Civil War Witness Trees

[m1ashooter]

Very good story.

[Merc]

There’s a lot more to the story of Picket’s Charge. The Rebs who were fortunate enough to get past the Emmitsburg Road to within a few hundred yards of the stone wall came face to face with the Union’s 12 pounder smooth bore bronze Napoleon cannons that were loaded with single and double canister shot. These horrible weapons resembled giant shotguns and the cans were loaded with steel balls that would fan out when fired. One shot could kill dozens of Reb soldiers. Their bodies would be obliterated if they were close enough when the shot was fired.

Some Gettysburg visitors are clueless to what really happened during the battle and only see the monuments.

[free1954]

have you ever walked the ground of pickett's charge? it is enlightening to say the least. i think the best book about that battle is GETTYSBURG A TESTING OF COURAGE by noah trudeau

[Merc]

have you ever walked the ground of pickett's charge? it is enlightening to say the least. i think the best book about that battle is GETTYSBURG A TESTING OF COURAGE by noah trudeau

I have walked nearly every part of the Battlefield, especially the grounds of Picketts Charge and often wondered how Lee thought he could take Cemetery Ridge. Over a mile of wide open space, his men marching shoulder to shoulder. They were perfect targets for artillary, musket and canister fire. There is a reprint of an 1864 map of the Battlefield by Elliott that’s available on Amazon that shows where all of the original graves were located. I’ll have to see if the book you mentioned is still in print.

[togor]

How technology changes the way orders are supposed to be carried out. In a modern era with radios and airpower, those soldiers would be instructed to seek cover and request a fire mission before resuming the advance. In the lack of such technologies, wars needed to be fought very differently, with the expectation that an order received is executed until completion or until the utmost of human endurance is reached, because there is no practical way to get new orders out there in the middle of a firefight. Wars aside, much of 19th century industrial society was organized around a similar principle of discipline towards executing the plan.

[Merc]

How technology changes the way orders are supposed to be carried out. In a modern era with radios and airpower, those soldiers would be instructed to seek cover and request a fire mission before resuming the advance. In the lack of such technologies, wars needed to be fought very differently, with the expectation that an order received is executed until completion or until the utmost of human endurance is reached, because there is no practical way to get new orders out there in the middle of a firefight. Wars aside, much of 19th century industrial society was organized around a similar principle of discipline towards executing the plan.

Improvements in technology in the 19th century did happen. The one that had the greatest impact on the Civil War was the increased accuracy of the rifled musket that changed all aspects of warfare. For once, a soldier could hit an aimed target. Developments in communications technology would take another 80 years.

[TAXICAT]

A buddy and I took a tour with a guide. It was great. They only cover one third of the battlefield per tour. I drove and we went to all the places of importance in that area and than got out and walked around and he described in detail what happened in that exact spot. I am really glad I took that tour.

[RED]

Just another hook, line, and sinker. Nothing new here, there are so called "witness trees," everywhere in the south, some near me where the battles of Prairie Grove and Pea Ridge in Arkansas took place, (Note: in 1862 the number of slaves in that area could have been counted on the toes of my left foot... that would be 4 at the most.)

Togor does this both here and the gun talk forums. On the gun talk forums he is an award winning marksman, and expert on every rifle ever made. In actuality, he is a trained propagandists and posts like this are designed to make his lies appear to be in line with the American dream. So what is the American Dream:

...the ideal by which equality of opportunity is available to any American, allowing the highest aspirations and goals to be achieved.

That idea is repugnant to togor and his lackeys. "You didn't build that, the Government did." His entire utopian hope is the same as what was put forth by Carl Marx, Friedrich Engels and Mao Zedong. These dream schemes don't work, they have never worked, and millions have died wherever and whenever they have been tried.

BTW. How are God and togor different? God never claims to be togor.

[Merc]

A buddy and I took a tour with a guide. It was great. They only cover one third of the battlefield per tour. I drove and we went to all the places of importance in that area and than got out and walked around and he described in detail what happened in that exact spot. I am really glad I took that tour.

I also took tours of the Battlefield years ago and they were responsible for getting me hooked on the Civil War. There’s too much going on to gain very much of an understanding of the Battle on your own. These guys really bring it to life.

Great post, lots of fun.

[free1954]

I have walked nearly every part of the Battlefield, especially the grounds of Picketts Charge and often wondered how Lee thought he could take Cemetery Ridge. Over a mile of wide open space, his men marching shoulder to shoulder. They were perfect targets for artillary, musket and canister fire. There is a reprint of an 1864 map of the Battlefield by Elliott that’s available on Amazon that shows where all of the original graves were located. I’ll have to see if the book you mentioned is still in print.

there are quite a few of those books on ebay. cheaper than I paid for it. when you walk across pickets charge from the Virginia monument to the copse of trees you realize how out of sight attackers and defenders were from each other. until they began to pile up against the fence. when you look at that burial map you see how many horses were killed by meads headquarters.