Gettysburg: The First Day (Civil War America) - Softcover

Pfanz, Harry W.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0807871311 ISBN 13: 9780807871317

Publisher: University North Carolina Pr, 2010

Synopsis

A longtime Gettysburg historian offers a detailed account. For good reason, the second and third days of the Battle of Gettysburg have received the lion's share of attention from historians. With this book, the critical first day receives its due. Harry Pfanz describes the engagements in McPherson Woods, at the Railroad Cuts, on Oak Ridge, on Seminary Ridge, and at Blocher's Knoll, as well as the retreat of Union forces through Gettysburg and the Federal rally on Cemetery Hill. Throughout, he challenges many long-held assumptions about the battle.

About this title

Product Description:

Title: Gettysburg--The First Day <>Binding: Paperback <>Author: HarryW.Pfanz <>Publisher: UniversityofNorthCarolinaPress

Review:

Pfanz is superbly qualified to guide us through Gettysburg--The First Day. In this long-awaited book, Pfanz. . . has produced a fitting companion to his earlier work, Gettysburg-The Second Day. . . . [This book] is a careful reconstruction of events, based on extensive research in official reports, contemporary accounts, and soldiers' memoirs. . . . The result is certainly a success.--Civil War Book Review

Pfanz . . . has new things to say about the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg, the least studied of the pivotal three-day Civil War battle. . . . His riveting narrative of battlefield emotions and dynamics is richly detailed on various levels, from individual enlisted men to the officers of brigades, regiments, and armies. Pfanz even looks at Gettysburg's residents. . . . Recommended for academic and public libraries with in-depth collections on Civil War battles.--Library Journal

[Pfanz] needs no introduction to the student of Gettysburg. . . . [This is] a highly readable volume. . . . A good intermediate study of the battle. . . . The author's detailed knowledge of the ground is readily apparent, and he is refreshingly honest in pointing out some of the gaps which remain in our detailed knowledge of events and their sequence. . . . Another valuable addition to the literature of Gettysburg, essential for any collection.--Military History Online

An intricately detailed narrative of the opening act of the battle, revealed through the artful weaving of countless first-person accounts left by participants. Pfanz draws upon a wealth of original sources to allow the officers and soldiers on the field to tell the story of an extremely confused fight.--North Carolina Historical Review

With Gettysburg: The First Day, the first day's fighting finally receives its due. . . . Offers a detailed tactical description. . . . [Pfanz] draws on deep research in published and archival sources to challenge some of the assumptions about the battle.--McCormick Messenger

Pfanz writes with a uniquely exuberant style, always selecting appropriate anecdotes that demonstrate a complete mastery of the battle's primary source materials. He has crafted a well-organized and thoroughly researched account. . . . A welcome addition to the library of any Civil War scholar or buff.--Georgia Historical Quarterly

[Pfanz's] long experience on the battlefield and the battlefield archives [has] produced [a] meticulously-detailed [study] of the battle.--Allen C. Guelzo, The Barnes & Noble Review

Pfanz's The First Day rises above [other] studies in its completeness of information and source interpretation. . . . An impeccably researched and extremely well-written narrative. . . . With Gettysburg-The First Day, Harry Pfanz demonstrates again that there is no one who better understands the Gettysburg battlefield and movements of the opposing troops. This eagerly anticipated study will undoubtedly become a classic and the standard work on the fighting of July 1.--America's Civil War

Pfanz's long-awaited microstudy of the opening day of the battle of Gettysburg offers an outstanding narrative of the fighting west and north of that small Pennsylvania town on July 1, 1863. . . . Written crisply and occasionally with a wry wit, Pfanz's narrative draws upon a broad chorus of voices, from soldiers to civilians and from privates to generals. . . . Sets the standard for future examinations of July 1, along with offering astute warnings that some controversies always will remain unresolved.--Journal of Southern History

A fast-moving narrative liberally sprinkled with anecdotes and fascinating details. . . . Extremely well researched. . . . Highly recommended.--Civil War News

About this edition

• Publisher: University North Carolina Pr
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0807871311
• ISBN 13: 9780807871317
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 496