Unsung Hero of Gettysburg

Unsung Hero of Gettysburg: The Story of Union General David McMurtrie Gregg explores the honorable but neglected thirty
face="MS UI Gothic">‑three‑year old Commander of the Potomac Army David McMurtrie Gregg during Gettysburg, the pivotal battle of the Civil War. On July 3, 1863, Gregg and his troops engaged and held at bay General James Ewell Brown Stuart's cavalry force and prevented the Confederate chieftain from striking General George Gordon Meade's Potomac Army at nearly the same time that Rebel infantry slammed into the Union center, an attack forever afterward known as Pickett's Charge.

Gregg's achievements encompassed much more than that critical three day struggle midway through the war. Not long after the Civil War broke out, Captain Gregg joined hundreds of Regular Army officers in accepting higher rank in the nation's volunteer force, being commissioned colonel of the 8th Pennsylvania Cavalry. By imposing and enforcing a rigid drill program and weeding out incompetent subordinates, in a matter of weeks he transformed the underachieving outfit into one of the most proficient mounted units in the Potomac Army. Almost thirteen months after Gettysburg, Gregg rose to lead every horse soldier involved in the siege of Petersburg.

David McMurtrie Gregg stands today as the beau ideal of a Civil War cavalryman. Dignified, self composed, and unflappable under pressure, he was unhesitatingly relied upon by his superiors, respected by his peers, and admired by his subordinates. Like all worthy officers, he was conscious of the image he projected to his men and his war torn nation. Rejecting the behavior of publicity seeking colleagues so many of whom seemed to gravitate naturally to the cavalry Gregg held at arm's length the newspaper correspondents who tried to attach themselves to his command, restricting their access to his headquarters and refusing their requests to interview him.

Undoubtedly Gregg's modesty and disdain for self promotion factored into his being overlooked by those who furthered the careers of Civil War commanders. But in Unsung Hero of Gettysburg, Edward G. Longacre defends Gregg's value and, for many reasons, not merely his contributions to victory on the most critical day in American history, argues that he does not deserve further neglect.