When the Smoke Cleared at Gettysburg Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I just happened to be walking through a bookstore when I saw the author, George Sheldon, talking about his book. I listened and heard him tell some stories about what happened after the Battle of Gettysburg, and I thought I would buy this book for my brother-in-law, a real Civil War buff. When I got home, I picked up the book and started to read it. I could not put it down! This is the first history book I ever read and it was terrific! The book doesn't go into boring stories about the armies; Sheldon tells great stories about the civilians and wounded. A little gruesome in places, the author really paints a vivid picture of what Gettysburg must have been like after the battle. I had him sign the book to my brother in law, now I am here to buy another one for me, and two more for my grandchildren. I just wish I would have bought them when he was in the store so they could all have been signed. I highly recommend this book - even if you are not a history buff - Sheldon will make you one - I can't wait to go to Gettysburg to see some of the many places he tells about in this terrific book!!!

Click Here to see more reviews about: When the Smoke Cleared at Gettysburg

In July 1863 the bloodiest and most decisive battle of the Civil War was fought near the sleepy town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. While many books have been written about the landmark battle, When the Smoke Cleared at Gettysburg differs from the rest by detailing the horrific aftermath of the battle, detailing what it takes to put a town back together after two armies have fought through its streets and across the surrounding countryside. The small town of 2,400 inhabitants was faced with the enormous problem of burying more than 7,000 dead soldiers and caring for 20,000 wounded men who had been left behind by both armies. Fields that just days earlier maintained crops and livestock were now littered with firearms, munitions, and swords, and nearly every building still standing was turned into a field hospital with mounds of amputated limbs left behind after the surgeons had completed their grizzly work. When the Smoke Cleared at Gettysburg provides firsthand accounts of life in the town and on the battlefield in the days and months following the brutal fighting. Included are stories and vivid descriptions from soldiers, reporters, civilians, doctors, and nurses. Good Samaritans came to help the wounded and the dying, and profiteers and souvenir hunters were not far behind. Then came the politicians, followed by legions of families seeking the remains of their fallen sons. When the Smoke Cleared at Gettysburg presents the heart-breaking human misery resulting from his battle and by the ongoing war wherever it went. From the backbreaking chore of clearing the battlefield of the wounded and dead to nursing the amputees, one can learn much of the battle by seeing what ordinary people who were pulled into the war did to survive and rebuild their lives.

Get 30% OFF

Click here for more information about When the Smoke Cleared at Gettysburg