No Place for Glory: Major General Robert E. Rodes and the Confederate Defeat at Gettysburg

Civil War Soldiers and Strategies

by Robert J. Wynstra

A scrupulous analysis of Rodes’s conduct during the Battle of Gettysburg Over the years, many top historians have cited Major General Robert E. Rodes as the best division commander in Robert E. Lee’s vaunted army. Despite those accolades, Rodes faltered badly at Gettysburg, which stands as the only major blemish on his otherwise sterling record. Although his subordinates were guilty of significant blunders, Rodes shared the blame for the disjointed attack that led to the destruction of Alfred Iverson’s brigade on the first day of the battle. His lack of initiative on the following day was regarded by some in the army as much worse. Whether justified or not, they directly faulted him for not supporting Jubal Early’s division in a night attack on Cemetery Hill that nearly succeeded in decisively turning the enemy’s flank. The reasons behind Rodes’s flawed performance at Gettysburg have long proven difficult to decipher with any certainty. Because his personal papers were destroyed, primary sources on his role in battle remain sparse. Other than the official reports on the battle, the record of what occurred there is mostly limited to the letters and diaries of his subordinates. In this new study, however, Robert J. Wynstra draws on sources heretofore unexamined, including rare soldiers’ letters published in local newspapers and other firsthand accounts located in small historical societies, to shed light on the reasons behind Rodes’s missteps. As a result of this new research and analysis, we are finally able to come to a more detailed understanding of Rodes’s division’s activities at Gettysburg, an enduring subject of study and interest.

Genres: Civil War

384 pages, Hardcover

Published April 6, 2021

Reviews

[Mark Harden · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very good narrative, in great detail, about the actions of Rodes's Division in the Gettysburg Campaign. Wynstra is almost unique in including much information about the after-battle struggles of wounded men. There is also some fascinating discussion of the command dysfunction among the brigade officers of the division.

What is oddly missing is very much analysis of Rodes's actions in the battle. At times he even disappears from the narrative, which focuses on the various brigades. And there is little summation except a paragraph in the epilogue of the subtitle of the entire book.

I cannot fail to mention the exorbitant list price: $55.00, and an astounding $35 for the Kindle version. I held out in vain for a cheap used copy and finally resorted to waiting for a library copy to become available. Especially at a short 233 pages of central text, I fail to see the justification for the pricing.

Wynstra uses a wide variety of personal narratives to good effect. One drawback, though was that the need to find additional words beyond "remarked", "stated", "reported" etc. in reference to the quotations is that Wynstra overuses "boasted", "gloated" and "bragged" in quotations that are simply statements of fact and not braggadocio at all. For example: "We met the force on the right, attacked, and routed him, pursuing him across the plain in front of Gettysburg", Doles gloated in his report of the action. Sorry, but I don't see any gloating in those words. It got to be quite distracting.

If you are looking for an excellent micro-battle narrative of Rodes's Division in the Gettysburg Campaign, this is it. If you are looking for deep analysis into Rodes's alleged shortcomings during the battle, there is not much here.

[William Olenick · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fine coverage of Roses division at Gettysburg. As the controversy of the division focuses on Iverson brigade so the book centers on that action and explores the reasoning behind their failed attack on Oak Ridge.
The book also follows the division all the way back to the Potomac River crossing south into VA. It tells where each of the commanders end up through the end of the war and their post war existence if they survive d.