Stannard's Vermonters and the Repulse of Pickett's Charge

"A Vermont brigade held the key position at Gettysburg and did more than any other body of men to gain the triumph which decided the fate of the Union."
—The New York Times reporting soon after the historic battle of Gettysburg, July 1863

This compelling saga of the Second Vermont Brigade and its vital role at Gettysburg fills a significant gap in the history of America's Civil War. Coffin draws on scores of soldiers' letters to relate how and why young recruits from isolated hill farms flocked to the Union colors in response to Lincoln's call in 1862. During the nine months leading up to their rendezvous with destiny at Gettysburg, they recorded-in humorous detail-foraging for food, and, in more sober terms, enduring homesickness, monotony, and often fatal diseases. We share, too, their anxieties as they are thrust suddenly into the most important infantry maneuver directed against the Confederate assault.

"Howard Coffin has done more than write a solid unit history. He reaches back through time to bring Stannard's colorful Vermonters to life again, from their homes in rural Vermont to their extraordinary role on the killing fields of Gettysburg. Coffin's writing is top-notch."
—D. Scott Hartwig, Historian, Gettysburg, PA

$29.95 (Can. $39.99)
0-88150-400-9
336 pages, hardcover, index