A Vast Sea of Misery: A History and Guide To the Union and Confederate Hospitals at Gettysburg, June 1-November 20, 1863, Gregory Coco, Savas Beatie Publishing, Paperback, 224pages, profusely illustrated, maps, appendices, index, bibliographic endnotes, $19.95 On Sale: January 15, 2018
Nearly 26,000 men were wounded in the three-day battle
of Gettysburg (July 1-3, 1863). It didn't matter if the soldier wore
blue or gray or was an officer or enlisted man, for bullets, shell
fragments, bayonets, and swords made no class or sectional distinction.
Almost 21,000 of the wounded were left behind by the two armies in and
around the small town of 2,400 civilians.
Most ended up being treated in
makeshift medical facilities overwhelmed by the flood of injured. Many
of these and their valiant efforts are covered in Greg Coco's A Vast Sea of Misery: A History and Guide to the Union and Confederate Field Hospitals at Gettysburg, July 1-November 20, 1863.
The battle to save the wounded was nearly as terrible
as the battle that placed them in such a perilous position. Once the
fighting ended, the maimed and suffering warriors could be found in
churches, public buildings, private homes, farmhouses, barns, and
outbuildings.
Thousands more, unreachable or unable to be moved remained
in the open, subject to the uncertain whims of the July elements. As
one surgeon unhappily recalled, "No written nor expressed language could
ever picture the field of Gettysburg! Blood! blood! And tattered flesh!
Shattered bones and mangled forms almost without the semblance of human
beings!"
Based upon years of firsthand research, Coco's A Vast Sea of Misery
introduces readers to 160 of those frightful places called field
hospitals. It is a sad journey you will never forget, and you won't feel
quite the same about Gettysburg once you finish reading.
CWL: The first published in 1988 by Thomas Publications [Gettysburg, Pennsylvania], A Vast Sea of Misery is 30 years old. Coco's work on this and related fields began something new. Firm in in his scholarship and relying upon soldiers' recollections and letters, Coco then integrated farmers' damage claims to both the Federal and Pennsylvania governments into the Battle of Gettysburg narrative. A Vast Sea of Misery also opened up the study of the borough and its civilians, religion and the volunteerism which occurred after the battle. CWL has two copies, one hardback and paperback; the former near mint the latter thoroughly marked with notes. Savas Beatie is congratulated for keeping A Vast Sea of Misery in print.
