The Complete Human Interest Stories Of The Gettysburg Campaign

"THE COMPLETE HUMAN INTEREST STORIES OF THE GETTYSBURG CAMPAIGN" WRITTEN BY AWARD WINNING AUTHOR, SCOTT MINGUS,SR.We have taken the the best stories of volume one and two and added new stories and photos to make this issue "The Complete edition" of Scott's hard work and research. Taken from primary sources, including, diaries, pension records, historical collections, official records, journals,newspapers and books, presented in chronological order. The Complete Human Interest Stories of the Gettysburg Campaign will resonate with all those who have an interest in those fascinating stories, some humorous, some tragic, as seen through the eyes of the soldiers and civilians. 160 pages

An appreciation of what Civil War participants experienced cannot be fully realized by studying just the programmed movements of armies about the battlefield. The mechanisms which create emotional bonds between us, today, and those in the past are their human interest stories. Human interest stories allow us to understand their hardships and deprivations. They connect and endear us to the participants in ways which we can relate. They instill in us respect for them by seeing their commitment to duty and they also amaze us with tales of lighter, sometimes humorous, moments amidst tragic circumstances. Scott Mingus has woven together an extraordinary collection of human interest stories covering the Gettysburg campaign as witnessed by the soldiers and civilians. Taken from primary sources, including diaries, pension records, historical collections, official records, as well as newspapers,journals, and books, this work presents a unique blend of stories arranged in chronological order to enhance the reader's experience. Here is just a sampling of such stories: ?An unusual group of volunteers responded in Harrisburg to Governor Curtin?s plea. Capt. Charles C. Carson and a company of 17 men, the youngest being 68 years old, came forward and presented themselves for military service. Each senior citizen was a veteran of the War of 1812, and they wanted to again serve their state and country in a time of need. A color bearer proudly carried a historic relic, a highly tattered battle flag that had once been borne at the Battle of Trenton by Pennsylvanians serving under George Washington.? **** ?In one case, some members of the 3rd Michigan found that the most threatening enemy was not the Confederates they were pursuing. The Wolverines, hungry for some honey, raided some beehives in a nearby garden, initially driving off the bees. However, as the men reached the hives, the bees counterattacked en masse, repeatedly stinging the men as they struggled to get away from the prolonged assault. An amused onlooker, Color Sgt. Daniel Crotty, later wrote that the slashing and darting bees made some men ?turn such somersaulting on the ground as to put to shame a lot of Japanese acrobat performers in a circus ring.' The soldiers made an inglorious retreat, their swollen heads and faces now resembling huge mortar shells.? **** ?A massive thunderstorm on the evening of July 4 drenched the armies, creating untold misery and torture for the thousands of wounded that still dotted the fields and woods surrounding Gettysburg. Creeks and streams, already swollen from days of rain before the Battle of Gettysburg, swiftly overflowed their banks, and flash floods claimed the lives of scores of unfortunate wounded men. The hospital of Clark?s Battery was in a field near Rock Creek east of Taneytown Road. The attendants and orderlies frantically worked to move the injured soldiers to higher ground. However, the water rose so quickly that not all could be moved. Artilleryman Dick Price held himself up above the torrent with his elbows draped over the branch of a dogwood tree. The lower extremities of both arms had been amputated, so Price?s agony must have been excruciating. Still, he held his composure...Price would soon die from complications resulting from his wounds. He is buried in the National Cemetery.?

Previous works on Confederate brigadier general Harry T. Hays's First Louisiana Brigade -- better known as the "Louisiana Tigers" -- have tended to focus on just one day of the Tigers' service -- their role in attacking East Cemetery Hill at Gettysburg on July 2, 1863 -- and have touched only lightly on the brigade's role at the Second Battle of Winchester, an important prelude to Gettysburg. In this commanding study, Scott L. Mingus, Sr., offers the first significant detailed exploration of the Louisiana Tigers during the entirety of the 1863 Gettysburg Campaign. Mingus begins by providing a sweeping history of the Louisiana Tigers; their predecessors, Wheat's Tigers; the organizational structure and leadership of the brigade in 1863; and the personnel that made up its ranks. Covering the Tigers' movements and battle actions in depth, he then turns to the brigade's march into the Shenandoah Valley and the Tigers' key role in defeating the Federal army at the Second Battle of Winchester. Combining soldiers' reminiscences with contemporary civilian accounts, Mingus breaks new ground by detailing the Tigers' march into Pennsylvania, their first trip to Gettysburg in the week before the battle, their two-day occupation of York, Pennsylvania -- the largest northern town to fall to the Confederate army -- and their march back to Gettysburg. He offers the first full-scale discussion of the Tigers' interaction with the local population during their invasion of Pennsylvania and includes detailed accounts of the citizens' reactions to the Tigers -- many not published since appearing in local newspapers over a century ago. Mingus explores the Tigers' actions on the first two days of the Battle of Gettysburg and meticulously recounts their famed assault on East Cemetery Hill, one of the pivotal moments of the battle. He closes with the Tigers' withdrawal from Gettysburg and their retreat into Virginia. Appendices include an order of battle for East Cemetery Hill, a recap of the weather during the entire Gettysburg Campaign, a day-by-day chronology of the Tigers' movements and campsites, and the text of the official reports from General Hays for Second Winchester and Gettysburg. Comprehensive and engaging, Mingus's exhaustive work constitutes the definitive account of General Hays's remarkable brigade during the critical summer of 1863.