Butternut & Blue Now Selling The Gettysburg Companion
THE GETTYSBURG COMPANION
The Complete Guide to America’s Most Famous Battle
9” x 12” guide to the Gettysburg Campaign printed on quality paper
544 pp. maps diagrams charts photographs illustrations
$69.95 + shipping
This huge, fully illustrated, full-color book is an outstanding reference work on the Battle of Gettysburg. It is not meant to be a blow-by-blow account of the action at Gettysburg even though there is much on the fighting there. Instead, it is a look at a series of different aspects of the campaign – the commanders, the troops, a detailed order of battle, weapons, controversies, and the battlefield itself. Mark Adkin intended to provide a “comprehensive gathering together of information on Gettysburg and the events leading to it”. To that end, he has collected a vast amount of material about the battle in one handy, though weighty, volume.
Below is a breakdown of the book’s contents.
- Prologue: Chancellorsville – Jackson’s Death and Hooker’s Defeat – the Consequences for Gettysburg
- Section 1: Orders of Battle
- Section 2: The Infantry – organization, weapons, ammunition, fire control, uniforms and equipment, marching, tactics
- Section 3: The Artillery – battery organization, equipment, ammunition, effectiveness of artillery fire, tactics, etc.
- Section 4: The Cavalry – cavalry prior to Gettysburg, organization, weapons, uniforms and equipment, on the march, tactics
- Section 5: Other Arms and Services – supply and transport, medical services, signal
- Section 6: Command and Control – political, military, commanding & general officers, staff, military intelligence
- Section 7: The Road to Gettysburg
- Section 8: The Battlefield
- Section 9: The Battle, Day One -- Adkin provides an overview of each day of the battle and then focuses in more detain on a few highlighted actions, such as the fight for the railroad cut. Detailed, full-color maps and photographs illustrate the actions. Finally, he probes controversies for each day of the battle.
- Section 10: The Battle – Day Two
- Section 11: The Battle – Day Three
- Section 12: The Aftermath
- Epilogue: The 50th Anniversary Reunion
Adkin, a retired British army officer, has produced a tremendous reference work not only for Gettysburg but for the entire Civil War. As with any project of this scale, a few errors can be detected. These infrequent blemishes do not detract from the fact that Adkin has collected and presented a vast amount of material, much of which is not often considered, in a user-friendly and attractive manner. I heartily recommend this title for any Civil War library.