Gettysburg--The First Day (Civil War America)

Terrific insight of what happened on day 1

I finished the book yesterday, and I wanted to take the time to collect my thoughts and not just give out platitudes. This review probably says as much or more about me as it does the book, but I'm trying to write this with idea of "What would I want to know if I were considering buying this book."First of all, this book is incredibly detailed, Mr. Pfanz clearly knows his subject matter and I can't imagine any other work having covered the first day better. There is a lot of interesting biographical information scattered throughout the chapters as well as many fascinating and often amusing anecdotes. The author writes in a clear, concise style, that is generally easy to follow.My problem with the book is about the level of detail provided and I often got lost in the tedium of "Capt. so-and-so moved 6 cannons here" or "Major so-and-so faced his troops to the west" etc. etc. For me this dragged the narrative down and quite honestly I ended up skipping large portions of the text because it was just too much from my standpoint. I think had I been completely unfamiliar with the battle before reading the book, I probably would have been totally lost. I realize not all will feel the same, hence my title, "Your mileage may vary." But I'm reviewing this as to what I wish someone would have told me before I bought the book.So to summarize, a good author with an incredible amount of knowledge of the battle, a very scholarly work. Your level of enjoyment will depend a lot upon what you are seeking. For those of you who like that kind of detail, I believe you will sincerely love the book. For those of you who like a broader description of battles and troop actions, this may get "in the weeds" a little too deep at times. Honestly I struggled between 3 and 4 stars for my rating and settled on 4 because I feel Mr. Pfanz put an incredible amount of effort into it, but I couldn't give it 5 because it was a bit of a chore to read at times.

In Gettysburg: The First Day (2001), Harry W. Pfanz charts the events of the Battle of Gettysburg’s first day, July 1, 1863. July 1 went badly for the Union Army of the Potomac, yet quick thinking by generals like Winfield Scott Hancock staved off disaster and set the stage for what would become the most famous Union victory of the American Civil War.While the author’s strategic overview falls flat, Pfanz shines in his detailed tactical descriptions of the engagements in McPherson Woods, at the Railroad Cuts, Oak Ridge, Seminary Ridge, Blocher’s Knoll, and the subsequent Union retreat through Gettysburg and rally on Cemetery Hill.Gettysburg: The First Day is not a linear history. Though it is roughly arranged chronologically, the narrative jumps back and forth from events leading up to the battle to the battle itself. As Union and Confederate units appear on the field, Pfanz pauses to reflect on how each unit arrived, sometimes across the span of several days. In such a long narrative, this has a tendency to cause the reader to lose track of how events tie together.Pfanz’s attempt to describe the armies’ approach to Gettysburg is particularly sloppy. The writing is so awful I briefly wondered if the book was self-published. The author lacks the strategic depth and understanding of Stephen W. Sears, and for a masterful retelling of the entire campaign, read Sears’  Gettysburg  (2004). Pfanz focuses almost exclusively on what occurred, not why.The author’s grasp of history shines through at the tactical level. When Pfanz describes the gritty events of July 1, 1863 in all their gruesome detail, he brings to life the men who fought that day, from the lowliest private to commanding generals. While most authors focus on the exploits of commissioned officers, Pfanz’s narrative includes enlisted men and non-commissioned officers (NCOs). NCOs form the backbone of the U.S. Army and many of the best officers, both North and South, began their careers as enlisted men.The Union Eleventh Corps is often criticized for its role in the Union’s defeat that day, but Pfanz is more generous. He describes how many men in the Eleventh wanted to erase the stain from their poor performance at the Battle of Chancellorsville, and fought valiantly in the face of overwhelming odds. In particular, he highlights Col. Charles R. Coster’s stand at a brickyard north of Gettysburg, which bought time for retreating Union soldiers to escape.Any history of Gettysburg will be weighted toward the Northern perspective because Confederates didn’t keep detailed accounts of the fighting, but we do know that victory came with a high price on the first day. Confederate leadership stumbled headlong into the enemy, often with disastrous results. Pfanz shows how, despite facing overwhelming odds, the Union leadership gave the Army of Northern Virginia a bloody taste of what lay ahead.Harry W. Pfanz (1921-2015), of Gaithersburg, Maryland, was a graduate of Ohio State University. He served during World War 2 and was wounded at the Battle of the Bulge. He was the historian at Gettysburg from 1956 to 1966 and chief historian of the National Park Service until 1981. His other books include  Gettysburg--The Second Day (Civil War America)  (1987) and  Gettysburg--Culp's Hill and Cemetery Hill  (1993).

Like Harry Pfanz' other two books on Gettysburg, this book has its usual detailed descriptions of the battle, going down to the regiment and individual experiences. This is one of the two positives to this book. And, the detailed descriptions are for all units who fought on the first day at Gettysburg and at all times. For example, more than any other book, this book covers the events when the Confederate division under General Rodes attacked the Union First Corps brigades of Baxter and Stone. It also does the best job that I've read covering the last battles of the day on Seminary Ridge and even the involvement of Gamble's cavalry brigade (from Buford's division) covering the left flank of the Union army at that time. This is the most detailed description of the first day of Gettysburg that I've ever read.Another positive for this book are the maps. As with his other two books, Pfanz' book has some of the best maps on the battle that I've ever seen (only Trudeau's book on Gettysburg is close).A negative of this book is the lack of keeping an accurate clock for when the events happened. Since the book bounces from the Union left flank (First Corps) to right flank (Eleventh Corps), this can be confusing. The author should have used Trudeau's approach of providing a time clock on his maps for events that occurred on the field. This is the reason that I gave the book a lower rating of four stars.However, for individuals who are interested in reading about the details of the Gettysburg, I recommend this book (and Pfanz' other two books on this battle).

Un livre de bonne qualité qui présente bien le sujet. Il est devenu une évidence dans ma bibliothèque. Un grand regret toutefois qu'il n'y ait pas de Third day ; cela manque vraiment, c'est le tournant de la situation.

Very well written. Recommended by an American friend who lives on the battlefield and did his Phd studying the campaign and battle.