Review: Excellent battle history of 'Gettysburg'

"Gettysburg: A Testing of Courage"
By Noah Andre Trudeau
HarperCollins
History
624 pages

(CNN) -- No military engagement in American history has given rise to more speculation, legend and mythology than the Civil War battle at Gettysburg. The events of early July 1863 lend themselves to interpretation, re-examination and embroidery. The stakes were enormously high, the price was staggering and the outcome remains debatable nearly a century and a half later.

In "Gettysburg: A Testing of Courage," Noah Andre Trudeau tells the story of what happened during those three days in Pennsylvania, on a scale ranging from the epic to the extraordinarily personal. Synthesizing his account from a vast array of sources (his bibliography alone spans 35 pages), the author imbues the narrative with a sense of immediacy, without sacrificing his view of the big picture.

Detailed assessments

Starting six weeks before the battle, Trudeau chronicles the state of the war and the military objectives of each combatant.

He follows the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia on its northward march, as well as the political intrigues that prompted a change in command for the Union Army of the Potomac in the days before the battle. He pinpoints troop placements and regimental maneuvers, while highlighting the personalities of the commanders and illuminating the lives of the men who did the fighting and dying.

His assessments are remarkably even-handed. "In the community of officers commanding corps in the Army of the Potomac," Trudeau writes, "[Major General Daniel] Sickles stood apart as the only one who had not attended West Point or served in the military prior to the war. He stood apart in other ways as well, not many of which would be considered flattering. A scarred veteran of New York City's political brawls, Sickles had thrived in the army, thanks especially to his fierce ambition, which was wedded to a reckless determination to prevail." That reckless determination, Trudeau demonstrates, nearly cost the Union Gettysburg and the war.

The author is no less frank about the Confederate effort. "July 2 {the second day of the battle} laid bare the failings of [Robert E.] Lee's command style and the dysfunctional nature of his army's operational culture. The broad front position Lee acceded to effectively isolated each corps, demanding even greater coordination on the part of his principal officers, few of whom rose to the occasion."

Making sense out of chaos

As the assembled armies exchanged furious blows, the townspeople of Gettysburg were learning first hand about the brutalities of war. Their farms became part of the battlefield and their streets became passages between engagements. Trudeau incorporates their accounts -- some of them contemporaneous -- into his narrative.

The result is a book rich in detail. His conclusions about the battle will no doubt ignite vigorous arguments among historians and Civil War buffs. There's also no doubt Trudeau makes sense out of the chaos that reigned during much of the battle.

"Gettysburg: A Testing of Courage" effectively melds history and storytelling into a book anyone can read and enjoy.