The Federal Hornet's Nest on the left, and across that field, the longest line of Confederat canon (of which this image is only part).
Posted on 08/07/2006 8:54:36 AM PDT by Republicanprofessor
There were so many routs on both sides in the Civil War. Strategy had not caught up with technological developments. Rifles could now hit accurately at 300 yards, instead of 100 yards, so it was a much more deadly war.
In the Revolutionary War, they complained of a 500-800 being killed. The worst battles of the Civil War were over 10,000 dead, sometimes that many per side.
It was on the hill at Point Park, Nashville that the canons did not work well. The slope down which they aimed was so steep that the canon balls just rolled out before they were lit.
We saw one true canon demonstration at Vicksburg, and several soldiers in attire talking about their life as soldiers. Such events were very effective.
This NH resident/Mass professor has to get her rearend to the Boston area to see those battlefields as well as the Adams presidents homes and tombs. Ah...I guess a 90 minute drive is too easy to procrastinate. But soon, we will do so.
What amazed me about Shiloh was how you could really visualize both sides of attackers around the Hornet's Nest: with the Yankees in the road, with the jagged fence, and the longest line of Confederate canons just across a (beautiful) field.
Well, I guess I'll get a voucher for next year if I send in the Gettysburg tickets that I had. But I'm not sure we'll be in the US that summer.
But now that my taste-buds have been whetted, so to speak, we will definitely have to go to a larger re-enactment in the next few years. And I'm sure I'll get a good deal more out of it than when it was the very first battlefield on our list.
The cotton gin was patented in 1794. It was one of the things that revitalized slavery, by making big cotton plantations economically viable.
Thanks for the reading recommendations. I always find I spend more time in the car than sitting and reading, and that's why audio CDs are great. It's good to find someone else who listened to Gallagher. I know I need to listen about three times through the series to even begin to get some of it, and your critique of if is right.
I'll have to see if I can find Foote's book in audio. Same with Ken Burns' series; hard to watch while driving.
The Federal Hornet's Nest on the left, and across that field, the longest line of Confederat canon (of which this image is only part).
While touring Gettysburg we stayed at Hickory Bridge Farm B&B and thoroughly enjoyed our time there. Very comfortable and relaxing. www.hickorybridgefarm.com
Mark for later
Thanks for the ping. Good read.
Hi...
free dixie,sw
I don't know what exactly you had in mind regarding publishing (magazine, journal, etc.) but perhaps the folks at the Sons of the Confederacy or United Daughters of the Confederacy could help? A local chapter of the UDC runs the Texas Civil War Museum in Ft. Worth, Texas and they have a wonderful selection of books and pamphlets.
United Daughters of the Confederacy
Your article is very moving. I wish you luck in publishing it, as it should be shared with as many people as possible!
ping
Outstanding write up professor. Our travels last Summer to various CW battlefields pale in comparison to your "marathon". Should the Lord tarry we hope to visit many more.
Here are some pics, et al of one of our visit to Sharpsburg, MD and the battle of Antietam. While Sharpsburg does not get the frequency of visitors that Gettysburg or Manassas might, this place had a charm and country flavor that enhanced our visit. We were told that the battlefield looks about the same it did on Sept. 17, 1862. Much of the area is still private farming.
The morning phase of Antietam (6am to 9am).
Here at “The Cornfield” the 1st, 4th and 5th Texas Brigades helped blunt the attack of Mansfield's Corps almost alone. The Texas Brigades sealed a threatening gap in the cornfield line and in so doing the First Texas Infantry suffered a 82.3% casualty rate the greatest loss suffered by any infantry regiment north or south. 850 less 550.
Midday Phase (9:30AM to 1PM).
The Sunken Road (Bloody Lane). The Unions 2nd Corps appear atop the ridge. Longstreet's Corps of Georgians, Alabamians and North Carolinians occupy the road. For nearly 4 hours Union and Confederate infantry contested this sunken country road, resulting in over 5000 casualties.
Afternoon Phase (1PM to 5:30PM).
The Lower Bridge (Burnside’s obsession). The fighting here was a key to McClellan’s failure at Antietam. 500 Georgian and South Carolinian riflemen kept the entire Union 9th on the far side of the bridge for 3hrs. Note the weed infested original rifle pit above.
From the Union position . . . Burnside would eventually take the bridge and march across.
As you so eloquently stated there is a daunting feeling standing upon certain hallowed ground. At Gettysburg, I walked the 500 yards of "Pickets charge" and was nearly out of breath from the shear presence of what took place. But standing amongst those short corn stalks in the "bloody cornfield" where my ancestors fell was emotionally exhausting.
But the most emotional to me was Shiloh. Such a bloody battle fought in such a small space. It was the battle where both sides realized this war would not be won or lost quickly, and it would be very, very bloody. I just felt an overwhelming sense of sadness there, feeling what our Republic would go through after Shiloh.
"How different would the country be today if the south had succeeded and seceded?
Would Spain have taken us over? (I heard they were waiting in the wings for the Confederates to win.) What would have happened then?"
No, Spain was not powerful enough to take over either the USA or the CSA. By the end of the Civil War, the USA and CSA, with their massive, modern-armed armies and their dual monopoly on ironclad vessels of war were in fact the world's number 1 and number 2 land and sea powers, respectively.
A couple of Monitors, or the CSS Virginia and Shenandoah, would have made driftwood out of entire British Navies thrown at them...let alone Spanish. The qualitative difference between ironclad vessels of war of North and South and the wooden ships-of-the-line that everyone else in the world had at the time was about the same as the difference between German Panzers and those brave Polish cavalry. NO amount of cavalry could defeat tanks. NO amount of wooden sailing vessels, however brave their British (or French, or Spanish) crews could defeat ironclads. The wheel of technology turned and gave an absolute advantage to the ironclad ships.
The advantage on the ground was a bit less, but the Union, especially, was armed with breach-loading repeating rifles; and the Confederates were incredibly battle-hardened and experienced. Also, compared to European Armies, the Union and Confederate armies were HUGE. There were literally MILLIONS of men under arms. The British Army - the whole thing - of the period had perhaps 60,000 - 80,000 effectives; the French army perhaps four times that - and they were the best Europe had to offer. The COMBINED might of the British and French land forces would have made an interesting week's work for one wing of EITHER the Confederate States' Army or the US Army...and that's assuming that the Europeans could get their wooden ships-of-the-line past either Union or Confederate ironclads.
They couldn't.
Had the Confederacy survived the war, there would have been no danger from any European states. They were too small, and far too weak compared to the two American behemoths.
However, that would have not been true in 1918. A divided America would have been a neutral and mutually suspicious America in World War I (or, less likely, a NORTH that sided with Germany, while the SOUTH sided with England). Result: German victory in the First World War, and Imperial (not Nazi) Germany would be the primary world power today.
There is an organization called “The Civil War Preservation Trust” (CWPT) which is interested in saving battlefield sites. They also have a program every summer which lets teachers travel to conferences for free. Their website is www.civilwar.org
Also, HistoryNet.com publishes several history magazines that might be interested in battlefield articles-American Civil War, Civil War Times, Military History and American History. www.historynet.com
I hope that these links might help you.
Thank you for your post. But, my family calls it "The War Between the States." Because, as one of my aunts is fond of saying, "There was nothing 'civil' about it."
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