When the Smoke Cleared at Gettysburg

While Many books have been written about the bloody, decisive battle that was fought near the sleepy little town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, in July 1863, When the Smoke Cleared at Gettysburg differs by looking at the horrific consequences of the fighting. Before the town could rebuild, the 2,400 citizens faced the enormous problems of burying 7,000 battlefield casualties and caring for 20,000 wounded men. Fields that days earlier bore crops and supported livestock were now littered with firearms, munitions, and swords. Homes that had hummed with the day-to-day tasks of the small rural crossroads were now filled with the groans and moans of injured soldiers. Every structure became a hospital, and piles of amputated limbs offered mute testimony to the grisly work that went on inside most buildings. By looking at the backbreaking chore of clearing the battlefield of the wounded and dead and reviewing the daily demands of nursing the amputees, one can learn much about the battle by seeing how ordinary people acted and reacted when they were pulled into the war, how they survived and rebuilt their lives. These are the stories that are often overlooked in books about the battle. Here, however, are many firsthand accounts of life in the town, on the battlefield, and around the countryside in the days, months, years, and decades that followed the fighting. These tales come from soldiers, reporters, doctors, and nurses, but most are from the townspeople themselves. Their memories and reminiscences offer a unique perspective on a nation at war with itself. Book jacket.

George Sheldon is a newspaper correspondent and author of twelve books. He lives in Lancaster, Pennsylvania