Unsung Hero of Gettysburg: The Story of Union General David Mcmurtrie Gregg

During Gettysburg, Union General David McMurtrie Gregg held off General James Ewell Brown Stuart's cavalry force, preventing him from striking General George Gordon Meade's Potomac Army. He also transformed the 8th Pennsylvania Cavalry into one of the most proficient mounted units in the Potomac Army. Despite his modesty and disdain for self-promotion, Gregg was overlooked by those who furthered the careers of Civil War commanders, but Edward G. Longacre defends his value and argues that he does not deserve further neglect.

Format: Hardback
Length: 350 pages
Publication date: 28 December 2021
Publisher: Potomac Books Inc

Unsung Hero of Gettysburg: The Story of Union General David McMurtrie Gregg delves into the remarkable yet overlooked thirty-three-year-old Commander of the Potomac Army, David McMurtrie Gregg, during the pivotal battle of the Civil War at Gettysburg. On July 3, 1863, Gregg and his troops engaged and successfully repelled General James Ewell Brown Stuart's cavalry force, preventing the Confederate chieftain from striking General George Gordon Meade's Potomac Army simultaneously with the Rebel infantry's devastating attack, famously known as Pickett's Charge.

Gregg's accomplishments extended far beyond the critical three-day struggle at the midpoint of the war. Shortly after the outbreak of the Civil War, Captain Gregg joined hundreds of Regular Army officers in accepting higher ranks in the nation's volunteer force, being commissioned colonel of the 8th Pennsylvania Cavalry. Through the implementation of a rigorous drill program and the removal of incompetent subordinates, Gregg transformed the underachieving outfit into one of the most proficient mounted units in the Potomac Army within a matter of weeks. Nearly thirteen months after Gettysburg, Gregg assumed command of all horse soldiers involved in the siege of Petersburg.

Today, David McMurtrie Gregg is revered as the epitome of a Civil War cavalryman. He exudes dignity, maintains composure under pressure, and is unquestionably trusted and respected by his superiors, peers, and subordinates. Like all honorable officers, Gregg was acutely aware of the image he projected to his men and his war-torn nation. Unlike many of his publicity-seeking colleagues, Gregg maintained a distance from newspaper correspondents who sought to exploit him.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781640124295