Battle of Gettysburg Buff
A website for Civil War
buffs interested in the
Battle of Gettysburg
Books Worth Reading
While my collection of books on the Battle of Gettysburg is no doubt smaller than many other buffs but perhaps larger than others, I feel that I have collected what is a fairly representative list of good, quality books on the subject, including, of course, Edwin Coddington's "The Gettysburg Campaign: A Study in Command." In addition, the trilogy of books by Harry Pfanz are some of my favorites and, in my opinion, are second to none and a "must read." Listed below (in alphabetical order in each section) are the ones I have read on the battle which I think are worth reading, including, of course, "The History Buff's Guide to Gettysburg."
Basic Reading:"A Field Guide to Gettysburg: Experiencing the Battlefield through Its History, Places, and People" by Carol Reardon and Tom Vossler (University of North Carolina Press)
"A Generation on the March: The Union Army at Gettysburg" by Edmund J. Raus, Jr. (Thomas Publications)
"Brigades of Gettysburg" by Bradley M. Gottfried (Da Capo Press)
"Eyewitness to Gettysburg" by Charles C. Coffin (Burd Street Press)
"Gettysburg" by Stephen W. Sears (Mariner Books)
"Gettysburg Battlefield: The Definitive Illustrated History"by David J. Eicher, James M. McPherson, and Lee Vande (Chronicle Books)
"Gettysburg Campaign Atlas: Revised and Expanded" by Philip Laino (Gatehouse Press)
"Gettysburg: A Battlefield Atlas" by Craig L. Symonds (Nautical & Aviation Publishing)
"Gettysburg: A Battlefield Guide" by Mark Grimsley and Brooks D. Simpson (University of Nebraska Press)
"Gettysburg: A Testing of Courage" by Noah A. Trudeau (HarperCollins)
"Gettysburg: By the Numbers" by Charles Teague (Adams County Historical Society)
"Gettysburg: 1863 and Today" by Charles R. Nitchkey (Exposition Press)
"Gettysburg 1863: Campaign of Endless Echoes" by Richard Wheeler (Plume Books)
"Hallowed Ground: A Walk at Gettysburg" by James M. McPherson (Crown Publishing)
"High Tide at Gettysburg: The Campaign in Gettysburg" by Glenn Tucker (Morningside Press)
"If We Are Striking for Pennsylvania: The Army of Northern Virginia’s and Army of the Potomac’s March to Gettysburg Volume 1: June 3-22, 1863" by Eric J. Wittenberg and Scott Mingus, Sr. (Savas Beatie LLC)
"Last Chance for Victory: Robert E. Lee and the Gettysburg Campaign" by Scott Bowden and Bill Ward (Da Capo Press)
"Lee and His Men at Gettysburg: The Death of a Nation" by Clifford Dowdey (University of Nebraska Press)
"Meade at Gettysburg: A Study in Command" by Kent Masterson Brown (University of North Carolina Press)
"Regimental Strengths and Losses at Gettysburg" by John W. Busey and David G. Martin (Longstreet House)
"Roads to Gettysburg: Lee's Invasion of the North, 1863" by Bradley M. Gottfried (White Mane Publishing)
"The Battle of Gettysburg" by the Comte de Paris (Butternut and Blue)
"The Battle of Gettysburg: A Guided Tour" by Edward Stackpole and Wilbur Nye (Stackpole Books)
"The Battle of Gettysburg: The Eyewitness Account of Col. Frank A. Haskell" by Frank A. Haskell (Chapman Billies)
"The Complete Gettysburg Guide" by J. D. Petruzzi and Steven Stanley (Savas Beatie LLC)
"The Gettysburg Campaign" by Edwin B. Coddington (Morningside Press)
"The Gettysburg Campaign in Numbers and Losses" by J. D. Petruzzi and Steven Stanley (Savas Beatie LLC)
"The Gettysburg Campaign: June and July, 1863" by Albert A. Nofi (Gallery Books)
"The History Buff's Guide to Gettysburg" by Thomas R. Flagel and Ken Allers, Jr. (Cumberland House)
"The Last Road North: A Guide to the Gettysburg Campaign, 1863" by Dan Welch and Robert Orrison (Savas Beatie LLC)
"The Maps of the Cavalry in the Gettysburg Campaign: An Atlas of Mounted Operations from Brandy Station through Falling Waters, June 9-July 14, 1863" by Bradley M. Gottfried (Savas Beatie LLC )
"The Maps of Gettysburg: An Atlas of the Gettysburg Campaign, June 3-July 13, 1863" by Bradley M. Gottfried (Savas Beatie LLC)
"The New Gettysburg Campaign Handbook" by J.D. Petruzzi and Steven Stanley (Savas Beatie LLC)
"The Stand of the U.S. Army at Gettysburg" by Jeffrey C. Hall (Indiana University Press)
"The U.S. Army War College Guide to the Battle of Gettysburg" by Jay Luvaas and Harold W. Nelson (HarperCollins)
"Witness to Gettysburg" by Richard Wheeler (Harper & Row)
July 1, 1863:"Battle of Gettysburg 1863: The First Day"by Timothy J. Orr (Osprey Publishing)
"Crisis at the Crossroads: The First Day at Gettysburg" by Warren W. Hassler, Jr. (University of Alabama Press)
"Fight Like the Devil: The First Day at Gettysburg, July 1, 1863" by Chris Mackowski, Daniel T. Davis, and Kristopher D. White (Savas Beatie LLC)
"Gettysburg: July 1" by David G. Martin (Da Capo Press)
"Gettysburg: The First Day" by Harry W. Pfanz (Chapel Hill)
"In the Bloody Railroad Cut at Gettysburg" by Lance J. Hergedon and William J. K. Beaudot (Morningside Press)
"Morning at Willoughby Run: July 1, 1863" by Richard S. Shue (Thomas Publications)
"The First Day at Gettysburg: A Walking Tour" by James E. Thomas (Thomas Publications)
"The First Day at Gettysburg: Essays on Confederate and Union Leadership" by Gary W. Gallagher (Kent State University Press)
July 2, 1863:"Barksdale's Charge: The True High Tide of the Confederacy at Gettysburg, July 2, 1863" by Phillip Thomas Tucker (Casemate Publishing)
"Culp's Hill at Gettysburg: The Mountain Trembled" by John M. Archer (Thomas Publications)
"Devil's Den: A History and Guide" by Garry E. Adelman and Timothy H. Smith (Thomas Publications)
"Don't Give An Inch: The Second Day at Gettysburg, July 2, 1863" by Chris Mackowski (Savas Beatie LLC)
"East Cemetery Hill at Gettysburg: The Hour Was One of Horror" by John M. Archer (Thomas Publications)
"Fury on the Bliss Farm at Gettysburg" by John M. Archer (Ten Roads Publishing, LLC)
"Gettysburg’s Bloody Wheatfield" by Jay Jorgensen (White Mane Publishing)
"Gettysburg: Culp's Hill and Cemetery Hill" by Harry W. Pfanz (Chapel Hill)
"Gettysburg’s Peach Orchard: Longstreet, Sickles, and the Bloody Fight for the Commanding Ground Along the Emmitsburg Road" by James A. Hessler and Britt C. Isenberg (Savas Beatie LLC)
"Gettysburg, July 2: The Ebb and Flow of Battle" by James A. Woods (Canister Publishing)
"Gettysburg: The Second Day" by Harry W. Pfanz (Chapel Hill)
"Little Round Top: A Detailed Tour Guide" by Garry E. Adelman (Thomas Publications)
"Stand To It and Give Them Hell: Gettysburg as the Soldiers Experienced it from Cemetery Ridge to Little Round Top, July 2, 1863" by John Michael Priest (Savas Beatie LLC)
"Stay and Fight it Out: The Second Day at Gettysburg, July 2, 1863, Culp’s Hill and the North End of the Battlefield" by Chris Mackowski, Daniel T. Davis, and Kristopher D. White (Savas Beatie LLC)
"The Attack and Defense of Little Round Top" by Oliver W. Norton (Morningside Press)
"The Second Day at Gettysburg: Essays on Confederate and Union Leadership" by Gary W. Gallagher (Kent State University Press)
"The Second Day at Gettysburg: The Attack and Defense of the Union Center on Cemetery Ridge, July 2" by Scott Mingus, Sr. and David L. Shultz (Savas Beatie LLC)
"The Struggle for the Bliss Farm at Gettysburg" by Elwood Christ (Savas Beatie LLC)
"The Wheatfield at Gettysburg: A Walking Tour" by Jay Jorgensen (Thomas Publications)
July 3, 1863:"Also for Glory: The Pettigrew-Trimble Charge at Gettysburg" by Don Ernsberger (Xlibris-Random House)
"Double Canister at Ten Yards: The Federal Artillery and the Repulse of Pickett's Charge, July 3, 1863" by David L. Schultz (Savas Beatie LLC)
"Gettysburg: Day Three" by Jeffry D. Wert (Simon & Schuster)
"Into the Fight: Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg" by John Michael Priest (White Mane Publishing)
"Nothing But Glory: Pickett's Division at Gettysburg" by Kathy Georg Harrison and John W. Busey (Thomas Publications)
"Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg: A Guide to the Most Famous Attack in American History" by James A. Hessler and Wayne E. Motts (Savas Beatie LLC)
"Pickett's Charge in History and Memory" by Carol Reardon (University of North Carolina Press)
"Pickett’s Charge: A Microhistory of the Final Attack at Gettysburg, July 3, 1863" by George R. Stewart (Mariner Books)
"Pickett’s Charge: A New Look at Gettysburg's Final Attack" by Phillip Thomas Tucker (Skyhorse Publishing)
"Pickett’s Charge: The Last Attack at Gettysburg" by Earl J. Hess (Chapel Hill)
"Pickett’s Charge: The Untold Story" by Bruce E. Mowday (Barricade Books)
"The Third Day at Gettysburg and Beyond" by Gary W. Gallagher (University of North Carolina Press)
Artillery:"Civil War Artillery at Gettysburg" by Philip M. Cole (Colecraft Industries)
"Complexities and Complications - A Comprehensive Tactical Study of Confederate Artillery at Gettysburg" by Steve Nelson and David L. Shultz (Savas Beatie LLC)
"Silent Sentinels: A Reference Guide to the Artillery at Gettysburg" by George W. Newton (Savas Beatie LLC)
"The Artillery of Gettysburg" by Bradley M. Gottfried (Cumberland House)
"The Guns at Gettysburg" by Fairfax Downey (Olde Soldier Books)
"Three Days at Gettysburg: July 1, 2 and 3, 1863" by Henry J. Hunt (Outbooks)
Cavalry:"A Strong and Sudden Onslaught: The Cavalry Action at Hanover, Pennsylvania" by John T. Krepps (Colecraft Books)
"Encounter at Hanover: Prelude to Gettysburg" by the Hanover Chamber of Commerce
"Gettysburg's Forgotten Cavalry Actions" by Eric J. Wittenberg (Savas Beatie LLC) UPDATED AND REVISED
"Plenty of Blame to Go Around: Jeb Stuart's Controversial Ride to Gettysburg" by Eric J. Wittenberg and J. David Petruzzi (Savas Beatie LLC)
"Protecting the Flank: The Battles for Brinkerhoff's Ridge and East Cavalry Field, Battle of Gettysburg" by Eric J. Wittenberg (Savas Beatie LLC) UPDATED AND REVISED
"Saber & Scapegoat: J.E.B. Stuart and the Gettysburg Controversy" by Mark Nesbitt (Stackpole Books)
"The Cavalry at Gettysburg: A Tactical Study of Mounted Operations During the Civil War's Pivotal Campaign, 9 June - 14 July 1863" by Edward Longacre (University of Nebraska Press)
"The Devil's to Pay: General John Buford, USA" by Michael Phipps and John S. Peterson (Farnsworth Military Impressions)
"The Devil's to Pay": John Buford at Gettysburg. A History and Walking Tour" by Eric J. Wittenberg (Savas Beatie LLC)
Civilians:"A Strange and Blighted Land - Gettysburg: The Aftermath of a Battle" by Gregory A. Coco (Thomas Publications)
"At Gettysburg, Or What a Girl Saw and Heard of the Battle" by Mrs. Tillie Pierce Alleman (Stan Clark Military Books)
"Days of Darkness: The Gettysburg Civilians" by William G. Williams (White Mane Publishing)
"In the Eye of the Storm: The Farnsworth House and the Battle of Gettysburg" by Timothy H. Smith (Farnsworth House Publications)
"The Jennie Wade Story: A True and Complete Account of the Only Civilian Killed During the Battle of Gettysburg" by Cindy Small (Thomas Publications)
"The Shrivers' Story: Eyewitnesses to the Battle of Gettysburg" by Nancie W. Gudmestad (Shriver House Museum)
"The Ties of the Past: The Gettysburg Diaries of Salome Myers Stewart, 1854-1922" by Sarah Sites Thomas (Thomas Publications)
"When the Smoke Cleared at Gettysburg: The Tragic Aftermath of the Bloodiest Battle of the Civil War" by George Sheldon (Cumberland House)
"Women at Gettysburg: 1863" by E.F. Conklin (Thomas Publications)
Human Interest Stories:"Gettysburg Glimpses: True Stories from the Battlefield" by Scott Mingus, Sr. (Xlibris)
"Gettysburg Glimpses: More True Stories from the Battlefield" by Scott Mingus, Sr. (Ten Roads Publishing)
"Gettysburg Rebels: Five Native Sons Who Came Home to Fight as Confederate Soldiers" by Tom McMillan (Regnery Publishing)
"Human Interest Stories from the Gettysburg Campaign, Volume 1" by Scott Mingus, Sr. (Colecraft Industries)
"Human Interest Stories from the Gettysburg Campaign, Volume 2" by Scott Mingus, Sr. (Colecraft Industries)
"My Enemy, My Brother: Men and Days of Gettysburg" by Joseph E. Persico (Collier Books)
"On the Bloodstained Field: 130 Human Interest Stories of the Campaign and Battle of Gettysburg" by Gregory A. Coco (Thomas Publications)
"On the Bloodstained Field II: 132 More Human Interest Stories of the Campaign and Battle of Gettysburg" by Gregory A. Coco (Thomas Publications)
"Texans at Gettysburg: Blood and Glory with Hood's Texas Brigade" by Joseph L. Owen and Randy S. Drais (Fonthill Media)
"The Complete Human Interest Stories of the Gettysburg Campaign" by Scott Mingus, Sr. (Gettysburg Publishing LLC)
"War Stories: 150 Little Known Human Interest Stories of the Campaign and Battle of Gettysburg" by Gregory A. Coco (Thomas Publications)
"Women at Gettysburg: 1863" by E.F. Conklin (Thomas Publications)
Lee's Retreat:"After Gettysburg: Lee Retreats, Meade Pursues" by Joseph E. Mieczkowski (Pediapress)
"Battle of Falling Waters 1863: Custer, Pettigrew and the End of the Gettysburg Campaign – July 16, 2013" by George F. Franks, III (CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform)
"Lee is Trapped, and Must be Taken": Eleven Fateful Days after Gettysburg: July 4 - 14, 1863" by Thomas J. Ryan and Richard Schaus (Savas Beatie LLC)
"Meade and Lee After Gettysburg: The Forgotten Final Stage of the Gettysburg Campaign, from Falling Waters to Culpeper Court House, July 14-31, 1863" by Jeffrey William Hunt (Savas Beatie LLC)
"One Continuous Fight: The Retreat from Gettysburg and the Pursuit of Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, July 4-14, 1863" by Eric J. Wittenberg, J. David Petruzzi, and Michael F. Nugent (Savas Beatie LLC)
"Retreat from Gettysburg: Lee, Logistics, and the Pennsylvania Campaign" by Kent Masterson Brown (Chapel Hill)
"That Vast Procession of Misery: Lee's Wounded Retreat from Gettysburg" by William G. Williams (Burd Street Press)
Monuments:"Crossroads of the Conflict: Defining Hours for the Blue and Gray: A Guide to the Monuments of Gettysburg" by Donald W. McLaughlin (Outskirts Press)
"Gettysburg: Stories of Men and Monuments" by Frederick W. Hawthorne (Association of Licensed Battlefield Guides)
"Gettysburg: The Complete Pictorial of Battlefield Monuments" by D. Scott Hartwig and Ann Marie Hartwig (Thomas Publications)
"Guide to Gettysburg Battlefield Monuments: Find Every Monument and Tablet in the Park" by Tom Huntington (Stackpole Books)
"The Location of the Monuments, Markers, and Tablets on Gettysburg Battlefield" by Kathy Georg Harrison (Thomas Publications)
"Their Silent Vigil: A Complete Guide to the Monuments of the Gettysburg National Military Park, Volume One" by Robert J. Nixon (Tate Publishing)
Photography:"Early Photography at Gettysburg" by William A. Frassanito (Thomas Publications)
"Gettysburg: A Journey in Time" by William A. Frassanito (Scribners)
"Gettysburg Then and Now: Touring the Battlefield With Old Photos, 1863-1889" by William A. Frassanito (Thomas Publications)
"Gettysburg's Battlefield Photographer - William H. Tipton" by Timothy H. Smith (Thomas Publications)
"The Early Gettysburg Battlefield: Selected Photographs from the Gettysburg National Military Park Commission Reports, 1895-1904" by Garry E. Adelman (Thomas Publications)
"The Gettysburg Then and Now Companion" by William A. Frassanito (Thomas Publications)
Prisons and prisoners:"Portals to Hell: Military Prisons of the Civil War" by Lonnie R. Speer (Bison Books)
Strategy:"All Roads Led to Gettysburg: A New Look at the Civil War's Pivotal Battle" by Troy D. Harman
(Stackpole Books)"Decisions at Gettysburg: The Nineteen Critical Decisions That Defined the Campaign" by Matt Spruill (University of Tennessee Press)
"Lee and Longstreet at Gettysburg" by Glenn Tucker (Bobbs-Merrill)
"Lee's Real Plan at Gettysburg" by Troy D. Harman (Stackpole Books)
"Longstreet at Gettysburg: A Critical Reassessment" by Cory M. Pfarr (McFarland)
"The Art of War" by Antoine-Henri, Baron de Jomini (Dover Publications)
"The Campaign of Gettysburg: Command Decisions" by William D. Hewitt (Thomas Publications)
"Three Days at Gettysburg: Essays on Confederate and Union Leadership" by Gary W. Gallagher (Kent State University Press)
Other Topics:"A Vast Sea of Misery: A History and Guide to the Union and Confederate Field Hospitals at Gettysburg, July 1 - November 20, 1863" by Gregory A. Coco (Thomas Publications)
"Beyond the Gatehouse: Gettysburg's Evergreen Cemetery" by Brian A. Kennell (Evergreen Cemetery Association)
"Bullets and Bandages: The Aid Stations and Field Hospitals at Gettysburg" by James Gindlesperger (Blair Publishing)
"Civil War Logistics: A Study of Military Transportation" by Earl J. Hess (LSU Press)
"Confederate Army Uniforms at Gettysburg" by Michael J. Winey (C. W. Historicals LLC)
"Debris of Battle: The Wounded of Gettysburg" by Gerald A. Patterson (Stackpole Books)
"East of Gettysburg: A Gray Shadow Crosses York County, PA" by James McClure (York Daily Record / York County Heritage Trust)
"Farms at Gettysburg: The Fields of Battle" by Timothy H. Smith (Thomas Publications)
"Flames Beyond Gettysburg: The Gordon Expedition, June 1863" by Scott Mingus, Sr. (Ironclad Publishing)
"Hands Across the Wall: The 50th and 75th Reunions of the Gettysburg Battle - 150th Anniversary Edition" by Stan Cohen (Pictorial Histories Publishing)
"Learning the Battle of Gettysburg: A Guide to the Official Records" by Benjamin Y. Dixon (Thomas Publications)
"Noble Pillars: Medal of Honor and Confederate Medal of Honor Recipients of the Gettysburg Campaign – Volume I" by Roy E. Frampton (Gettysburg Publishing LLC)
"On A Great Battlefield: The Making, Management, and Memory of Gettysburg National Military Park, 1933–2012" by Jennifer Murray (University of Tennessee Press)
"Shock Troops of the Confederacy: The Sharpshooter Battalions of the Army of Northern Virginia" by Fred L. Ray (CFS Press)
"Spies, Scouts, and Secrets in the Gettysburg Campaign: How the Critical Role of Intelligence Impacted the Outcome of Lee's Invasion of the North, June-July 1863" by Thomas Ryan (Savas Beatie LLC)
"Test Your Knowledge On The Battle Of Gettysburg" by Kevin Drake (Xulon Press)
"The Confederate Approach on Harrisburg: The Gettysburg Campaign’s Northernmost Reaches" by Cooper H. Wingert (The History Press)
"The Encyclopedia of Civil War Medicine" by Glenna R. Schroeder-Lein (M.E. Sharpe Publishing)
"The Fog of Gettysburg: The Myths and Mysteries of the Battle" by Ken Allers, Jr. (Cumberland House)
"The Gettysburg Cyclorama: The Turning Point of the Civil War on Canvas" by Chris Brenneman and Sue Boardman (Savas Beatie LLC)
"The Gettysburg Nobody Knows" by Gabor S. Boritt (Oxford University Press)
"The Horse at Gettysburg: Prepared for the Day of Battle" by Chris Bagley (Gettysburg Publishing LLC)
"The Louisiana Tigers in the Gettysburg Campaign, June-July 1863" by Scott Mingus, Sr. (LSU Press)
"Those Damned Black Hats!: The Iron Brigade in the Gettysburg Campaign" by Lance Herdegen (Savas Beatie LLC)
"Too Much for Human Endurance: The George Spangler Farm Hospitals and the Battle of Gettysburg" by Ronald D. Kirkwood (Savas Beatie LLC)
"Union Army Uniforms at Gettysburg" by Michael J. Winey (Thomas Publications)
"U.S. Sharpshooters: Berdan’s Civil War Elite" by Roy M. Marcot (Stackpole Books)
"Wasted Valor: The Confederate Dead at Gettysburg" by Gregory A. Coco (Thomas Publications)
To watch for the most recent books (and more importantly, reviews of them) on the Civil War and the Battle of Gettysburg, go to http://www.civilwarnews.com/.
Copyright 2008. Randy Drais. All rights reserved.