A lot of Civil War novels focus on the drama of combat, mining the horrific struggles and painful sacrifices required of the warriors for thrilling tales of martial daring-do. Leaving Gettysburg by Curtis Crockett is a different kind of book. It begins at the conclusion of the war’s greatest battle, in the first few seconds of a new and very different phase of the war, as the badly battered Army of Northern Virginia takes its first few faltering steps on the road that would eventually lead it to Appomattox. It takes place, therefore, not in a titanic clash between two combatants in their primes, looking for a fight, but in a race between two exhausted armies with vastly differing agendas—one trying to deliver a final, knockout blow that would end the war, the other trying desperately to drag itself to the relative safety of home, where it might recover the strength to fight on.
The action follows three distinct sets of players: Asa is a typical North Carolina farm boy tired of war and pining for his wife, trying to survive and make it back to her along with his best friend Justin. The book opens with Asa and Justin limping back from the assault on Cemetery Ridge. Captain Louis Young is an aide to General J. Johnston Pettigrew (one of many actual historical figures who appear in this novel). He is a true believer in the cause of Southern independence, and fiercely loyal to the general he idolizes. Among their pursuers is Colonel George Gray of the 6th Michigan Cavalry, an Irish immigrant and Grand Rapids lawyer who has a contentious relationship with his flamboyant commanding officer, General George Custer.
A final player in this drama is the weather, for as every Civil War historian knows, the race to the Potomac was hindered by days of at-times torrential downpours. Each chapter follows one of the key players on his journey to the last bridge over the swollen river. The action closely follows the historical record of events, and where poetic license was necessary to advance the story, it’s done with plausibility and respect for the reader’s intelligence.
Leaving Gettysburg is a very ‘human’ story, more about the individual men involved and the conflicts, concerns, and cares that each feel than the things they do. It is sometimes easy to overlook the humanity of individuals caught up in great events, to see them as mere avatars in some great game rather than unique individuals with their own specific interests and motivations. This book does not make that mistake. The final scene, where the three main characters come more-or-less together, is especially well-written and poignant.
All in all, a very good read about a very interesting—and often overlooked—episode of America’s most defining war.
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A solid addition to a Civil War Buff’s bookshelf.
A great battle, like a great storm, does not occur in isolation. There are predicates and an aftermath. Gettysburg was in many respects an unlooked for battle, caused as much by lack of scouting as anything else but it was also the aim of the Confederacy to show it could reach into Union territory. The battle erupts and flares into disaster and death. Many books stop there and go on to put the battle in its historical perspective. Curtis Crockett, who has before illuminated unusual corners of the Civil Was in articles in Civil War magazines, marches into this territory again. His book focuses on the retreat from Gettysburg, with varying perspectives of officers and the line Confederate infantryman. Many historians feel that the opportunity for an early end to the war was lost when the Union Army failed to dog the heels of the Confederate Army, destroying it as it fled southward. Using historical fact as his guide for his fiction, Crockett shows the battered and uncertain state of both armies as they draw apart, and as the Union, almost dazed by its victory but uncertain in command and still fearing Lee (as later generals would dread Irwin Rommel) launches a cautious pursuit. As always the fog of war hangs over all ranks and men are faced with decisions they either never envisioned or hoped to avoid. Richly told with the detail one expects this will be a solid addition to a Civil War Buff’s bookshelf.
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A great battle, like a great storm, does not occur in isolation. There are predicates and an aftermath. Gettysburg was in many respects an unlooked for battle, caused as much by lack of scouting as anything else but it was also the aim of the Confederacy to show it could reach into Union territory. The battle erupts and flares into disaster and death. Many books stop there and go on to put the battle in its historical perspective. Curtis Crockett, who has before illuminated unusual corners of the Civil Was in articles in Civil War magazines, marches into this territory again. His book focuses on the retreat from Gettysburg, with varying perspectives of officers and the line Confederate infantryman. Many historians feel that the opportunity for an early end to the war was lost when the Union Army failed to dog the heels of the Confederate Army, destroying it as it fled southward. Using historical fact as his guide for his fiction, Crockett shows the battered and uncertain state of both armies as they draw apart, and as the Union, almost dazed by its victory but uncertain in command and still fearing Lee (as later generals would dread Irwin Rommel) launches a cautious pursuit. As always the fog of war hangs over all ranks and men are faced with decisions they either never envisioned or hoped to avoid. Richly told with the detail one expects this will be a solid addition to a Civil War Buff’s bookshelf.
A solid addition to a Civil War Buff’s bookshelf.
Reviewed in the United States on March 30, 2022
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