SIGforum.com Main Page The Lounge On this date 155 years ago-Gettysburg. We have a member who walked the battlefield with veterans of the campaign at the 1938 reunion
Main Page The Lounge On this date 155 years ago-Gettysburg. We have a member who walked the battlefield with veterans of the campaign at the 1938 reunionGo | New | Find | Notify | Tools | Reply | |
Info Guru |
Right about this time - 1:00 PM Eastern, the artillery barrage began. About 2 hours later Pickett's 6,000 men, stretched out about a mile and half, stepped off into history.  http://www.historynet.com/picketts-charge-gettysburg William Faulkner from his 1948 novel "Intruder in the Dust": This message has been edited. Last edited by: BamaJeepster, “Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.” - John Adams | ||
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Was there on father's day. Two things bring me to tears. The unconditional Love of God,the service of the United States Military,past,present,and future. I would rather meet a slick-sleeve private, than a hollywood star! | |||
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Legalize the Constitution |
There are many members of the Forum better versed on the Civil War than I, but, by most accounts, Gettysburg is the one battle you can point to and question Robert E. Lee’s generalship. The South by-and-large, had superior officers and Lee was best of the best, but he lost the War at Gettysburg. _______________________________________________________ despite them | |||
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As I understand it, no one knows where Pickett was during the Pettigrew-Pickett-Trimble charge. Pickett was present on the battlefield, but there is no historical record of his participation in "his" charge. His whereabouts are not documented. Actually this event is more properly described as 'Longstreet's Advance' -- the term "Pickett's Charge" is a fiction of the Virginia newspapers. NC and Georgia troops advanced furthest across the field under fire that day. ------------------------------------------------------------ "I have resolved to fight as long as Marse Robert has a corporal's guard, or until he says give up. He is the man I shall follow or die in the attempt." Feb. 27, 1865 Letter by Sgt. Henry P. Fortson 'B' Co. 31st GA Vol. Inf. | |||
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Member |
I think about it every year, my great uncle was there. He was with the Louisiana 7th attached to Lee's Northern Virgina Army, he survived but was captured at spotsyvania court house. Keep prisoner till war ended. | |||
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goodheart |
The older I’ve gotten and the more I’ve read of the Civil War, the less romantic and the more tragic it all seems. _________________________ “ What all the wise men promised has not happened, and what all the damned fools said would happen has come to pass.”— Lord Melbourne | |||
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| KANE CHARLEY 6 |
In 1938 I attended the 75th and final reunion of the Grand Army of the Republic at Gettysburg. My Dad was in charge of transportation of 280 veterans from Ft. Meye,VA to the battlefield and he took me along. The trip shaped my life, USMA grad. a 34 year Army career. three wars and lots of interesting experiences. I walked the route of Picketts charge with a group of Condfederate vets average age 97.Hard to fathom that I am nearly as old as they were then. OLDUtahskibum | |||
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| Info Guru |
Wow! Sir, thank you for your service! It's an honor, and what a memory that must be. “Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.” - John Adams | |||
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| Member |
There is a compelling argument to be made in the following titled book; Barksdale Charge The True High Tide of the Confederacy at Gettysburg July 2,1863 Authored by Phillip Thomas Tucker, PH.D. | |||
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When the true backbone of the Army of Virginia was killed, the South's days were numbered. I am talking about Thomas Jackson. Had he been present at Gettysburg, it is highly probable that the North would have been crushed by the middle of the second day. Instead, Lee allowed numerous misinterpretations of orders, leading to conservative activity on Day 1, thus allowing the North control of premium ground. | |||
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| I started with nothing, and still have most of it  |
Some historians believe that Lee had a heart attack shortly before the Gettysburg Campaign, and that affected his ability to make critical decisions. We know today that heart attacks can have that result. When the troop assembled for his review prior to the charge, there were supposed to be about 15,000 of them based on rolls. As he rode by Lee kept asking "where is _______?" when he failed to see many favorite officers, apparently not realizing that two days of battle had reduced the ranks considerably. His plan was destined for failure, and some of his subordinates told him that. "While not every Democrat is a horse thief, every horse thief is a Democrat." HORACE GREELEY | |||
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| Something wild is loose  |
And held the high-water mark.... "And gentlemen in England now abed, shall think themselves accursed they were not here, and hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks that fought with us upon Saint Crispin's Day" | |||
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| Member |
It would seem that there is no limit to the breadth and depth of SigForum. Who could imagine that we have members with such close attachments to this major event in our history? I am in awe, and not for the first time! Thank you, both, for sharing your connections. -------------------------- Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats. -- H L Mencken I always prefer reality when I can figure out what it is. -- JALLEN 10/18/18 | |||
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Bad dog! |
HJrocket-- what an astonishing experience! To think that you walked the field with men who were actually there on that day. Thank you for sharing that with us. And thank you for your service. "His plan was destined for failure, and some of his subordinates told him that." None more clearly and forcefully than Gen.Longstreet, whose bitter duty it was to officially commence the charge. ______________________________________________________ "You get much farther with a kind word and a gun than with a kind word alone." | |||
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| Freethinker |
When I’m reminded of events like this and start thinking about what 155 years mean, one of the most striking things to me is how technological change has accelerated so rapidly. That’s less than two long human lifetimes, and how much did technology change in other 155 year spans? How about from 800 to 955 C.E.? Or from 1000 to 845 B.C.E.? Someone once pointed out that people who traveled west on wagon trains in the nineteenth century could have lived to see accounts of such events on television. As for that event, how many times have huge historical outcomes teetered on knife edges? Thanks for the reminder of what we owe to the people of the past. ► 6.4/93.6 ___________ “We are Americans …. Together we have resisted the trap of appeasement, cynicism, and isolation that gives temptation to tyrants.” — George H. W. Bush | |||
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| Go ahead punk, make my day |
Thank you for sharing that. I've been to the Battlefield twice and it was a humbling experience to imagine what unfolded that day.
Ain't nothing romantic about any war, much less the brutality of the Civil War. Anyone who tells you there is, hasn't seen it or is just a liar. | |||
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| Info Guru |
Agreed. I think it's hard to even imagine the devastation. The daily casualty count is mind boggling, especially given how much smaller the country was in population. “Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.” - John Adams | |||
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Step by step walk the thousand mile road |
When we came back to the US, my father took me to Gettysburg. I had learned to read by reading every interesting book in my school's small library. Several were overviews of the Civil War, and after I digested those, he gave me his copy of Bruce Catton's books to read. I recall going to the high water mark, looking out over that mile or so of open ground, and turning to him to ask "Had Lee gone insane?" Even as a kid I could see that an frontal attack against a prepared position like that was suicide. Brave men on both sides fought and died in an attack that had no chance of success and that ended the Confederacy's chances of victory. Nice is overrated "It's every freedom-loving individual's duty to lie to the government." Airsoftguy, June 29, 2018 | |||
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| Member |
There has been a lot said about how the inability of the Federals to pursue and crush the retreating southerners after Gettysburg prolonged the war. But the more I read about the fighting at Gettysburg, I believe the Feds were just too exhausted to pursue. Its amazing to me that this horrific battle which took place on American soil on July 3rd. is rarely mentioned on July 4th now. End of Earth: 2 Miles Upper Peninsula: 4 Miles | |||
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| I started with nothing, and still have most of it |
Probably so, but it certainly could have ended the War much sooner, as Lee's caravan of supplies and wounded was 75 miles long and could have easily been overtaken. They arrived at Gettysburg piecemeal, but all left at the same time. Another interesting factoid from Gettysburg is that the battle could actually be heard 150 miles away in Pittsburg. Citizens there were puzzled by the mysterious "buzzing" noise originating from the east. "While not every Democrat is a horse thief, every horse thief is a Democrat." HORACE GREELEY | |||
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SIGforum.com Main Page The Lounge On this date 155 years ago-Gettysburg. We have a member who walked the battlefield with veterans of the campaign at the 1938 reunion
Main Page The Lounge On this date 155 years ago-Gettysburg. We have a member who walked the battlefield with veterans of the campaign at the 1938 reunion© SIGforum 2024