Gettysburg Revisited: A Novel of Time Travel

by Shand Stringham

In the early 2000s in a top secret facility located deep beneath Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, years of research on time travel technology by the United States military finally comes together. But the initial excitement soon wanes when a startling reality surfaces and captures a moral dilemma. Suddenly, everyone is speculating what will happen if they start changing history. As the team, led by United States Army Colonel Barton Stauffer, begins testing the new time technology using the Civil War Battle of Gettysburg as an experimental bed, they focus on placing a defensive temporal capability in position before other global powers can develop time travel capabilities of their own. But harnessing time proves challenging, and Stauffer's team soon discovers that their technology is inadequate. As incredible temporal energies are mistakenly unleashed, army officers begin disappearing into brilliant flashes of light. Stauffer soon realizes his team is doing much more than just observing battlefields through observation portals-they possess the ability to reset history for all humankind. All it takes is a flip of a switch to return to the beginning and halt the project. Now Stauffer must decide which is more important-leaving the past as it was or saving the future.

Genres: Time Travel, Civil War, Military Fiction, Science Fiction

340 pages, Hardcover

First published March 8, 2011

About the author

Shand Stringham served twenty-six years in the United States Army, retiring as a colonel. His last assignment on active duty was serving on the faculty at the United States Army War College, where he taught classes on national security and strategy. He now resides with his family in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

Reviews

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a longtime Civil War buff, I thought this was a creative and thought-provoking book that combined history and sci-fi. Took a few chapters to piece together the elements that would lead to a final conclusion. Once I had the perspective of today's world, looking back to a changed past, it made for an enjoyable book. Through time portals and temporal energy, they discover the keys to viewing the past and ultimately changing the past. The fate of our current present is at stake as temperal energy waves strike the shores of today. Very good read for those interested in historical fiction with a modern day twist.

[SarahH · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a bit of a genre bender, combining time travel with military history. The characters are engaging, with some appearing fairly briefly and others throughout. Some of the events are intentionally dark and graphic, underscoring the horror of the Gettysburg battlefield and the toll it took on very young men. But, it generally has a positive, curious, and grateful tone. At some points, the level of detail seem beyond what is needed to set the stage or establish enough to make what is happening believable. Overall it is well-paced and diverting.

[Sandra Heinzman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Time travel is one of my favorite genres. My faves are Ken Grimwood's Replay and Stephen King's 11/23/64. This is my 3rd favorite. As a former Army Officer (first assigned to Ft. Sill,OK) and a civil war enthusiast, this book was right up my alley. When I read time travel books, I find myself trying to figure out how the travel will impact or change the present time, or thinking that the author didn't quite get things right, as something in the plot doesn't make sense or is too far fetched. In this book, the author really thought things out and seemed to anticipate my questions as they were always answered and it all seemed plausible! There were some very interesting plot twists that I didn't expect and the ending was really appropriate, although it left me unsatisfied. Luckily, though,I just found out that this is book 1 of a trilogy and that book 2 recently came out. I'm excited to find out what happens next! Finally, the author (and his wife) are very old friends of mine, from our Army days. I like how various people and events in his book were taken from his own life and it was such fun discovering the similarities! I don't read many books over again, but I feel sure I will be reading this again in the future. The writing is very good, the plot is well- crafted, and I did not find any editing errors, like I usually do in books, which is a pet peeve of mine. The history appears to be well-researched and historically accurate, the travel events were very creative, as well as educational (to me). I really enjoyed the meetings with Jeb Stuart and Robert E. Lee, who didn't really bat an eye at their encounters with people from the future and took it in stride. There were also a couple of scenes that I found very sad, but eventually they were resolved happily, thank goodness. Good job, Shand! I recommend this book!!

[Doc · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the early 2000s in a top secret facility located deep beneath Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, years of research on time travel technology by the United States military finally comes together. But the initial excitement soon wanes when a startling reality surfaces and captures a moral dilemma. Suddenly, everyone is speculating what will happen if they start changing history.

As the team, led by United States Army Colonel Barton Stauffer, begins testing the new time technology using the Civil War Battle of Gettysburg as an experimental bed, they focus on placing a defensive temporal capability in position before other global powers can develop time travel capabilities of their own. But harnessing time proves challenging, and Stauffer’s team soon discovers that their technology is inadequate. As incredible temporal energies are mistakenly unleashed, army officers begin disappearing into brilliant flashes of light.

Stauffer soon realizes his team is doing much more than just observing battlefields through observation portals—they possess the ability to reset history for all humankind. All it takes is a flip of a switch to return to the beginning and halt the project. Now Stauffer must decide which is more important—leaving the past as it was or saving the future.

Entertaining.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love time travel stories, and this one was really original. In fact, there was no shortage of plot. The explanations were many times too long and kept the storyline from moving forward. Even the backgrounds and history of the different characters were too long and dry; the story screeched to a halt while the reader slogged through a few pages of a character's educational and career and family history. That was annoying. However the plotline was amazing and I had to keep reading. I never saw time travel fiction treated like this and I applaud the author for his originality. I am glad that I read it, but some parts were slow going indeed.

[Len Knighton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book very much. Living close to Gettysburg most of my life, I've enjoyed numerous trips to the battlefield. The subject of time travel also intrigues me. I'm a big DOCTOR WHO fan. ('Nuff said?) In fact, I'm reading a Stephen King novel now on time travel back to another major American moment, the assassination of JFK, whose birthday is today, BTW. He would have been 96. I highly recommend this book.

[John Craig · Rating 5 out of 5]

First rate time travel story! I would recommend it to those who like time travel and have an interest in the Civil War