Retreat from Gettysburg - Civil War America by Kent Masterson Brown Paperback

About the Book

Brown details the retreat of the Army of Northern Virginia from Gettysburg in July 1863, focusing on the complex logistics of moving a 57-mile wagon and ambulance train and tens of thousands of livestock through hostile territory while scavenging for provisions and planning the army's next moves.

Book Synopsis

In a groundbreaking, comprehensive history of the Army of Northern Virginia's retreat from Gettysburg in July 1863, Kent Masterson Brown draws on previously untapped sources to chronicle the massive effort of General Robert E. Lee and his command as they sought to move people, equipment, and scavenged supplies through hostile territory and plan the army's next moves. Brown reveals that even though the battle of Gettysburg was a defeat for the Army of Northern Virginia, Lee's successful retreat maintained the balance of power in the eastern theater and left his army with enough forage, stores, and fresh meat to ensure its continued existence as an effective force.

Review Quotes

"Retreat from Gettysburg tells us new things and gives us new ways of seeing familiar events." -- Chronicles

"A who's who of Civil War historiography." -- West Virginia History

"An immensely important read for anyone with a serious interest in the war." -- The NYMAS Review

"Beyond being a great read, Retreat from Gettysburg is exceptionally well researched. . . . Such skillful use of these primary sources provides the reader with probably the best account to date of a Civil War army's retreat after a major battle." -- North & South

"Brown has broken new ground here in spectacular fashion." -- James I. Robertson Jr., Roanoke Times

"Captures the reader from beginning to end. . . . Should be in the library of every serious student and scholar of Civil War history." -- Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography

"Kent Brown offers a compelling story that heretofore has received only limited attention. . . . Everyone interested in the Civil War in general and the Gettysburg Campaign in particular will want to obtain a copy of Retreat from Gettysburg, and those in search of consequential military history will find this book to their liking." -- Washington Times

"The result of these years of research and contemplation is an original book that for the first time provides an overview of Lee's masterful retreat from his worst battlefield defeat. . . . [For] Gettysburg buffs, as well as those interested in military logistics, retreat theory, the Army of Northern Virginia, and the Civil War in general." -- Civil War News

"There is everything to praise in this book, for the concept and execution are very good. Brown's arguments are on the mark, and he is to be congratulated for focusing on topics that have been overlooked far too long in the historiography." -- Journal of American History

"Through his extensive use of primary documents, including many previously unpublished diaries, letters and reports, the reader is provided with some of the most detailed accounts of the numerous military actions that occurred during the retreat. . . . A tour-de-force in Civil War writing. . . . With Kent Brown you get the real deal. He does history the old-fashioned way-years of research with careful and thoughtful writing." -- America's Civil War

About the Author

Kent Masterson Brown is an attorney in Lexington, Kentucky. He is author of Cushing of Gettysburg: The Story of a Union Artillery Commander and editor of The Civil War in Kentucky.