Harry Pfanz, a former historian at Gettysburg National Military Park and retired Chief Historian of the National Park Service, is well known in American Civil War literary circles for his excellent work on Gettysburg - The Second Day and its companion volume, Gettysburg - Culp's Hill and Cemetery Hill. Both are definitive works featuring new interpretations and fresh looks on both known and more obscure facets of the famous battle.

Now Pfanz has written Gettysburg - The First Day, which continues his excellent research and writing to cover the marches to Gettysburg leading to that fateful first day. Pfanz details the personalities behind the first day's fighting, down to the brigade level (and occasionally the regimental level). He handles the day's fighting in somewhat chronological order (see below), and as major units arrive he details their command and personality individually and succinctly. Controversial and contradictory events or decisions -- such as who fired the first shot of the battle, the Union XI Corps' rout, the battles at the railroad cut, the work of the Union cavalry at the beginning of the day, and Ewell's lack of attack at the end of the day -- are covered (as well as many others) on a factual and well-thought basis. I couldn't find myself arguing with any of the points he brought up to any great extent, and there doesn't appear to be any kind of side bias.

One of Pfanz's great strengths is his ability to recreate the terrain of the battlefield in various ways and the deployments therein, giving the reader a visual capacity to understand the peculiarities, vulnerabilities, and practicalities of various positions over others -- the advantage of I Corps's position on the afternoon of July 1 over that of XI Corps, for instance. When Pfanz describes Schurz's anxiousness at the beginning of Chapter 19, you can feel it.

The other great ability of Pfanz is to describe the fighting in such a way that the reader can identify with it - typically by a mixture of describing how the regiments and sometimes even companies were moved and deployed, mixed with a description of that particular event and how the survivors on either side recalled it. With literally hundreds of tons of writings about the battle from its survivors, there is a lot of good material to choose from, and Pfanz has chosen wisely. Of course, it seems like every little action or scrap was the "hottest" the speaker had ever been in, but that is understandable given the circumstances.

What the reader doesn't get is a great sense of is the serious of movements that led to Gettysburg. While Pfanz describes them somewhat, it can still be hard to visualize, and the maps provided that lead up to July 1 are not particularly helpful. On the other hand, the tactical maps that help describe the action (and have textual footnotes) are completely wonderful and accompany the text very well. Pfanz also doesn't seem to dwell on the events that led up to Gettysburg or the political machinations (aside from Meade replacing Hooker) that took place before the battle, which is thankful.

Another thing the reader may find annoying is that while the battle unfolds in a chronological fashion (as it should), it is not entirely in order. For instance, the multiple attacks by Daniel's brigade near the railroad cut and the huge flanking attack by Early on the XI Corps right is fully featured before cutting back to Heth's attack against the I Corps, though the latter is mentioned during the former. It's not that big of a problem, but to those not initially educated about the battle it can be a little disconcerting because the reader may quite honestly have no idea what was going on at the other flank.

Despite a few quibbles Gettysburg - The First Day is a wonderfully researched (with a meticulously detailed end notes section), complete with first-rate tactical maps, an order of battle (shortened for the units that fought on the first day only), and some interesting appendices of related or side stories. Gettysburg - The First Day is another great work by this well-respected author and I recommend it.

I had the greatest pleasure in spending the first week of my retirement reading this account of the first day's struggle at Gettysburg and it's outlying areas. Pfanz continues as absolutely one of the greatest Civil War historians writing today.
So much has been written about the struggle for Little Round Top, Chamberlain's exploits, Pickett's Charge, and all of the other events which followed the first day's events, however, this book is an essential read for those who really want to examine how day two and three evolved. It is certainly understandable why the average reader would be drawn to the flashier confrontations which followed, however after day one it became clearer and clearer that the Confederate states could not conceivably win this battle.
The beauty of this account is that it is studded with maps which is a definite plus to anyone not particularly familiar with the outlying geography of the battle. And the dominant sites such as McPherson's Woods, the Railroad Cuts, Oak Ridge, the various farms all become focus points for the reader to see how the battle surged back and forth. Pfanz also details the battle unit by unit and interlaces his narrative with wonderful inserts of recollections by the participants.
The first day of the battle will also introduce the casual reader to soldiers both north and south who are not the usual suspects in Civil War accounts. People like Buford emerge as heroes and corps commanders play lesser roles. The effect of combat on civilians is also greatly documented and gives a real picture of the total impact of war in the 19th century.
This is not a work for the casual reader who would just want to pick up a book on Civil War history. However, for those who have a humble introduction it is very approachable and for those who have done additional reading it is a valuable resource.
Thanks for writing this one Mr. Pfanz.

Mr. Pfanz has contributed an unprecedented work of importance on the battle of Gettysburg. I couldn't claim to have read everything of worth on this pivitol, but I have read many. This one is the best.
Almost minute by minute coverage of the battle with detailed troop movements, the reader is transported back to July 1, 1863. Fair treatment is given to both Confederate and Union participants, not always common among some modern authors. Major characters are developed with enough detail to make them interesting, but not so much that the book threatens to become a biography of actors and not a story about the battle itself. I especially like the inclusion of residents of Gettysburg into the coverage. This group is too often ignored.
I think anyone with even a mild interest in this battle would agree that reading this book is not a waste of time. I can't wait to read Gettysburg the Second Day originally published in 1987 but missed by me.

Many who read about Gettysburg, probably impressed with the length of this work or the author's time on the job at the park, consider Pfanz as the "dean" of Gettysburg scholars. His knowledge of the battle's details is considerable. However, his wealth of selected details can be found in other works. With so many books out on Gettysburg, one should look to the author's analysis to determine how deep that writer's understanding is of the subject matter. When this reviewer looked carefully at Pfanz's lengthy contribution, precious little VALID analysis was found. Why? Pfanz is at a considerable disadvantage when it comes to understanding the Army of Northern Virginia and Robert E. Lee. For example, the author completely fails to address Lee's crucial decision as to why the Confederates were committed to battle in an echelon attack. Also, Pfanz virtually ignores any formation that did not get into the fighting, and does not address the reasons why they failed to get into action. The entire book left an impression of an author who spent a lot of time putting together many facts about the fighting on the south side of Gettysburg on July 2, but, for some reason, chose not to provide much in the way of trying to understand why things happened the way they did. Almost every one of Pfanz's conclusions---many of those concerning Lee are extraordinary claims which come out of his total failure to understand the concepts that comprise an attack en echelon---completely lack supporting evidence. Pfanz's failure to grasp Lee's attack plans, and the required flexibility that an echelon attack had to entrust to corps and divisional commanders, results in a false portrayal of Lee and the style of command that was necessary for the attack that was ordered. As a result, many of Pfanz's conclusions certainly do not stand up to the historical facts.

To understand this work, you must realize that Pfanz was the chief historian at Gettysburg NMP and the Park Service for many years. So he REALLY knows his history regarding Gettysburg! The book primarily covers Longstreet's attack on Day 2. This was intentional, as Pfanz wrote a separate book covering Cemetry Hill and Culp's Hill. The details in the book are amazing, especially if you go on-site to find the places he describes in such vivid detail. Pfanz also challenges some near-sacred beliefs about certain individuals (e.g., he presents evidence that Chamberlain did not order his charge and, in fact, at first tried to stop it). Pfanz presents the evidence, pro and con - then leaves it up to the reader to decide. So, to those with preconceived ideas, this book may "ruffle some feathers". One shortcoming was the lack of more maps. As one who likes to use a book while actually on-site, I found his maps excellent, but too few in number. If you have not read this book, you have much to learn about Gettysburg. Buy it...it's superb!

Harry Pfanz, former historian at the Gettysburg National Military Park and former Chief Historian of the National Park Service has written what will be the classic account of the pivotal day of the Battle of Gettysburg. Relying heavily on primary sources, many never before used, Pfanz takes the reader through the planning of the day's combat, the climax of the Confederate assault on July 2,1863, and the day's aftermath. While Pfanz's history is flawless, what makes this book so good is his attention to detail and the inclusion of human interest stories which are both relevant and fascinating. While this book will be most appreciated by Civil War buffs, it is sure to interest all looking for a great historical yarn!

This volume is a collection of essays by nine "leading authorities" on unanswered, or previously unasked, questions surrounding the battle of Gettysburg. Some of the contributions were marginally interesting, inasmuch as the actions of several of the battle's more famous, or infamous, commanders - Chamberlain, Sickles, Ewell, Stuart - were examined from new perspectives. I was particularly interested in the somewhat revisionist view of Joshua Chamberlain, an erstwhile personal hero of mine, taken by Glenn LaFantasie. Maybe, just maybe, the savior of Little Round Top wasn't quite the paragon of honor and integrity I thought him to be. (Oh well, another bubble burst. At 51, I should expect such disillusionment.) A couple more of the essays fell into the category of "Who Cares?", e.g. the one by J. Matthew Gallman on the effect of the battle on the town of Gettysburg itself. Yawn. Finally, a couple more were nothing more than windy exercises by "experts" who probably like seeing their views in print regardless of content. Since I don't wish to be accused of the same, I'll stop here. My advice, don't bother buying unless you're really obsessed with the subject.

The Gettysburg Nobody Knows by Gabor S. Doritt, describes the story of the battle of Gettysburg from many different points of view. This book tells the views and opinions on what actually happened at Gettysburg from journal writings and historic interpretations. The Gettysburg Nobody Knows gives the reader insight into the minds of the Generals behind the scenes, the commanders in the field and how the common soldiers viewed the battle of Gettysburg. Journal entries from Generals such as the Confederate General Longstreet and the Union General Sickles, show why they made some of the decisions they did and how they felt after. Sickles, for example, has been a source of controversy among historians for years. His decision to move his armies from the hieghts of Cemetary Hill to the peach orchard and the wheat field below has been viewed as both an the cause of unessessary Union casualties and a complete military failure on his part. There are those in this book who both support this view, and those who argue against it such as Richard Nelson. He believes that such loses were enevitable and Sickles decision was neither right or wrong. The Gettysburg Nobody Knows is a wonderful book for historical reference as well as entertainment. It gives a great background on the battle as well as the significants of small skirmishes and every soldiers effort. The Gettysburg Nobody Knows is truly a great telling of the Battle of Gettysburg.

Myths about the Battle of Gettysburg persist, but this fresh examination allows a deeper understanding of the events which took place those hot July days back in 1863. The book clarifies myths about Ewell, Chamberlain, Pickett and Lee. It's an easy read and quite fun.