The first printing of the Bachelder History of Gettysburg is sold out and you can be
assured it will be reprinted. We will need 200 orders to reprint again. We will reprint in the same quality as before and any corrections
will be made. We hope to hold it at the same price, though, we have been informed by our
printer that there will be a big increase in the cost of paper. There will not be a
paperback edition. Edited by David and Audrey Ladd. Compiled by the famous historian, this
text offers a complete account of the Gettysburg Campaign, from the troop movements before
the battle to the tragic events of the third day. 842 pp., index, roster, cloth, dj.
Includes 34 folding maps keyed to the text. Now taking Pre-Pub Orders!
For decades Civil War scholars and buffs have benefited from the efforts of Bob Younger and the staff of Morningside House, Inc. His reprints, original publications, magazine Gettysburg, even his catalogues, have prominent places on Civil War bookshelves. His most recent prodigious project was the works of John Bachelder, the leading historian of the battle of Gettysburg until his death in 1894. He moved to the hamlet shortly after the battle and spent the next decade working on three major projects relating to the fighting that occurred there: an Isometrical Map, a painting of Pickett’s Charge (executed by James A. Walker), and a set of three detailed maps showing troop positions, one for each day of the engagement. Because of these works, and his correspondence with hundreds of veterans about the engagement in the process, Congress appropriated 50,000 to pay him to write a detailed history of the fighting at Gettysburg.
Despite his vast collection of letters from the participants, Bachelder relied almost exclusively upon official reports. Though this decision surprised many then and would be condemned by scholars today, Bachelder was so overwhelmed with veterans who endeavored to make their memories his/the history that he had to dismiss them as being unreliable.
Though completed in 1886, the War Department decided not to print Bachelder’s History because of the impending publication of the three-part volume of the Official Records dealing with Gettysburg. Though redundant because cross corroboration made for a boring read, Bachelder’s format enabled the reader to "follow the fighting." (p. 9) This defect has been rectified by David L. and Audrey J. Ladd, who transcribed, edited, and annotated John Bachelder’s History of the Battle of Gettysburg. The 842-page volume also includes 34 fold-out maps.
Shortly before publishing Bachelder’s History, Mr. Younger published the correspondence Bachelder received from the officers and men of both armies. This massive collection of letters fills 2,081 pages in the three-volume The Bachelder Papers: Gettysburg in Their Own Words. Also transcribed, edited, and annotated by the Ladds, The Papers includes correspondence arranged chronologically, two-thirds of which are dated after 1880. Accompanying these volumes are seven black and white maps with grid marks that enable the reader to locate positions described in the text.
Completing Mr. Younger’s trilogy is Bachelder’s Gettysburg Maps. Because the three-map set published in 1876 was cluttered with too many units and omitted the cavalry engagement altogether, Bachelder produced 27 full-color maps showing the position of the troops at various stages of the battle to accompany his history. Twenty-three of these maps, beginning with Buford’s position on the morning of July 1, 1863, depict the action at intervals as short as thirty minutes; four maps depict the cavalry action. As with his history, the government opted not to print them. Exact reproductions of the 37" x 27" maps are finally available, printed on acid-free, 70 lb. Patina matte paper, and shipped flat.
-Lawrence Lee Hewitt, Chicago, Illinois
| Bachelder Papers: Gettysburg in their own words |
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A collection of 2,081 pages of letters from the officers and men of both
armies to the official historian of Gettysburg. All written in an effort to fix correctly
the details of the battle. This mass of correspondence between John Bachelder and the
participants of the battle, both Union and Confederate, is arranged in chronological order
from 1863-1894. The entire series in three volumes is now ready to mail accompanied by
seven black and white maps with grid marks to help locate the positions in the text. Price
is $110.00 not including shipping.
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| Bachelder Paper Volume I:729 pp., index. 40.00 |
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| Bachelder Paper Volume II: 587 pp., maps, illus., index. 35.00 |
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| Bachelder Paper Volume III: 690 pp., maps, photos, index. 35.00 |
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| Complete Three Volume Set: 110.00 |
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| Bachelder Papers - 7 maps only: Set of 7 maps keyed to the text of Volume I, which are shipped in a tube. 25.00 |
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The Bachelder Papers have been published in three volumes. Volume I is keyed to seven black and white maps. This is a very limited edition, and is a must for the hardcore Gettysburg enthusiast. The maps will be shipped separately in a tube; the shipping charge for Volume I is $6.00.
This is perhaps the most significant publication on the battle of Gettysburg produced since the Gettysburg volumes of the Official Records of the War of the Rebellion. John B. Bachelder’s papers are the single most important collection on the battle in existence.
Until their recent publication by Morningside Bookshop, the collection was known only to scholars and serious researchers of the Gettysburg Campaign.
At the time of the Gettysburg battle, John B. Bachelder was an artist and amateur historian living in New Hampshire who carefully followed the war. He intended to write an extensive history on the battle he believed would be the most decisive engagement of the rebellion.
When he learned of the fighting at Gettysburg, Bachelder immediately set out for the battlefield, arriving several days after the armies had departed. He spent several weeks conducting an extensive survey of the contested ground, and interviewed hundreds of wounded soldiers at various field hospitals.
In the fall of 1863, he published an isometric map that included the position of every regiment and battery that had participated in the battle. Then, during the winter of 1863, he visited the Army of the Potomac at its winter quarters near Brandy Station. There, he interviewed numerous infantry and artillery officers (he claimed to have spoken with the commanders of every regiment and battery in the battle) and compiled voluminous notes on the battle.
Bachelder’s obsession with Gettysburg continued after the end of the war. Still aspiring to write a history of the battle, he carried on an extensive correspondence with veterans of the Army of the Potomac. He also organized several reunions of officers to mark positions on the battlefield.
In the late 1860s he commissioned artist James Walker to complete a huge painting titled "The Repulse of Longstreet’s Assault at the Battle of Gettysburg." The preparation of the painting and its exhibition generated more correspondence between Bachelder and Union battle veterans.
By the 1870s Bachelder’s reputation as the historian of the battle of Gettysburg had spread to the former Confederate states. Southern veterans, convinced Bachelder would treat them fairly, began to correspond with him in order to assure their side of the battle was heard.
Throughout the 1880s Bachelder served as a director with the Gettysburg Battlefield Memorial Association which was established in 1864 to preserve select features of the battlefield. Then, in 1893, the Secretary of War appointed Bachelder to a three-man commission responsible for marking and enlarging the Gettysburg battlefield. Unfortunately, Bachelder died the next year.
In his thirty-one-year association with the Gettysburg battlefield, Bachelder amassed a huge amount of correspondence with veterans which, luckily, he and his family preserved. These included letters from Meade, Longstreet, Humphreys, Warren, Early, Hunt, Howard and virtually every key player in the struggle who survived into the post-war period.
Bachelder’s correspondents, however, were not confined to field and general officers. They included privates, non-commissioned officers and line officers. This mass of letters provided a remarkable eyewitness record of one of America’s largest and most important battles. Incredibly, Bachelder’s collection languished in obscurity for decades. His wife’s sister donated a large portion of the collection to the New Hampshire Historical Society in 1921. Here it remained, largely untouched, until the early 1960s when the documents were rediscovered by historian Edwin Coddington during his research for his magnificent study The Gettysburg Campaign, published in 1968.
Morningside Bookshop has now made it possible for any Gettysburg enthusiast to own these exceptional papers. Unlike Professor Coddington, the owner of this three-volume set will not have to suffer eye strain attempting to read the handwriting of these battle veterans. David and Audrey Ladd, with the help of Dr. Richard Sauers, have transcribed the entire collection, and added notes as well as an index.
Also included are nearly fifty plates containing exact reproductions of maps and diagrams that some veterans drew for Bachelder to explain a specific action or point. The correspondence is arranged chronologically, but the very complete index allows the reader seeking a specific subject or correspondent to locate it/him quickly.
These three volumes are accompanied by black and white reproductions of Bachelder’s 1876 three-map set on each day of the battle, showing the positions of every regiment and battery, and a four-map set of the July 3 cavalry battle. A square grid is laid over each map and the maps are referenced extensively in the notes to assist the reader in locating positions.
The entire set maintains the high standards of Morningside Bookshop, with strong bindings and acid-free paper assuring the longevity of the buyers’ investment.
These books should be on the shelf of anyone with an interest in the battle of Gettysburg. They are not only an indispensable research tool for any scholar or student of the battle, but the letters are fascinating reading in themselves, providing an unforgettable image of one of the epic events in American history.
-D. Scott Hartwig,Civil War News, December 1995
| Bachelder Maps |
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These are in color and have been reproduced exactly like the only set in
existence which remains in the Gettysburg National Military Park archives. Consists of 28 maps in full color, which show the position of units on the Gettysburg battlefield for each hour of the action, 27 1/2 x 37 1/2 inches. Printed on patina matte acid-free paper. The maps are
shipped flat, and now 250.00.
The Bachelder Maps
By John Heiser October 19, 2002
Few other battles of the Civil War have been as closely studied and scrutinized as Gettysburg, and we must
thank John B. Bachelder for contributing a wonderful gift of first hand information to students of the battle
today. It was this artist turned historian who saw something about the battle in its immediate aftermath that
few others could; a wealth of information was waiting to be gathered from the participants. It became
Bachelder's personal mission and life's work to gather this vast supply of accounts and turn it into a concise
history of this event.
As historian of the Gettysburg Battlefield Memorial Association until his passing in 1894, Bachelder
continued to correspond and gather an amazing collection of eyewitness accounts that would make his
Battle of Gettysburg publication one of the most complete battle histories of its time. Regrettably, he never
completed this monumental task, but wrote his 1886 manuscript The History of the Battle of Gettysburg,
based on the official records and reports already in government hands. To accompany his manuscript was
the first comprehensive set of maps drafted to illustrate hourly troop movements. Though Bachelder's
manuscript did not strike favorable reviews from the government agents who dealt with him and decided
not to print his work, his maps showed an attention to detail that few could argue with.
Using the knowledge gained from his first set of three battlefield maps published in 1876, Bachelder
dissected each into hourly compositions. Drawn by hand over copies of the G.K. Wanen Survey map of
1868-69, he painstakingly laid out troop positions and movements, hour by hour for all three days,
beginning with the deployment of Buford’s Division west of Gettysburg on July 1. Special attention was
given to positions on the first day, through the confusing nature and rapid changes of position experienced
by both armies on July 2, and the culmination of the battle on July 3. When finally completed, Bachelder's
three-day map set had been expanded into a set of 28 maps that would compliment his text, illustrate the
complicated troop movements, and further define the positions of Union and Confederate regiments during
this bloody contest. And he did not forget the fight at East Cavalry Field, including four new maps of that
cavalry action, which bad not been so well illustrated before. Yet, like his History, the maps went
unpublished and, for the most part, unseen except by researchers. They lay, as they were submitted,
unpolished drafts for the history that was never published. The flood of Gettysburg histories that followed
depended on these early Bachelder maps, with little more than speculation to follow the routes of attack
and retreat first laid out by the premier historian.
Morningside Bookshop has, in essence, given the public what they paid for in 1886. Reproduced on quality
patina matte acid-free paper, each map is a true reproduction of Bachelder's original drafts. All 28 full color
maps not only show troop positions, but also how landscape features such as trees, orchards, fences, farm
buildings, valleys and hills influenced their movements. Though the labeling may appear crude when
compared to the slick illustrations found in today's books, each 37" by 27" map bears the personal essence
of Bachelder's intent, and covers ground usually outside the borders of a single action study.
The maps of John Bachelder are a must for the historian and researcher of the Battle of Gettysburg and
required accompaniment to the three-volume set of The Bachelder Papers and his other works, as much as
spring water is a necessity for good coffee. No avid buff of the Battle of Gettysburg should be without this
early set of troop movement maps drawn by the first Gettysburg historian, whose knowledge came direct
from the battle's participants. Thanks to Morningside Bookshop, this once lost entity has been rediscovered.
-John Heiser, Gettysburg, PA
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