Strong Men of the Regiment Sobbed Like Children : John Reynolds I Corps at Get [Paperback]

Historian and author John Michael Priest brings to vivid reality the chaos, combat, heroism, and hurting that engulfed the Army of the Potomacs I Corps west of Gettysburg on that bloody Wednesday. It is an excellent addition to Gettysburg historiography. It is definitely a resource upon which current and future historians and authors will use widely. -Emerging Civil WarThe fighting on the first day at Gettysburg on July 1, 1863, was unexpected, heavy, confusing, and in many ways, decisive. Much of it consisted of short and often separate simultaneous engagements or firefights, a term soldiers often use to describe close, vicious, and bloody combat. Several books have studied this important inaugural day of Gettysburg, but none have done so from the perspective of the rank and file of both armies. Now in paperback, John Michael Priests Strong Men of the Regiment Sobbed Like Children: John Reynolds I Corps at Gettysburg on July 1, 1863 rectifies this oversight in splendid style.When dawn broke on July 1, no one on either side could have conceived what was about to take place. Anticipating a fight and with a keen appreciation for terrain, Brig. Gen. John Buford deployed his Union cavalry in a giant arc north and west of Gettysburg to slow down any Confederate advance until Maj. Gen. John Reynolds could bring up his infantry. By the time the foot soldiers of the I Corps arrived, A. P. Hills heavy Confederate formations had pushed back the troopers from the west. Richard Ewells troops would soon arrive from the north, threatening the town and its key road network. Reynolds, who would die early in the fighting, poured his troops in as they arrived. The road system and undulating ground broke up command control, and the various ridges, tall ground cover, and powder smoke made target recognition difficult. Brigades and regiments often engaged on their own initiatives without the direction of a division or corps commander. The men of both armies fought with determl£w