I do recall reading of families watching some battles of the Civil War, on hills overlooking the battlefield, as if at some sporting event.
I just now realized that our limited action in Iraq by a volunteer force represents a real change away from the mass infantry and national mobilizations that Napoleon began and continued into WWII, Korea, and even Vietnam. In a sense, warfare returns to what is was before when armies fought and sometimes the civilians sat on a hillside having a picnic while watching.
I do recall reading of families watching some battles of the Civil War, on hills overlooking the battlefield, as if at some sporting event.