http://www.brettschulte.net/ACWBooks/Bo ... ingus.html
Scott L. Mingus. Human Interest Stories of the Gettysburg Campaign. Colecraft Industries (November 21, 2006). 104 pp. $9.95 (Paperback).
The Battle of Gettysburg has had more written about it than any other battle of the Civil War, and probably more than the entire Western and Trans-Mississippi Theaters combined. This leads readers to the obvious question, "Why should anyone do another book on Gettysburg?", and it's one that I often ask. Author Scott Mingus has a ready answer for that question. Many of the Gettysburg studies are detailed accounts of strategy and tactics. Mingus responds that Gettysburg was a "very individual event for the 150,000 or so troops engaged." On that note, the author sets out to detail some of these "individual events", drawing from various primary sources and rewording or reinterpreting the stories told. This book moves in areas far below the level of army commanders, getting down to the individual soldiers who lived, marched, fought, and died during this famous campaign. <i>Human Interest Stories</i> is a look at Gettysburg from the ground up, allowing the soldiers' stories, many unknown and unpublished prior to this account, to stand independent of the battle's strategy and tactics.
The book is divided into five chapters, covering the march north into Maryland and Pennsylvania, the three days of battle, and the aftermath. After each vignette, Mingus includes the source he pulled the story from, allowing interested readers to find those available sources on their own. These sources include diaries, letters, newspapers, regimentals, MOLLUS accounts, county histories, and even the Official Records. The author gives equal coverage to the fighting men of the Union and Confederacy, and also includes civilians on occasion. One of my favorite stories involved a civilian of Gettysburg who ran an inn. He had only recently received a large shipment of liquor, and he rightly feared this would all be taken if soldiers entered the town. The civilian decided to hide his liquor in a trench in his garden, covering it up with a newly created cabbage patch. The man completed the ruse by saving a few barrels of the poorest liquor and hiding it in his home. Confederates did discover this poor quality liquor, but they were satisfied that this was all the man had. After the Confederates had left, the man was dismayed to find his liquor had been ruined after water seeped into the barrels after a heavy rain!
I enjoyed this book, honestly much more than I thought I would. My main interest in the war involves the campaign and battle studies I mentioned in the original paragraph, so I did not know how much I would like the format going in. With that said, I absolutely could not put this book down. At 100 pages it is a very fast read. The various stories can be read in order, or you can randomly flip through the book and find something interesting on almost every page. Mingus, an award winning scenario designer for the Johnny Reb 3 miniatures gaming system and author of several wargame scenario booklets, has chosen a diverse set of vignettes for his readers. The author rewrote a lot of the stories for clarity and space constraints, allowing a modern audience to read the book with a full understanding of what is being said. Mingus promises future volumes covering more previously uncovered stories in much the same way.
Mingus delivers an entertaining, enjoyable read that can be enjoyed in one sitting or over a lengthier period of time. Jaded readers tired of "yet another Gettysburg book" will want to give this one a try, as it does deliver on the author's promise to approach Gettysburg from an unconventional angle. Civil War buffs interested in the individual stories of the war rather than tactical studies will find this book to be an exciting first entry in what should quickly become a series. The book contains no maps, and none are really needed, as that's not the point. Even beginners to the rich history of this time period can take something tangible from <i>Human Interest Stories</i>. In fact, I see this as a nice gift to lend or give to friends who might not otherwise be interested in the Civil War specifically or history in general. It shows that history need not be dry and boring. Considering the low price, I consider this a solid purchase for any Civil War enthusiast.
(Note: Interested parties can contact Colecraft Industries by email at
colecraftbooks@aol.com )
-Brett Schulte
HPS Playtester
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