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Sponsor |  rieraci | Jan 15, 4:17pm | OK, let's see if we can rev up the board a bit. From July 1-3 at Gettysburg, 164,000 troops clashed in the pivotal battle of the War Between the States. 46,000 of them ended up killed, wounded, or captured.
Battle fields became legends - the Big Top, the Little Big Top, Iverson's Pits, Devil's Den, the Bloody Wheatfield, Seminary Ridge, Cemetery Hill, Culp's Hill, the Peach Field.
A million decisions were made that could be ripped apart later by back seat drivers - JEB Stuart, the eyes and ears of the rebs, disappearing for 2 days, Lee's style of command and faith in the invincibility of his men, Pickett's Charge, Meade allowing the Confederates to reach safety in Virginia. There was also some utter brilliance shown by individual unit commanders and unquestioning courage exhibited by the troops on both sides. Pick a topic.
I'll start off with my favorite, Chamberlain's charge. In command of the 20 Maine, he was holding the wing against the 15 Alabama. Out of ammo and about to have his flank turned, he ordered the men to fix bayonets. They charged down the Little Big Top and scattered the startled and weary Alabamans, running many of them into an ambush he set up to the east. He saved the Little Big Top and maybe the day with his action, and was later awarded the Medal of Honor.
There's a cool story associated with his charge (and I'd take it with a grain of salt, although Gettysburg is supposed to have more ghosts per square inch than anyplace in America.) As he ordered his men to fix bayonets, a lone horseman rode through the smoke towards the troops. He was dressed in a colonial uniform with a tri-corned hat. As the Maine troops readied themselves, he raised his sword and led the charge. It was George Washington. |
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Sponsor | | Ogmin | Feb 3, 12:58pm | I always sympathized with Longstreet's exasperation at Lee's stubborn attachment to repeated frontal assaults even this late in the war, and in this case, without adequate ordnance to 'soften' the line.
For a complex of reasons, it seems we are all too familiar with situations where we finally just sit back and shut up and let the boss steer us into hell.
Poor Old Pete; like so many other officers in that pathetic cause, he had to live with himself. |
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