Studies Of The Second Day At Gettysburg
This book is the second of a three-volume collection of essays edited and introduced by Gary Gallagher that explore leadership and other critical issues during each of the three days of the Battle of Gettysburg, July 1-3, 1863. On the first day of the Battle, elements of the Union and Confederate armies collided to the North and West of Gettysburg with the result that the Union Army was pushed back to a strong position on Cemetery Hill and Cemetery Ridge to the South and East of the town. The five essays in this volume explore important and controversial actions in the following second day of the Battle.
The first essay in the volume is by Professor Gallagher himself, "If the Enemy is There, we must attack him." This essay explores an underlying issue of the entire battle -- Confederate commander Robert E. Lee's decision to assume the offensive on July 2 and to attack the powerful Union position. General Lee's decision was opposed at the time and for many years thereafter by General James Longstreet, Lee's primary subordinate. Longstreet favored a movement around the right of the Union army. Other options that Lee might have considered include assuming a defensive posture and awaiting a Union attack. Professor Gallagher explores each of these options and comes to a measured assessment of Lee's decision.
The second essay "The Peach Orchard Revisited: Daniel E. Sickles and the Third Corps on July 2, 1863" is by William Robertson, Professor at the Combat Studies Institute, U.S. Army. Professor Robertson examines the decision of Union General Dan Sickles, commander of the Third Corps of the Army, to move his Corps from the position that Union Commander George Meade assigned to it on Cemetery Ridge to a salient about 3/4 mile in front of the Union line. Controversy has raged over the years over the wisdom and effect of Sickles's unauthorized move on the result of the Battle. Professor Robertson makes an excellent attempt to examine this issue afresh. He concludes, probably contrary to the opinion of most students of the Battle, that Sickles's move had a great deal to commend it, even though Professor Robertson is highly critical of Sickles's failure to coordinate his action with Meade.
The third essay, "If Longstreet Says so it is most likely not true" by Robert Krick, a biographer of Stonewall Jackson, is polemical in character. It is highly critical of the role Longstreet played in the events of Gettysburg, particularly on the second day. Most of this essay is a discussion of various statements of other Southern leaders critical of Longstreet and a criticism of Longstreet's actions at places other than Gettysburg. A more careful examination of Longstreet's actions during the second day of the Battle itself would have been welcome.
The fourth essay, " A Step All-Important and Essential to Victory": Henry W. Slocum and the Twelfth Corps on July 1-2, 1863" is by A. Wilson Greene, executive director of the Association for the Preservation of Civil War Sites. It discusses and assesses the leadership of the Commander of the Union Twelfth Corps, General Slocum, during his tardy march to the Battlefield on July 1 and during the defense of Culp's Hill on the extreme Union right on July 2. Culp's Hill remains a relatively little-known part of the Battle, but it was the scene of furious fighting. The climax of the action on Culp's Hill was General "Pap" Greene's holding of the position with only a single brigade against a force that outnumbered him 3-1 during the evening of July 2. Wilson Greene's essay argues that this aspect of the Battle was, indeed, not of the greatest significance to the ultimate result. He is also critical of Slocum's performance throughout the Battle.
The final essay in this collection is by Scott Hartwig, a ranger and historian with the National Park Service at Gettysburg, titled "No troops had done better": John Caldwell's Division in the Wheatfield, July 2, 1863". This essay is unique in the collection in that it examines command at the Division rather than the Corps or Army level. It focuses on the bloody fighting in the Wheatfield which resulted from the position assumed by General Sickles (essay 2). Caldwell's Division was sent to reinforce the position and fought heroically, if ultimately unsuccessfully to hold the Wheatfield. This essay does an excellent job in exploring command under combat conditions featuring lack of knowledge of the position, lack of coordination, and difficulties of communication among the troops. I recently attended an anniversary battle walk at Gettysburg which covered the fighting in the Wheatfield, and Caldwell's role, in great detail. I learned a great deal by following-up with Hartwig's essay.
This book presupposes a basic familiarity with the Battle of Gettysburg and with the chief areas of controversy resulting from this great Battle. These essays are thoughtful and provocative and will enhance the student's understanding.
Robin Friedman
