Winner, 2019, The Bachelder-Coddington Literary Award, Given by the
Robert E. Lee Civil War Round Table of Central New Jersey
More books have been written about the battle of Gettysburg than any
other engagement of the Civil War. The historiography of the battle's
second day is usually dominated by the Union's successful defense of
Little Round Top, but the day's most influential action occurred nearly
one mile west along the Emmitsburg Road in and around farmer Joseph
Sherfy's peach orchard. Despite its overriding importance, no
full-length study of this pivotal action has been written until now with
James Hessler's and Britt Isenberg's Gettysburg's Peach Orchard:
Longstreet, Sickles, and the Bloody Fight for the "Commanding Ground"
Along the Emmitsburg Road.
On July 2, 1863, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee ordered a skeptical Lt.
Gen. James Longstreet to assault the Union left flank. The offensive was
intended to seize the Peach Orchard and surrounding ground along the
Emmitsburg Road for use as an artillery position to support the ongoing
attack. However, Union general and former congressman Daniel Sickles,
commander of the Union III Corps, misinterpreted his orders and occupied
the orchard first.
What followed was some of Gettysburg's bloodiest and most controversial
fighting. General Sickles's questionable advance forced Longstreet's
artillery and infantry to fight for every inch of ground on the way to
Cemetery Ridge. The Confederate attack crushed the Peach Orchard salient
and other parts of the Union line and threatened the left flank of Maj.
Gen. George Meade's Army of the Potomac. The command decisions made on
and around the Sherfy property influenced actions on every part of the
battlefield. The occupation of the high ground at the Peach Orchard
helped General Lee rationalize ordering the tragic July 3 assault known
as "Pickett's Charge."
This richly detailed study is based upon scores of primary accounts and
a deep understanding of the complex terrain. Hessler and Isenberg, both
Gettysburg Licensed Battlefield Guides, combine the military aspects of
the fighting with human interest stories in a balanced treatment of the
bloody attack and defense of Gettysburg's Peach Orchard. It is the study
Gettysburg students have been waiting to read.
