Smoke and Stone: Voices of Gettysburg

In this remarkable little book, Ron Wallace plays the role of the tribal storyteller, taking us into the minds and hearts of those American men who played out the drama that was the Battle of Gettysburg, the pivotal event in the war. Unlike the storytellers of the ancient world who kept the hearts of the epic heroes about whom they wove their stories on the level of myth, Ron Wallace takes us into the minds of the men of Gettysburg, the actual historical figures as well as those he creates, and gives each of them a heart we can understand. And, in that understanding, we come to "feel" the Battle of Gettysburg as the men did who were there. It is one thing to know the facts and statistics and sequence of events in historic confrontations. It is another thing to know the fear and despair and hopes of the men whose names are part of those statistics and events. That is the wondrous achievement of this book. Wallace has an encyclopedic knowledge of the battle and the people in it: the personal relationships of the leaders of both the federal and confederate forces, life-long friendships now challenged by personal confrontations on the battlefield. He knows where in the chaos of the fighting John Burns is relative to John Reynolds; why Buford had reason to hope that his small band of cavalrymen could successfully defend the high ground; the angst of Longstreet, who saw the catastrophe coming but could not convince Lee of the folly of his decision; the arrogance and indecision of Meade; the battles within the battle -- Little Round Top, Cemetery Ridge, Pickett's charge; Chamberlain's desperation leading to his heroic decision to swing a gate down the hillside and, not only carry the day on Little Round Top, but preserve the victory for the entire Union army. And, like the storytellers of old, Wallace sets the stories of these men in an almost mythic world, where a marble angel, keeper of the peace at Gettysburg, stands and watches, hour after hour, day after day, the slaughter of men and horses and the shredding of the social fabric or her country for centuries to come. It is through the blending of his unique poetic style and his uncanny ability to take us into the minds of the men of Gettysburg that Wallace tells this oft told story and we listen, as if we were hearing it for the first time. In this little book, we see how poetry enhances history, and in that enhancement, gives events such as the Battle of Gettysburg the aura of myth.