The Battle of Gettysburg
by Frank Aretas Haskell
In what may be the longest, and most poignant, letter to a relative from a soldier in the Civil War, this authoritative book by Col. Frank Haskell recounts the officer's experiences in the bloody, three-day battle at Gettysburg in the summer of 1863. Often considered the turning point of the war, the campaign--which resulted in thousands of casualties on both sides--rallied the Union troops. Haskell's descriptions of the wounded, of skirmishes, attacks and counterattacks, estimates of losses, the marks of battle, and burial of the dead are all vividly described: "Our own dead were usually buried not long after they fell ... It was a work that the men's hearts were in as soon as the fight was over ... to make them a grave in some convenient spot, and decently composed with their blankets wrapped about them, to cover them tenderly with earth and mark their resting place." One of the war's best eyewitness accounts, this classic narrative will be treasured by Civil War buffs and required reading for students of American history. Unabridged republication of the second edition of The Battle of Gettysburg, published by the Wisconsin History Commission, 1910. 2 maps.
Franklin Aretas Haskell (July 13, 1828 – June 3, 1864) was a Union Army officer during the American Civil War who was killed during the Battle of Cold Harbor. Haskell wrote a famous account of the Battle of Gettysburg that was published posthumously.
