Booknotes: Battle of Gettysburg 1863 (1)

New Arrival:
• The Battle of Gettysburg 1863 (1): The First Day by Timothy J. Orr (Osprey Pub, 2022).

Many years ago, Osprey put out another three-volume examination of the Battle of Gettysburg. I believe that Day 1-3 set was part of the publisher's Order of Battle series. A fresh revisit, Timothy Orr's The Battle of Gettysburg 1863 (1): The First Day is Campaign series #374, and its Day 2 follow-up, scheduled for a June '23 release, is already near at hand.

As mentioned in a recent post, Campaign series books follow a set format, all designed to fit into 96 pages of illustrated content. Chapters discuss campaign origins, an event chronology, and pre-battle background information. Summaries of opposing armies, commanders, and plans are then followed by a concise history of the featured battle. A preservation section completes the text.

From the description: "Much of the narrative describes the tactical play-by-play, the customary 'who did what' of the battle, but it also gives special emphasis to identifying the critical decisions of July 1 and explains why the commanders committed to them." It "also emphasizes the experience of combat as witnessed by the rank and file-the 'face of battle'-to borrow John Keegan's expression. Primary accounts from common soldiers remind readers that Gettysburg was-first and foremost-a soldier's battle, full of raw emotion."

In this entry, numerous maps support the narrative of First Day actions from the initial skirmish west of Gettysburg through the Union retreat to Cemetery Hill and nightfall. These include both conventional, full-color maps (at regimental scale) and painted cartography emphasizing underlying terrain. Photographs and original artwork depicting dramatic scenes from the battle's first day are also included.