The Rashness of That Hour: Politics, Gettysburg, and the Downfall of Confederate Brigadier General Alfred Iverson, by Robert Wynstra, is the most detailed telling of Alfred Iverson’s rather notorious career in the Army of Northern Virginia. This book is essential in terms of gaining an understanding of why Iverson’s North Carolinians suffered such an atrocious casualty rate on July 1, 1863, and similarly offers a rare and insightful personal look into one of the Confederacy’s most intriguing generals: Alfred Holt Iverson.
Wynstra’s work is essentially more than just an overview of Iverson's Brigade on the first day of the battle of Gettysburg. The book does offer an examination of events that took place on July 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, which resulted in the virtual annihilation of Iverson's Brigade near Oak Hill, but it also offers the reader far more than just another take on Lee’s defeat at Gettysburg. The story, as told by Wynstra, is deeply engrossing on every level presented, and allows the reader an in-depth look at not only military aspects, but also political and social as well.
The Rashness of That Hour begins with offering the reader a detailed look back at how Alfred Iverson earned command of the brigade he led so poorly in 1863. Simultaneously, Wynstra begins laying a theme of political corruption and familial ties that would forever help Iverson ascend the ranks of Confederate leadership. The first part of the book meticulously leads the reader through Iverson’s youth, adolescence and early manhood, and explains how he used the aforementioned political and familial ties to guarantee himself a cushy command in the new Southern Army at the outset of war, in 1861.
The following sections of the book take a long hard look at Iverson’s military career; this look is often through the lenses of Iverson himself, as well as his staff, subordinates and private soldiers alike. This is where Wynstra’s work really shines brightest. The descriptions of Iverson at Gaines’ Mill, Antietam and Chancellorsville are first-rate and pulsating for lovers of Civil War history, while the information on the inner workings of the Army of Northern Virginia are simply outstanding. Many, like me, probably thought that the ANV was this air tight, meticulous machine that simply lived, ate, and breathed military victory, but Wynstra’s book shows the true backbiting and squabbling that bogged down both armies alike. The book thoroughly explains the basis for promotion within the ANV, and as you may expect, political strings were paramount as plenty of egotism abounded.
The endgame manifested itself by explaining that Iverson's Brigade was overwhelmed with bitterness, disunion, and a sheer lack of trust among commander and subordinates. Iverson continuously butted heads with his regimental officers over promotions, appointments and discipline, all the while battling Confederate politicians who screamed bloody murder because a Georgian was commanding a brigade of North Carolina’s native sons. After so many pages and chapters of Wynstra’s book, you simply could expect nothing more than absolute destruction for Iverson’s brigade during America’s bloodiest battle, and it proved sad and disheartening that many a young man were slaughtered because of political incompetence. Iverson, however, survived Gettysburg and the war. He eventually was relieved of command and sent to Georgia until the end of the war, and revived his name ever so slightly in 1864, with the capture of Stoneman’s Union Cavalry near Atlanta.
I really enjoyed this book and recommend it immensely for its details on the inner workings of the Army of Northern Virginia, but Wynstra’s retelling of Iverson’s life also adds needed dimensions of the story. Very often we read of these honorable and chivalry-drenched Confederate leaders who waged war with ferocity and aggression that was unparalleled in the North, but Wynstra’s work offers the opposite side of those stories. This book shows the immense power struggle between political and military mindsets within the Southern Confederacy during the Civil War, and Alfred Iverson’s story is one that tells it better than most.
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