Robert Wynstra

This is a very good narrative, in great detail, about the actions of Rodes's Division in the Gettysburg Campaign. Wynstra is almost unique in including much information about the after-battle struggles of wounded men. There is also some fascinating discussion of the command dysfunction among the brigade officers of the division.

What is oddly missing is very much analysis of Rodes's actions in the battle. At times he even disappears from the narrative, which focuses on the various brigades. And there is little summation except a paragraph in the epilogue of the subtitle of the entire book.

I cannot fail to mention the exorbitant list price: $55.00, and an astounding $35 for the Kindle version. I held out in vain for a cheap used copy and finally resorted to waiting for a library copy to become available. Especially at a short 233 pages of central text, I fail to see the justification for the pricing.

Wynstra uses a wide variety of personal narratives to good effect. One drawback, though was that the need to find additional words beyond "remarked", "stated", "reported" etc. in reference to the quotations is that Wynstra overuses "boasted", "gloated" and "bragged" in quotations that are simply statements of fact and not braggadocio at all. For example: "We met the force on the right, attacked, and routed him, pursuing him across the plain in front of Gettysburg", Doles gloated in his report of the action. Sorry, but I don't see any gloating in those words. It got to be quite distracting.

If you are looking for an excellent micro-battle narrative of Rodes's Division in the Gettysburg Campaign, this is it. If you are looking for deep analysis into Rodes's alleged shortcomings during the battle, there is not much here.

… (mere)