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On a Great Battlefield: The Making, Management, and Memory of Gettysburg National Military Park, 1933–2013
Of the more than seventy sites associated with the Civil War era that the National Park Service manages, none hold more national appeal and recognition than Gettysburg National Military Park. Welcoming more than one million visitors annually from across the world, the National Park Service at Gettysburg holds the enormous responsibility of preserving the war’s most “hallowed ground.” In On a Great Battlefield, Jennifer M. Murray chronicles the administration of the National Park Service and how it educates the public about the battle and the Civil War as a whole since it acquired the site in August 1933.
Originally published in 2014, this revised edition includes a new preface that updates the story of the Park for the battle’s 160th anniversary. The last ten years underscore how political and social upheavals are reflected in the Park. Management has been challenged in many ways, including by the Black Lives Matter movement and the need for a more comprehensive interpretation of the war, the rise of a reactionary white nationalist element that holds fast to Confederate symbolism at Gettysburg, and the COVID-19 outbreak that briefly caused visitation to plummet and has resulted in more restricted access. Despite the seeming permanence of landscapes and monuments, this book reveals that the battlefield and our understanding of it are always changing and evolving.
Originally published in 2014, this revised edition includes a new preface that updates the story of the Park for the battle’s 160th anniversary. The last ten years underscore how political and social upheavals are reflected in the Park. Management has been challenged in many ways, including by the Black Lives Matter movement and the need for a more comprehensive interpretation of the war, the rise of a reactionary white nationalist element that holds fast to Confederate symbolism at Gettysburg, and the COVID-19 outbreak that briefly caused visitation to plummet and has resulted in more restricted access. Despite the seeming permanence of landscapes and monuments, this book reveals that the battlefield and our understanding of it are always changing and evolving.
320 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 31, 2022
Anyone who has been to Gettysburg and has an interest in how the battlefield and town has changed and why over the years will find this book interesting. Much information is repeated in the chapters almost as if each chapter was a stand alone article when originally published? Despite this it’s an interesting history of how the battlefield and its maintenance as a historic site has changed over time. For anyone who has never been to Gettysburg, I suggest visiting before reading this book as many of the references won’t have the same meaning unless you visit and become familiar with the Battlefield. This book is particularly interesting for anyone who may have visited a long time ago and then visited more recently and remember the way Gettysburg used to be much more commercialized.
June 9, 2020
After I visited Gettysburg for the first time in 2009, I came away wondering about the history of the park itself. In 2013, I tried to read Gettysburg: Memory, Market, and an American Shrine to satiate that curiosity. I never finished that book, being immensely disappointed that it was more of an academic cultural/sociological study that I found incredibly dull.
I am very happy to say On a Great Battlefield is NOT more of the same. Jennifer Murray looks at an 80 year period at Gettysburg NMP, from it 1933 transfer from the War Department to the National Park Service through the Sesquicentennial of the battle in 2013. The book is largely a straightforward, chronological order. Murray does look at how the battle, park, and Gettysburg Address were interpreted and remember (and does reference Jim Weeks' book a few times), but this is first and foremost a history book not psychoanalysis on a societal level.
This book does feel a little too academic (like the "heritage syndrome" thesis). It's also a little repetitive at times in a way that feels a little padded, although it may have been editorial direction. In particular, despite being a chronological narrative the chapters are written in a way that they can almost serve as standalone essays.
That all said, this is a pretty good history of the park: the challenges and decisions the NPS has made made along the way and why. How should the battlefield be managed? What level of interpretation should be provided? It provides what I thought was an even-handed appraisal of the NPS; it neither tries to present them as perfect nor villains. It's also illustrative not only of Gettysburg in particular, but larger issues of historical interpretation nationwide, especially with regard to the American Civil War.
The writing is solid. Modest chapter length is something I always appreciate and most are not more than 20 pages. There are relevant photos of good quality throughout and adequate maps. The book is not as long as it looks at first glance as 1/3 of the 300+ pages are endnotes, bibliography, and index.
I highly recommend this not only to people interested in Gettysburg, but also anyone interested in the National Park Service and/or historical interpretation.
I am very happy to say On a Great Battlefield is NOT more of the same. Jennifer Murray looks at an 80 year period at Gettysburg NMP, from it 1933 transfer from the War Department to the National Park Service through the Sesquicentennial of the battle in 2013. The book is largely a straightforward, chronological order. Murray does look at how the battle, park, and Gettysburg Address were interpreted and remember (and does reference Jim Weeks' book a few times), but this is first and foremost a history book not psychoanalysis on a societal level.
This book does feel a little too academic (like the "heritage syndrome" thesis). It's also a little repetitive at times in a way that feels a little padded, although it may have been editorial direction. In particular, despite being a chronological narrative the chapters are written in a way that they can almost serve as standalone essays.
That all said, this is a pretty good history of the park: the challenges and decisions the NPS has made made along the way and why. How should the battlefield be managed? What level of interpretation should be provided? It provides what I thought was an even-handed appraisal of the NPS; it neither tries to present them as perfect nor villains. It's also illustrative not only of Gettysburg in particular, but larger issues of historical interpretation nationwide, especially with regard to the American Civil War.
The writing is solid. Modest chapter length is something I always appreciate and most are not more than 20 pages. There are relevant photos of good quality throughout and adequate maps. The book is not as long as it looks at first glance as 1/3 of the 300+ pages are endnotes, bibliography, and index.
I highly recommend this not only to people interested in Gettysburg, but also anyone interested in the National Park Service and/or historical interpretation.
July 10, 2020
On my recent visit to the park I asked a worker in the bookstore if they had a book about the history of the Park itself. She immediately pointed me to this one and I eagerly purchased it.
My first thoughts were, "hey this reads like a doctoral thesis"... which it is. That being said, it's informative and much more accessible than I first worried it would be. The author did a tremendous amount of research, as indicated by the over 100 pages of footnotes, and does a credible job hitting all the important points one would expect in a book with this topic.
It gets a few points marked off for the mind numbing repetition that often emerges. Seriously, the "heritage syndrome" if referenced in every chapter and defined over and over again in case you forgot what it was from fifteen pages ago. Other examples of overlap are abound, but this was the one that most stood out to me.
I would have liked the inclusion of more pictures in this published version, especially for structures or elements of the landscape that are no longer there, but this is obviously limited by the availability of such pictures. One thing that definitely could have been included would have been maps for each chapter, showing how the boundaries of the Park have grown and changed over time.
Would love to see an updated version in the future with the latest developments at the Park.
My first thoughts were, "hey this reads like a doctoral thesis"... which it is. That being said, it's informative and much more accessible than I first worried it would be. The author did a tremendous amount of research, as indicated by the over 100 pages of footnotes, and does a credible job hitting all the important points one would expect in a book with this topic.
It gets a few points marked off for the mind numbing repetition that often emerges. Seriously, the "heritage syndrome" if referenced in every chapter and defined over and over again in case you forgot what it was from fifteen pages ago. Other examples of overlap are abound, but this was the one that most stood out to me.
I would have liked the inclusion of more pictures in this published version, especially for structures or elements of the landscape that are no longer there, but this is obviously limited by the availability of such pictures. One thing that definitely could have been included would have been maps for each chapter, showing how the boundaries of the Park have grown and changed over time.
Would love to see an updated version in the future with the latest developments at the Park.
January 18, 2022
This book does a fantastic job of summarizing the primary issues and decisions made in the formal management of Gettysburg after the Civil War. As the focus is on the management of the park itself, it focuses less on the memorial organizations than I was expecting - almost no analysis of the Grand Army of the Republic is present, for example. However, this is not a drawback - simply not the focus of the study. The research is fantastic and the writing is wonderful - it reads more like a popular history than a dissertation. I was very impressed by how much it covers in such a short span.
The only significant issue with the book is editorial: Many sections are repeated or reintroduced, at times in such a way that it confuses Murray's otherwise wonderfully clear narrative.
Overall, the book is a fantastic history for those interested in the growth and development of the Park Service, Gettysburg's landscape, or a case study in the challenges of interpretation and preservation. I was really impressed by this book and would certainly recommend it to those interested in the challenges of public history.
The only significant issue with the book is editorial: Many sections are repeated or reintroduced, at times in such a way that it confuses Murray's otherwise wonderfully clear narrative.
Overall, the book is a fantastic history for those interested in the growth and development of the Park Service, Gettysburg's landscape, or a case study in the challenges of interpretation and preservation. I was really impressed by this book and would certainly recommend it to those interested in the challenges of public history.
April 11, 2020
Murray's doctoral dissertation is far more focused on 'management' than 'memory' - there are interesting ideas here (the conflict between using the battlefield as a memorial or as a tourist attraction; ideas of post-war reconciliation and historical revisionism; the construction of the oversized role of the battle in American memory), and interesting moments (the centennial of the battle coinciding with the Civil Rights movement; the African American CCC workers; the many commercial interests of the town's residents), but Murray skates over them and spends the majority of the book talking about changes in the park service management and Gettysburg landscape architecture. She was greatly let down by her editors - each chapter spends pages repeating information from previous ones, often with the exact same language, and although the last two chapters are her strongest this repetition is numbing. The book is probably most useful for her extensive bibliography, or to readers interested in the year-by-year history of changes to the grounds.
January 8, 2020
Fascinating book on how the Gettysburg National Military Park came into existence and developed from the time of the battle until current day.
October 9, 2023
This book by historian Jen Murray is a review and analysis of the history and evolution of the Gettysburg National Military Park. Beginning in 1933, Murray outlines the forces that have influenced the shape and dimension of this important landscape and the story it has told, not only about the park, but also about the changing thinking and attitudes around the relationship we have with the military parks.
Each chapter in the book covers a period of time, establishing an important context for the choices made by park superintendents specifically which set the direction for how visitors would experience the battlefield. Murray does well in the identification and use of sources to provide a primary documentation for the events and activities being described.
The new edition includes an important preface that provides updated context and perspective since the first edition was published in 2013. This includes a well written analysis on the events of 2020 that proved challenging for the park service, to say the least.
While the study is the park as an entity of the NPS is important, and Murray provides a lot of well-sourced information and context, ultimately this book proves difficult to read. Their is a lot of information that is repeated throughout the text in a way that appears to assume the reader has not read the previous paragraphs/chapters. A lot. In addition there are some significant changes of direction at times with little or no transition to a new idea or thought. It appears that this book was initially the product of an academic paper; it might have benefited as a book from a simple Roman numeral outline.
The new edition benefitted greatly from the inclusion of the preface. Murray’s analysis and critique of the Park Service’s handling is the 2020 conflicts is dead on. I wish a little more attention had also been given to an editorial once over on the flow of the narrative. As a marketed book, the good information and even better analysis is too often loss in some readability issues.
Difficult to write as I’ve heard the author speak on a number of occasions and find her to be one of my favorite historians working and presenting now. This book does NOT change my opinion.
Each chapter in the book covers a period of time, establishing an important context for the choices made by park superintendents specifically which set the direction for how visitors would experience the battlefield. Murray does well in the identification and use of sources to provide a primary documentation for the events and activities being described.
The new edition includes an important preface that provides updated context and perspective since the first edition was published in 2013. This includes a well written analysis on the events of 2020 that proved challenging for the park service, to say the least.
While the study is the park as an entity of the NPS is important, and Murray provides a lot of well-sourced information and context, ultimately this book proves difficult to read. Their is a lot of information that is repeated throughout the text in a way that appears to assume the reader has not read the previous paragraphs/chapters. A lot. In addition there are some significant changes of direction at times with little or no transition to a new idea or thought. It appears that this book was initially the product of an academic paper; it might have benefited as a book from a simple Roman numeral outline.
The new edition benefitted greatly from the inclusion of the preface. Murray’s analysis and critique of the Park Service’s handling is the 2020 conflicts is dead on. I wish a little more attention had also been given to an editorial once over on the flow of the narrative. As a marketed book, the good information and even better analysis is too often loss in some readability issues.
Difficult to write as I’ve heard the author speak on a number of occasions and find her to be one of my favorite historians working and presenting now. This book does NOT change my opinion.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews