.  That portion of the work was handled quite well as the narrative places a great emphasis on his leadership.  The other portion which was also handled well was the subject of General McClellan and how his own ego would be bruised in these fights.  In my own personal studies, I have found many mentions of the Seven Days Battles and I enjoyed the narrative and explanations of them more so than other parts of the book.  I felt that the narrative written by Crenshaw brought more light to the subject at hand.  As usual in the Emerging Civil War Series, there are appendices which fall into the book, only three for this installment, and also driving instructions for the reader if they were to take this volume with them to the battlefield. 
                Once again, the Emerging Civil War Series hits it out of the park with this one.  I highly recommend this book to students who wish to gain a deeper understanding of the Seven Day’s Battles and the events which would lead the fall of 1862.  There are not enough books about these engagements and I thank Crenshaw for bringing this introductory study to light here.  After reading this book, I know I will personally seek out his other works on these conflicts, hoping to gain a deeper understanding myself.  Highly Recommended!
 

​Discovering Gettysburg: An Unconventional Introduction to the Greatest Little Town in American and the Monumental Battle that Made It Famous
W. Stephan Coleman, Ill. Tim Hartman
Savas Beatie, 2017, 264 pp., $25
ISBN: 978-1-61121-353-9
Image courtesy of amazon.com
 
While something can be said for the realm of Civil War academia, there seems to be this massive subgenre which continues to fill with every year.  The books surrounding those epic three days in July, and the weeks surrounding them, are many and there is good reason for it.  No other battle has received such an epic scale of analysis, devotion, and research in the American Civil War.  Discovering Gettysburg strives to bring something different to the study surrounding it.  Not only does the book take a look at the battle, but also looks at the town, and some of the other major areas surrounding the battlefield. 
                W. Stephen Coleman is a professor of theater at the University of Pittsburg and is a specialist in Shakespeare, acting, directing, and stage combat.  He has taught for more than thirty years and has starred in such films as Silence of the Lambs.  Another role of his was of General Braddock in The War That Made American.  After his retirement, he discovered a new interest in his life: the Civil War and the Battle of Gettysburg.  This book is also illustrated by Tim Hartman who is a native of Pittsburg and has been professionally acting, singing, writing, cartooning, and storytelling since 1982.  He is also an award winning political cartoonists and illustrator whose work has been widely published in newspapers.
                Discovering Gettysburg is a different book in many ways.  One of the points in the narrative which I enjoyed was the first person account of the author himself, in which he takes you along his journey, almost as if he is telling you his stories through the battle.  The book often felt as though the reader was on a personal tour with Coleman who had such passion upon pointing things out of interest.  The book also deals with the town before and after the battle, including other towns such as Cashtown.  One thing which stood out to me is that Coleman also takes a look at the Eisenhower National Historic Site which I’m not sure I’ve seen covered in other Gettysburg related works.  And possibly one of the most personal chapters which I connected with was the work on reenactors and what they do for the public involving education and the like.  Overall, this book felt very personal which I cannot say for many other books.  Coleman’s passion for this project comes through clearly in the writing and is aided by some well done illustrations.  The illustrations almost made me feel like I was reading a political cartoon in Harper’s Weekly.
                I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Gettysburg.  The way in which the narrative was written was quite unique to the brand of scholarship which is usually brought to the craft.  You can feel why Gettysburg is not only important to the author, but important to all whom it surrounds.  Through this, you can see why there are so many visitors to this pivotal site in American History.  Highly Recommended!