Preview: Reardon & Vossler, “A Field Guide to Gettysburg”

There are countless tour guidebooks of the Campaign and Battle of Gettysburg. They vary from God-awful to great. I won’t go into which ones are in which category. Except for this new one from UNC Press, A Field Guide to Gettysburg: Experiencing the Battlefield through Its History, Places, and People, by Carol Reardon and Tom Vossler. While you can never know for sure until you take it out and test it, this looks fantastic. It’s laid out much the way I would lay out a guidebook if I had my druthers. First, it’s heavy duty paperback – light enough to throw in a backpack, but durable enough to not be destroyed by repeated use in the field. It’s also substantial, at 400+ pages. It’s indexed – ‘nough said. Modern photographs help orient the reader (or, as they say in the Army, “orientate.”) And 47 (47!) maps help describe the action. Lots and lots of illustrations, too. Stops are organized thus: Orientation; What Happened Here?; Who Fought Here?; Who Commanded Here?; Who Fell Here?: Who Lived Here?; What Did They Say About It Later? Classic staff ride format, with less emphasis on after action reports and more on the human aspect.

Is A Field Guide to Gettysburg perfect? Well, some will moan that their favorite stop or action is excluded (for instance, Farnsworth’s Charge is given short shrift but, hey, it’s cavalry!). But it’s the best organized and most comprehensive I’ve seen so far (your mileage may vary, of course, and there are plenty of alternatives to please everybody.) It’s available now. Check it out!