New book titled Gettysburg Faces is a compelling read

With his recently released Gettysburg Faces: Portraits and Personal Accounts, Ronald S. Coddington has brought to life the Gettysburg Campaign by connecting readers with the faces and names of people participating in it. A compelling layout and easy readability make this a “must read” book for everyone passionate about Gettysburg.

A specialist in Civil War photography (he publishes and edits Military Images magazine), Coddington selected for his book 100 photographs of people with “unique Gettysburg experiences.” The images were among 130 such photos published in Military Images between 2014 and 2021.

Divided between 75 people affiliated with the Union and 25 people with the Confederacy, Gettysburg Faces introduces its subjects chronologically, beginning with the chapter “Prelude to Battle” and ending with the chapter “After the Fight.”

A tightly written and informative biography accompanies each photo. Pleasantly so, the biographies are not formulaic; each is a stand-alone story.

Speaking of photos, the average Civil War buff might think “daguerreotype” or “tintype” while studying the images, but there are major differences, as Coddington explains in the preface. After detailing how Civil War photo collecting has evolved, he describes the various photographic processes available during the war and cites the particular type for each photo. Readers quickly realize that a carte de visite is not the same as a daguerreotype.

The book opens with Lutheran Seminary student Frederic Wilson Klinefelter, elected commander of the Gettysburg-formed College Guards in mid-June 1863. Mustered as Co. A, 26th Pennsylvania Emergency Infantry, the militiamen encountered Lige White’s “Comanches” near Gettysburg on June 26 and took to their heels in an overlooked precursor to the approaching battle.

His sixth-plate tintype depicts a seated Klinefelter, his kepi rakishly tilted toward his left eye; he’s got that spark about him that suggests he’s quite a character. Ninety-nine photographs and biographies follow, and not every biography has a happy ending like Klinefelter’s.

The photos vary in their details. Many were taken indoors, usually in a studio, with the subject sitting or standing, some men striking stirring poses and others displaying military paraphernalia, such as a flag or a firearm.

The catchy title applied to each biography seldom hints at the subject’s fate. Ironically the carte de visite for Pvt. Michael Link (151st Pennsylvania Infantry Regment) is the first image that lets the reader know immediately what happened to this particular hero on July 1, 1863.

Especially intriguing photos depict Union brothers Adelbert and Orlo Jones and Southern first cousins Cornelius and Everett LaPrade. Corporal Orlo rests his left arm on 2nd Lt. Adelbert’s right shoulder as the brothers stand and gaze at the camera. Obvious around the eyes and noses, the family resemblance leaps off the page.

The same attribute applies to the LaPrades. Cornelius rests his left hand on Everett’s left shoulder while seated on his right. Gazing stoically at the camera, the cousins share surprisingly similar faces; if not for the accompanying biography, a reader might think the men are brothers.

Among others featured in the books are a few women, including vivandiere Anna Etheridge and nurse Hattie Dada, and a male civilian (a U.S. Sanitary Commission representative). If you have lived a considerable time or watched American TV or movies, some faces may resemble people whom you know or recognize.

Coddington does his readers a great favor by writing into almost every biography what the particular subject did at Gettysburg, especially as to unit (if a soldier), date, location, and battlefield movement. Gettysburg Faces has no maps. Readers familiar with the battlefield will recognize the place names. While an overview map would be good for readers new to Gettysburg, Coddington covers the major locations and events with the biographies, through which the reader tramps and fights at McPherson’s Farm, in the Railroad Cut, at Devil’s Den and Little Round Top and the Wheatfield and on Culp’s Hill, among other sites.

The Mainers featured in the book include Capt. Charles Wheeler Billings (20th Maine) and Corp. John Chase, the 5th Maine Battery gunner blown apart at Stevens Knoll. Coddington also features the 3rd Maine infantry’s Corp. Danforth Milton Maxcy, a little-known hero from the Peach Orchard combat.

Gettysburg Faces: Portraits and Personal Accounts is an excellent addition to a Civil War buff’s library. The holidays are approaching; you might drop a big hint as to this special present that you would like to find beneath your Christmas tree.

Ronald S. Coddington, Gettysburg Faces: Portraits and Personal Accounts, Gettysburg Publishing, Trymbull, CT, 2022; $29.95

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If you enjoy reading the adventures of Mainers caught up in the Civil War, be sure to  get a copy of the new Maine at War Volume 1: Bladensburg to Sharpsburg, available online at Amazon and all major book retailers, including Books-A-Million and Barnes & Noble. —————————————————————————————————————–

Passing Through the Fire: Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain and the Civil War (released by Savas Beatie) chronicles the swift transition of Joshua L. Chamberlain from college professor and family man to regimental and brigade commander. Drawing on Chamberlain’s extensive memoirs and writings and multiple period sources, the book follows Chamberlain through the war while examining the determined warrior who let nothing prevent him from helping save the United States.

Order your autographed copy by contacting author Brian Swartz at visionsofmaine@tds.net

Passing Through the Fire is also available at savasbeatie.com or Amazon.

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Brian Swartz can be reached at visionsofmaine@tds.net. He enjoys hearing from Civil War buffs interested in Maine’s involvement in the war.

Brian Swartz

About Brian Swartz

Welcome to "Maine at War," the blog about the roles played by Maine and her sons and daughters in the Civil War. I am a Civil War buff and a newspaper editor recently retired from the Bangor Daily News. Maine sent hero upon hero — soldiers, nurses, sailors, chaplains, physicians — south to preserve their country in the 1860s. “Maine at War” introduces these heroes and heroines, who, for the most part, upheld the state's honor during that terrible conflict. We tour the battlefields where they fought, and we learn about the Civil War by focusing on Maine’s involvement with it. Be prepared: As I discover to this very day, the facts taught in American classrooms don’t always jibe with Civil War reality. I can be reached at visionsofmaine@tds.net.