Two Witnesses at Gettysburg

The two reporters, A.J.L. Fremantle and Whitelaw Reid, one traveling with the Union army and the other with the Confederates, are the authors of these two magnificent firsthand accounts of the battle of Gettysburg in 1863, the pivotal action of the Civil War.

• Presents engaging firsthand accounts of the battle of Gettysburg
• Completely updated with a new introduction, references, illustrations and maps
• Includes a bibliographic essay for further reading
• Provides students with a unique and engaging look at the most pivotal action of the Civil War

List of Figures viii

List of Maps x

Acknowledgments xi

Acknowledgments – Sources and Credits xii

Introduction xiii

Editorial Note xxv

I The Gettysburg Campaign: A Contemporary Account by Whitelaw Reid 1

II The Gettysburg Campaign: From the Diary of A. J. L. Fremantle 79

Appendix: The Structure of the Armies 150

Bibliographic Essay 152

Index 155

“This book collects two of the best firsthand accounts of Gettysburg, insightfully introduced and edited. It provides illuminating perspectives on the bloodiest battle in U.S. history and an invaluable commentary on the process of recording and remembering our past.”
Aaron Sheehan-Dean, University of North Florida

“Smartly edited and abundantly illustrated, Two Witnesses provides a wonderfully readable account of the most celebrated battle of the Civil War by two of its keenest observers.”
William L. Barney, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

“Gallagher's mastery of the art of bringing Civil War history to life shines here, only this time, instead of bringing the war to us, he transports us directly to Gettysburg where, in the eloquent company of Reid and Fremantle, we become eye-witnesses, too.”
Elizabeth D. Leonard, Colby College, author of Lincoln’s Avengers (2004)

"In these dispatches from the maelstrom, Gettysburg seems as fresh as it was 150 years ago. This is as close as you'll ever get to going on an ‘embed’ with the armies of Meade and Lee."
Stephen Berry, University of Georgia

"These two compelling journalistic accounts of Gettysburg capture the wartime myopia of confusion, opinion, distance, and death, while expert historian Gallagher provides the historical context that makes the contrast of the two accounts so revealing."
Heather Cox Richardson, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Gary W. Gallagher is John L. Nau III Professor in the History of the American Civil War at the University of Virginia, and author or editor of more than 30 books, among them Lee and His Army in Confederate History (2001) and The Confederate War (1997), as well as The Third Day at Gettysburg & Beyond (1994). Two Civil War era reporters, one traveling with the Union army and the other with the Confederates, are the authors of these two magnificent firsthand accounts of the battle of Gettysburg in 1863.

A.J.L. Fremantle (1835-1901) will be familiar to readers as a character in Michael Shaara's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of Gettysburg, The Killer Angels (1974). Fremantle was a lieutenant colonel in the British Army; he became interested in the American South, travelling there and keeping a journal. Whitelaw Reid (1837-1912) enjoyed a subsequent career as a journalist and became active in politics, eventually running unsuccessfully as vice-president on the Republican ticket with Benjamin Harrison in 1892. He was minister to France (1889) and ambassador to Great Britain under Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft.

This new edition contains a fresh introduction, fully revised references, and new illustrations and maps, all of which help students engage critically with these primary sources, providing them with a unique look at the most pivotal action of the Civil War.