The Battle of Gettysburg (At Issue (Library))

This compelling anthology examines the controversies surrounding a battle which many historians see as the turning point of the Civil War. Essays, authored by first-person observers and twentieth-century historians, focus on the fury of the fighting, the wisdom of the competing generals' strategies, and the long-term implications of the battle.

Gr. 8-12. From the At Issue in History series, this anthology includes excerpts from the diaries and memoirs of participants in the Battle of Gettysburg as well as other contemporary writings and commentary from later generations of historians. The black-and-white illustrations include maps, period photos, and reproductions of paintings. The writings are grouped into four thematic chapters: the battle; the reasons the South lost; whether the North's victory was incomplete; and the battle within a broader context. As with books in the long-running Opposing Viewpoints series, the excerpts here clearly express opposing opinions on an issue: "General Longstreet Blames General Lee for the South's Defeat" and "General Gordon Exonerates General Lee for the South's Defeat"; a Union soldier and a Confederate soldier observe the human misery of the battlefield from opposites sides of the conflict. The effect of the entire volume is to create an informative, many-sided representation of this pivotal Civil War battle. Carolyn Phelan
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