Gettysburg Heroes: Perfect Soldiers, Hallowed Ground

The Civil War generation saw its world in ways startlingly different from our own. In these essays, Glenn W. LaFantasie examines the lives and experiences of several key personalities who gained fame during the war and after. The battle of Gettysburg is the thread that ties these Civil War lives together. Gettysburg was a personal turning point, though each person was affected differently. Largely biographical in its approach, the book captures the human drama of the war and shows how this group of individuals--including Abraham Lincoln, James Longstreet, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, William C. Oates, and others--endured or succumbed to the war and, willingly or unwillingly, influenced its outcome. At the same time, it shows how the war shaped the lives of these individuals, putting them through ordeals they never dreamed they would face or survive.

"Glenn LaFantasie flat out knows how to write Civil War history!" --Richard N. Larsen, The MidWest Book Review Indiana University Press

"[T]his is a superb collection of essays by an outstanding scholar reflecting on America's obsession with the battle of Gettysburg and 'perfect heroes.'" --The Journal of Southern History, Vol. 76, No. 3

"Well-researched, Gettysburg Heroes makes a genuine contribution in the field of the Civil War in thought and memory, and specifically the significance of Gettysburg itself." --Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, Spring 2008

"Gettysburg is more than a pivotal battlefield for Americans. It has also, in its way, become something of a national Pantheon. For American heroes have trod that ground, both those who fought there, and those who came after to learn and remember. Warriors like Generals James Longstreet and Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, share that field with Abraham Lincoln, Dwight Eisenhower, and Field Marshall Bernard Law Montgomery. In a stimulating series of essays, Glenn LaFantasie looks at all of them in Gettysburg Heroes, examining not only why they came and what they did, but also the impact this hallowed ground had upon them and all Americans." --William C. Davis, author of An Honorable Defeat: The Last Days of the Confederate Government and The Union that Shaped the Confederacy

"LaFantasie has written in a lucid, easy-to-understand manner... highly recommended." --Daily News (Bowling Green, KY), July 13, 2008

"Gettysburg Heroes offers concise and clear stories of soldiers, civilians, generals and presidents.... Bring[ing] us a little closer to the truth about the battle of Gettysburg and how it has become an oracle for this nation." --Civil War Librarian, April 4, 2008

"We continually hear that the Gettysburg subject has been exhausted. Glenn LaFantasie proves this wrong. Beautifully written and splendidly researched Gettysburg Heroes is a delight to read." --D. Scott Hartwig Indiana University Press

"Glenn LaFantasie is one of the finest writers in the field of Civil War history. His prose is accessible, pleasurable to read, and always insightful and provocative... this book should excite a lot of interest." --Joan Waugh, editor of The Memory of the Civil War in American Culture

How Gettysburg shaped the lives of the Civil War generation

Glenn W. LaFantasie is Richard Frockt Family Professor of Civil War History at Western Kentucky University. He is author of Twilight at Little Round Top and Gettysburg Requiem: The Life of William C. Oates. He lives in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

Contents

Preface

Introduction

1. Lee's Old War Horse

2. Frank A. Haskell: Tragic Hero of the Union

3. Becoming Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain

4. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain and the American Dream

5. Finding William C. Oates

6. An Alabamian's Civil War

7. Hell in Haymarket

8. William C. Oates and the Death of General Farnsworth

9. Mr. Lincoln's Victory at Gettysburg

10. Lincoln and the Gettysburg Awakening

11. Memories of Little Round Top

12. Ike and Monty Take Gettysburg

13. The Many Meanings of Gettysburg

14. Feeling the Past at Gettysburg

Notes

Index