He was our guide on our visit during the 150 year anniversary and he is a wealth of knowledge and very talented in presenting it in a manner which makes it interesting and alive.
I thought I knew just about everything concerning Pickett’s charge and this guide just taught me more. One of the best presentations on the charge I’ve heard. Fantastic
My great-great-granddad died here that day (2 days later in a Gettysburg Yankee hospital), Joseph T. Stallings was 30 years old and fought with the 47th Regiment of NC Company B.
From North Carolina and my great greats were with Lee at Gettysburg. Love the story at the end of the piece where Gary Kross tells that the area where the NC monument stands is owned by the State of NC and we refuse to give it back....
I dont really understand why Lee decided to attack the center in a relative open terrain where the troops marching in lines could be shot during that 20 min approach. Almost feels like a world war 1 attack against enemy lines with machine guns.
If you're looking for something fun & unique. There's also Segway Tours available. But its best to make reservations in advance. Unfortunately because of my bad back, I had to cancel. And just did the tour of Battlefield by car, at my own pace.
I walked Pickett's Charge last month under a hot Sun and it took me 20 minutes too. I'm 69 years old so not bad going I think - though on the other hand no was trying to kill me!
Read Alexanders memoirs (Lee's Chief of Artillery). He wanted to concentrate Confederate artillery on Cemetry and Culps Hill to enfilade Union positions. He considered it easier to take that high ground after an artileery assault than what he was commanded to do prior to Picketts Charge. Alexander's are the best senior memoirs I've read and I've read Longstreet's, Hood's, Chamberlain's, Grant's, Sherman's and Joe Johnston's and maybe some I've forgotten.
I agree with Gary. The NC Monument is probably the best sculpture at Gettysburg. With VA Monument close 2nd. Awesome that they're within stone's throw of each other.
voodoochef100 Not to take anything from the boys of NC, but I prefer the VA Monument or the PA Memorial as far as art. My personal favorite monument is the one to the Irish Brigade.
As brilliant a tactician as Lee was, to have 14,000 of his best men cut down to pieces less than 15% of his force reaching the wall and being captured, what the heck was he thinking the moment he gave that order. He let his passion get in front of his reason.
The 154 Confederate canons that were brought out to fire upon the Union had flawed igniters. A longer burn time shot many of the canon balls over the union soldiers and not directly onto them.
They had faulty fuses that caused many of their shells to overshoot the line and they were not in a position where they could accurately observe the fire of their shots.
1185abel Personally I feel Gary Kross is one of the better licensed guides - not to take anything away from the others. I am so honored to be taking a tour with him in about a week!
There is a difference between losses and casualties, so he's not exactly wrong. I've seen three different totals for this and other locations in the battle depending on the historian you quote.
It was a 3-day battle, he was not a robust young man and I doubt he spent the overnights napping peacefully, yes, I've always thought it was possible that there was a sleep-deprivation element in his decision-making. Of course we'll never know.
second guessing goes on forever, I did this battlefield talk as a graduate student with a group of high school kids, I took the position that Lee had a diminished capacity and ignored sound advice from Longstreet, in retrospect, it is not possible to know, nor is it fair to assume so, Lee was desperate and really was lacking hard recon because of Jeb Stewart's absence. The facts remain, but the forethought is not known.
After the three days of intense fighting, Mead felt that his army was exhausted and needed to wait a bit before counter attacking. Of course, it ended up being a dumb decision.
***** I wonder if it was as dumb as pop history tells us. Aside from the battered state of his army, Meade lost two of his most able generals: Reynolds killed, Hancock wounded and temporarily out of commission. And only a year earlier Lee had suffered a terrific beating at Malvern Hill by overplaying his victorious hand in the Seven Days Battles, trying to shatter a well organized retreat. Not saying Meade necessarily made the right call but the accepted narrative seems to be that Meade messed up a no-brainer and I don't think it was as simple as that.
Keep in mind that Meade had been in command for only three days when the battle started, still less than a week when it ended. Although he had been in the army for twenty years Meade had been a staff officer and engineer and had never held any command before the war. His first command was a brigade and he would not command anything larger until less than a year before Gettysburg. I imagine it must have been quite a shock to find himself suddenly at the head of one of the biggest armies in the world.
Only 8 of Lee's 30+ brigades were destroyed at that point. Meade knew if he countered he may have repeated Lee's folly and got destroyed himself. Smart move
I prefer Gary Kross than Matt Atkinson on these tours. He's really filling you up with stories and info and makes it look easy. Matt goes off on irrelevant bullcrap constantly during the tour.
So Gary is still there? I've never been but he's consistently both informative and concise while still being entertaining and passionate about the subject. I'd love to go on one of his tours.
He was our guide on our visit during the 150 year anniversary and he is a wealth of knowledge and very talented in presenting it in a manner which makes it interesting and alive.
I thought I knew just about everything concerning Pickett’s charge and this guide just taught me more. One of the best presentations on the charge I’ve heard. Fantastic
I like these tour guides. They don't favor either side, and they are enthusiastic about it.
These Gettysburg guides are fantastic.
My great-great-granddad died here that day (2 days later in a Gettysburg Yankee hospital), Joseph T. Stallings was 30 years old and fought with the 47th Regiment of NC Company B.
I've got to visit that part of NC!!!
ciscopack My great great great grandfather Jordan Harris was also in the 47th - different company though
I had two ancestors that fought for the South! Both in the 26th NC.
From North Carolina and my great greats were with Lee at Gettysburg. Love the story at the end of the piece where Gary Kross tells that the area where the NC monument stands is owned by the State of NC and we refuse to give it back....
Best content on TH-cam
That's hilarious how you can put one foot in Pennsylvania and the other foot in North Carolina. Gary Kross is freaking' awesome!
This guide is superb.
I dont really understand why Lee decided to attack the center in a relative open terrain where the troops marching in lines could be shot during that 20 min approach. Almost feels like a world war 1 attack against enemy lines with machine guns.
did not know that about the North Carolina/Pennsylvania thing, very cool to learn. Thanks for this video!
If you're looking for something fun & unique. There's also Segway Tours available. But its best to make reservations in advance. Unfortunately because of my bad back, I had to cancel. And just did the tour of Battlefield by car, at my own pace.
Proud to be from North Carolina!
I walked Pickett's Charge last month under a hot Sun and it took me 20 minutes too. I'm 69 years old so not bad going I think - though on the other hand no was trying to kill me!
Read Alexanders memoirs (Lee's Chief of Artillery). He wanted to concentrate Confederate artillery on Cemetry and Culps Hill to enfilade Union positions. He considered it easier to take that high ground after an artileery assault than what he was commanded to do prior to Picketts Charge. Alexander's are the best senior memoirs I've read and I've read Longstreet's, Hood's, Chamberlain's, Grant's, Sherman's and Joe Johnston's and maybe some I've forgotten.
I agree with Gary. The NC Monument is probably the best sculpture at Gettysburg. With VA Monument close 2nd. Awesome that they're within stone's throw of each other.
voodoochef100 Not to take anything from the boys of NC, but I prefer the VA Monument or the PA Memorial as far as art. My personal favorite monument is the one to the Irish Brigade.
As brilliant a tactician as Lee was, to have 14,000 of his best men cut down to pieces less than 15% of his force reaching the wall and being captured, what the heck was he thinking the moment he gave that order. He let his passion get in front of his reason.
We wonder how the thousands of confederates who were killed in these battles would rate Lees' generalship?
Excellent, Good, or Terrible
Up to that point he had been pretty much successful in every engagement. Was he overconfident?
We are going to Gettysburg this August, how can get one of these tours?
Excellent tour guide.
The 154 Confederate canons that were brought out to fire upon the Union had flawed igniters. A longer burn time shot many of the canon balls over the union soldiers and not directly onto them.
I never knew they owned that acre of Pennsylvania soil,now I must go to Gettysburg again to see this!
They had faulty fuses that caused many of their shells to overshoot the line and they were not in a position where they could accurately observe the fire of their shots.
WOW this guy is really good....love his knowledge.
1185abel Personally I feel Gary Kross is one of the better licensed guides - not to take anything away from the others. I am so honored to be taking a tour with him in about a week!
Robert E. Lee after Pickett's Charge: "It is all my fault".
There is a difference between losses and casualties, so he's not exactly wrong. I've seen three different totals for this and other locations in the battle depending on the historian you quote.
There was so much smoke on the field they couldn't tell they were missing.
Today is the anniversary.
Lee, could he have had some battle fatigue? Making a stupid blunder that Long Street questioned in the first place.
It was a 3-day battle, he was not a robust young man and I doubt he spent the overnights napping peacefully, yes, I've always thought it was possible that there was a sleep-deprivation element in his decision-making. Of course we'll never know.
I thought it was too much war. but it could be lack of good sleep, yes...
He was definitely sick, and some have speculated he might have had a mild heart attack, although I don't know where that information came from.
He was definitely sick, and some have speculated he might have had a mild heart attack, although I don't know where that information came from.
second guessing goes on forever, I did this battlefield talk as a graduate student with a group of high school kids, I took the position that Lee had a diminished capacity and ignored sound advice from Longstreet, in retrospect, it is not possible to know, nor is it fair to assume so, Lee was desperate and really was lacking hard recon because of Jeb Stewart's absence. The facts remain, but the forethought is not known.
how come the north did not counter attack after Pickets charge failed. Lee would have been killed or taken prisoner and the war could have ended.
After the three days of intense fighting, Mead felt that his army was exhausted and needed to wait a bit before counter attacking. Of course, it ended up being a dumb decision.
***** I wonder if it was as dumb as pop history tells us. Aside from the battered state of his army, Meade lost two of his most able generals: Reynolds killed, Hancock wounded and temporarily out of commission. And only a year earlier Lee had suffered a terrific beating at Malvern Hill by overplaying his victorious hand in the Seven Days Battles, trying to shatter a well organized retreat. Not saying Meade necessarily made the right call but the accepted narrative seems to be that Meade messed up a no-brainer and I don't think it was as simple as that.
Keep in mind that Meade had been in command for only three days when the battle started, still less than a week when it ended. Although he had been in the army for twenty years Meade had been a staff officer and engineer and had never held any command before the war. His first command was a brigade and he would not command anything larger until less than a year before Gettysburg. I imagine it must have been quite a shock to find himself suddenly at the head of one of the biggest armies in the world.
Only 8 of Lee's 30+ brigades were destroyed at that point. Meade knew if he countered he may have repeated Lee's folly and got destroyed himself. Smart move
BOYCOTT PC The South stuck the North for three days straight. Nobody was thinking about a continuation after Pickett's charge.
I prefer Gary Kross than Matt Atkinson on these tours. He's really filling you up with stories and info and makes it look easy. Matt goes off on irrelevant bullcrap constantly during the tour.
Both rangers are good
I prefer them both for different reasons.
So Gary is still there? I've never been but he's consistently both informative and concise while still being entertaining and passionate about the subject. I'd love to go on one of his tours.
Far and happy Federal union worker...