Sickles at Gettysburg: The Controversial Civil War General Who Committed Murder, Abandoned Little Round Top, and Declared Himself the Hero of Gettysburg
James Hessler’s gem about Maj. Gen. Daniel E. Sickles is now available in paperback. This book tells the enthralling story of the lifelong sleazy conduct of this New York politician and Civil War political general. The focus, of course, is on Sickles’ unauthorized advance placement of his Third Corps near the Emmitsburg Road on Day Two at Gettysburg, its almost disastrous consequences, and the Second Battle of Gettysburg. This second battle involved Sickles’ lifelong, less-than-honest campaign to tear down George Meade and make himself the hero of Gettysburg. Hessler presents the primary- and secondary-source evidence and arguments on both sides of the Sickles-Meade controversy, and Sickles’ overreaching becomes obvious. Because of the detailed descriptions of the troop movements and fighting on July 2, 1863, more maps than the five related to them would be helpful. This book is a “must” for those interested in Gettysburg, Sickles, Meade and Civil War politics. Reviewer: Edward Bonekemper Book Review Editor Ed Bonekemper, adjunct military history lecturer at Muhlenberg College, is the author of four Civil War books.
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Photographs, maps, notes, bibliography, index, 504 pp., 2010, Casemate,