Covered With Glory: The 26th North Carolina Infantry at Gettysburg

Rod Gragg's "Covered with Glory" is an outstanding combat narrative of the Confederate 26th North Carolina infantry at Gettysburg. Gragg sketches the regiment's history from its formation in 1861. He traces the maturation of Col. Henry Burgwyn, the famed "Boy Colonel of the Confederacy," who by the age of 21 years had graduated from the University of North Carolina, the Virginia Military Institute, and assumed command of the regiment. His dedication to duty and doggedness in training transformed the 26th North Carolina from a rowdy band of farm boys into one of the best drilled regiments in Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. The regiment performed valiantly in action, but gained the dubious honor of suffering a casualty rate of over 80 per cent – arguably the greatest casualty rate of any regiment at Gettysburg. At McPherson's Ridge on the first day of the struggle, the 26th North Carolina, as part of Pettigrew's brigade, confronted the Army of the Potomac's vaunted "Iron Brigade" – neither organization was ever the same again. The North Carolinians entered the fight with 800 men and by dusk only 212 were still standing. After their attack as the Confederate left wing during Pickett's Charge on Gettysburg's third day, only 113 men answered the roll call.As the back cover blurb from Publishers Weekly attests, Gragg's "Covered with Glory" puts a "human face" on the fighting spirit, valor and horrendous anguish experienced by those on the field during the greatest battle on American shores. The book is recommended, especially for Civil War buffs, with a note that unlike many good battlefield or campaign histories which suffer from poor maps, "Covered with Glory" has too few -- but those contained are detailed and useful, although not to scale. Title: Covered With Glory: The 26th North Carolina Infantry at Gettysburg Author Name: Gragg, Rod Location Published: Harper Collins: 2000 Binding: hardcover Book Condition: Excellent Pages: 304 Categories: Unit Histories, Unit Histories, North Carolina Military History Seller ID: 1352