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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 973.7349
EAN num: 9781581823431
ISBN number: 1581823436
Label: Cumberland House Publishing
Manufacturer: Cumberland House Publishing
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 288
Printing Date: 2003-06
Publishing house: Cumberland House Publishing
Sale Popularity Level: 359286
Studio: Cumberland House Publishing
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In July 1863 the bloodiest and most decisive battle of the Civil War was fought near the sleepy town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. While many books have been written about the landmark battle, When the Smoke Cleared at Gettysburg differs from the rest by detailing the horrific aftermath of the battle, detailing what it takes to put a town back together after two armies have fought through its streets and across the surrounding countryside. The small town of 2,400 inhabitants was faced with the enormous problem of burying more than 7,000 dead soldiers and caring for 20,000 wounded men who had been left behind by both armies. Fields that just days earlier contained crops and livestock were now littered with firearms, munitions, and swords, and nearly every building still standing was turned into a field hospital with mounds of amputated limbs left behind after the surgeons had completed their grizzly work.
This sort of information is often overlooked in the history books about the Civil War. Here are firsthand accounts of life in the town and on the battlefield in the days and months following the brutal fighting. Included are stories and vivid descriptions from soldiers, reporters, civilians, doctors, and nurses. Good Samaritans came to help the wounded and the dying, and profiteers and souvenir hunters were not far behind. Then came the politicians, followed by legions of families seeking the remains of their fallen sons.
When the Smoke Cleared at Gettysburg presents the heartbreaking human misery resulting from this battle and by the ongoing war wherever it went. From the backbreaking chore of clearing the battlefield of the wounded and dead to nursing the amputees, one can learn much of the battle by seeing what ordinary people who were pulled into the war did to survive and rebuild their lives.
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Rated by buyers 
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The Battle of Gettysburg (July 1--3, 1863) was the bloodiest battle of the Civil War, resulting in over 51, 000 casualties. The Battle itself was only the climax of Robert E. Lee's Pennsylvania campaign which also included a raid on Gettysburg by Confederate General Jubal Early on June 26, and a long difficult retreat back to Virginia by Lee's defeated army following the battle.
The story of this great battle has been told many times. Although there are also good accounts of the aftermath of the battle and of the effects of the battle on the town, they are not as numerous as the books devoted to the combat and, frequently, tend to be devoted to specific issues (such as the care of the wounded following the battle.)
I found George Sheldon's book "When the Smoke Cleared at Gettysburg" (2003) performed a real service. It presents a good overview of the aftermath of the Battle of Gettysburg in a simple clear way. The book is intended for nonspecialists with an interest in the battle and in the Civil War. On the whole, it is ably written and well researched. I learned a great deal from it.
The book begins with a good and appropriate overview of the history of the town of Gettysburg before the Civil War, including its demographics (about eight percent of the residents of Gettysburg were African American) and politics. There is a discusion of the effect on the town of the pending Confederate invasion during June, 1863 and of the effect of Early's raid late in June. This is followed by a brief treatment of the Battle itself. There is an excellent picture of the Confederate Army's retreat through the mud and the rain beginning on July 4 and of the hardships the retreat imposed on many wounded soldiers.
The book describes very well the carnage of the Battle and of the strain that burying the dead and caring for the wounded put upon a small Pennsylvania town of 2400 people. The horrors and unsanitary conditions of the field hospitals are well described. I also found this book give a good basic treatment of the assistance provided by the United States Sanitary Commission and the United States Christian Commission in caring for the wounded at Gettysburg. The book also discusses the history of Camp Letterman, the hospital facility that the military established east of Gettysburg two weeks after the battle to care for the wounded. The information is given in sufficient detail to be useful but it does not purport to be a full history of the subject.
The book discusses the effect of Gettysburg on the civilian population with good, clear, and specific references to some of the townspeople who wrote memoirs of their experiences. Again the coverage was sufficient to be informative without making a pretense of being exhaustive. The book also pays attention to African Americans in Gettysburg and the effect of the Battle and of Lee's invasion upon them. This is an area that has not been fully studied, and Mr. Sheldon's book helps fill a real gap.
The book discusses the burial of the dead of Gettysburg and the exhumation and reburial of many of them in the Gettysburg National Cemetery. There is a short treatment of the dedication of the Cemetery and of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. The book then concludes with a short history of the creation and administration of the Gettysburg Military Park, currently administered by the National Park Service, and of the reunions of veterans at Gettysburg in 1913 and 1938. The book bears eloquent, if brief, testimony to the importance Gettysburg has assumed to many Americans over the years.
This book is written in a popular, journalistic way but it should not be underestimated. Mr. Sheldon has done his research and has succinctly told the basics of an important story in a single book. The reader wanting to learn about the aftermath of Gettysburg will not be disappointed. This is a good book for the student of the Battle of Gettysburg and of the American Civil War.
Rated by buyers 
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Anyone who wants to know how people ACTUALLY REACTED in a time of horrible stress and its tragic aftermath owes it to themselves to read "When the Smoke Cleared at Gettysburg." The author did an amazing job of putting together this fascinating historical treatise using material from diverse sources including newspapers, photographs, diaries, firsthand accounts, personal memoirs, letters and more. An enormous undertaking, Sheldon coordinated his research into a coherent whole that clearly shows the importance of Gettysburg to the Civil War and the lives it directly impacted. Which was all of us, of course.
But the greatest thing about this book is that you don't need to be a Civil War scholar to appreciate it. Just a human being.
Rated by buyers -
When The Smoke Cleared At Gettysburg: The Tragic Aftermath Of The Bloodiest Battle Of The Civil War by newspaper correspondent and author George Sheldon, presents objective overview of the aftermath of one of the American Civil War's most important battles, including firsthand, personal accounts of the Gettysburg townspeople, as well as the soldiers, reporters, doctors and others who had to deal with burying the dead, tending the wounded, and rebuilding a place shattered by war. A poignant and profoundly vivid narrative, When The Smoke Cleared At Gettysburg: The Tragic Aftermath Of The Bloodiest Battle Of The Civil War is an original, "reader friendly", and very highly recommended addition to the growing library of Civil War Studies.
Rated by buyers 
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The challenge in reading this book is to actually reach the
end without throwing one's hands up in dismay. The poor
writing, the factual errors, and the repetition all combine to
make reading this book not merely a challenge, but an
ordeal. Check the bibliography for some worthwhile books
on the topic.
Rated by buyers -
Travel back into the past and become a member of a community that found themselves in the right place at the wrong time. Feel the fears they felt as they found themselves at the center of the most decisive battle of the Civil War. Hear the horrifying sounds of carnage and death surrounding you. See the smoke clear and view the devastation that remains in your once peaceful and serene hamlet nestled in the rolling hills of south central Pennsylvania. Smell the stench that only the brutality of war can leave behind.
Join George Sheldon as he masterfully takes you on a journey of memories. A journey that will give you more than a taste of what it was like to be in the right place at the wrong time. Are you up for the challenge?
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