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After stopping to pig out on "never ending" salad, soup, and bread sticks at Olive Garden (maybe forty minutes short of Gettysburg) we arrived on the battlefield. Drove up behind the Round Tops and through the center of town.
We were planning on checking out the Airbnb first, but young Finnegan was sacked out in the back seat. Rather than disturb his nap, we headed down to Lee's right flank on the 2nd day to see where Longstreet jumped off against Little Round Top.
The opening photo was taken at the base of the Longstreet Observation Tower (we didn't go up, Tuttle started to, but The Nuke said, "Not so fast, it doesn't look, ya know, safe").
The view below is from the front of those two cannon above.
To the right is Big Round Top, to the left of that is Little Round Top.
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I would not want to advance up that slope.
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Warren recognized the importance of the Little Round Top position, Vincent's men defended it ably.
Two heroes of the 2nd day at Gettysburg. Among many, most unsung.
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I need pictures of the 20th Maine's position as well. I had completely misplaced them in my mind. I should have checked the map earlier!
Before we leave, I plan to stand where the men of Pickett's division stood just before they stepped into immortality.
We head back Sunday, but it's only a couple of hours to get home, so we should have plenty of time.
More to come, time to get some shut-eye.
Dwight David Eisenhower retired to a small place in Gettysburg to live out his life surrounded by history. A place befitting an old warrior. F. Hubert
ReplyDeleteBesides the obvious Civil War connection, DDE had ties to Gettysburg as that was where he set up the training facilities for the Army's infant tank program during WW1.
DeleteJB
Ike gets a mention at the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum.
DeleteHe was also a trustee of Gettysburg College after his presidency. The farm at Gettysburg was the only home the Eisenhowers ever owned.
DeleteSeeing some of those open spaces that needed to be crossed before coming into bayonet rangs, or the hills that needed to be climbed, makes one wonder just how you could compel men to do it. Especially knowing that they will be under cannon fire for at least 600 yards, "Stormed at with shot and shell," and musket fire for 200, maybe 300 yards. The losses that were seen as acceptable then now see heads, or careers, rolling for just a tithe of those losses.
ReplyDeleteOne of the "might have beens." If the assault on Little Round Top could have been postponed of maybe an hour so the 15th Alabama could have refilled their canteens and gotten some water in them, would that have changed anything? They had marched something like 22 miles, fought up Big Round Top and back down, all on just a quart of water per man and no rest.
A lot of IFs at this battle. IF the South had taken Cobbs Hill on the first day. IF those canteen had been filled and the North had not seen the attack come at LRT. IF the South had moved right to flank the Union army as Longstreet had recommended.
Deletethe Just to name a few.
Warfare always has "if's" but this crucial battle has many more than most
DeleteBG
WARNIG! GROSS GENERALIZATION AHEAD!
DeleteUltimately, even if Lee had won that battle, unless public opinion in the North turned so against that war that Lincoln was forced to give it up, the South had to lose. The federals had overwhelming advantages in both manpower and manufacturing. Oh, and agriculture. Wait! Wasn't the South "agrarian?" Well, yes, yes it was. And mostly geared towards cash crops like cotton, tobacco, and indigo. Whereas the "industrial " North produced wheat, corn, oats, fruit, vegetables, and meat.
If the Confederacy had been able to follow up after First Manassas and taken Washington City it likely would have won the War of 1861. But it was either unable or unwilling to do that. So, in general, northern public opinion changed from a prepondrance of neutral and good riddance! To "Nobody does that and gets away with it!
Joe #1 - Most men did it (and still do) so as not to let down their comrades in the unit. Small unit cohesion is a critical factor in combat, don't have it and the men won't fight at all.
DeleteAny Mouse @ 6:39 AM - Some of those scenarios you mention have been examined in detail and found wanting. If Lee had listened to Longstreet and got the army between Meade and DC, then let the Union attack them in a strong position, in my estimation, that's the only way Lee could have made the Gettysburg campaign a success. Whether it would have brought European recognition and support is another question entirely.
DeleteBG - Bingo! Boat Guy has bingo!
DeleteJoe #2 - Sure it's a "gross generalization" but it bears elements of truth.
Delete"#1 - Most men did it (and still do) so as not to let down their comrades in the unit."
DeleteYep. Still a helluva thing to have the courage to take that first step.
Another consideration in that war, and if memory serves me, up until WWII, companies were recruited from the same county, if not the same town. The men in your company you knew. You bought from them, sold to them, traded with them. They helped you build your house or barn, you lent them your mule and plough. If you refused to go, or ran, how could you face them back home? How could you face their families if you ran and they didn't make it back? And who back home would ever trust you?
Very true.
DeleteVery nice Sarge, very nice. Those hills.........not a bad time to visit the battlefield, trees empty of leaves gives a slightly different look to everything. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThings are clearer without the leaves, it does make a difference in "seeing" the terrain.
DeleteAlmost a quarter of a century (!) ago; I had the privilege of walking the ground that Pickett's men trod. I was given to understand this is not usually done and it was only because we were on a military "staff ride". It was a LONG walk, full of somber reflection for me that garnered immense respect for the courage and dedication of those men.
ReplyDeleteBoat Guy
I looked west from atop Cemetery Ridge on Saturday. Saw the ground Pickett's, Trimble's, and Pettigrew's men had to cross. All I could think is "Dear God, they were crazy." Followed quickly by, "Dear God, those men were brave beyond understanding."
DeleteYour second thought is the one I would agree with, Sarge. As for "crazy"; that assault came closer to success than many understand, such assaults had carried the day for the Army of Virginia several times before. Yes " brave"; no doubt. As for "beyond understanding"? I think you in particular could understand it quite well, perhaps with some additional research and quiet reflection.
DeleteBG
Gettysburg is going to take time to absorb. An awe-inspiring place.
DeleteSarge, I do not think this truly "stuck" with me until our trip to Greece, but geography is so important - and something we completely take for granted now in our day of flyover country and long interstates that try and level the terrain.
ReplyDeleteThe pictures are beautiful. Thank you for sharing.
Without walking the ground, one cannot possibly fully understand the history.
DeleteSaw that at Waterloo, saw that in the Ardennes, saw that at Fort Ticonderoga, and now at Gettysburg. Many things were made clear in my mind that I only partially understood before.
As my daughter said, near the monuments to Buford and Reynolds, "I had no idea it was so hilly around Gettysburg."
I kind of knew, but after walking the ground, not really.
Take a lot of pictures and commit a lot of views to memory. When you come back in July you will be amazed at how much you cannot see. And bring water because it can get hot and dry.
ReplyDeleteSound advice!
DeleteI was shocked at how many monuments there were at Gettysburg - over 1300. And towards the end of the 1900s a lot of veterans from North and South came back to these sites, and told park officials wher their units were. There's a famous old video of these veterans at Gettysburg sitting across from a table
ReplyDeleteOne can read about these battles but until you are there....
The Devil's Den was right across the creek from Little Roundtop and filled with Confederate Sharpshooters...it was said that creek ran red with blood...
One might almost say "too many." The plethora of statues and markers can be overwhelming. But who do you leave out?
DeleteThat creek you reference is Plum Run.
There is a barn on one of the roads near the Round Tops, that if you stop in the right place there is a hole from a cannon ball you can see daylight through the wall and roof. Also every time I go I bought a CD or tape "tour" for the drive (gosh what do they use now, I got rid of my CD playing truck last year.) One cool one was narrated by the actor who played Pickett in the movie. Similar to Yellowstone, you can't see it in one day.
ReplyDeleteThere is now an auto tour you can purchase and listen to on your phone as you drive the many roads which (to my historian's mind "mar the landscape" but to my 71-year old mind "thank God I don't have to walk it). The auto tour is pretty good. Especially as my mind races from one detail to the next, the narrator helped keep me focused.
DeleteSarge,
ReplyDeleteYour opening pictures really was a deja vu moment for me.
One of my favorite memories and useful lessons I picked up at the Army's School for Advanced Military Science (SAMS, the home of the Jedi Knights of Gulf War fame, not that I was one of them) was a field trip the school took to Gettysburg. We had just finished Shaara's "Killer Angels" (a great book if you haven't read it) in considerable detail. This fighter pilot started getting a glimpse of Armeee! stuff and a bit better understanding of why the rules of Air to Ground combat were such that they were. But, after we were finished with the academic portion of the book and battle, the School shipped us all out to Gettysburg for a week of hiking the battlefield. The school had hired a historian who was an expert on the battle and he walked us around that week, explaining things. Our field of study was not strategic level or hand to hand level, rather it was the operational level. How to position troops, move them as needed, support them (cannon back then, airpower and artillery now) and a lot of other considerations. It had been a bit of yadda, yadda in the classroom, but seeing it on the battlefield even got through this fighter pilot's thick skull. Learned quite a bit.
Glad you brought this subject up. I think it's time for a reread of Killer Angels.
Thanks
juvat
I'm going to reread that myself, and soon!
DeleteMy first stop there is usually Friendly's. Can't help myself. It's a nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there. I have been to most of the fields and feel the pull at all of them although I felt it most strongly at Antietam.
ReplyDeleteI've been to many battlefields, felt a "pull" at all of them. This one is special, I've been reading about Gettysburg for 60+ years.
DeleteAntietam was a battle I hadn't studied much. Until I went there.
Burnside's Bridge and the Sunken Road really got my attention. I have corrected my ignorance of that field since my visit.
Honestly, the place haunts me now.
Can't believe how ... excited, I am to see your take on, this place.
ReplyDeleteI bought so many books on that road trip, had to tell my sons "somebody STOP ME!"
Another topography site is "Burnside"? bridge at Antietam... walking that... How, how did anyone cross that bridge??!!!?, Standard Civil war shooting gallery. one ea. Brutal.
My one thought on approaching the Burnside Bridge, on foot from the Union perspective, then looking up was, "Dear God, impossible! What were they thinking?"
DeleteFrom the top of "Toombs position" 500 Ga. infantry said "bring it", and the union did. I'd have rather had the high ground that day, regardless the outcome.
DeleteAbsolutely.
Delete