Matthew Bartlett, Author Gettysburg Chronicle
The Gettysburg You Never Knew
  • Book Reviews
  • Gettysburg Lunchbreak
  • Blog
  • Board Game Reviews
  • Contact Me
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Gettysburg Pictures
  • Drastic Change in Command
  • The Bloody Pit
  • Eternal Light of Peace

Espionage at Gettysburg

11/10/2015

3 Comments

 
Picture
​Spies, Scouts, and Secrets in the Gettysburg Campaign
Thomas J. Ryan
Savas Beatie, 2015, 482pp., $32.95
ISBN: 978-1-61121-178-8
Image courtesy of amazon.com
 
There is no doubt in my mind that the Gettysburg Campaign is the most written about campaign and battle than any other in the American Civil War.  In all of American History, the only campaign which rivals Gettysburg, I believe, is D-Day.  All aspects of Gettysburg seemed to have been covered from the organization of the artillery to even, yes, the fences.  When I saw this book coming, however, I was intrigued and looked into the subject.  Scouting and espionage was not yet covered in depth in the campaign.  Well now, the subject has been given due research and the product is amazing.
                Thomas J. Ryan is the former president of the Central Delaware Civil War Round Table and a longtime member of the Gettysburg Foundation and Civil War Trust.  He served three years in the United States Army and more than thirty years with the U.S. Department of Defense in various intelligence operations.  He has published more than one hundred and twenty-five book reviews and articles on Civil War subjects, many of them dealing with the intelligence gathering of the war, and writes a bi-weekly column called “Civil War Profiles” for Coastal Point: a Delaware newspaper.  He authored the essay, Delaware during the Civil War: A Political, Military and Social Perspective.
                Many already know of the spy which set off the Battle of Gettysburg, Harrison.  And for most people, the use of spies during the campaign ends there.  But Ryan, within the first few pages of the book, gives you so much new information in the realm of espionage that it made me wonder why there were so little works devoted to intelligence.  Much of the book dealt with the month of June in 1863 and the ways in which the armies were scouting each other.  Ryan also tackles the task of chronicling the movements of General Stuart at this time bringing about some clarity to the subject, especially for new Gettysburg students.  But it goes even further than that.  Well-seasoned Gettysburg enthusiasts and students will find a great amount of new things in this work which have been masterfully researched by Ryan.  While history has not been so kind to General Hooker, in this work, my opinion seemed to change on the man.  Many have said that while Hooker was not a great military commander, he was an excellent organizer of military intelligence and you see it in this narrative.  For people looking for a narrative of espionage during the battle, you will get a good narrative on that subject, but the true gem of this book is the before and after the battle.  Both armies had good, and bad, ways in which they were scouting each other during this campaign and with the flowing narrative of the writer, you feel as though you were in the tent with the commanders during these important meetings.  There is a level of excitement in the work which is not usually felt in Gettysburg books. 
                I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the Gettysburg Campaign or even the American Civil War.  Thomas J. Ryan handles the subject of intelligence gathering and espionage with a masterful hand.  For those people who think that nothing new can be written about the Gettysburg Campaign, I ask you to read this book.  The amount of information in this volume will send this work into the pantheon of Civil War writing.  It is destined to become a classic.

3 Comments
Michele Sams link
11/10/2015 08:28:02 am

Thank you for the review on "Spies, Scouts, and Secrets in the Gettysburg Campaign" by Tom Ryan. We appreciate the review and are glad to hear you enjoyed the book. Those interested in checking out this book can read more at the Savas Beatie website here: http://tinyurl.com/k5ycbns

Reply
Tom Ryan link
11/10/2015 02:21:53 pm

Thanks for your review of my book. It took a long time to put together. Now that it is published, it is gratifying to know that reviewers like yourself find the book worthwhile. Hopefully your readers will obtain a copy and share in the results of my research. Thanks again. Much appreciated.

Reply
Kay Wood Bailey
11/10/2015 02:53:33 pm

I have had the pleasure of knowing Tom Ryan and his vivacious wife, Fil, for a number of years , as members of the Central Delaware Civil War Round Table.

My own personal experience in the media includes T.V. radio, print and online as a writer and editor.
In my opinion,Tom Ryan is an exceptional and succinct writer, whose research is extensive and whose expertise in intelligence is notable and who, like a baleen whale, successfully filters out what is important information and of great interest to the reader.
This book should be read by every Civil War buff and every serious student of undercover warfare .

Kay Wood Bailey
A past President of The Delaware Press Association and the 2002 National Federation of Press Women "Communicator of the Year"

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Want your book reviewed?  Please contact me at gettysburgchronicle@yahoo.com or on facebook at Gettysburg Chronicle.  Review the disclaimer before contacting us.
    _

    Archives

    August 2021
    May 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    September 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    September 2018
    June 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    April 2017
    February 2017
    November 2016
    September 2016
    July 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    September 2015
    July 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.