Thickest of the Fray – Mississippi at Gettysburg out shortly
First we wish our readers and everyone a Happy and blessed New Year!
We are happy to announce that after some delay, In The Thickest of The Fray: Mississippians At Gettysburg ─ In Their Own Words by Joseph L. Owen and J. Douglas Ashton will go into full release within the next couple of weeks or less.
Be sure to place your pre-order now! The final pricing will be $32.95 for hardcover and $24.95 for paperback. These are in the process of being adjusted on the website.
Advance Praise for In The Thickest of the Fray
In 1861 Southern men stepped out of dusty plow furrows, from behind school desks, merchants’ and mechanics’ counters, and pulpits; armed themselves, bade their loved one’s farewell, and stepped into the pages of History. Their lives would become the stuff of legends, and Mississippians were usually found in the front of the phalanx!
Joseph L. Owen and J. Douglas Ashton have thoroughly researched and stitched together from letters, journals and official records, first-hand accounts of Mississippians who participated in one of the most bloody, hard-fought and decisive battles of the war, Gettysburg.
Such deeds, as recorded here by Owen and Ashton, can never be forgotten! In these pages you will learn Duty, Discipline, Sacrifice and Honor as you go forth with valiant Mississippians “In the Thickest of the Fray!” — H. Grady Howell. Author, Publisher, and Historian Emeritus, Mississippi Department of Archives & History
The story of the battle of Gettysburg is best understood through written words of the survivors from both armies. Though small in number compared to other southern states represented in the Army of Northern Virgina, Mississippi troops under Joseph Davis and William Barksdale were in the center of fighting on all three days of the battle. Joe Owen and Doug Ashton have meticulously compiled memorable accounts by Mississippi veterans to tell the story of what they saw, heard and experienced at the pivotal battle of the American Civil War. — John S. Heiser, National Park Service, retired.
More than 790,000 people lived in Mississippi at the start of the Civil War. More than half were enslaved. Most of the 354,000 whites who lived in the state supported secession in 1860-61. Mississippi was the second state to leave the Union, formally seceding on January 9. Over the course of the war, more than 80,000 men served in the Confederate military. Eleven infantry regiments or battalions, a cavalry legion, and a single artillery battery fought at Gettysburg. Doug Ashton and Joe Owen aptly detail their actions in the tumultuous engagement through the words of the soldiers in their book, bringing to life the stories the old veterans told their neighbors, friends, and descendants. — Scott L. Mingus, co-author of If We Are Striking for Pennsylvania: The Army of Northern Virginia and the Army of the Potomac March to Gettysburg – Recipient of the 2023 Bachelder-Coddington Award from the Gettysburg CWRT.