Posted on 06/22/2005 9:43:16 PM PDT by quidnunc
Now that it's officially summer, here's my advice to parents who want to continue teaching their kids during the next two months and learn something themselves: visit Civil War battlefields. I probably overdid it with my own children, visiting about 35 in all, but here are my top five:
1. Gettysburg (July 1863)
Much as I'd like to make a surprise choice, there's no avoiding Gettysburg's primacy and sadness, with over 50,000 soldiers becoming casualties over three days.
Driving and walking this Pennsylvania battlefield explains much: the big rocks of Devil's Den were indeed devilish, and the awesome difficulty of "Pickett's Charge" across a vast expanse, sloping slightly uphill makes it seem that Robert E. Lee's hope that day was for God to intervene. (That's what Michael Shaara suggested in his fine novel, "The Killer Angels"; it's well worth reading before a Gettysburg visit.)
2. Antietam (September 1862)
The 30-acre Maryland cornfield through which soldiers charged and countercharged is still a cornfield; the farm road worn down by erosion and called Sunken Road until it gained a new name at the battle, Bloody Lane, is also a good place to meditate on 23,000 casualties incurred in one day.
-snip-
(Excerpt) Read more at townhall.com ...
If you notice, everyone else is discussing battlefields, not politics, legitmatcy, consitutionality, secession, slavery, etc?
If there is one thing we ought to agree on it's battlefield preservation.
I will not let falsehoods pass but have no intention of derailing this thread. Complain to the one who posted the falsehood. Normally I don't comment on the subject of battlefields.
You are right. I will stop here. Thanks.
I'd be curious to know which major history book most accurately describes and explains the Civil War.
Since this is not what happened to the South, I'm not sure why this is relevant.
You might want to ask yourself why a handful of southern states could be such an irritant to the grand Union, and why Lincoln would bother to pick a fight.
Because, as the President, it was his duty to preserve the Union and to quell rebellion. We've been over this.
Most in the North at the time were glad to see the South leave. Many in Massachusetts had advocated secession from the South many years prior .
And yet, Northerners were willing to die by the tens of thousands to preserve the Union and defeat slavery. The people in the North had the chance to kick Lincoln out of office in 1864 in favor of a pro-appeasement candidate. They decided to keep fighting.
What was the threat to the Union?
Rebellion and treason that attempted to take over the territory of the USA.
Best U.S. Civil War books - FReeper opinions sought
Interesting that you directed that at us, and didn't include river rat, taxesareforever, PeaRidge, or TexConfederate1861 who just happened to hew the southron line in their replies.
Then I guess the rebels were out of luck. They rolled the dice and failed. They got off luckier at the end of the Civil War than probably any group of rebels and traitors in world history.
As you know, Lincoln would not even speak to them.
Of course not, as they had no legitimacy. They were the representatives of a treasonous group of rebels, not a legitimate nation.
No, they resorted to peaceful negotiations.
Then why did the CSA raise armies?
That term is conveniently thrown about, but no one was ever convicted, much less charged with treason
They were not convicted and hung due to the benevolence of the government in Washington. The South, and its leaders, got off much more leniently than they ever had any right to hope for. But that doesn't mean that they didn't engage in treason.
Again, point out the illegalities, please.
They raised armies and waged war against the legitimate government of the USA.
You're right, I should have addressed the post to x as well.
This thread went off-topic as of post 2.
If not for double standards I sometimes wonder if y'all would have any standards at all.
One of the, "one of these days," things I have on my list is to get with a small group, load up packs, pick a unit (either side would be good, but Jackson's Stonewall Brigade would be a real challenge), and hike their route of march from site to site, but cutting out the bivouac time. Maybe even down to the point of beginning and ending marches at around the same time of day. I'm not sure I could keep up with Jackson's "Foot Cavalry", but it'd be fun to try, and I think it would be instructive to get a ground-level view of the distances and terrain these guys covered.
Thank you. That's just what I was looking for.
Colonial National Historical Park (NHP) administers two of the most historically significant sites in English North America. Historic Jamestowne, the first permanent English settlement in North America in 1607, jointly administered with the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities, and Yorktown Battlefield, the final major battle of the American Revolutionary War in 1781.
These two sites represent the beginning and end of English colonial America. Situated on the Virginia Peninsula, these sites are connected by the 23 mile scenic Colonial Parkway. Colonial NHP also includes Green Spring, the 17th century plantation home of Virginia's colonial governor, Sir William Berkeley, and the Cape Henry Memorial, which marks the approximate site of the first landing of the Jamestown colonists on the Atlantic Coast in April of 1607. ...
AND a personal favorite of mine in Charlottsville VA..Thomas Jeffersons Monticello
Located in the Virginia Piedmont, Monticello is about two miles southeast of Charlottesville and approximately 125 miles from Washington, D.C.; 110 miles from Williamsburg, Virginia; and 70 miles from Richmond, Virginia
I might have to make it a longer vacation to take your advice and visit those other sites. I need to make sure we take the vacation before there's any chance of Hillary or any other 'Rat sitting in the White House. I wouldn't even consider such a vacation while The 'Toon was in office.
http://www.visitwilliamsburg.com/
Historic Jamestowne, the Yorktown Battlefield and the Colonial Parkway, a 23-mile scenic byway that connects Williamsburg, Jamestown and Yorktown.
Just my 2¢
The Federals invaded my homeland. That is the reason my family fought. Not for slaves, not for wealth, simply to remove the presence of people who felt compelled to destroy the South, to force re-union, to end slavery, for whatever reason.
No matter the reason, the South had the right to leave, and did so. Slavery didn't give the North a valid reason to violate Southern homes & firesides.
If you are indeed from the South, you should have known these facts from birth.
No rebellion. we simply LEFT. (Which was our right)
WEll, I suggest you read up on the "Radical Republicans".
They maintained that since the Southern States HAD left the Union, that a period of "reconstruction" was needed.
I might add that Lincoln agreed with you, but Congress didn't.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.