Undoubtedly, when most people think of Evander Law's brigade of Alabamians, they create a mental picture of the tremendously grueling, bloody assault made against Devil's Den and the Round Tops at Gettysburg on July 2, 1863. With the release of Law's Alabama Brigade in the War Between the Union and the Confederacy, students of the Civil War are treated to an out-standing unit history of one of the Confederacy's most battle-scarred outfits - one that treats the reader to the unit's very long and rich history.

Although the five regiments which composed Law's Alabama Brigade did not come together until January of 1863, Laine and Penny begin their study by surveying Law's actions, and those of the regiments that would compose the brigade, from the beginning of the war. The authors make outstanding use of archival and manuscript resources to tell the Alabamian's story, form the day-to-day routing of service in the Confederacy to the chilling and thrilling accounts of the forty-eight battles and skirmishes in which the brigade participated. Particular attention is paid to the rift between Law and Generals James Longstreet and Micah Jenkins. In the case of Jenkins, the difficulty preceded the war, and with Longstreet the friction lasted long after the surrender at Appomattox.

This is easily one of the best brigade histories to have emerged from the war. Laine and Penny have done meticulous research, developing numerous forgotten or untapped resources. Nearly fifty detailed, yet very readable maps assist the reader throughout the volume, as do thirty photographs. In addition, the book is well footnoted and contains a bibliography nearly twenty pages in length. It is quite obvious that this project was an effort of love, and that the ten years spent in creating this volume were well worth the effort. This would be a worthy addition to any Civil War library.