These Honored Dead: How The Story Of Gettysburg Shaped American Memory - Softcover

Desjardin, Thomas A.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0306813823 ISBN 13: 9780306813825

Publisher: Da Capo Press, 2004

Synopsis

Ever since the guns of Gettysburg fell silent, and Lincoln delivered his famous two-minute speech four months after the battle, the story of this three-day conflict has become an American legend. We remember Gettysburg as, perhaps, the biggest, bloodiest, and most important battle ever fought-the defining conflict in American history. But how much truth is behind the legend?In These Honored Dead, Thomas A. Desjardin, a prominent Civil War historian and a perceptive cultural observer, demonstrates how flawed our knowledge of this enormous event has become, and why. He examines how Americans, for seven score years, have shaped, used, altered, and sanctified our national memory, fashioning the story of Gettysburg as a reflection of, and testimony to, our culture and our nation.

About this title

About the Author:

Thomas A. Desjardin holds a Ph.D. in American History and has been an archivist and historian for the National Park Service at Gettysburg. He is currently Historic Site Specialist for the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands and is a frequent television commentator on Civil War topics.

From AudioFile:

Another work about Gettysburg? Yes, but with a twist. In this title the emphasis is on how the story of the battle has come down to us. The author examines how many of the stories about the battle, such as the belief that the Confederates were looking for shoes, just are not true. (There was not a shoe factory there at the time of the battle.) We find many instances of how participants in the post-war years fabricated incidents to make their own actions more laudable. (For example, Jubal Early's account of the order that was given to Longstreet by Lee early on the morning of July 2--no such order was given.) We find that these myths even change from era to era, but all have made the battle into, as the author notes, our "Valhalla." Lewis Grenville reads this fascinating work with an easy-going style. His voice is comfortable with the text and his delivery clear. M.T.F. © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

About this edition

• Publisher: Da Capo Press
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0306813823
• ISBN 13: 9780306813825
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 288