The Weather Gods Curse the Gettysburg Campaign - (Civil War) by Jeffrey J Harding & Jon M Nese (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Searing Heat and Torrents of Rain

As the nation's future hung in the balance, the Weather Gods delivered a wrath of fury on Union and Confederate forces throughout the Gettysburg Campaign. First, record-breaking heat and humidity wore down the warring armies during ungodly forced marches. Next, relentless storms plagued the soldiers with resultant muddy slogs on nearly impassable roads. As the armies met in mortal combat, soul-crushing heat turned the bucolic fields of Gettysburg into a sanguinary and barren expanse. Finally, torrential rains haunted the Confederate retreat and narrow escape across a swollen Potomac River. Authors Jeffrey J. Harding and Jon M. Nese present firsthand accounts, harrowing narratives and groundbreaking meteorological research that reshapes how we view the Civil War's Gettysburg Campaign.

Review Quotes

"History and weather geeks come together and rejoice! Nese and Harding have given us something rare: a book that sheds NEW light on the Gettysburg Campaign and the physical experience of men in a struggle for their lives and nation." --John J. Hennessy, historian, National Park Service (retired) and author of Return to Bull Run: The Campaign and Battle of Second Manassas

"Meteorologist Dr. Jon Nese and Gettysburg Licensed Battlefield Guide Jeff Harding have given us something not just new but thought provoking and, at times, shocking. We have all read pithy accounts of the weather scribbled by soldiers into a pocket diary, but how many of us can divine what a soldier meant by 'hot'? In a fast-paced, conversational narrative, the authors not only explain the science of weather, in a way we can all understand, but they provide the perfect blend of soldier accounts and analysis needed to take us back 162 years, and all supported by a wealth of photographs and weather charts. In short, they provide us with a 'Rosetta Stone, ' a key to unlock the secrets of the weather during the campaign." --Robert F. O'Neill, historian and author of Small but Important Riots, The Cavalry Battles of Aldie, Middleburg, and Upperville and Chasing Jeb Stuart and John Mosby: The Union Cavalry in Northern Virginia from Second Manassas to Gettysburg

"Eight score and two years ago the high tide of the Confederacy crashed like a human tsunami on northern shores at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. How did the unusually hot and humid weather before and during the battle and the torrential rains that followed feel to desperate, bloodied, and exhausted troops? This authoritative and fully illustrated volume--a collaboration between meteorologist Jon Nese and historian/battlefield guide Jeffrey Harding--provides new detailed weather reconstructions and heart-wrenching, evocative commentaries from the participants. It is a welcome and innovative contribution to Civil War literature." --James Rodger Fleming, professor emeritus of Science, Technology, and Society, Colby College

"Authors Nese and Harding undertook an astonishing amount of primary research to reveal a critically understudied but absolutely fascinating aspect of the Gettysburg Campaign--how weather variables such as heat, humidity, dewpoint, and drenching downpours, among others, impacted both armies. Be certain, however, this book is no dry recitation of meteorological facts. The text crackles with life as the authors explain how the atmosphere was a common enemy for officers and common soldiers as they staggered down dusty, sunbaked roads and across bullet-swept landscapes. Many of us wilt in the blazing sun when we leave our air-conditioned vehicles for a quick jaunt to visit a monument on the battlefield. Well, imagine marching for miles in a wool uniform when the heat index was 117 degrees, as it was during the opening days of the campaign!

The Weather Gods Curse the Gettysburg Campaign presents a storm of information that truly will change how you think about Gettysburg and give you even more appreciation for the hardy soldiers who fought there. In fact, if you don't read this book, you can't fully understand the momentous Pennsylvania showdown." --Dana B. Shoaf, Director of Interpretation, National Museum of Civil War Medicine

"The 'Weather Gods' undoubtedly cursed the Gettysburg campaign, but they have favored scholars of the battle with this groundbreaking new study from Dr. Jon M. Nese and Jeffrey J. Harding. From Napoleon's disastrous campaign in Russia, to Eisenhower's triumph at Normandy, weather has consistently proven crucial to military operations. In this expertly woven narrative, the authors combine first-hand accounts with advanced scientific data to provide students of Gettysburg with the clearest understanding yet of the environmental impact to soldiers in both armies. Their meticulous research underscores the devastating and debilitating effects of oppressive heat, the gruelingly dry and dusty march conditions endured by the soldiers, and the torrential rains that trapped the Army of Northern Virginia along the swollen banks of the Potomac River. Nese and Harding have given historians definitive answers to questions which have endured for more than a century. Perhaps as vital a component to the outcome of the battle as the decisions made by the commanders on the field, the weather during the Gettysburg campaign is amongst the greatest factors in understanding six of the most fateful weeks in all American history." --Christina C. Moon, Gettysburg historian and Licensed Battlefield Guide

"Dewpoints are one of the most useful yet unappreciated atmospheric measurements (by the general public). And, until now, no one has analyzed the dewpoint data during the American Civil War. There were official weather observers in the 1860s. There was also documentation from the combatants themselves--letters, journals, written by common soldiers, and high ranking officers--collected by Nese and Harding, providing a grander, richer tapestry in weather's tremendous role in the Gettysburg Campaign. In the world of Civil War history, this work is unique. There is nothing like it. A young private in the 4th Alabama Infantry might fathom the brutality Maine troops serve with a rifle but can't grasp the depth that a sweltering Pennsylvania day can mean to tired troops, and the overall outcome of a tremendous battle. That's the glory of this book--it allows the reader to meteorologically understand what the combatants could not." --Jen Carfagno (aka dewpoint diva) and Reynolds Wolf (history buff), The Weather Channel

"Combining meticulous research with modern meteorological analysis, The Weather Gods Curse the Gettysburg Campaign offers groundbreaking insights into the weather's impact on the Gettysburg Campaign. It's a must-read for Civil War enthusiasts and historians alike and fills a critical gap in understanding how natural forces shaped one of the pivotal moments in our history." --Mike Seidel, TV meteorologist

"Weather profoundly affected military operations throughout the Gettysburg Campaign with rain, searing heat, muddy roads, choking dust, flooded streams and rivers, and brutal humidity, yet until now, we have had only an anecdotal record of it. This is the first scientific and deeply researched examination of the weather on a daily basis. A highly original book, The Weather Gods Curse the Gettysburg Campaign is one that anyone with an interest in Gettysburg will want to read." --D. Scott Hartwig, author of I Dread the Thought of the Place

"Think you might know what it was like to be a soldier in one of the most pivotal campaigns in world history? Thanks to this groundbreaking work by Jon M. Nese, PhD, and Jeffrey J. Harding we are closer to finding the truth of the actual conditions on the ground for the common soldier in the Gettysburg Campaign in June-July 1863." --Wayne E. Motts, President Emeritus and historian, Gettysburg Foundation, Licensed Battlefield Guide and coauthor of Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg (coauthor James A. Hessler)

Students of the Gettysburg campaign generally recognize that weather conditions played a significant role in the outcome of this consequential event. Nonetheless, to date, our understanding of these circumstances lacked a detailed and coherent accounting. To remedy this void, Jeffrey Harding and Jon Nese provide a rendering that fulfills the quest to understand how weather wrought havoc that required unique and imaginative approaches to overcome. The authors offer evidence of their findings and conclusions in graphic detail. Heretofore, the effect weather had prior to, during, and following the battle could well be considered the missing dimension of the Gettysburg campaign. However, these deficiencies are amply overcome given the incisive examination presented in this study. --Thomas J. Ryan, author/co-author of two books: Spies, Scouts, and Secrets in the Gettysburg Campaign and Lee Is Trapped and Must be Taken, Eleven Fateful Days after Gettysburg, July 4-14, 1863 (co-author Richard R. Schaus)

"David Donald, a noted Civil War historian, said years ago that there is nothing left to say about the Battle of Gettysburg that hasn't been said already. To his point, Gettysburg is one of the most written about battles in all of history and is certainly the most written about battle in the Americas. And yet there is one aspect of the battle and campaign that has never been fully analyzed, the weather. Weather, the lowest common denominator, the one aspect of a battlefield that both armies have in common. One army may have more men, more guns, better training, better morale, better ground, but weather is the same for both. When looking for a description of the weather during the Battle of Gettysburg, one term stands out, hot. A member of the Twelfth Corps in describing that unit's march to Gettysburg on July 1, 1863, said, 'It was a hot day. The sun was hot. The ground was hot. The breezes that fanned our brows were hot, and the men panted like dogs on the chase and sweated and sweltered through clouds of dust.' That begs the question, how hot was it? In the past, in an attempt to answer that question, we referred to the excellent work of the Rev. Dr. Michael Jacobs, who as a professor at Pennsylvania College in Gettysburg, took meteorological readings three times a day during the battle. He recorded temperatures in the 80s with the highest recorded temperature at 87 degrees F on the afternoon of July 3 before Pickett's Charge. The temperature alone does not tell the full story. What about humidity and heat index? When you figure out what these were then you will know what the soldiers meant by hot. Besides using meteorological data taken from weather stations at the time to determine these factors, and in turn, how hot the weather truly felt to the soldiers, this study also explains what impact the weather had on the men and animals that were exposed to these conditions. No study of this kind has ever been attempted and by better understanding the real weather conditions, we will get a better appreciation of how these men struggled and suffered during the campaign and this important battle in American history." --Dr. Charles Fennel, PhD, Licensed Battlefield Guide, Gettysburg National Military Park

"John Nese and Jeffrey Harding's The Weather Gods Curse the Gettysburg Campaign is a truly remarkable, highly useful, and completely original contribution to the ongoing study of the Gettysburg campaign and battle. As the authors maintain, weather and its extremes affected how the campaign unfolded at every stage of its development, and it was a testament to the human endurance and ingenuity displayed by the armies that weather-induced disaster was avoided. Accessible to general reader and specialist alike, this masterfully conceived and executed study is an essential addition to the Gettysburg library, a key reference for every future chronicler of the campaign." -- Andrew Wagenhoffer, Civil War Books and Authors

About the Author

Jeffrey J. Harding currently works as a licensed battlefield guide at Gettysburg National Military Park, independent historian and leadership consultant. Previously, he served thirty-three years as an intelligence analyst and professional development specialist with the Office of Naval Intelligence. He is the author of the highly acclaimed Gettysburg's Lost Love Story: The Ill-Fated Romance of General John Reynolds and Kate Hewitt. Jon M. Nese is a teaching professor in the Department of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science at Penn State, where he also oversees the undergraduate program. Prior to joining Penn State, he was chief meteorologist at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia and on-air storm analyst at the Weather Channel. He is the coauthor of The Philadelphia Area Weather Book, which was awarded the 2005 Louis J. Battan Author's Award from the American Meteorological Society.