THREE MONTHS IN THE SOUTHERN STATES April - June 1863

Revised31284THREE MONTHS IN THE SOUTHERN STATES April - June 1863Written by Captain Arthur Fremantle, of the Coldstream Guards, upon his return to England from his three-month stay (April 2 until July 16, 1863) in the Confederate States of America.Most specifically mentioned in the book are Fremantle's travels through Texas, the deep south, and finally when he arrived in the company of the Army of Northern Virginia on June 27, and witnessed the Battle of Gettysburg firsthand, with of a cadre of foreign observers attached to the headquarters of Lt. Gen. James Longstreet. Contrary to popular belief, Fremantle was not an official representative of the United Kingdom; instead, he was something of a war tourist.Upon returning to England, the then Lieutenant Colonel Fremantle found himself being questioned by friends and colleagues on the truth of the situation in the Confederate States, as only Union newspapers were readily available in England. Suitably encouraged, Fremantle wrote his book on his experiences in America, Three Months in the Southern States, based on the diary which he kept throughout his sojourn in the South. Published in 1864, the book was well-received both in Great Britain and in the Union, and it was even printed in Mobile, Alabama, being eagerly read even by the beleaguered Southerners, who wanted to see how their struggle was being reported by a foreign visitor."At 4:30 P.M., we came in sight of Gettysburg, and joined General Lee and General Hill, who were on the top of one of the ridges which form the peculiar feature of the country around Gettysburg. We could see the enemy retreating upon one of the opposite ridges, pursued by the Confederates with loud yells.""The position into which the enemy had been driven was evidently a strong one. His right appeared to rest on a cemetery, on the top of a high ridge to the right of Gettysburg, as we looked at it."A very interesting and detailed account of the officer’s time with the Confederate forces of the South, Fremantle was a notable British witness to The Battle of Gettysburg, one of the bloodiest battles during the American Civil War. This is an important account that was a best seller when published in 1864,in both the North and South.