Meade and Lee After Gettysburg: The Forgotten Final Stage of the Gettysburg Campaign, from Falling Waters to Culpeper Court House, July 14-31, 1863

De: Jeffrey Wm Hunt

Narrado por: Colonel Ralph Henning

Jeffrey Hunt’s Meade and Lee After Gettysburg: The Forgotten Final Stage of the Gettysburg Campaign, from Falling Waters to Culpeper Court House, July 14-31, 1863 exposes what has been hiding in plain sight for 150 years: The Gettysburg Campaign did not end at the banks of the Potomac on July 14, but two weeks later, deep in central Virginia along the line of the Rappahannock.

Contrary to popular belief, once Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia slipped across the swollen Potomac back to Virginia, the Lincoln administration pressed George Meade to cross quickly in pursuit - and he did. Rather than follow in Lee’s wake, however, Meade moved south on the east side of the Blue Ridge Mountains in a cat-and-mouse game to outthink his enemy and capture the strategic gaps penetrating the high, wooded terrain. Doing so would trap Lee in the northern reaches of the Shenandoah Valley and potentially bring about the decisive victory that had eluded Union arms north of the Potomac.

The two weeks that followed was a grand chess match with everything at stake - high drama filled with hard marching, cavalry charges, heavy skirmishing, and set-piece fighting that threatened to escalate into a major engagement with the potential to end the war in the Eastern Theater. Throughout, one thing remains clear: Union soldiers from private to general continued to fear the lethality of Lee’s army.

Meade and Lee After Gettysburg, the first of three volumes on the campaigns waged between the two adversaries from July 14, 1863 through the end of 1863, relies on the official records, regimental histories, letters, newspapers, and other sources to provide a day-by-day account of this fascinating high-stakes affair. The vivid prose offers a significant contribution to Civil War literature.

Thanks to Hunt these important two weeks - until now overshadowed by the battle of Gettysburg and almost completely ignored by writers of Civil War history - have finally gotten the attention they have long deserved. Listeners will never view the Gettysburg Campaign the same way.

©2017 Savas Beatie (P)2019 Savas Beatie

Reseñas de la Crítica

Eastern Theater Book of The Year, 2017 (Eastern Theater)

Needs maps

The book covers a period when the war was one of maneuver more than major battles. Following the narrative requires the listener to visualize the area. The author thanks his wife for the “outstanding maps” that accompany the book, but they’re not available in the audiobook. This is a major gap. The maps available from other sources are a poor substitute.

The TL;DR version of the book is that, in the first few weeks after Gettysburg, Meade guessed wrong about what Lee would do. As a result, there was no decisive defeat of the Army of Northern Virginia. The book is a very detailed account of that short period. It acquaints us with the experiences of lower-level officers and common soldiers. If you haven’t read a fair number of other books about the Civil War, however, the detail here may be more than you want.

A True Original.

Goes far in answering question how did Marse Robert get away after his pummeling at Gettysburg. Too bad Grant wasn't in command.

great story, poor preformance

being as I have listened to countless books in this period, this is the first to address this exact time period. for that the book is great. this being said, the orator mis pronounces many words, names, and places. I didn't find this too distracting, I just wonder if anyone reviews the performance before they publish. it's not as bad as some and worse than others.
overall, as a fan of this time in our history, I think this is a great addition to anyone's knowledge.

Pronunciation

An historical study of this short period of time is critical. The work demonstrates that Meades army was not sitting on its hands, but wisely attempting to gain an advantage on Less army, which never was an easy thing to do. Please research the pronunciation of key individuals and geographic features.

Mispronunciations Abound

I loved the content of the book, but was frequently distracted by the narrator’s mispronunciation of words that should be common on this topic, like Susquehanna, Rappahannock, and Chapultepec. He also frequently mispronounced General Ewell’s last name (E-Well), General Wofford’s name (woof-ford), and Berdan’s whole name (herum burr-done). He even mispronounced the word “beleaguered” twice (blackerd)! Seriously? Didn’t anyone coach him?!