Gettysburg: Two Eyewitness Accounts

This book starts off with a great and fair introduction to the two stories that are to be told by William Oates of the Confederacy and Frank Haskell of the Union. Written by Glenn LaFantasie the lengthy introduction writes about both Civil War authors Oates and Haskell. He is careful in explaining that each man's history, background and present situation which may have had an effect on their writing. After the introduction William Oates of the 15th Alabama structures his story first by giving an historical view of the army movments north and south as a prelude to the battle of Gettysburg. His writing of such a history could probably have been eliminated while his story of marching to Gettysburg and his role in the battle should have taken precedent. Oates offers his controversial view of the battle which is interesting in many ways. Not only does he tell his story but he tells it painted his way. Being a reader of many Gettysburg related books, it is easy to find fault with some of Oates' story. Though this is what makes this book interesting. We need to know what Oates considered and thought was how things went instead of guessing. We need something to stand on and his story though it may not be accurate is very descriptive and essential for understanding the battle. While Oates offered his view of the 15th Alabama's fight to take Little Round Top, a great story is to follow written by Frank Haskell. Unfortunately, Haskell tends to waste the immediate structure of the battle like Oates had earlier. He tells the readers where such a corps was placed, who was advancing, etc. This boring non-relating story he tells doesn't tell about him or his action in the battle. After this quick and non essential tale of the battle of Gettysburg, Haskell finally gets to his involvement in the fight. This is where Haskell gets interesting. He is very fair on his descriptions and how he associates with other Generals during the conflict. His tale of Pickett's Charge and the carnage is excellent. I really liked Haskell's discipline in not reacting to telling about a battle on the field that he didn't take part in or had not witnessed. His graphic tale of Pickett's charge and the movements covered certainly placed myself right along with him on the field. He builds up Day #3 of Gettysburg very well and comes to a complete end to his story without dragging the reader. For the novice reader of the battle of Gettysburg, I wouldn't recommend this book as it is not generalized enough to understand without reading more of the basic battles of the three day saga. For the advanced reader looking for more historical insight written by two soldiers that were actually there, this is an excellent book and I recommend it completely.

Gettysburg is a well written book by two soldiers who fought in the battle. COL William C. Oates fought for the Confederate side and LT Frank A. Haskell fought for the Union side. Each soldier captured his side of the battle in great detail. The stories are well written and easy to read. It is very interesting to read about the different viewpoints of the battle. COL Oates gives a great analysis of why the Confederates lost the battle and how they could have won it. I highly recommend this book for all fans of the Battle of Gettysburg.

In order to fully appreciate this minute by minute account you should first see the movie"gettysburg" and visit the national park. The detail of how the soldiers were placed comes to life and even more amazing is the recounting of how the soldiers felt, what they were thinking and the general's strategies in leading their men. I highly recommend the audio tapes of this book.... If you've been there, if you've studied the battle, you will be completely mesmerized!!!