Protecting the Flank at Gettysburg: The Battles for Brinkerhoff’s Ridge and East Cavalry Field, July 2 -3, 1863

This review addresses the three books by Eric J. Wittenberg on the Union cavalry at Gettysburg: “The Devil’s to Pay” John Buford at Gettysburg; Protecting the Flank at Gettysburg: The Battles for Brinkerhoff’s Ridge and East Cavalry Field, July 2-3, 1863; and Gettysburg’s Forgotten Cavalry Actions: Farnsworth’s Charge, South Cavalry Field, and the Battle of Fairfield, July 3, 1863 Many, many years ago I learned that reading for pleasure was an excellent way to relax, clear my mind, and learn at the same time. Recently, while working in the U.S. Cavalry Association’s Cavalry Memorial Research Library and drafting issues of The Cavalry Journal, these books came to my attention. I basically read them for pleasure, but sure learned a lot! When my family visited Gettysburg in 1959, I was “hooked” on cavalry and Gettysburg. Union cavalry Brigadier General John Buford impressed me with his actions before, during, and after the 1-3 July 1863 fighting between the Union and Confederate armies at Gettysburg. These books expanded my knowledge about the cavalry, North and South, at Gettysburg. Wittenberg’s Gettysburg cavalry books are historic. They collectively cover the geographic area surrounding Gettysburg and the fighting that occurred there. They go into great detail with the “who” (Union and Confederate cavalry leaders and soldiers, cavalry companies and regiments, supporting artillery units and artillerymen, and the civilians who lived in that area); the “what” (the deadly fighting that affected soldiers, civilians and their livelihoods, and countless animals); the “where” (the individual battlefields, the importance of each battlefield, and how they related to each other); the “when” (primarily the events happening 30 June-3 July with links back to Brandy Station and leading up to Gettysburg); the “why” (Buford identified the defensible terrain and knew his cavalrymen must keep the advancing Confederates at bay until Union infantry reinforcements could arrive and help his cavalrymen keep the Confederates from beating Meade’s army to that terrain); and the “how”(the Union cavalry’s work to accomplish its missions and the missed opportunities to defeat Lee’s army). As a further bonus, in each book Wittenberg includes a walking and driving tour, with GPS benchmarks, to easier find the battlefields, battlefield markers, and historic sites associated with the separate cavalry battles. But what really makes these books important is the “first person” words of many of the participants: Union and Confederate cavalrymen and artillerymen, and the civilians. Major Van de Graff, whose 5th Alabama Battalion provided skirmishers on 1 July, wrote his wife a few days after the fight, “[D]uring the battle a shell exploded at my feet covering me with dirt and filling my eyes.” And a local farmer called out to the 5th Alabama. “Tell Lee to hold on just a little while until I get my cow out [of] the pasture!” On 3 July, the Wolverines’ heavy fire of their Spencer carbines dislodged and drove the Southerners back and that night Sgt. Edwin B. Bigelow recorded in his diary, “Our regiment did noble executions.” These descriptive accounts enable the reader to experience what was happening to the participants. Wittenberg has years of very in-depth research in the cavalry at Gettysburg. It is his passion. The books are extensively footnoted with a lengthy bibliography. Overall, I rate these books as an A+ since they do much to add to the understanding of the battle at Gettysburg and the war. They are a “must read” for students of the battle. Reviewed by the editor, the Cavalry Journal, the U.S. Cavalry Association.

Easily considered the least visited section of the battlefield, Eric J. Wittenberg handles this area with a great amount of scholarly information and gives a narrative which is action packed from beginning to end. Though initially published by Thomas Publications in 2002, the second edition published by Savas Beatie allowed Wittenberg to add more to his work including an appendix which disproves the ideas previously about General Stuart. Eric J. Wittenberg has written many works on the Civil War including his other work on the cavalry during the Battle of Gettysburg, Gettysburg’s Forgotten Cavalry Action, and co-authored One Continuous Fight along with David J. Petruzzi and Michael Nugent. He has won the Bachelder-Coddington Literary Award in 1998 along with the Army Historical Foundation’s Distinguished Writing Award for Reprint, 2011. Not only does Wittenberg handle the East Cavalry Field well, but he handles the Battle for Brinkerhoff’s Ridge which is also something not talked about as much in the annals of Gettysburg. For a battle which has more than a thousand books written about it, the East Cavalry Battlefield and Brinkerhoff’s Ridge never got their due until this book was released. Upon the release of this book in 2002 under Thomas Publications, it was the only book in print which detailed the East Cavalry Field and Brinkerhoff Ridge. Now there are imitators who use this work as the backbone of their study. What is most interesting about Wittenberg’s work is the ability in which he disproves the common theory of Stuart riding around the Union lines and piercing Cemetery Ridge from behind as Pickett, Pettigrew and Trimble would have hit it from the front. He states that nowhere in any of the official reports of Lee, Longstreet or Stuart does it mention that plan. It is beneficial for anyone interested to read the appendix in which he studies this more in depth than he does in the body of the work. Also, since the section of East Cavalry Battlefield is not traversed as much as the regular field, he offers an appendix which is a driving tour accompanied by pictures of some intricate monuments. The aspect of the book for which is most appreciated is the participation of General Custer, the youngest Union general at the time of the battle. History tends only to remember Custer at Little Big Horn and the disaster which happened there, but at Gettysburg, Custer shines as one of the greatest cavalry leaders in this engagement. I cannot recommend enough this pivotal work on the Battle of Gettysburg. Though it had been released in its first edition in 2002, Wittenberg and Savas Beatie has released a work which has been expanded and is easily accessible for the readers more interested in this area of battle. The method in which he disproves the “planned” use of Stuart during the battle fills the holes in the study which never had many legs to stand on. Thankfully, he ended the debate about what had happened with Stuart on the day of the third and historians can now look differently at the tactics being used that day. Wittenberg has proven that there is always more to write about Gettysburg and that the subject never dulls even one hundred and fifty years after the event.Matthew Bartlett - Author, The Gettysburg Chronicle

Past books covered this part of the Gettysburg battle with few works. However, this book goes into some detail covering the various Cavalry Generals involved, what they did or did not do, and illustrates how Stuart may not have had his entire command at hand because of his ride around Meads Army. Stuart appears close to achieving his goal of moving on the Union Rear thus helping Lee achieve his goals at Gettysburg. Good Book!!!

Loved this book. I had read briefly on the cavalry action and something told me many accounts just did not add up.The author explains in detail exactly what Stuart’s intentions were, Custer’s role, and how the battle came about. For all the smoke and noise, this was a hard fought but hardly decisive action. Stuart was not desperately trying to break through the Union lines, Custer was not making the big decisions that day, and the Union artillery were the real heroes . The East Cavalry Field was nothing more than the usual parry and thrust of cavalry on the flanks of any major battle, looking for an advantage. The casualties reflect this. Overall Army of the Potomac cavalry casualties were less than 5% despite numerous mounted charges on both flanks of the army. The book discards romantic notions about the cavalry arm and presents facts in a logical, unemotional manner. David M Gregg emerges as a very competent and under appreciated Cavalry leader.

Once again an excellent account of an action i had little or no knowledge of but was vital to ensure a Union victory. Gettysburg is not complete without knowing what happened in these neglected fields.

Very informative, outstanding