Autumnal Ruminations: Gettysburg

 Indian feast? 

I am sure they had them on occasion, but one in particular that Inspired a national holiday?  Not quite.

Did you know that it was an American woman, Sarah Josepha Hale, who took it upon herself to petition everybody (and finally the president), to create a national day of thanksgiving?  Her ultimate goal was most likely the creation of a national holiday, but perhaps that question is moot..  It is true, that in the fall of 1863, Abraham Lincoln created a national day of thanksgiving, thus establishing a pattern followed by other president s .  However, Thanksgiving Day wouldn't become a national holiday until the late1940s.

Why did Lincoln do it smack dab in the middle of a civil war? Well, that's the 64,000 dollar question, Dear Reader.  

Gettysburg also gave us our most famous political speech;

Yeah, I know you have already heard or read this, but wasn’t that cool to watch? And, yes, I am going to include this clip at the end of my 'day 3' post!

So, in preparation for the upcoming holiday, I am going to tell you about the battle, which occurred in July, 1863. 

This will hopefully be another reason for giving thanks, to the fallen for their service, and to whatever else for the preservation of the union. So, I want you to picture Robert E Lee at the head of a motley crew of Confederate soldiers.--soldiers who would’ve done anything to follow him --even to the gates of hell, and beyond. Here's to Robbie! 

It was a hot summer that July, and Lee was taking his men in yet another attempt to invade the North, with a view to attacking Washington DC.  But.,Lee had no idea where the union guys were, in relationship to his own army. In order to gain more understanding of not only the ground ahead, but where the union army was, is a task that was given to Lee’s second in command, General Longstreet. 

Longstreet was a cautious fellow, and before moving the majority of the confederate army forward into Yankee territory, he sent out one of his best 'spies', Harrison, a successful actor, and an even better scout.  It was Harrison, and NOT Jeb Stuart (the asshole who deserted his duty to be the 'eyes' of the Confederate army, to seek glory in a number of useless skirmishes north of the Confederate position, also in violation of his orders from Lee, which was simply to scout out the enemy position, WHICH HE DID NOT DO).

Now, with respect to all of the Gettysburg enthusiasts out there who might read this, I am going to leave out some elements of the battle.  Quite frankly, I have not studied every single skirmish.  So, I apologize in advance.  What you are about to read, is an abbreviated version, which will hopefully hit the highlights with which some of you will be familiar.  I shall tell the story of said battle. and one of the first things to look for, were the actions of General Buford, who was in command of the Union's cavalry at Gettysburg.  He and his men were among the first on the scene, and were largely responsible for the positioning of the Union army, in those crucial beginning moments.in other words, Buford was the reason that the Yankees got control of the ring of hills surrounding the valley, where the battle took -place.  This was the so-called 'high ground,' and was therefore essential in gaining the defensive advantage over the Confederates.

here is a map of the lines of the battle, which were largely established by the end of the first day:

It's ironic, isn't it, how close this battle was, to Independence Day?

Just a thought!

If I could, I would take this military map, and put a thousand circles around 'round top,' and 'little round top.'  Especially the latter location, because this was the place where, in my opinion, the tide of the battle (and perhaps the war), was turned in favor of the union.  

I want you to look at this part of the map, near the bottom.  This is where Col. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, and his Maine regiment were stationed (and thank the gods they were):  Little Round Top.  You will notice that this position was near the very end of the union line.  Now, the danger was, that the South would 'flank the union line' (meaning that they would go around the Union troops, and would therefore be able to come at them from the rear--which was tantamount to losing the battle.

Now, I am going to tell you that I don't know the name of the Maine regiment commanded by Joshua Chamberlain.  I also don't know his military strength, so don't ask me, and don't expect it! 

BUT 

Do ask me about the character of Chamberlain and his men.  They were tough Maine bastards, who had come into the war in the beginning months.  In fact, it is hard to find a major engagement that these guys didn't participate in.  What I do know, is that Chamberlain's regiment was at half strength by the time it came to Gettysburg.  Yeah, that's right.  You heard me.  Half strength.  But, oh God, were they stubborn!  But then, ask any person from Maine, and they will tell you that this is an ingrained characteristic. : )

Chamberlain's mission was simply this:  not to allow the flanking of the Union line, and this task was accomplished (although with difficulty).  This heroic action would not take place until the second day (which as I said was the pivotal point of the battle) and I can also tell you,  Chamberlain would later be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions at Gettysburg.

But how?  Well, take a look at this:

The Confederates tried to flank the Union line, not once but almost three times, and each attempt was beaten back by Chamberlain's soldiers.  Finally, though, his men ran low (or completely out) of ammunition.  They could not withstand another attack with no bullets, could they?  So, what was they gonna do?

Well, how about charging at the enemy with an empty rifle, and a bayonet?  

I mean, wow!  What guts!  Can you imagine, essentially running towards the enemy (and taking prisoners), with nothing except a knife fixed to the end of your gun?  Shit, that's impressive on any day of the week.  What makes this especially extraordinary, is that they didn't know that the enemy was running low on ammunition, as were they.  To Chamberlain's view, it was to defend this point at all costs, down to the last man, (even if that were he).  Now, the story goes, that Chamberlain and his regiment successfully repelled several attacks by the Rebs before making the decision to charge.  

That's some of the bravest soldiering I've ever read about, and continues to be one of my favorite (and smartest) moments in military history.  It's hard to get more glorious than that.

Chamberlain's charge carried with it a brilliant tactic:  'recusing' the line.  Now, this meant that as his men descended the slope of Little Round Top (with no bullets, as you might remember), in a line, Chamberlain instructed his men at the far right to 'swing' down to the left, thus closing in on their enemy.  To use an analogy--it was very much like closing a door.  I hope you understood that!

And, did I mention that Chamberlain's men had no ammo?  Yes, I did.  No ammo.  I know, I know, I am belaboring the point.

You should know that Chamberlain and his boys were successful in their charge, and captured many Reb soldiers.  Yes, I called them "rebs," because, in my view, the Confederates were seditious. But, then it all depends on your perspective, doesn't it? For example, for many southerners, their fight against the Union was for "state's rights".  In layman's terms, it meant that the Confederacy would be a loosely organized government, one where states would pass their own laws, print their own currency, etc.  In other words, a muddy collection of independent countries, with very little in the way of a central government.

Yeah, that was bullshit.

There were many other skirmishes that took place at Gettysburg, it being one of the most complex and compelling and complex battle of the war. But, what I want you to know, is that the second day, which contained important moments, such as the events at Little Round Top--events that changed the course of the war in favor of the Union.

General Lee was no fool, but he was arrogant, and having never suffered a conspicuous loss in the war, began to believe in the quality of invincibility.  In other words, he thought that his army was unbeatable.  

Uh, wrong.

By the third day of the battle, Lee's men were all but spent, save for a newly arrived battalion, under the command of General Pickett.  He was a dandy, as the nineteenth century term goes.  Today, we would have called Pickett a 'metrosexual.'  

But, I digress.

It was Lee's plan to make one great charge to attack the Union line at what he thought was it's weakest point.

Oh dear.  Wrong again.

Lee believed, that the spectacle of so many men marching toward their enemy would be a sight that would take the heart (and therefore fight) out of the Union soldiers.

Whoops.

So! Thousands of rebel soldiers gear up, and get ready to charge the fully fortified Army of the Potomac.  It was Lee's directive that these men would walk slowly towards the Union line in enough numbers, to overwhelm the enemy at what he thought would be its' weakest point.

Ye Gads.  

And, oh yeah, I forgot to mention something:  manning the center line's artillery, and reinforcing the center, were Pennsylvanian soldiers--many of whom had fought at Fredericksburg earlier that year. Also there, was the unfortunate Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, and the rest of his shattered outfit. 

At this moment, I have to tell you briefly about Marye's Heights.  This was a battle fought by both Lee and his infamous second in command, General "Stonewall Jackson." At Fredericksburg, this location was held by the South.  Union officers (including generals like Jackson and wanted to take it from the Rebs, and so the plan was to the take the formation, where the Union grunts could only be travel issues. 

Jackson was a good general in many ways, and was always pretty fair with his men.  He was also an intensely religious man, and this fueled his desire to fight for his "homeland."  Jackson had a weird relationship with his men, was a mercurial one.  But, they loved him, and would have followed him to the gates of hell.  At Fredericksburg, there was a key component of the Reb's position:  A small cliff-like formation, known as Marye's Heights.  It became one of the most important skirmishes of the battle.  At the top of this hill lay Old Bluelight's (i.e. Jackson) soldiers, whose job it was to protect that  location, yes? Well, the southerners successfully retained their position, by pouring rifle fire and other things down on the unfortunate Union soldiers, like hot lead. Many of the Pennsylvanian soldiers were going to die, in what turned out to be a useless endeavor. In the end, the sacrifices made at Marye's Heights made little or no difference to the outcome of Fredericksburg.  

But, those Pennsylvania boys never forgot.  Not ever, and they were more than willing to blow holes in the Reb lines, which slowly marched towards them on that hot July day.  The story goes, that as each cannonball crashed into the southern soldiers, a cry of "Fredricksburg! Fredericksburg! could be heard from the Union (i.e. Pennsylvanian) soldiers across the field.  

Now, who says that vengeance is dead?      

I have to tell you that more than one third of the some 11,000 men of Pickett's command were slaughtered in under half an hour during this ridiculous charge.  Great move, Mr. Lee.  What an arrogant prick.

Oops! excuse me!

There's a story, that after the butchery of the charge, Pickett made it back, slowly, to Rebel lines.  Lee was waiting for him, and said "General, you must assemble your command!"  Pickett just looked at him, and replied "General Lee, I have no command."

Or something like that.

What is true is that Pickett's command was, for all practical purposes, decimated.  For no reason, and certainly no gain.  And, these were losses that the Confederates could ill afford.

And, Pickett never forgave Lee for ordering the charge.  To the end of his days, he mourned his lost corps.

 And now for something completely different... (I just had to imitate Monty Python.  I just had to!).  The rest of the battle you know:  this was to be one of the pivotal clashes of the war, and it was also a decisive victory for the Union.  The truth was, a victory was badly needed for the morale of the country.  Grant would also finally prevail at Vicksburg.    

But, the casualties.  Ah, the casualties.  At Gettysburg alone, the number of dead was over 53,000 men.  Losses like this were rare in war, and the American people were stunned at the number of war dead by the end of the summer of 1863.