Looking for some input/feedback, please....

[Eric Wittenberg]

I'm looking for some feedback on this, positive and negative.

One of my missions in telling history is shattering myths. Some of them are particularly tenacious, such as the myth of Buford's troopers having Spencers at Gettysburg. The Battle of Gettysburg has an entire mythology that has sprung up around it.

Someone suggested that I do a book focused on shattering those myths. I must admit that it interests me, and I think it would be a fun book to write, and hopefully for folks to read.

The question is: what do y'all think of this idea? Would you think such a book to be a worthy addition to the body of knowledge? Would you read it?

The response will dictate whether I continue to explore the topic, so please be honest and candid with me. I have one other Gettysburg project in mind, with my friend Dave Powell, but until I started kicking this idea around, that 11th Corps project with Dave was intended to be my last Gettysburg project. Depending on the responses that I get here and on Facebook, where I have also posted this, that 11th Corps project may well remain my last Gettysburg project.*

*Fear not--it won't be my last Civil War project, although I do have a major Revolutionary War project in the works. It's just that I will have exhausted the Gettysburg topics that interest me enough to invest the time and effort into doing something book length and am ready to move on to something else.

 

[Schwallanscher]

shattering myths is the best a journalist - and i bet a historian, too - can hope for

 

[brass napoleon]

I love the idea! I think it would be terrific reading, and a much-needed addition to the available body of knowledge. My only concern would be that with all the myths out there it could end up being a really, really big book!

 

[1SGDan]

The project seems worthwhile. What particular myths did you have in mind?

 

[Bee]

YES! Why? Just as a quick example: in the case of Gettysburg, a whole book of myths -- Killer Angels -- began some of us down a road of myths, which in turn, guided some of us to pursue that material which expands on those myths. Unraveling that mess has taken months, and the generous efforts of others to put me back on the correct path. That is just one single example. There are others: I heard them all weekend, but cannot even begin to list them here. It would surely be nice to have a repository of myth-busting information that we could just reference page numbers when the myths pop up on the forum

 

[rjustice21]

The project seems worthwhile. What particular myths did you have in mind?

This is my question. Sounds like a great idea depending on the amount of myths that are out there.

 

[CW3O]

Eric,

Your books are the work of a serious historian, well researched and well written. My concern would be that by tackling myths you would actually add credence to them rather than your intent of debunking them. Folks that believe in and spread such myths are not adherents to actual history or they wouldn't believe as they do. I have long believed that myths are not fact based and therefore cannot be debunked by fact.

My take would be to leave debunking myth to junk authors and stick to the real history you excel at.

Look forward to your next work.

 

[AndyHall]

I think it's an excellent idea, and you are very well-placed to do it.

I think the question to answer at this point is, what your audience use for this. Your work to this point is mostly focused for readers who are deeply into the subject, but a myth debunking book would likely (or possibly) have a much more broad appeal to a more general readership. It could be a very popular title, depending on what sort of myths you take a wrecking ball to.

 

[DR_Hanna]

My concern would be that by tackling myths you would actually add credence to them rather than your intent of debunking them. Folks that believe in and spread such myths are not adherents to actual history or they wouldn't believe as they do. I have long believed that myths are not fact based and therefore cannot be debunked by fact.

How true. But one must never give up.

 

[dlofting]

Yes, I love this type of book, when it is well researched and written......so you're the best person to write it IMHO.

 

[Yankeedave]

Read some of your stuff. Learned from it. Thank you.
One man's myth is another man's reality, see the 'lost cause'. Myth to some, realities to other. I agree that there is a myth to the fire on sunday etc aspect. This is easy to prove. You may open yourself up things tho as others have said. I guess we are protective of our own. Either way i will probably read it.

 

[MaryDee]

Sounds good to me--I certainly will read it if I'm still around when it comes out! (Still hoping I survive long enough for your Meade book!)

 

[Eric Wittenberg]

The project seems worthwhile. What particular myths did you have in mind?

I haven't gotten that far yet. The first step is to decide whether there is sufficient interest to even take that next step.

 

[War Horse]

I love the idea! I would certainly enjoy reading it. "Gettysburg Folklore Revealed"

 

[nitrofd]

I like the idea a lot and I am a western theater fan,altough I grew up knowing only the AoP.what has perked my interest is what all the participants in September to Remember seem to be everyone is talking about your thoughts on Dirty Dan.that could shake up the ACW World.

 

[Wallyfish]

I would buy it.

I have an insatiable appetite for getting Gettysburg facts.

On most of my Gettysburg treks, I linger a bit around the 20th Maine monument. I always ponder on two issues, what did Chamberland really order on that day and what really happened on the "Oates Rock". We may never know those answers, but I would love to see a concise read which takes myths and renders a fact or fiction decision based on research documentation.


Years ago I purchased Scott Hardwig's book on "myths" in the book Killer Angels. I would love to see an entire chapter on myths and fictional acts found in that book as well as the movie Gettysburg. That book and subsequent movie is many times taken as a purely actual portrayal of the battle.

 

[Greg Taylor]

I think it's an excellent idea, and you are very well-placed to do it.

I think the question to answer at this point is, what your audience use for this. Your work to this point is mostly focused for readers who are deeply into the subject, but a myth debunking book would likely (or possibly) have a much more broad appeal to a more general readership. It could be a very popular title, depending on what sort of myths you take a wrecking ball to.

I believe that there needs to be more books by serious historians that help expand interest in the Civil War to an audience beyond Civil War "Wonks." I don't mean insults to our intelligence such as the "history" presented by The History Channel but thoughtful and interesting explorations such as that that Eric has in mind. In other words I agree with you, Andy.

 

[AndyHall]

Other folks have far more experience than I do, but it seems to me to be a real challenge to strike a balance between appealing to a popular, general readership (buffs), and what more invested, wonky readers are looking for. Eric definitely doesn't want to go the lowest common denominator route; there's nothing down that road but space aliens and hidden Nazi gold.

 

[Schwallanscher]

Other folks have far more experience than I do, but it seems to me to be a real challenge to strike a balance between appealing to a popular, general readership (buffs), and what more invested, wonky readers are looking for. Eric definitely doesn't want to go the lowest common denominator route; there's nothing down that road but space aliens and hidden Nazi gold.

View attachment 110948

i love him - whenever i'm really sad i need just 2 minutes of zhe guy and then i can laugh again what makes me think, however, that it was voted america's most favourite documentary (twice!)

 

[Josh The Lighthouse Guy]

Sounds like a great idea.

Debunking myths is not junk history. How many people read "Lost Triumph" and believed it out of honest ignorance? Far more I think than believe it because they are diehard conspiracy theorists and/or Lee worshippers.

Gettysburg myths/semi-myths I can think of:

Battle happened because Heth wanted shoes

Buford's Spencers

Ewell/Jackson at Cemetery/Culp Hills on July 1

Meade wanted to retreat every night

Sickles' insubordination ruined Longstreet's attack on July 1 and was thus a good thing

Chamberlain & 20th ME saved the Union by themselves (while commonly debunked by any modern Gettysburg book it is probably still widely believed due to Killer Angels and the movie)

Longstreet screwed up Lee's masterplan for July 3 morning

Stuart's late arrival and actions on July 3 involves probably half a dozen myths by itself (would have won the battle, Lee chewed out Stuart, the Carhart Theory, etc)

Probably plenty of other things I'm forgetting. Killer Angels, Gettysburg movie, Lost Triumph, and Ken Burns & Shelby Foote are probably the best starting poin2t though because the vast majority of misconceptions probably stem from those sources being the most high profile ones.