Our Fathers at Gettysburg 2nd ed: A Step by Step Description of the Greatest Battle of the American Civil War

by Jack L Kunkel

* Over 100 large Battlefield Maps * Loaded with Photos, Illustrations and Discussion * Integrated with online Google Maps * Integrated with YouTube Battlefield Animations Little Round Top, The Wheatfield, The Peach Orchard, Devil's Den, the Railroad Cut, Pickett's Charge - these were the turning points within the most important battle of the bloodiest war in American history. But even careful students of Gettysburg can find themselves confused when reading about, or visiting, the battlefield. The battle at Gettysburg wasn't just one it was a whole series of battles fought on different days, in different locations, by different units. Here, finally, is a comprehensive discussion of the battle for serious student and casual visitor alike, which covers the sweep of events and the geography of the battlefield, step by step, told in an entertaining, story-like fashion. This guide will help you find all the important locales and understand what the participants saw in 1863, even if you have no prior knowledge of the battle. Designed to enhance the experience of both those reading about the battle for the first time, as well as Civil War "Ahololics", this book is the closest you can get to actually being on the battlefield, and if you follow it to the end, you'll know as much about the battle as many professional battlefield guides. Clearly written and illustrated with maps, photographs and illustrations, this 2nd Edition of this book is the one to have if you really want to understand step by step what happened during those three terrible days at Gettysburg.

Genres: Civil War

406 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2021

Reviews

[Dave]

This is a very detailed study of the battle of Gettysburg, July 1-3, 1863. Starting from the time General George Meade learned that he was appointed to command of the Army of the Potomac, to the decision of General Robert E Lee to march his remaining troops out of Gettysburg so that he may fight another day, every detail of every part of the battle is covered.
I have read books on this battle in the past but not as well researched, not as well told as this one.
Anyone that wants to know more about the battle of Gettysburg needs to read this book. I plan to visit that battlefield in the near future, and will use this book as a guide.
It is a good read.

[Debbie Jones · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, this one was an.....interesting....read. Yeah, we’ll go with “interesting”. Positives first: I really liked the way it was laid out. The author did it in small sections, helping you get a feel for individual moments during the fight (especially helpful for the chaotic 2nd day’s fight), and I can say that it helped make a few points clearer. The author’s style is engaging. And at the end of each chapter are QR code’s that will pull up a map to show you where that spot is. However (and this is a HUGE however), the author desperately needed an editor. It appears the book was self-published, and I can guess that it is because no one else would publish it. The text is rife with typos, and some straight up mistakes (at the end of one chapter, a table with the casualties for the Iron Brigade lists the 24th MI as the 24th IN!😱). Furthermore, I question some of his figures. Some of the numbers for units are higher than I’ve ever seen in more reputable works. He also freely admits that this is intended more as a field guide, and not as a “scholarly” work (eep!), and so only includes his top 11 books on the battle, and not a full bibliography (again, eep!) (though he does claim that he keeps careful notes in a personal database and can back up all of his quotes). All in all, it isn’t an awful book to start with, but please, I am begging you, if you pick this book up, DO NOT make it the only book you read about Gettysburg. There are so many more that are ten times better than this one.

[James Crawford · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read rather a bit about the Civil War and the Battle of Gettysburg in particular and I think this is one of the best books on the subject that I have read. It's written in a very understandable and clear manner. There's loads of links to online maps and lots of photos. The book takes each day separately and does an excellent job of covering the events of each day.

One of the things I did while reading the book was to figure out which side was ahead at the end of ech day. For Day 1 I gave a score of 5-3 in favor of the Confederates. The second day was basically a tie and the third day went to the Union.

The thing is the book also points out lots of mistakes both sides made and it's pretty easy to see that the results of the battle could have gone either way. A really, really good book.

[Richard Meyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Comprehensive Look at Gettysburg

This is a very thorough tech of the entire Battle of Gettysburg. One criticism I do have is the sloppy editing. There were a multitude of typing errors throughout the book. However none of these were critical errors that preventing understanding the context of the paragraph involved. It was just that they appeared often such that the nuisance factor was high.

[Kevin Rumsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Comprehensive account

Well written account of the Battle of Gettysburg, in great detail. This particular book would accompany others, to be used as a reference, not a guide...The option of Battlefield maps, and modern pictures is fantastic.

[Fred Krause · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well organized and readable.

Arranged by time and unit action allowed me to follow the action by following the battlefield maps which were hyperlinked into the text.

[Sophie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the author's clear discussion of the battle of Gettysburg. He brought it to life for me.