Amazon.com Review
A sign near Evergreen Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, once announced: "All persons using firearms in these grounds will be prosecuted with the utmost rigor of the law." These words assumed an unanticipated irony in July 1863, when Union and Confederate forces clashed nearby in what veteran author Richard Wheeler describes as "one of the most significant military events in history." Telling little details like this are what make Wheeler's account of the events surrounding the Battle of Gettysburg so riveting. He has written a popular story about people and places, rather than a dry chronicle recording the minutiae of troop movements and tactical choices. Readers who have studied the battle elsewhere will find themselves on familiar terrain here, but all will agree that Gettysburg 1863 is a fine introduction to these momentous events. Wheeler allows characters, such as Robert E. Lee and Ambrose Burnside, to drive his narrative, and the pages are full of contemporary illustrations. He also does more than merely cover the three days of fighting at Gettysburg. Wheeler begins by describing the aftermath of Chancellorsville, and more than half the book expires before readers finally arrive at Gettysburg. When they do, they discover an engaging account of the action, and one that includes the roles played by the town's noncombatant citizens. In all, Gettysburg 1863 is an excellent overview of a much-covered subject. --John J. Miller