Gettysburg’S Peach Orchard: Longstreet, Sickles, and the Bloody Fight for the “Commanding Ground” Along the Emmitsburg Road

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 farmer Joseph Sherfy’s peach orchard. Despite its overriding importance, no full-length study of this pivotal action has been written until now. 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 corrects that oversight. On July 2, 1863, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee ordered skeptical subordinate Maj. Gen. James Longstreet to launch a massive assault against 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 Maj. Gen. Daniel Sickles, a scheming former congressman from New York, 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 to Cemetery Ridge. The Confederate attack crushed the Peach Orchard salient and other parts of the Union line, threatening the left flank of Maj. Gen. George Meade’s army. The command decisions made in 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 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.

About the Author :
James A. Hessler is a Licensed Battlefield Guide at Gettysburg. He is the award-winning author of Sickles at Gettysburg (Savas Beatie, 2009), the recipient of the Bachelder Coddington Award and Gettysburg Civil War Round Table Distinguished Book Award, and co-author of Pickett’s Charge at Gettysburg (Savas Beatie, 2015). His media appearances include Travel Channel, NPR, PCN-TV, Breitbart News, Civil War Radio, and Gettysburg Daily. He was a primary content designer for the American Battlefield Trust’s mobile Gettysburg application and has written several articles for publication. He lives with his wife and family in Gettysburg. Britt C. Isenberg is a full-time Licensed Battlefield Guide at Gettysburg National Military Park since 2014. He has been published in several Civil War periodicals through writing and photography, and is the author of The Boys Fought Like Demons (2016), a regimental history of the 105th Pennsylvania Infantry. His tours at Gettysburg have also been featured on PCN-TV. Originally from Millersburg, PA, he resides with his wife and daughter near Gettysburg.

Review :
"...brilliantly cast and elegantly written..."-- "The Strategy Bridge" "Enhanced with the inclusion of an informative introduction (A Fatal Mistake), photographs, illustrations, and Appendix (Select Order of Battle), a twenty-four page Bibliography, and an eleven page Index, "Gettysburg's Peach Orchard: Longstreet, Sickles, and the Bloody Fight for the "Commanding Ground" Along the Emmitsburg Road" is an impressively informative and exceptionally well presented study that is very highly recommended as a core addition to personal, community, and academic library American Civil War military history collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists."-- "Midwest Book Review" "For its ability to situate the reader within the historic and modern geography of the Peach Orchard, this book is especially useful for the battlefield visitor seeking a detailed work of the fighting there. Armchair readers will also benefit from its fascinating illumination of little-known accounts and personalities..."-- "Civil War News"