Barksdale's Charge

May 15, 2013

Tucker is a prolific writer--and a prolix one. Why refer to "the relatively cool shade of Pitzer's Woods" when you can double the word count by adding ."..that provided some relief from the intense heat"? While Pickett's Charge, on day three of Gettysburg, has received numerous book-length treatments and become a phrase for the ages, Barksdale's charge (lowercase c) the day before (July 2, 1863) has not. Gen. William Barksdale, former secessionist U.S. Congressman, was in command of four Mississippi regiments in Lt. Gen. James Longstreet's corps, directed to attack from the woods, wheel northward, and break the Union lines. Barksdale got the go-ahead to charge as dusk approached. On his horse driving his troops onward, he seemed to have the Federals on the run. It was this moment, says Tucker quite reasonably, that was really the high-water mark for the Confederacy rather than Pickett's Charge the next day. Had Barksdale paused to regroup and then charge again, perhaps, perhaps.... But he spurred his troops on, was mortally wounded, and the Union forces were able to hold on to fight another day. Tucker sets his narrative within the context of the battles and personalities leading up to that day's near victory for the Confederacy. VERDICT This book, reviewed off an uncorrected manuscript, will be a good read for Civil War history buffs and reenactors if it gets the full professional edit that it requires.--Margaret Heilbrun, Library Journal

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