Desjardin, Thomas A. These Honored Dead: How The Story Of Gettysburg Shaped American Memory
Thomas A. Desjardin’s These Honored Dead is a decent introduction to some of the popular myths that have spawned and lingered from Gettysburg since the battle occurred. The popularized version of Gettysburg from Michael Shaara’s The Killer Angels (1974), Ted Turner’s Gettysburg (1993), and Ken Burn’s The Civil War (1990) have ensured that millions of visitors come to the battlefield each year, but Desjardin argues that the majority of these visitors are seeking a distorted, incomplete, and exaggerated story. With a PhD in history and years of experience providing tours at Gettysburg, he has the credentials to address these myths.
Desjardin is not afraid to slaughter any sacred cows. He does not just question the importance of Little Round Top (it was not), whether Chamberlain actually ordered the famous bayonet charge (he did not), or whether the Confederates aimed for the “copse of trees” during their final assault (they aimed for Cemetery Hill), but Desjardin questions the overall importance of the battle in the scope of the war. Civil War buffs may find these topics to be outdated trivia, but the author provides insight into how modern-day historians and entertainers simply built on the myths that the contemporary historians and even participants initiated. Desjardin sees it as human nature to want to be part of an important experience and as a result, participants tended to inflate or perpetuate myths so as not to be left out of the post-battle glory.
The book provides a decent chapter on the Meade-Sickles controversy that helped shape many of the early beliefs of the war that still exist today. Those familiar with the details of the battle will no doubt be familiar with the story of how Union corps commander Daniel Sickles (1819-1914) perpetuated his own version of the battle that tarnished the reputation of Union army commander George Meade (1815-1872). More interesting is the chapter on John Badger Bachelder (1825-1894), the painter-turned-historian who became “without question the single most important Gettysburg historian of all time” (106). Desjardin provides a detailed chronicle on how Bachelder created the concept of the High Water Mark and the copse of trees. In the process, he methodically retraced the battlefield with veterans, wrote down their stories, and marked the positions of their brigades and regiments. In addition, he managed the approval and placement of monuments in the early years after the war. Those unfamiliar with Bachelder will find an intriguing story of just how much this historian influenced the historical understanding of Gettysburg.
The book offers analysis of how some of the monuments came into existence including those around the High Water Mark and on Little Round Top. While interesting, the book only skims the surface on these topics. This is forgivable when one realizes that there are “more than thirteen hundred monuments, memorials, and markers” scattered across the battlefield (153). Those who find this sort of history fascinating will get their appetite whetted, as Desjardin explains origins that are almost comical. For example, how 72nd Pennsylvania actually paid for the General Armistead memorial (170).
There are some issues with the book. The most annoying is the tendency to repeat points. The author seems to do it in threes. For example, he reiterates thrice that Ted Turner told 40 million Americans via TV that 50,000 died at Gettysburg (58, 180, 202-203) or that the notion that the battle started over the Confederate Army’s need for shoes is a myth (57-59, 121, 189-191). Given the brevity of the book (roughly 200 pages of text), the redundancy can be annoying.
Still, that should not detract those interested in knowing more about how the popular story of Gettysburg came to fruition. If you are familiar with The Killer Angels or the film Gettysburg, but are not familiar with how they present an incomplete and in other instances exaggerated story, then you will find this book interesting. For the experienced Civil War buff, this book is still a good introduction on the origins of some of the monuments and memorials. Regardless, this book will ensure that you will never look at the Battle of Gettysburg in the same way.