In the Thickest of the Fray: Mississippians At Gettysburg In Their Own Words [Hardcover]

Joseph L. Owen and J. Douglas Ashton have thoroughly researched and stitched together from letters, journals and official records, first-hand accounts of Mississippians who participated in one of the most bloody, hard-fought and decisive battles of the war, Gettysburg. -H. Grady Howell. Author, Publisher, and Historian Emeritus, Mississippi Department of Archives & HistoryThe Magnolia State sent eleven infantry regiments and one artillery battery to Gettysburg. The individual memories were published in newspaper articles, written in diaries, and recorded in interviews throughout the lives of the veterans. This is the first book collecting the recollections of the common Mississippi soldiers who fought at Gettysburg and in the Pennsylvania Campaign. Tracking from the march to Pennsylvania, on each of the three days, and through the retreat back into Virginia, this work describes what the soldiers related about their participation in the great battle. Included is a brief history of Mississippi in the Confederacy and the Mississippi brigades within the Army of Northern Virginia that participated in the fight. This book brings the action to life with photographs and maps. Joseph L. Owen and J. Douglas Ashton have thoroughly researched and stitched together from letters, journals and official records, first-hand accounts of Mississippians who participated in one of the most bloody, hard-fought and decisive battles of the war, Gettysburg. The story of the battle of Gettysburg is best understood through written words of the survivors from both armies. Though small in number compared to other southern states represented in the Army of Northern Virgina, Mississippi troops under Joseph Davis and William Barksdale were in the center of fighting on all three days of the battle. Joe Owen and Doug Ashton have meticulously compiled memorable accounts by Mississippi veterans to tell the story of what they saw, heard and experienced at the pivotal battle of the American Civil War.lc5