Gettysburg Heroes: Perfect Soldiers, Hallowed Ground
By Glenn W. LaFantasie
(September 2008 Civil War News)

Illustrated, 277 pp., 2008. Indiana University Press, 601 North Morton St., Bloomington, IN 47404, $24.945 plus shipping.

Reviewer: Jay Jorgensen
Jay Jorgensen is an attorney and municipal court judge in New Jersey. He is the author of Gettysburg's Bloody Wheatfield and The Wheatfield at Gettysburg: A Walking Tour. He also received his Master’s Degree in Military History - Civil War Studies from American Military University.

Review:
Gettysburg Heroes is a collection of essays, some of which have been previously published, dealing with various individuals associated with Gettysburg. The author clearly enjoys writing about the men included in this book.

Indeed, he states in his Preface that, “Getting to know these historical figures over the past twenty years has given me endless insights into the nature of their world, the contours of their individual lives, and the vast dimensions of the Civil War and its many effects on American society.”

Readers of Gettysburg Heroes will find themselves agreeing with Glenn LaFantasie.

Who are the men included in this work? The book starts off with a chapter on James Longstreet and a chapter on Frank Haskell. Longstreet, of course, is well known to even causal students of the Civil War. Unfortunately for him, his reputation has suffered greatly at the hands of the proponents of the Lost Cause. His postwar failure to adequately parry attacks upon his war record has left him vulnerable to them.

LaFantasie feels that is most unfortunate. In the chapter he focuses on the reasons why Longstreet should be well-regarded — his dependability in battle and fierce martial bearing.

Unlike Longstreet, Frank Haskell is not as well known to today’s generation. Haskell died before the Civil War ended. Had it not been for a long letter he wrote to his brother shortly after the Gettysburg battle concluded he would probably be long forgotten. This chapter fills in the man behind the words. Those who already know of him will be pleasantly surprised to learn the details of Haskell’s life. Those who never heard of him will be impressed in this introduction to the man.

Two chapters are devoted to Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain. The author is well aware of the fact that Chamberlain’s reputation has soared as a result of Michael Shaara’s fictionalized account of him in The Killer Angles, as well as the Hollywood stylized version of Chamberlain’s exploits in the movie “Gettysburg.”

Chamberlain was much more complex than those depictions. LaFantasie peels away the myth from the man. It may come as a surprise to readers to learn that Chamberlain the man is probably more interesting and complex. In assessing Chamberlain LaFantasie reflects that, “All in all, he accomplished what few men, either in his own time or in our own, can ever honestly claim: he lived his dreams to the fullest.” Fortunately, that comes out in this book.

The next four chapters explore Chamberlain’s protagonist on Little Round Top — William C. Oates of Alabama. The author certainly is well-equipped to discuss Oates, having published a fine biography of him. These chapters help flesh out the complexity of the man.

On the one hand he was a brave and dedicated soldier. On the other hand he was impetuous and seemingly careless. His efforts to erect a monument on Little Round Top to his fallen brother and fellow comrades of his regiment ultimately proved unsuccessful, and that certainly tainted his views toward Gettysburg. So, too, did his postwar battle with Chamberlain over that issue.

Each of the four chapters brings a fresh approach to understanding Oates, and he remains a compelling figure to examine.

Most books of essays about individuals at Gettysburg include something on Abraham Lincoln, and Gettysburg Heroes is no different. The two essays on Lincoln are not so much historical as they are philosophical. Rather than focus on what Lincoln did/said there in November 1863, the author places the President’s actions in a much broader light.

So it is, for example, that in “Lincoln and the Gettysburg Address” LaFantasie makes a compelling argument that Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address was at the forefront of an overall awakening of the country in general and Gettysburg in particular:

“His words would thrill the hearts and touch the souls of millions of Americans down through the years and that his address, by the force of his spiritual plea for the birth of a new America, would compel us forevermore to think of Gettysburg as a Sacred place.”

 The author is truly enamored by Gettysburg. It is a place near and dear to his heart, and is special to him. The remaining four essays in the book develop his concept of the specialness of Gettysburg. They are not only enjoyable to read and reflect upon, but challenging as well.

Readers undoubtedly will find themselves thinking how the Gettysburg experience has changed or influenced their own lives. All in all, this is a book well worth reading.