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In Lieu of a Draft: A History of the 153rd Pennsylvania Volunteer Regiment documents the daily chores of camp life and the long hours spent waiting to engage the enemy, Historian James I. Robertson, Jr. has noted that soldiers spent more time in camp than on marches and in battle combined. This book presents the uncensored story and explores the deep political divisions within the regiment. William R. Kiefer, the regiment's historian, admitted that many incidents recorded in diaries had to be omitted, because they dealt with certain personal matters, offensive to some of the survivors, but which admittedly would otherwise have added relish to the stories. Kiefer also had to exclude material he felt was heavily tainted with odium cast upon certain officers and written in such partisan style that the reader would find it unacceptable. The battles of Chancellorsville and Gettysburg are retold through the eyes of the 153rd volunteers as only they could have seen and experienced them. Every effort has been made to present this story as a chronological narrative of their service.
The Battle of Gettysburg remains one of the most controversial military actions in America's history, and one of the most studied. Professor Coddington's is an analysis not only of the battle proper, but of the actions of both Union and Confederate armies for the six months prior to the battle and the factors affecting General Meade’s decision not to pursue the retreating Confederate forces. This book contends that Gettysburg was a crucial Union victory, primarily because of the effective leadership of Union forces—not, as has often been said, only because the North was the beneficiary of Lee's mistakes. Scrupulously documented and rich in fascinating detail, The Gettysburg Campaign stands as one of the landmark works in the history of the Civil War.
In this companion to his celebrated earlier book, Gettysburg--The Second Day, Harry Pfanz provides the first definitive account of the fighting between the Army of the Potomac and Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia at Cemetery Hill and Culp's Hill--two of the most critical engagements fought at Gettysburg on 2 and 3 July 1863. Pfanz provides detailed tactical accounts of each stage of the contest and explores the interactions between--and decisions made by--generals on both sides. In particular, he illuminates Confederate lieutenant general Richard S. Ewell's controversial decision not to attack Cemetery Hill after the initial southern victory on 1 July. Pfanz also explores other salient features of the fighting, including the Confederate occupation of the town of Gettysburg, the skirmishing in the south end of town and in front of the hills, the use of breastworks on Culp's Hill, and the small but decisive fight between Union cavalry and the Stonewall Brigade.