Chancellorsville and Gettysburg

by Abner Doubleday

Chancellorsville and Gettysburg provides stern judgements of Generals Meade and Howard; astute insights into other generals such as Hooker, Reynolds, and Sickle; and penetrating, minute-by-minute analyses by a leading participant of these two pivotal battles. Although the fierce resistance by the First Corps during the bloody late afternoon of July 1 never received its due praise, Doubleday's account of Chancellorsville and Gettysburg stands as a passionate, uncompromising tribute.

Excerpt from Chancellorsville and Gettysburg
In writing this narrative, which relates to the decisive campaign which freed the Northern States from invasion, it may not be out of place to state what facilities I have had for observation in the fulfilment of so important a task. I can only say that I was, to a considerable extent, an actor in the scenes I describe, and knew the principal leaders on both sides, in consequence of my association with them at West Point, and, subsequently, in the regular army. Indeed, several of them, including Stonewall Jackson and A. P. Hill, were, prior to the war, officers in the regiment to which I belonged. As commander of the Defences of Washington in the spring of 1862, I was, owing to the nature of my duties, brought into intimate relations with the statesmen who controlled the Government at that time, and became well acquainted with President Lincoln.

Genres: Civil War, History, American Civil War, Nonfiction, War, Audiobook, American History

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1882

About the author

A similar game to modern baseball predates American army officer Abner Doubleday, traditionally considered its inventor.

Abner Doubleday was a career United States Army officer and Union general in the American Civil War. Although Doubleday achieved minor fame as a competent combat general with experience in many important Civil War battles, he is more widely remembered as the supposed inventor of the game of baseball, in Elihu Phinney's cow pasture in Cooperstown, New York, in 1839. Even though considerable evidence disputes this claim and despite the lack of solid evidence linking Doubleday to the origins of baseball, Cooperstown, New York became the new home, today the national baseball hall of fame and museum in 1937.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abner_D...

Reviews

[Art · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great viewpoint of someone who was there and in command of units that were engaged in the fight.

[Tim Armstrong · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this to be so dry! For someone who personally participated in both battles, especially the Battle of Gettysburg, Doubleday keeps both subjects at arms distance and treats this book as a history rather than a personal reflection. Makes for a very boring read.

[Bev · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author, a Union general at both Chancellorsville and the Battle of Gettysburg, was purported to be the inventor of baseball--this has been debunked by almost all sports historians--although Doubleday himself never made such a claim. The book was initially published about 20 years after the Civil War ended. Doubleday's convictions permeate the book. As a commanding office in both battles, his perspective is essentially that of a military professional, yet is strongly flavored by personal feeling. In revisiting these campaigns, he rekindles old political hostilities that had lain dormant for almost 20 years.

My take: The 20 years theme is kind of interesting. Doubleday wrote this account about 20 years after the war had ended. I've had this reprint edition for almost 20 years. Back in 1996 when my parents wanted a suggestion for a birthday present, I gave them this title (among other present options) and it wound up on my shelf. Life and other interests have gotten in the way and I just now have gotten around to reading it. And, let me tell you, a gripping story-teller Doubleday ain't. This is a very dry-as-dust blow-by-blow rattling off of every little military move of the two campaigns. "General So-and-So had a brigade (division...regiment...insert suitable military unit) of Umpity-Thousand men. It was decided to move them over the XYZ Gap to try and hold off the enemy--Rebel General Whosiwhatsit's brigade (division... regiment...you get the idea) of Hmm-Hmm Thousand men." The only time Doubleday gets passionate or injects any interesting bits into his narrative is when he is talking about how General So-and-So disobeyed this order or that OR when various generals disagreed with one another or jockeyed for position.

Give me Michael Shaara's account of Gettysburg in The Killer Angels any day. 2 stars--very informative, but better as a sleep aid than as a riveting tale of the Civil War.

{This review is mine and was first posted on my blog at http://myreadersblock.blogspot.com/20.... Please request permission to repost any portion. Thanks.}

[Lee Harrington · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ordinarily the best way to learn about an historical event is by reading “primary sources”, documents written by someone who was actually there. The danger of this is that sometimes the author has an “axe to grind.” This is unfortunately the case with General Abner Doubleday’s book.
The author did a nice job with an extremely difficult task; condensing two huge Civil War battles into a 210 page narrative. The problem is that Doubleday allows his distaste for some officers and his inexplicable allegiance to other officers to color his interpretation of the events, especially at Gettysburg.
The sequence of events is all there and the author keeps the relative importance of things in perspective but he often attributes turns of bad luck to failures of Generals Meade or Howard. For this reason I recommend the book but I strongly urge the reader to grab a few more battle narratives to acquire a more balanced and accurate understanding of these two important battles.

[Michael Burhans · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book surprised me. I have read many books written by participants in the Civil War, from privates to the leaders of each side. This is the first one I have read by Doubleday, and I was surprised by its style.

Most writers from that era, even uneducated privates wrote in very flowery language, more artful than we would today. Doubleday writes in a very modern, factual style. Surprisingly modern. It makes me want to find more of his work.

Details I did not know of each battle were well documents, and those parts I knew, I now know much more intimidatingly. this was interesting, and informative and I recommend it for all interested in the Civil War.

[Monte Lamb · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is written in the same familiar style of many of the Union officers who wrote about their experiences of the Civil War. It is direct and factual. At times it could be dry. However, I thought the section on the first day of Gettysburg was one of the best and clearest descriptions of the battle. It would be an excellent guide to use if you were visiting the battlefield. It was a good book.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good civil war history. Not as good as Grant, but it's written as well. Disclaimer: I couldn't finish it because I have an original copy, and the pages are so brittle I was endangering the book....

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very detailed

I found that in reading this very detailed account of each attack that a map of the area being described was very helpful. The author did a good job of presenting both sides.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was surprised by the quality and clarity of Doubleday's writing. My only issue was with the readibility of some of the maps; especially those less than a full page in size.

[Alice Ruth Scott Seger · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read

This treatise penned in the 18 hundreds read well. It was actually Fairly easy to read even in battle. The only disheartening thing was there no maps to be found.

[Mark Saha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vol. 6 - Chancellorsville & Gettysburg
The Scribners History of the Civil War (1883)

The Union defeat at Chancellorsville allows Lee to slip away and invade the north in a campaign that ends at Gettysburg. Abner Doubleday's (the putative inventor of baseball) account is aimed at the popular reader more than most; he will pause in the course of a narrative to explain a military principle that sheds light on why a certain action almost had to end as it did.

* * *

This book is part of the Scribners's series of 16 volumes on the Civil War on land and at sea, published in 1882-3. It took congress twenty years to finally allocate funds to have all official documents and battlefield communications assembled and sorted through. Americans could at last have an inside look at who actually said or did what, and when.

While that massive project was still underway, Scribners persuaded highly qualified people - most of them participants -- to write the individual volumes of this history in light of the new information. There is an immediacy to these brisk and readable accounts, making them a very good starting point for someone who wishes to study the conflict. After reading these, you can pick up any modern volume on any aspect of the war with good contextual grasp of how it fits into the overall picture.

Where these volumes fall short is maps, which are essential but inadequate because the publisher wanted to keep the price of each volume to one dollar – within reach of the ordinary person. The publisher advised readers to keep an atlas handy. Fortunately, today you can google “images” for good maps of almost anything under discussion. For the three naval volumes, you can also google images of the specific ships, or types of ships, under discussion.

[Mark Saha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vol. 6 - Chancellorsville & Gettysburg
The Scribners History of the Civil War (1883)

The Union defeat at Chancellorsville allows Lee to slip away and invade the north in a campaign that ends at Gettysburg. Abner Doubleday's (the putative inventor of baseball) account is aimed at the popular reader more than most; he will pause in the course of a narrative to explain a military principle that sheds light on why a certain action almost had to end as it did.

This edition has a modern introduction that picks a few bones with Doubleday's prejudices.

* * *

This book is part of the Scribners's series of 16 volumes on the Civil War on land and at sea, published in 1882-3. It took congress twenty years to finally allocate funds to have all official documents and battlefield communications assembled and sorted through. Americans could at last have an inside look at who actually said or did what, and when.

While that massive project was still underway, Scribners persuaded highly qualified people - most of them participants -- to write the individual volumes of this history in light of the new information. There is an immediacy to these brisk and readable accounts, making them a very good starting point for someone who wishes to study the conflict. After reading these, you can pick up any modern volume on any aspect of the war with good contextual grasp of how it fits into the overall picture.

Where these volumes fall short is maps, which are essential but inadequate because the publisher wanted to keep the price of each volume to one dollar – within reach of the ordinary person. The publisher advised readers to keep an atlas handy. Fortunately, today you can google “images” for good maps of almost anything under discussion. For the three naval volumes, you can also google images of the specific ships, or types of ships, under discussion.

[Stephen Masri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a book for the uninitiated in the history of America's Civil War or military history. Very detailed on movements of corps, divisions, brigades and regiments in a style now antiquated; probably unreadable for many people today. Some interesting insights into the view of general officers on Gen Hooker, etc.

[Scott L. · Rating 3 out of 5]

First hand account of two of the pivotal battles in the War Between the States.