CWL welcomes corrections to statements. Dr. Ben Dixon of SUNY College at Oneonta, New York and author of Learning The Battle of Gettysburg: A Guide to the Official Records sent CWL a gracious email communication. Below are Dr. Dixon's remarks:First, let me say how thankful I am for your wonderful website “Civil War Librarian.” I frequently consult it for your readings and opinions on books and news on the Civil War. However, please allow me to offer a slight correction regarding your review of me book, “Learning the Battle of Gettysburg: Guide to the Official Records.”
On May 11, you kindly wrote:
“Happily perusing Benjamin Dixon's new Learning The Battle of Gettysburg: A Guide to the Official Records, I asked "For Gettysburg, Is the Army of Northern Virginia Represented in the Official Records?" The answer was found on pages 136-144. Of what I found this is a summary of Army of Northern Virginia's Reports in the OR:
Of three infantry corps, all three corps reports are missing.”
If you look on pages 136 – 144, I do give the OR pages for all 3 Corps reports (Longstreet’s 1st Corps Report OR 2: 357; Ewell’s 2nd Corps Report OR 2: 439; and Hill’s 3rd Corps OR 2: 606).
By chance did you mean to say, “Of FIRST infantry corps, all three DIVISION reports are missing” (which would be true).
Yes, Dr. Dixon, CWL did intend to write that all three division reports of the Longstreet's Corps are missing. After querying the cwdg.org listserv, it is reported that the First Corps' division reports are in Supplement to the Offical Records that are offered by Broadfoot Publishing.
CWL encourages students of the battle to locate and use Dr. Dixon's inexpensive book offered by Thomas Publications that opens the OR as a primary source in a unique way. I use a compact disk copy of the OR and Learning The Battle of Gettysburg: A Guide to the Official Records and Dr. Dixon's work has increased both CWL's speed in locating sources and checking footnotes in Gettysburg books.
