Review by Booklist Review
The name "Gettysburg" became quickly immortalized after the battle, emblazoning a ship during the Civil War and occupying historians ever since. Boritt's collection contains nine essays revising opinions about the battle that are commonly held: it was the turning point in the war; various Confederate commanders let Southern victory slip through their fingers; "Pickett's Charge" was a charge led by Pickett; Joshua Chamberlain ordered a bayonet charge that saved the day for the Union; and so on. Alas for these cherished opinions (many formed by Michael Shaara's popular novel The Killer Angels [1974] and Ken Burns' film The Civil War [1990]), it ain't necessarily so. These historians, all eminent in the Civil War field, extract what can be positively known about the tactics of the actual battle and the strategy that led up to it. Astute appraisals that should exert definite appeal on buffs. In the Lamson letters, readers will find depicted a midshipman's service in the Union naval blockade and a record of his encounters with famous ships and personages, such as the USS Constitution and Abraham Lincoln, respectively. Lamson, a concise correspondent who rose to captain flotillas, wrote frequently to his fiancee throughout the war, confiding his love, describing his ship Gettysburg chasing down blockade runners, and opening a view to problems of command and discipline in Civil War naval battles. An engrossing and remarkable collection about an overlooked but important aspect of the war. --Gilbert Taylor
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
