Was it really a civil war, I thought the south was just trying to Secede and not try to overthrow Washington DC?
anyway, good article, been to Fredericksburg and to Gettysburg a few times http://www.yaac-bsa.org/activities/gettysburg/gettysburg.htm
I've always wanted to visit Antietam.
Too many of these fields are being nibbled away by commercial developments at an alarming rate. Unless more effort is made to preserve them our progeny will be totally dependent on other people's interpretations (books, CDs, DVDs, etc.).
Something you might enjoy!
Probably?
35 is "probably?"
That sounds more like borderline child abuse.
Gettysburg is haunted.
His list (hit the source link for his reasoning):
1.Gettysburg
2.Antietam
3.Chancellorsville
4.Shiloh
5.Fredericksburg
I haven't been to any sites on this list, but I do have to say that I recommend the Battle of Franklin in Franklin, Tennessee. Some historians say that Franklin had the single bloodiest hour of the Civil War and the whole war should have ended after that rather than drag on another 5 months.
Of particular interest is the story of Tod Carter who was a Confederate officer due for 2 weeks leave. The house where he was born and his family still lived was in the middle of the battlefield, being used as Union headquarters. Tod Carter was able to see his house from the top of the hill from which the Confederate Army charged. The battle began late in the afternoon and was over a few hours later.
The next morning Tod Carter's father and sister found him laying 175 yards from the house, still alive. and brought him back home. Two days later he died in the same room where he was born 20 some odd years before.
Besides a trip to the top of Lookout Mountain (take the Incline Railway for a relaxed, enjoyable ride, and virtually everything that's accesible is within walking distance at the top), drive the route of the main Confederate line beseiging the Union army after Chickamauga along the crest of Missionary Ridge. Several of the houses along the ridge still have cannon in the front yards denoting locations of Confederate Batteries. I always thought it would be neat living in one of these houses, patting Ol' Nap on the muzzle every morning as I left for work.
The National Cemetery, in the Orchard Knob area, was the site of Grant's HQ during the assault on Missionary Ridge, which produced a Medal of Honor for an 18 year old Wisconsin color bearer named Arthur MacArthur. Among the graves there are those of seven of Andrews' Raiders, participants in the so-called "Great Locomotive Chase", who were hanged for espionage and were among the very first recipients of the Medal Of Honor. You can very easily burn up a 2 or 3-day weekend in the Chickamauga-Chattanooga area.
This guy is clueless.
I experienced Civil War battlefields the opposite way from how he did. My parents didn't drag me to them. I dragged THEM to them.
What I found was that no 150-year-old field tells the story of that era. The truth of what happened can only be found in the writings of those who lived at that time.
Thought you'd like to see this ping.
As big a Civil War buff as I am I'm ashamed to admit how few battlefields I've been to. I'll have to do something about that.
I know there are other, more significant battlefields, but for me, Lexington, MO is evocative (maybe because it was one of my first). It's been a long time since I've been there, but I still relate things back to that site.
The trenches were still there, although little more than shallow depressions fronted by rounded humps. Anderson House, which was used as a field hospital by both sides, still had marks on an upstairs railing where, according to the park ranger, rebel prisoners were hung (okay, ALLEGEDLY hung), and there were stains in the floor from blood that dripped from the tables. The scope of the battle wasn't all that much, compared to places like Gettysburg, Antietam, or Shiloh, but its preservation was excellent, and the artifacts were (when there weren't a lot of tourists, and the ranger was feeling magnanimous) still touchable with close supervision. It's something big to a kid to put on a kepi that's got a hole and a huge brownish stain on one side of the cap and to know where it came from.
As a Left Coaster, I'd like to take my kids to DC this winter. While there I'd like to visit some battlefields. Probably won't have time to do a big tour, but I figure bopping up to Gettysburg would be worthwhile to see the site of the most important battle of the war. I trip to Baltimore to see Ft. McHenry would cover the War of 1812. What's the best Revolutionary War battlefield near DC to see?
I am really pleased and honored to be here in the company of such good people ,as have visited these hallowed places and respect them so deeply still. This is indeed a special community and I thank you all for your care and concern.
I believe our ancestors would be most pleased as well.
I'd be curious to know which major history book most accurately describes and explains the Civil War.
I was an extra in "Gettysburg" and heard several stories about strange goings on at the re-enactor campsite. It was just off Pump House Rd. in the same area where there was a Confederate hospital and Longstreet's Corp. (3rd?) staging area.
Park rangers and ex-rangers have the best stories, but they tend to keep quiet.
The one time I did hear something unusual, I was at Antietam Sept. 17, 1997 at daybreak in Miller's cornfield. I heard distant, scattered shooting of black powder rifles, like a picket line firing at an advancing column, coming from the direction of the Federal advance.
I had participated in the 135th Antietam Reenactment the day before. We were done and everyone was going home, so I was surprised when I heard gunfire that morning.
I would put it down to some local reenactor who had a local farm and invited some friends over for a morning skirmish. Hmmm.
During the 125th anniversary, I reenacted Gettysburg, Shiloh, First Bull Run, Chickamauga and Franklin.
I have a tape from a video camera that was right behind the works during Pickett's charge. While I lay "dead", the ground was shaking.