Kent Masterson Brown. Retreat From Gettysburg: Lee, Logistics, and the Pennsylvania Campaign. Chapel Hill: The U of N. C. Press, 2005.
This is an excellently researched book which laboriously documents the logistical reasons behind the Confederate incursion into Pennsylvania and the ways in which the logistical goals were achieved. The major portion of the book deals with the Confederate retreat and the way in which the logistics of the withdrawal were handled. The author has very carefully located the Confederate hospitals at Gettysburg, the number of men in each, how they were triaged and evacuated, and the incidents which befell the hospital trains on their way south. The same meticulous attention is given to ordinance and quartermaster trains.
The problems faced by Meade are not neglected and the attempts to determine Confederate intentions while relocating the AoP's base of supply are dealt with fully.
There is excellent coverage of the small unit fighting which broke out as the Union cavalry pursued the lengthy wagon trains of Lee's army. The author makes the point that Union logistics problems prevented the Northern cavalry from being more effective in harrassing the retreat of the Army of Northern Virginia.
I find this to be one of the better written C.W. books I have read recently. It deals with a neglected feature of the Gettysburg Campaign. I recommend the book.
RebProf
This is an excellently researched book which laboriously documents the logistical reasons behind the Confederate incursion into Pennsylvania and the ways in which the logistical goals were achieved. The major portion of the book deals with the Confederate retreat and the way in which the logistics of the withdrawal were handled. The author has very carefully located the Confederate hospitals at Gettysburg, the number of men in each, how they were triaged and evacuated, and the incidents which befell the hospital trains on their way south. The same meticulous attention is given to ordinance and quartermaster trains.
The problems faced by Meade are not neglected and the attempts to determine Confederate intentions while relocating the AoP's base of supply are dealt with fully.
There is excellent coverage of the small unit fighting which broke out as the Union cavalry pursued the lengthy wagon trains of Lee's army. The author makes the point that Union logistics problems prevented the Northern cavalry from being more effective in harrassing the retreat of the Army of Northern Virginia.
I find this to be one of the better written C.W. books I have read recently. It deals with a neglected feature of the Gettysburg Campaign. I recommend the book.
RebProf