Gettysburg: The Last Invasion

Allen C. Guelzo. Gettysburg: The Last Invasion. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2013. xx + 632. Black & white plates, notes, index. $35.00.

The question to ask is not whether or not we "need another book on Gettysburg", but rather on whether or not the author seems to have something new and fresh to say. Guelzo's book seems to meet that criteria. While it could certainly serve as an introduction to the subject for a novice, he also reevaluates several near-canonical beliefs about the events at this pivotal battle and draws some very new conclusions.

I will leave it to specialists and well-read aficionados to sort out how convincing these arguments are. From my own perspective, his contention that Joshua Chamberlain's role in saving Little Round Top has been overstated seems compelling, and I would say the same for the argument that James Longstreet does not deserve the decades of blame he accumulated in the wake of the Army of Northern Virginia's defeat. But the most intriguing argument Guelzo makes is that the main credit for the battle being fought where and when it was--and, by extension, for Lee stumbling into a defeat he might otherwise never have fought--belongs to John Reynolds, for the simple reason that he ignored Meade's orders and intentions and instead took his 1st Corps forward into a confrontation with elements of Lee's army. Again, I will defer to others on these issues, but it is clear enough that Guelzo is doing more than replowing old ground.

The book is accessible to the general reader and avoids weighting the reader down with military minutiae. Guelzo's prose style is clear and supple, and he is adept at sketching the numerous characters with wry wit and knowing characterizations. These are real--often deeply flawed--men, not mythic figures. The dry humor never takes away from a genuine sensitivity to the dreadful carnage being produced. The one real complaint I have is that while there are numerous small detailed maps of individual actions and skirmishes, there is not a larger main map of the entire battle or the entire field of operation to refer back to.

Highly recommended.