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BOOK REVIEWS81 school. Information about the early settlers was collected through interviews with their descendants, much of which is hearsay not substantiated with facts from county records or other sources. The historian is constantly frustrated by generalizations, errors, half-truths and lack of substance, and even by the retention of underlining when italics should have been used. Miss Carpenter admitted that the work "is far from complete," but this does not exonerate her from criticism of what has been included. Old Mountain City may possibly be of interest to the inhabitants of the area. Mary Elizabeth Massey Winthrop College Crisis At The Crossroads: The First Day At Gettysburg. By Warren W. Hassler, Jr. (University, Ala.: University of Alabama Press, 1970. $8.75.) Devotees of the battle of Gettysburg have been fortunate in recent years. Edwin Coddington's superb Gettysburg Campaign has now been followed by a short but spirited work on the events of July 1 by Warren Hassler, Jr. Hassler's forte is unit combat. He combines a thorough mastery of the terrain with concise and colorful accounts of the ferocious fighting of that bloody day. His recreation of the clash of brigades is Civil War history at its best. The officers and men of the Union I Corps emerge out of the smoke and death on McPherson's, Oak, and Seminar}' Ridges as the heroes of the book. The skill and tenacity of that splendid unit, in its defensive stand, merits one of the brightest pages in the history of the United States Army. Their sacrifice in blood (70 per cent casualties) bought the precious time necessary for Federal occupation of Cemetery Hill, one of the key positions of the field. Hassler has praise for Doubleday's generalship. His assessment is, with justification, that Doubleday, ". . . did an outstanding tactical job in handling the First Corps . . ." Unfortunately, Doubleday's fumbling attempts to defend his leadership on that grim day have, through the years, tarnished his name. The author faults Howard's leadership but credits him with die decision to hold Cemetery Hill. The hapless Union XI Corps fought well, if not brilliantly. Individual units of the Eleventh , such as the 45th New York, battled with outstanding skill and daring. Some minor criticisms are in order. The maps are only average—Coddington 's are much clearer, and a critical bibliography would be preferable to the standard listing. The author places perhaps too much emphasis on the value of Cemetery Hill. Little Round Top and Culp's Hill were equally, if not more important. This book is a worthy contribution and should remain the standard work on the subject for some time to come. Roy P. Stonesifer, Jr. Edinboro State College ...

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