Hold at All Hazards

Bigelow's Battery at Gettysburg, July 2, 1863

by David H. Jones

Series:

Series: Casemate Fiction

Imprint: Casemate

272 Pages, 6 x 9 in, Illustrations and maps

Paperback
9781636240602
July 2021
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$22.95

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9781636240619
August 2021

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"Casemate has a long history of publishing high quality military history non-fiction. Lately, they have expanded their range of work to include well written novels using wartime settings." – WWII History Magazine

Captain John Bigelow's efforts to sharpen up a slovely light artillery battery make him unpopular with the men, but his efforts will bear fruit when the men are told to hold their position at Gettysburg no matter what.

By late January of 1863, the 9th Massachusetts Battery of Light Artillery has been stationed within the Washington, D.C. defenses the entirety of its five-month existence. The soldiers are badly demoralized, inadequately trained and poorly disciplined. When the inept captain of the battery believes that he’s about to be fired, he hastily resigns, and the governor of Massachusetts promptly selects a twenty-three-year-old artillery officer with battlefield experience to take command.
Captain John Bigelow institutes strict discipline and rigorous training which causes the men, including Chief Bugler Charles Wellington Reed, to consider him to be a heartless tyrant. However, Captain Bigelow’s methods rapidly improve their capabilities and Reed reluctantly gains respect for the new captain. Nevertheless, subtle conflict between captain and bugler remains in a manner only constrained by military protocol.

In late June of 1863 the battery is collected by the Army of the Potomac as it passes the Washington defenses to thwart an invasion by Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. After days of hard marching, Bigelow’s Battery arrives on the Gettysburg battlefield in the forenoon of July 2, 1863. Within hours they are immersed in violent combat during which the officers and men of the battery fight like veterans against the Confederates. Unbeknownst to Charlie, he will twice disobey a direct order from Captain Bigelow before the day is out.

When furious fighting reaches a crescendo, the inexperienced light artillery battery is ordered to hold its position at all hazards, meaning until it’s overrun. Without hesitation the batterymen stand to their guns and sacrifice their life’s blood to gain the time necessary for a second line of artillery to be formed behind them, thus helping to prevent a disastrous defeat for the Federal Army on Northern soil. Charlie saves his captain’s life and is later awarded the Medal of Honor.

"Historical novels can be more than beachside diversions. This one's place is on your Gettysburg bookshelf." ~Civil War Times

"Jones grounds his overall story within a landscape of the times within the historical record. While the author’s imagination and literary prowess are clearly at the forefront, so too are the words and actions of long-passed participants." ~The Historical Novels Review

"...a novel that reads almost like a history, placing the reader on the battlefield amidst the smoke, shouted orders, and screams of the wounded and dying." ~Military Heritage Magazine

"Jones’s new book is a worthy legacy of the battery's valor in the face of overwhelming odds against a seasoned and determined foe." ~York Daily Record

"Like the other novels in the Casemate series, it's all exceptionally realistic in terms of historical accuracy. After reading this, it seems like you will know everything there is to know about operating an American Civil War artillery piece and battery." ~Historical Miniatures Gaming Society

"...a great read for Gettysburg fans..." ~Maine at War

"David’s attention to detail while fitting his creativity within historically accurate information is always apparent." ~Today's History Lesson

"David H. Jones gives the civil war artilleryman his due in this engaging story." ~ARGunners.com

"Casemate has a long history of publishing high quality military history non-fiction. Lately, they have expanded their range of work to include well written novels using wartime settings." ~WWII History Magazine