2 July 1863, second day of
Gettysburg. Sickles has pulled his III Corps -- without orders -- off of Cemetery Ridge and positioned it a half mile in front of the rest of the Union lines. Longstreet smashes the hapless III Corps and its men are in full flight. Hancock rides back and forth inside the gaping hole left by Sickles. Below him, almost 2000 men of Wilcox's brigade are charging up the slope. They will gain a foothold on the ridge and be reinforced by Lee. As Longstreet pins down the Union left, Lee will roll up the center and right of the Northern army and chase them from the field. He will then march on and take Washington before turning north along the eastern seaboard. Lee will capture and burn Philadelphia and Boston in his March Along the Sea, chasing the Northern government from city to city until Lincoln finally sues for peace and the union is no more.
Suddenly, a line of blue-coated soldiers comes into Hancock's view. "My God, is this all the men here? Who are you?" "
1st Minnesota, sir." "See those colors?", says Hancock, pointing at the flags of the oncoming Confederates, "Take them."
[more inside]
posted by forrest
on Jul 2, 2008 -
82 comments
The Battle of Gettysburg in Lego, done by 7th Graders:
Day 1;
Day 2;
Day 3.
[youtube links] Lots of blood and flying bodies. Complete with
Matrix references. Soundtrack by The Eagles, Queen, and Richard Strauss.
[via]
posted by marxchivist
on Feb 27, 2008 -
23 comments
On this day in 1863 ,
George Meade replaced
Joseph Hooker as commanding General of the 100,000 strong
Army of the Potomac, confirming what Meade himself had complained as “the ridiculous appearance we present of changing our generals after each battle.” Earlier in the day,
J.E.B. Stuart and 5000 Confederate cavalry crossed the Potomac
entering Maryland at Rowser’s ford. Stuart's lengthy absence had made him desperate to execute the order given to him by
General Robert E. Lee to “take position on General Ewell’s right, place yourself in communication with him, guard his flank, and keep him informed of the enemy’s movements.” Stuart, whose cavalry was the “eyes and ears” of the 80,000 strong
Army of Northern Virginia (warning: awful music), had been out of touch for several days, leaving General Lee ignorant of the enemy’s movement and position. When Stuart finally caught up with his army at Gettysburg, he had missed the first day and most of the second of
one of the greatest battles in American history.
There are those who say that Stuart violated Lee's orders to him concerning his role for the proposed campaign. Others think that those orders gave him leave to operate as he did. In either case there can be little doubt that his absence from his accustomed place, screening the Army's movements, and scouting its routes, was keenly felt by Lee during the campaign, and played a major part in bringing on the
meeting engagement at Gettysburg.
posted by three blind mice
on Jun 28, 2006 -
66 comments
