Our campaign around Gettysburg

Rain, flooded roads and exhausting marches give John Lockwood's account of the Gettysburg campaign its immediate texture. Written as a memorial to the Twenty-Third Regiment of New York and its associated regiments, it follows their service in Pennsylvania and Maryland in 1863. Lockwood argues for the importance of the militia's work in defending Harrisburg and the Susquehanna Valley, answering criticism that discounted their contribution.

The account also records the physical demands of service. In one mountain passage, men struggle through deep mud after a torrent carries away a supply wagon; hunger and wet clothing make the night march harder still. Alongside these scenes, Lockwood acknowledges officers who helped tired and sick men and explains how he checked marching distances against county maps. Readers interested in regimental history will find both a defense of the citizen soldier and close observation of the daily effort behind a campaign.