Meade at Gettysburg

A Study in Command

By: Kent Masterson Brown

Narrated by: Shawn Compton

Although he took command of the Army of the Potomac only three days before the first shots were fired at Gettysburg, Union general George G. Meade guided his forces to victory in the Civil War's most pivotal battle. Commentators often dismiss Meade when discussing the great leaders of the Civil War. But in this long-anticipated book, Kent Masterson Brown draws on an expansive archive to reappraise Meade's leadership during the Battle of Gettysburg. Using Meade's published and unpublished papers along with a variety of other sources, Brown highlights how Meade's rapid advance of the army to Gettysburg on July 1, his tactical control and coordination of the army in the desperate fighting on July 2, and his determination to hold his positions on July 3 insured victory.

Brown argues that supply deficiencies, brought about by the army's unexpected need to advance to Gettysburg, were crippling. In spite of that, Meade pursued Lee's retreating army rapidly, and his decision not to blindly attack Lee's formidable defenses near Williamsport on July 13 was entirely correct in spite of subsequent harsh criticism. Combining compelling narrative with incisive analysis, this finely rendered work deepens our understanding of the Army of the Potomac as well as the machinations of the Gettysburg Campaign, restoring Meade to his rightful place in the Gettysburg narrative.

©2021 The University of North Carolina Press (P)2021 Tantor

logistics!!!

This is a very detailed assessment of Mead's performance at Gettysburg. I was surprised at how many things I had not considered.

Makes Strong Case for Meade

This book admirably makes its case that Meade’s generalship at Gettysburg was excellent and that he was justified in not attacking Lee’s strongly fortified lines before Lee’s army retreated over the Potomac. As to the latter Lee was effectively dug in and the numbers of the two armies were almost equal. While the author did not discuss Grant, Grant later always had superior numbers allowing him to be aggressive. The battle scenes at Gettysburg are from Meade’s perspective and so are intentionally not complete.

Outstanding

Great book on Meade at Gettysburg. The man, his generalship and strategic, operational and logistical genius come shining through in this great read.

All about Meade

This is a very detailed narration of the Gettysburg campaign from Meade’s perspective. Like Meade himself, the narrative is not flashy, but solid, and places Meade’s actions in the context of what he knew at the time. The author explains why he holds a high opinion of Meade, and engages with others who were critical, both at the time and in histories of the battle. The narrator is clear, but has some odd pronunciations of names.

Outstanding In-depth analysis

Well written analysis of Gettysburg and Meade’s leadership. I learned so much about this major battle.