"He is of the opinion that withdrawing from Gettysburg and giving it back to the enemy would be very bad for morale." You know what else is bad for morale is everybody dying.
As early as this was on day 2, the ANV could not yet move away and much less "to the right". Simple fact is they were still trying to link with Stuart and they desperately needed that cavalry back. If they moves "away" from where Stuart was about to arrive, that would have placed Stuart in a very complicated position. He would either have been crushed around Gettysburg or he would have had to ride his supply wagons all the way behind the mountains with an even greater delay. Either way, Lee would not have Stuart for a long time. Now, blind, with no cavalry, how could Lee start moving is army around the enemy and so close to it? The Union had cavalry which was close and watching. Besides, what could have possibly been the roads Lee would take? The closest ones were going right into incoming Union reinforcements. Other ones would just be too far away and take too much time. Time and supplies that Lee did not have. It should also be noted how hard Longstreet found it to move 2 divisions "to the right of the Union". So why would it be easier to move the whole army? Its absolutely one of those things that sound awesome but would have been a pain to try. The whole idea just assumes the Union would keep concentrating at Gettysburg and never realize the ANV was moving under their nose. Well….that is a very big leap of faith and a very dangerous one.
@@printolive5512 i guess the problem was that the Confederate gouvernment Couldt provide shoes or even sufficent amount of food for their Fighting men. Having the union army between virginia and the ANV would have been a very perious situation, I think Lee did right, a victory in Gettysburg could have resulted in a peace agreement.
I must agree sir. If they would have the men they lost at Gettysburg after Gettysburg.... there may not have been a Petersburg. The end rest would not have differed though. Gen Lee would have had to surrender at another place later than April 9. By this time in the war, the csa forces had no chance. The aop had finally become a good army and was a killing machine.
We have surround sound in our living room and you're right; it's awesome. Sounds coming from all around. I especially like when Longstreet walks into the barn (field hospital) to see Hood; there are small birds chirping from the rafters and probably nests inside the barn. Even those birds knew Hood should have been allowed to go to the right.
I m a Civil War re-enactor and have seen this movie countless times and never get tired of it .The man that portrays Gen A P Hill is our good friend Pat Falci . He has shared many a story behind the scenes . Once I asked him( my not knowing) when they did the scene at The Cashtown Inn with Martin (Lee) was he asking if he wanted to go for coffee later or was there actually a scripted dialogue. You couldn’t hear what was said. Pat laughed, said dialogue, we might not here it but cameras do and in case they needed it later, which they didn’t.
Ive read many of the comments below and am impressed with the respect, knowledge and thoughtfulness of most. Thank you. As for me, my late grandfather, Willard M. Wallace, PhD, Prof of History at Wesleyan Univ in CT wrote...The Soul of the Lion...a biography of J.L. Chamberlain. So, I grew up visiting battlefields... incl Gettysburg. That noted, I dont recall Gramps ever criticizing Lee or Longstreet. I suspect the following variables formed Lee's decision to attack rather than re-deploy: 1.Until that battle, Lee's Army had never been defeated. 2. Lee knew he had no consistent supply train of weaponry and other necessities 3. Lee knew that if the battle was won Lincoln was likely to sign a peace treaty with Jefferson Davis. 4. Lee could not have known that a 'Tipping Point' had been reached within the Union Army. What had once been a group of poorly trained and resentful soldiers - had evolved into and extremely effective fighting force comparable to his own. Ground troops had become more experienced and Commanders, like Hancock + Chamberlain had risen to positions where they could make a difference. 5. Lee knew General Meade - and based on that understanding - he made a calculated decision: Meade would be cautious (which in fact he was - as demonstrated by Meade's choice not to pursue Lee after Pickets charge). 6. Lee probably should have listened to Longstreet... but it was Lee who was dealing with pressure from Jefferson Davis and ultimately I suspect Lee believed fate was on his side. 7. And of course there were other variables involved... The absence of Jeb Stuart's Calvary, Longstreet's potentially purposeful delay to attack... and so many more... Some we know and others we don't. Ultimately the battle was incredibly tragic and I am always haunted yet amazed by the bravery and commitment of the soldiers on both sides.
False. Antietam was a defeat for Lee. Only by a miracle did he suffer a defeat with an idiot like McCellan in command. Had a better general been in command, the war could've ended there. Malvern Hill was a union victory. Beaver Dam Creek was a union victory, in terms of tactical capacity & losses. Confederates took heavier losses. Lee had been beaten many times before. So...thats just a BS claim.
@@SoulKiller7Eternal I think you're generally right on two points, but often times it takes months or years for the proper historical conclusions to be reached about turning point battles. So while your point is correct, I still believe the South had a general notion that prior to that battle, they had kicked a lot of Yankee behind. In addition, although the point about Antietam is also generally right, from a morale perspective, the crushing push against Burnside (by AP Hill?) at the end of the battle and the miraculous "save" might have dampened enthusiasm about anyone declaring victory for that bloody day. The way I see it.
I live near Gettysburg. I know a bunch of guys who were extras in this movie. Lee's fatal mistake at Gettysburg was letting Pickett talk him into making the charge. If he had listened to Longstreet instead, the battle would have been a draw at worst, and certainly could have been won. Marching across that open field right in the face of the enemy artillery is just unfathomable. I've stood on that very spot more than once and wondered how anybody could have expected to make it there alive. Those poor men had to know that they probably weren't going to survive it.
I like the way the officers address each other with noble civility. As Hood settles on his horse he respectfully seeks leave from Longstreet by say "With your permission sir". He salutes him and Longstreet returns the salute graciously granting the leave sought. Even in battle when sending a message back to Lee one his general prefaces his report with words "General X sends his compliments and reports....". Wonderful turns of expression. The 19th century could teach us all lessons of respect, honour and grace. I am from Australia. Such dialogue has never really been part of our culture. More's the pity.
This!!! This was part of what chivalry was. Not just opening doors for ladies or taking your hat off when speaking to one. It was the respectful language people had with each other. Actions and words. God I miss even a touch of it
And then they turn around and treat humans like chattel, whipping their skin until their muscles ripped off their bones. The “southern gentry” might have modelled their manners after European aristocracy but they were nevertheless barbaric racists who tore their country apart because they would rather cause mass slaughter than risk freeing the slaves that sustained their way of life. Don’t let nice manners fool you, these men were fighting to preserve slavery and it’s horrors.
Apparently during this scene, Martin Sheen was having a hard time with his lines. So while they were taking a break between the takes for this scene, he wrote "And Hill will support" on the corner of the map to help him remember the line.
Ted Turner's movie was a weak attempt to glorify the horrendous treason of these Southern generals, while they used poor, ignorant share croppers as canon fodder. Pathetic!!
@@stephenfulbright9772 A. P. Hill was. highly respected corps commander (Lee would have replace him if was not capable). He was not of the caliber of Stonewall Jackson but then almost none were.
Since this movie has been out, people sometimes troll the Gettysburg park ranger giving the tour of the area where the Mississippi units fought by asking the ranger "Is Mississippi ready for this day?" when the ranger asks if there are any questions.
@@totallynotalpharius2283 I'll say this for Barksdale. He was a Secessionist politician but instead of staying home he put his "money where his mouth was" and went off to fight. And never came home.
I agree with you. All in all the casting was perfect. And I think the actors really wanted to give their best in such an iconic filmatisation of one of the battles that forged the USA of today.
Dadgum, you might look old too if you had personally led a devastating, bloody assault against entrenched Union positions at Gaines Mill - among OTHER Texas Brigade fights!!
True that! At Franklin, TN in 64, he had lost a leg an arm, and was in terrible pain. Then in charge of the AOT. A true Texas hero who gave his all, yet sacrificed the flower of the South. So sad. So sad...
Well Hood, like many ATT, had a full beard. He also had a grim, stern appearnce that belied his youth. Take a look at those old photographs and you may see what I'm talking about.
The problem with the entire battle plan was that it was based on an early morning reconnaissance by one of Lee's engineer officers. He claimed to have ridden all the way to the base of Big Round Top and not seen any US forces. Lee wanted Longstreet to attack with his two divisions up the Chambersburg road with a division on each side. Lee thought the Army of the Potomac's line ended at the southern end of Cemetery Ridge. Even had Longstreet been able to position his troops where Lee wanted WITHOUT being seen by the Army of the Potomac, it would have been after 1200 before the attack could have begun. This was not a case of simply marching across the wheatfields and through the Peach Orchard. Lee wanted Longstreet south of those points and adjacent to the Round Tops when he began his attack. Had Longstreet marched at daybreak, something that was physically impossible given the bivouac locations of his two divisions as they arrived behind Seminary Ridge between midnight and early morning that very day. By the time Longstreet could have stepped off on his attack, Sickle's III Corps was now on his right flank, arrayed between the end of Cemetery Ridge and Big Round Top, where Army of the Potomac signal troops had established an observation and signal point. Sykes' V Corps was closing on Sickle's rear. At this point in time, Sickle's had yet to advance into his salient. Sickle's could have attacked Longstreet's right as he was assembling for his attack or during his attack, which would have swung Longstreet's axis from the Chambersburg Road to the area between south Cemetery Ridge and the Round Tops with Hood's division in the lead and McLaws' division to the rear. While Longstreet would still have savaged III Corps, Hood would have been attacking straight into III and V Corps and with I and II Corps troops on his left. Hood would have been fought out, McLaws would pass through Hood and he would get fought out attacking V Corps. Without Picket or support from Hill's corps, Longstreet would have been unable to exploit any success on the southern end of Meade's line as Sedgewick's VI Corps was arriving on the battlefield. Ewell's earlier attack on Culp's Hill was a failure and would have remained a failure as he faced troops from I, II, VI, XI and XII Corps even if perfectly coordinated with Longstreet, a near impossibility in the days before reliable portable radios. Lee was not infallible. He should have gone forward with Longstreet and he should have committed Anderson's Division from Hill's corps on Longstreet's left when he realized what was happening. He didn't. Which meant that whether Longstreet had gone at 1200 or 1600, he still would have failed. As Pickett supposedly pointed out, the Yankees had something to do with it. Under Meade during the Gettysburg campaign, the Army of the Potomac marched and fought harder and smarter than it ever did before or after. The US cavalry fought Stuart and won a number of tactical victories and came out with a draw for the campaign. I Corps by itself reduced Hill's corps (minus Anderson) to combat ineffectiveness for the rest of the battle. XII Corps stopped Ewell in his tracks on the second day and anticipated his attack on the third day. V Corps redeemed Sickle's failure and stopped Longstreet, while II Corps stopped Lee's attack on the third day. Both sides made mistakes. Meade made fewer mistakes than Lee. Lee did not LOSE the battle, he was fought out by Meade and the officers and men of the Army of the Potomac.
I think one of the HUGE questions re Sickles' move is this: If he hadn't moved forward would he have put any of his men on LRT? If he had been in his assigned position would Warren have scouted LRT or have assumed that Sickles had invested the hill? So many what ifs makes history fascinating to me.
Longstreet petitioned Lee to extend the attack to the right. Lee declined, not wanting to weaken his center. Who knows if a further flaking maneuver would have led to an envelopment, but that is what Longstreet tired to get Lee to approve most of the afternoon.
I wouldn't call Lee brilliant. I'd say he was overrated and only had success against inept buffoons who had no business commanding armies. He got his ass handed to him when he faced REAL generals. I like to refer to Lee as "Grant's Bitch." Yeah, he won a lot of battles at the start, but they were ALWAYS with great losses he couldn't afford, costing him initiative. He could never exploit his successes, like a GREAT general could.
I do sometimes wonder how much of Lee's early success was because the Union leadership was so incompetent for so long, until Grant, Lee didn't have any real opposition. So many Union generals were politicians for so much of the war. Once this changed the Confederacy's success rate plummeted.
I reenact a Regular Army regiment, the one that garrisoned my home state out West. The Civil War has been called 'brother against brother' and it is no more so than within the professional officer corps of both armies. There were less than 2000 professional officers in 1860, a **very** small club. After two or three postings, an officer would know every single other officer if only by reputation and mess gossip. These men were a small fraternity of war... the godfathers of each other's children and the in-laws of each other's sons and daughters. The movie 'Gettysburg' did a wonderful job in portraying that brotherhood. You notice this in how fellow professionals address each other by first name, but how the 'temporary hired hands' of the volunteers were addressed by rank.
Lee's was in the corp of engineers and knew the value of knowing the terrain yet in this most critical of battles he did not have good intelligence on the union's right flank. Really lost the battle on the 2nd day.
The map is inaccurate. Lee only knew of Federal forces along Cemetery Ridge and his staff reported the round tops were unoccupied. The actual plan involved Longstreet swinging wide and hitting the Union forces on Cemetery Ridge on the flank. Longstreet was surprised when he discovered the Federal line was much further and more forward than originally planned. This forced him to make alterations on the fly that further slowed the attack.
@Truthteller91 Wasn't so much that he was waiting as Longstreets enemies claimed forcefully later, but rather his two divisions were exhausted from long marches and humid weather. Then being forces to take another long, roundabout march to reach their attack position. Moving lines on paper is easy but moving actual large bodies of men is another undertaking. If that damn fool Sickles had stayed in place, his men would have had ample time to pile up rocks and trees for cover. We would have seen a repeat of Culps and Cemetery Hill where the Confederates attacked and mowed down by protected Union troops. Hell only two brigades on Culps Hill managed to hold off most Ewells corps on the second day alone because the terrain was just that difficult and the Union defenses that prepared.
@Truthteller91 Lee had been waiting for satisfactory recon of the union left and didnt even issue orders until 1100 or so, and there was still quit a bit of marching to get in to position on the right. Artillery was not yet in position. They had to find roads with which their flanking movement would be unobserved. Hood, as he was getting his infantry into position, scouted a little further to the right, and found the way clear to take the union troops and supply trains from the rear. Hood requested twice, to deploy further to the right, and was denied by Longstreet. To add to all of this, it was Longstreet alone in this battle, no other part of the Confederate line was attacking anywhere else.
@@xisotopex The TL;DR sum up of xiso's point: It was primarily Stuart's fault. Leaving the Confederate army blind is what really cost them, especially in slow time of maneuver due to lack of recon. Had Stuart's Calvary been present, the attack would have been much swifter and both Round Tops probably taken. Much of the blame being laid on Longstreet was in retaliation to his participation with the Reconstruction efforts.
The acting in the last part of this clip is A+. Theres not one sign that was even scripted. Amazing. Thats what makes this movie, though it be 4 1/2 hrs long, so re-watchable.
Both father and son of my ancestors fought on the same day for the Union at Gettysburg. Though, the father fought the first two days and the son for the next two.
I was there for the whole shoot I was. Gen McLaws being a reenactor I was used to. The wool uniforms once you get soaked with sweat it kinds acts like a coolant lol but the summer was very hot
@@bbblythe6843 this is my favorite Civil War film, it turned me into a reenactor. I've since gotten out of "The Hobby" but I have many fond memories of my time in "Mr. Lincoln's Army" Cheers!
I have worn a wool blazer in very hot, humid weather and wasn't more uncomfortable with it on than when I took it off. It has to be pure wool, though, no blends with other fibres.
@@greatwave1 Lee was suffering from diarrhea/dysentary and was miserable. He actually wore a white duster instead of the gray, but for the movie, gray was better...more iconic, so they went with that.
@@michaelj.acosta6810 I comment on it elsewhere but the range of uniform colours among the senior Confederate officers is interesting. Medium grey, the colour I would expect, dark, almost charcoal grey like Hood wears, and a blue-grey colour of different shades (Lee and Longstreet).
@Doug Bevins You're an actual moron. Sherman was a war criminal whose army raped and murdered civilians. Also the south were not traitors, the states all legally seceded. Lincoln shouldn't have committed unconstitutional acts like the suspension of habeas corpus and putting a blockade on southern ports. Lincoln imprisoned over 2000 of Northerners who critiqued him. He was a tyrant, and the south were fighting for their independence. Which they had every legal right to do so. Why else do you think Confederate President Jefferson Davis couldn't be tried by the Supreme Court for treason. Because no treason was committed you fucking moron.
@Doug Bevins You cannot simultaneously believe that the American Revolution was legitimate and yet the secession was not. They are based in the same principles.
@Doug Bevins Your problem is that you have the "liberal" version of the history of the Civil War. It was written by the victors to justify the war in the first place. Slavery was the straw that broke the camel's back. The underlying cause of the Civil War was that the Constitution gave power to the government by the number of states and the voting population of those states. Under those terms, the South became a vassal state to the whims of the Northern majority. They were HEAVILY taxed (per share of income they paid 6x what the North paid per capita) and on top of that they were ignored when it came to actual policy. The North taxed the South (the liquor tax alone accounted for 80% of Federal revenue prior to the Civil War and the South paid MOST (over 80% of the liquor tax) of that. The idea that the Civil War is ONLY about slavery is revisionist history. The South had far more legitimate grievances than that - and I'd remind you that the North STILL HELD SLAVES DURING THE ENTIRETY OF THE WAR!
Why are the Rebel generals attired in a confusing mix of uniforms? Some are light blue, some light gray, dark blue (?) . Why didn't they have a standard color and uniform design ?
Good point. They seemed to cover the whole spectrum from charcoal grey to a blue only slightly lighter than the Union Army's. But it was an accurate depiction of what they wore, as far as I can tell.
The first day ended up being the decisive standpoint of the next engagements in Gettysburg. Union Army withdraws to more advantageous ground, civilians hurriedly flee from Gettysburg which only allowed the A of NV access to a small town that is anchored by 2 hills. The foliage in those days was also much more dense, so it allowed for the Union Army to recon with impunity, and establish guns at elevation. Firing down.
The foliage was much less dense in those days. The woods around Gettysburg were actively harvested for firewood, building materials and fencing... livestock grazed in the fields and woods of the area keeping the underbush and grasses down. In the years since the battle the area has gone mostly feral, no longer actively resourced it has gotten WAY OVERGROWN. In the past few years the National Park Service has begun to get more aggressive with tree removal and controlled burns to try and return some level of authenticity to the landscape... but even these efforts pale in comparison to farmers and civilians actively resourcing their lands. Cemetary Hill was nearly bare... and Culps Hill was not the thickly wooded and densely overgrown forest we see today. "Reynolds Woods" (where the stone monument that marks the spot where Gen. Reynolds was shot, known as Herbst Woods at the time of the battle) is really the only area that you get a true sense of an authentic wooded landscape as the trees and underbush there have been heavily controlled by the Park... no underbush... grazed space... sparcely wooded. The surrounding areas have all been let overgrown to dense woods and thick brush. Little Round Top was clear cut by a farmer and herds of cattle and sheep where allowed to graze on its slopes and top... thats the reason its bald on one side... but at the time of the battle Little Round Top was very sparcely wooded, almost a bare hill. I think the National Park Service has done a much better job managing the battlefield over the last 10 years by introducing controlled burns, tree harvesting and clear cutting.... something that up till then would have been unthinkable for the the Park Service land management "hands off" attitude towards the natural setting of the battlefield. 20 Years ago... it literally would have been impossible to fight the battle of Gettysburg on that battlefield... there is no way units would have been able to even maneuver in most areas of the July 2nd attack... and most Union artillery positions that were so vital on the 1st and 3rd on Cemetary Hill and Upper Cemetary Ridge would have been completely useless and unworkable for artillery. The Battlefield has come a long way in recent years... but still much more work is needed.
I’ve always enjoyed how, the higher the rank, the more often you hear the generals call each other by their first name; or even a shortened version like “You too Pete.” But no one, I mean NO ONE, would EVER call General Lee... Robert.
“I’ll wait as long as I can” some historians say he waited to long, others say he got his divisions lost on the way to his positions from not knowing the layout of the ground and roads. I think some blame on Gettysburg falls on Longstreet just as much as Lee. If I remember right it wasn’t till mid day till Longstreet’s divisions engaged. Other historians say General Stickle’s may have created a diversion by moving off the line toward the confederate position. But that’s history. We can analyze every position over 150yrs later. Still love the civil war and it’s history.
As with anything in history, there are a lot of what-ifs. There are several times in this battle, or a number of others, that unknowingly hinged on certain tasks being carried out quickly and/or correctly. Culp's Hill bring taken on the first day, Longstreet attacking earlier in the day, Warren by chance not noticing the Confederate troops in the trees, Stuart's cavalry attack not being foiled before it could begin on the third day. Many tiny things that could have changed the outcome of battle.
@@bobholly3843 There is a book I read that outlines 17 different circumstances that led to the Confederate defeat,all in descending order.I forget the name of the tome.Lee did have 2 cavalry brigades with him.Jones and Imboden back from a successful raid in W.Va.
Longstreet is basically absolved these days of the terrible lies thrown at him for the last 100 hundred years by lost causers. He received his orders approx 11.00, given permission to wait for Laws brigade to arrive. Lees scouts misdirected the 1st Corp troops and then Sickles men were found sat on the start line. Lee and Longstreet then cobbled together a different plan and stepped off at approx 16.00 hrs to deliver one of the most deadly attacks of the war.
This entire attack plan was disrupted by General Sickles movement of his Third Corps up to the Emmitsburg Road and thus the fierce fighting around the Peach Orchard....Sickles move is still questioned today either as a terrible decision or as the right move to deny the Confederates suitable ground to place their artillery...it's an argument that will go on forever I guess.
@@frederic94000 Have you read the book "Gettysburg's Peach Orchard-Longstreet, Sickles, and the Bloody Fight for "Commanding Ground" Along the Emmitsburg Road".....very extensively detailed account of the savage fighting there and how it so much affected what was done the next day with the ordering of Picketts Charge......also "Sickles at Gettysburg" is a great read about explaining his decision to move the Third Corps forward to the Emmitsburg Road.
Thank you. I will certainly take a look at it sounds very interesting. This one is very interesting too. th-cam.com/video/gR6M0-8O9Zg/w-d-xo.html It could be a reason why Lee orders Pickett s charge, union center was almost penetrated on day 2.
True. Sickles may have made a tactically horrible move (hed also lose his leg from a cannon round this day of battle) but he also provided JUST enough time for Chamberlains men to work their way to those exact hills and hold the rebels. Lee would be right at the end however: This battle eould be VERY close
Another thing to keep in mind is that Pickett's division was without the brigades of Corse and Jenkins. These had been left behind in Virginia, and there were several other formations that could have gone to Pennsylvania with the Army of Northern Virginia that were kept to protect Richmond. It's estimated that Lee could have had nearly 12,000 additional troops for the campaign[roughly two additional divisional equivalents], which despite the logistical burden it would have brought, would have increased the fighting power of the Confederate Army.
Yeah they would have either been even out or the Confederate army was still have been outnumbered by few thousand men. Because the Union army had about 80,000 to 90,000 some sources said 100,000 men at that time. Confederates only had 70,000 to 75,000 men.
@@adamkimberling6609 the Union also had roughly 10,000 men coming out of Harper's Ferry and West Virginia to the west, and Couch had something like another 10,000 in the Harrisburg region. the Union intelligence knew what Lee had and roughly where they were, so the most likely outcome is delaying skirmishes at Gettysburg falling back on Meade's Pipe Creek defenses further south and east. this would have pulled Lee into a three pronged pincer movement which odds are would have destroyed the Army of Northern Virginia. and this isn't counting the other smaller commands scattered about the region that Halleck authorized Meade to draw from should he choose to.
@@Farlomous that is also true. There is no way lee would escape back to Virginia if these additional men were called up. Lee and his army would have been slow because they had miles and miles of wounded either in wagons or walking if abled.
@@fatdaddyeddiejr I have absolutely no doubt. If I have to listen to another butter bar fumble his way through a briefing one more time, I swear to God...
I like how Colonel Alexander, the Artillery Commander steps into the group behind Longstreet just as the briefingis over!I was expecting someone to ask Why are you late?
he was listening, but artillery and cavalry usually receive specific orders regarding action after the main briefing. Infantry takes longer to organize so the infantry leaders have to leave early.
I have studied the Civil War since I was a young boy. And I was motivated in my study by the 23 ancestors that were boys in gray. I had 3 great great great grandfathers in Heth’s Div. marching up the Chambersburg Pike Road on the first day. One of the things about this epic movie, is each time the generals on both sides had a chance they would refer to each other by their first names. “ Sam, you take care of yourself... You too Pete!” But NEVER EVER would you hear Gen. Lee involved in it. He was a loan figure.
Lee says "I'm gonna need your help, Pete" near the end when he is grieving about the losses and stressing about the extraction of his army when they are sitting at the campfire.
I love how Lee said he spoke to General Ewell. Because you can see that he was pretty much using what Ewell said to shore up his own argument. Given that Lee was heavily biased against Longstreet's idea, one wonders if he didn't paint a picture that made Ewell naturally agree that Longstreet's idea would be bad.
You are right, most confederates did not own slaves. But the planters conditioned Southern culture, led the South out of the union and into war when there was no threat to state sovereignty or even to slavery. The rest followed. You might as well say that before Hitler took over, most Germans weren't Nazis. No, they weren't, but they went along easily enough.
It's also like saying most West Virginians don't own coal mines, so why should they care about the coal industry? Plantations run on slave labor were the economic engine of the south.
Lee did not know the Union Army was repositiioning in strength on Little Round Top, his attack was on his enemies flank was his best offensive option at that time. Longstreet was slow in positioning for the attack which gave the Union the time to reinforce along Little Round Top. The attack on the second day was sound militarily and nearly succeeded, if it were not due to the brilliant leadership of Col. Joshua Chamberlain, the battle would have gone to Lee and his army.
Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson, was indeed a rare man, I don't think he could have been replaced. His tactac's are still being studied in war colleges today.He may have been hard on his men, but he was brillant at what he did. Jackson graduated from West Point in a class which was to furnish twenty four general officers to the United States and Confederate armies between 1861 & 1865. He resigned his comission to become an instructor at Virginia Military Institute (VMI) he is buried there.
Obviously he couldn't be replaced. Both Hood and A. P. Hill were brilliant division commanders but when in higher command (Hood in Georgia, Hill as corps commander) neither did well. Jackson was one of a kind. Sheridan might have been his equal in his '64 Valley Campaign but the South was pretty well fought out by then so it's not really an apt comparison.
Jackson has very little to teach modern armies. He performed very poorly at the Seven Days Battle and his slowness was a major reason for the belatedness of the flank attack at Chancellorsville. Attacking at 1 or 2 in the afternoon would have allowed the Confederates to push the Union Army all the way to Germana and United States Ford. He was gifted in some arenas but in no way is comparable to the modern tactics of US Grant or someone like that. Same for Lee.
@@evanmoorman3828obviously the current war is not even comparable to a war of 160 years ago. It is an absurd comparison that you make, for your information the seven day battle, neither Jackson nor Longstreet were so involved, in any case, the person responsible for that "bad result" would be Lee and only read, since it was well known that the attacks by Longstreet and Jackson consisted of being more aggressive, without offending but you should study the civil war more thoroughly
@@HuesopandillaGlorius of course. I was analogizing to make a point. I have studied the Civil War quite a bit and Jackson was involved in essentially every battle of the seven days battle campaign (as was Longstreet). en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonewall_Jackson Jackson, who was to be fair to him, probably sleep deprived, performed very poorly.
The one short coming of this movie, it does not cover General Stuarts part of General Lees' July 3rd attack on the Federal Army at Gettysburg. I believe General Stuart and his calvary were to move around and then come up from behind the Federal Army while the C> S. A. Corp under General Longsteet would mount a combined artillery and infantry attack on the center of the Federal Army's defensive positions at Cemetery Ridge.General Stuarts' part of the confederate army's plan that day was thwarted by a large Federal army calvary force.Had that part of the plan succeeded, then Pickets charge might have turned out differently. Oh well.
Lee fell victim to the same invincibility complex which was the downfall of the man who developed the tactics both armies were using - Napoleon. Its amazing that after 3 1/2 years of waiting for the election cycle to turn over, just months prior to what would have been a sure McClellan victory and armistice with the Confederacy, Lee in all his brilliance just blew it all on Gettysburg.
I agree. Gen. Lee wasn't listening to anybody! Yet, the first two days of the Gettysburg Campaign, the Confederates nearly won Gettysburg. On the third day, though... nope! The Union Forces had the high ground, and a good many of them were fighting from behind a Stone Wall. Sending in 15,000 Confederate Forces from the State of Virginia (which is my home State), over ground that was looked at, as being the perfect field for the Union Forces to use the Confederate Forces as Target Practice (So to speak), resulted in at least a 50% casualty rate. Gen. Pickett's division was, for all intents and purposes, torn to shreds! Gen. Pickett never forgave Gen. Lee for that. His words were:"That Old Man had my division slaughtered"!
@@ronaldshank7589 I would not agree that the CSA nearly won the first two days at Gettysburg. Buford and Reynolds handily held them the first day, but even if they hadn't, it would have only been a minor victory as the full armies were not there yet. By the second day Meade had men pouring in. What is not shown in the movie was that even had Hood prevailed at Little Roubd Top against the 20th Maine there were troops all over the place available to be poured in. Fresh troops, unbloodied, fighting Hood and McLaws exhausted, dehydrated and decimated men. Likewise, Ewell was handily repulsed further north. Meade had the advantage of somewhat interior lines, knowing the ground, ample reserves, being somewhat fortified, and decent knowledge of the enemy dispositions. What is evident is not how bad a failure Lee had but how much of an opportunity Meade missed. If I had been him I would have cackled with glee at Lee attacking on Cemetery Ridge. I think I might have instructed my men to actually withdraw in hopes that Lee would pour more men in, then Meade could have encircled and destroyed an entire corps or more, then attacked and destroyed what was left of Lee's force opposite.
@@jamesbutler8821 I'll tell you what:It was said that the Confederates nearly won both days, and you have to understand, that I was only going by what I saw in the movie, so, upon reconsideration on my part, maybe it wasn't that close. You and I don't know, verbatim, what really happened, because we weren't there. Maybe you're right. I will agree with you, on the point that you made, about the Union Forces pouring in from all over the place. I readily agree with you on that point. What really blew the whole thing for the Confederate Forces, was that stupid charge that Gen. Lee ordered, known as Pickett's Charge. I think you and I can agree on one very important question:What was Gen. Lee even thinking?!? What was up with that?!? Gen. George Pickett never forgave Gen. Lee for that, and brooded on that specific loss until his dying day. His words were:"That Old Man had my division slaughtered"! Gen. Lee put more Confederate Troops in harm's way, and in death's way,in that one disastrous charge, than at any other time during the Civil War, at least up to that point. This one error on his part cost at least 7,500 Brave Confederates either their very lives, or at least being wounded, missing, or being captured by the Union. As I text this to you, I'm shaking my head in disbelief, that one "General", who was known to be one of the absolute best Military Commanders that this Nation has ever known, would do such a horrible thing. It definitely sullied his reputation! I'll close with this to you: Have a very happy Memorial Day, Sir!
@@ronaldshank7589 Please, do some reading on the battle. NEVER, EVER base your historical knowledge on anything you see on the screen. 'We don't know, verbatim, what really happened, because we weren't there'??? LOL Ok. I have read more eyewitness accounts and military reports and historical analysis than I can count. In addition, I have actually toured the battlefield and walked the ground. Unless you are presuming all those people were liars we DO know what happened, in very great detail. On the battlefield you can actually get an even better idea of what happened than from a book by seeing and walking the actual ground and seeing not only where the relevant units were at key moments of the battle, but also units on their flank and rear. The movie, for example makes it seem like the 20th Maine was all alone at Little Round Top. The reality was that they were far from alone in defending it and there were troops all over who would have held up any local success by Hood there. I also fault the movie for completely omitting the battles over Culp's Hill ( touring there NOT very helpful FYI, because the NPS has allowed it become overgrown and look completely different than it did) and the spanking Stuart got. They also don't adequately show that Meade had troops piled on troops at Cemetery ridge, that he used to not only repel Pickett but advance on his flanks and fire into him from three sides and the reality of his dispositions was that he had the advantage of interior lines to pull men from other areas to meet attacks while Lee was fully committed or had divisions already spent from prior engagements. If Meade had not been so new to command he could have easily taken advantage of Lee's blindness to annihilate his entire army by quick marching a division or two to get in Lee's rear. That might be expecting a bit much of the Union troops then though, by 1864 Sheridan's cavalry alone would have chewed him to pieces.
The movie portrays Longstreet as being right in his desire to redeploy the army to force Mead to come to them, and Lee being wrong in his desire to assault the entrenched Union army on the ridges. That's probably the simplest way to convey how Gettysburg played out. But it was a bit more complicated than that. Lee did reject Longstreet's suggestion to redeploy the entire army or move his entire division on a flanking maneuver. But that does not mean that Lee forbade Longstreet to take any flanking action at all. Later, Hood asks Longstreet to let him move around to Big Round Top and command the heights to flank the Union line. Longstreet refuses claiming that Lee won't allow ANY flanking action. But Lee never actually said no flanking was allowed at all, and based on Lee's style of command, he probably would have been perfectly content if Longstreet had allowed a flanking movement up Big Round Top. Lee - like most good commanders - was willing to let his subordinates take the initiative and run with good ideas independently. He would have probably been OK with Longstreet sending some brigades up Big Round Top. The problem was, by the time Hood asked Longstreet to let him flank to the right, it was already late in the morning. Longstreet was sour about Lee's rejection of his suggestions and delayed the preparation of his Division some hours. If he'd deployed quicker, there probably would have been time for Hood to deploy a couple brigades to take Big Round Top. But due to the delay, by the time Hood is requesting the flanking movement, the time to conduct the frontal assault was already upon them and there wasn't time to redeploy. Longstreet therefore is able to truthfully tell Hood that he wouldn't have time to get a battery up on Big Round Top because he wouldn't even be in action until dark. But that was slightly disingenuous - because the reason there was no time was because of Longstreet's delay and his possible sulking - concluding that Lee had rejected ALL maneuver, when Lee actually had done no such thing - he'd just rejected the notion of redeploying the ENTIRE army of Northern Virginia. History more or less shows that Longstreet was right to want to redeploy the army. But that doesn't mean that Longstreet's grudging and possibly even deliberate delaying the morning of the second day didn't hurt the Confederate plan a lot. If Longstreet had moved quicker and independently decided to seize Big Round Top early in the morning, the battle of the second day would have gone quite differently.
@@JohnnyRebKy Lee sealed his fate when he allowed the Union to take the high ground. Leading a successful attack against such rocky hights is difficult enough but to do it outnumbered, outgunned, and on emeny soil? Longstreet's delay didn't help but withdrawing to better ground would have increased his chances. Any "bad morale" would have quickly disappeared with a victory.
Random Traveler and how do you propose Lee move the entire army and it’s 50 miles worth of wagon trains around concentrated enemy?? Lee didn’t see it practicable and I agree with him
JohnnyRebKy They blame Lee for disregarding his own plan - to find a suitable defensive position and induce Meade to attack. Lee accepted the reverse situation, and once set upon the ruinous course could not be swayed from it. As for Longstreet’s delay, at least this movie accurately depicts the timing of Lee’s orders, dispensing with the lie that this occurred in the pre-dawn hour.
Hood's injury was a totally freak thing; he was still back of the line giving instructions when that piece of shrapnel got him. He was one unlucky dude, but then so were many others killed and injured in freak ways.
General Sickles and his movement of III Corps up to the Emmitsburg Road disrupted the entire Confederate plan for July 2nd...the move is still debated and controversial to this day but the more I read about it the more I agree with it.
@Harold Slick A great book on the subject is "Gettysburg's Peach Orchard-Longstreet, Sickles, and the Bloody Fight for the "Commanding Ground" Along the Emmitsburg Road" by James A. Hessler and Britt C. Isenberg, both Gettysburg battlefield guides.
The real General Hood was a whole lot younger, better looking, and was one of the more reckless and incompetent generals in the Civil War, albeit brave. They make him seem almost grandfatherly and wise in this film.
To use a football analogy: Hood was a good offensive or defensive coordinator, but was not suited to be a head coach, as he displayed commanding the Army of Tennessee.
1:37 Lee, you had every reason to move south now. The enemy army is to your north. The enemy capital is to your south. HOME is to your south. The enemy can set up all they want up north....but it will be meaningless for them if you pull out now. Longstreet was right....you should have listened to him...eule's decisions were influenced by his unfortunate string of defeats, and scars of excessive caution.
The enemy army was not to the North. The federal army was to the South and East of the confederates. Lee would gave to disengage and then go around the federals. That would be very difficult, especially without Stuart. And it might invite disaster if Meade detected the movement and decided to strike while Lee was maneuvering.
@@junkjunk81 The Confederates were afraid of being cut off from their own territory. Had Meade been able to intercept them after the battle when they retreated to the south, their defeat could have been turned into a total disaster. But Meade did not move that fast.
Fun Fact, the 2 generals that commanded the opposite ends of the Confederate line, Hood in the south, Edward "Allegany" Johnson in the northeast, would be together in the Army of Tennessee a year later during the disastrous battles of Franklin and Nashville.
A never ending conversation. What if? And most background shows that episodes such as this were an indication of how close it was. It was no "blowout". It was a very marginal victory for Meade's army, even though they had the advantage in numbers and defensive terrain all 3 days overall. It was a close victory for Meade's army, and a crippling loss for Lee's army, based upon numbers lost versus the replenishing forces available on each side after the battle. If this were a battle of David vs Goliath, it is clear that David's missile glanced Goliath's head, and Goliath recovered quickly to squash David's shoulders, arms, and fingers as he retreated.
When they made this movie, Im sure they did their best to make the uniforms, weapons, military life, everything both sides experienced during the war, and portray the historical figures. Martin Sheen Did his best to portray LEE. The others I know they acted their hearts out.
I don’t know why, maybe it’s because everyone involved is so passionate and committed to delivering 120%, but even non-actors like Barksdale and so many others knew this was a special occasion
Check out pictures of the real James Kemper (played by Royce Applegate, who doesn't even remotely resemble him) for a beard. Also Fitzhugh Lee, and, of course, Jeb Stuart.
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Lee should have pulled out of Gettysburg as soon as the Union Army was occupying that hill. He could have easily pulled out of Gettysburg by giving orders for the army to pull out and threaten Washington DC. The Union Army would not have stayed on that hill with angry politicians calling him to protect the city. Would have given Lee the chance to chose where the fight takes place and causes the Union Army to rush to Lee to stop him tired and probably hungry, Lees force could have had a major advantage and probably would have won the war if the Union Army was defeated. So close to DC US Govt would have had no choice but to surrender and end the war
+Area51UfosAliensFartingBowling Yes Washington was defended by a few forts and a huge garrison army, but if lee won and destroyed the Army of the potomac the news alone would be devastating and the garrison force with little experience in battle would have very low morale and might break under a Confederate attack, on the other hand Lee would have been thought of as invincible and the confederate troops would have a high Esprit de corps much like Napoleon and his Grand Armee who almost always fought outnumbered.
Tough sell getting miles upon miles of wagon trains and troops around that flank. Longstreet had the right idea, but once day one was over, Lee had little choice but to stay and fight it out. Pickett's charge was a bad idea, but otherwise Lee played it dead on right. Just couldn't get it done.
even his commanders gave him the same advice to threaten Washington it wouldn't have ended the war but the point of it would be to let Lee choose how the battle goes, let him choose where he fights rather then letting the union do that if he had the Union would have lost Gettysburg. They only won because of their strong defensive position and Lees unwillingness to alter his battle plan
Historically this took place on the west side of Gettysburg at the Mary Thompson house on Chamberburg Pike. The movie filmed this in the Rose Farm near the wheat field not far from Little round top in the area the second days fight took place.
Much has been said about Longstreet's idea to flank to the right. Yet no game I have found makes that option. The maps end too abruptly to the south. Some even stop right at the bottom of the roundtops. Does such a game exist that will allow us to try that strategy?
It would be interesting to get a period map and extend the Avalon Hill Gettysburg map board and try it out. When I hear wargamers discussions of Operation Barbarossa, I ask if any have ever tried the Viktor Suvorov “Icebreaker” thesis where the Soviets attack the Germans. As far as I know, none have. Seems like a lot of wargamers just like to collect the games.
Another result of JEBStuart's absence was that Lee had no accurate map of the Gettysburg area, and based his plan on the report of some infantry officers sent out on foot to schout the roads. As a result, Longstreet;s Corps was sent out on an attempt to get around the Union left flank, covered by hills and trees and then emerge into the open and assault Little Round Top when it be already too late to send reinforcement there. Longstreet ambled down the road-and found the emergence point was in plain sight of a Union signal stationon his objective, hurriedly wig-wagging away. With Lee's plan gan aglee, Longstreet countermarched to get back to a better emergent point from which to launch his "surprise" attack. countermarched, adding a whole hour to the process, then paused to allow his men's canteens to be refilled, finally stepping off for the attack before the canteen party returned to their units. By this time, a full brigade, including the 20th Maine had beat feet up Round topped was improvising a defensive line. The Confederates who tried to make the originally planned attack bogged down in the bolder pile Devil's Demand later trying to break through the Union 6th Corps which had advanced without orders from the base of Round top exposing itself to to the oncoming CSA attack on disadvantageous ground. Sykes explained that there was higher ground in his front. His superior pointed out that would be the casein any position Sykes could reach "from here to the Allegeny mountains!"As a result, Longstreet's attack was remarkably feeble when it finally went in, long afterLee's attack on the Union right flank had fizzled out. Lee lost thousands of irreplaceable confederate veterans for no decisive result!
Kind of curious how the final editing of this great historical film leaves out nearly all of Gen. A.P. Hill's lines or facetime. Especially in this scene. Notice here that when Lee is setting up Longstreet's Corps for attack with Hill in reserve, the camera focuses on Generals Hood and Heth, leaving A.P. Hill just out of frame to the left. Is his character ever clearly identified throughout the film?
He is in the deleted scene or included in the director's cut, at the end of Day 1. Lee demands answers from Ewell, Early, Rhodes and A.P. Hill. Even there Hill is silent except for one small "yes sir" when Lee addressed him by name. Ewell appears in the opening credits and in the original release you never even saw him.
It's been awhile since I've read it, but I don't think Hill even has a line of dialogue in the book (The Killer Angels) that they used as a base for this film. The Southern perspective is almost entirely Lee and Longstreet.
You mean Culp’s Hill. Not Little Round Top. Baldy Dick Ewell took over Jackson’s Corp after his death. If you watch the deleted portion after the first days battle, Gen. Ewell is telling Lee that he should have taken the hill meaning Culps Hill. They attacked too late in the evening and it was so dark that both sides literally bypassed each other. If Ewell would have reached the top of Culps Hill he would have seen the Baltimore Pike which runs behind the hill and was totally jammed up with the Unions Supply Wagons getting out of Gettysburg from the first days fighting.
Truthteller91 Longstreet’s men saw that the Union had an observation post on Little Round Top. Had he moved to attack sooner they would have easily seen him coming. Too many armchair generals play “what if” as if you could change actions on one side with no reaction from the other. If Hood and McLaws maneuvered in plain view then Meade would have moved troops in response and might well have better defended Little Round Top than actually happened. Longstreet’s near success attacking on the right was because his maneuver was largely unseen and few Union troops were in position.
@Truthteller91 You certainly are playing "what if", and indulging one of the more annoying tropes of the "Lost Cause". Had Longstreet attacked immediately on the morning of the 2nd he would've launched the assault in view of the Union and found Sickles' III Corps occupying a line anchored on Little Round Top. It was NOT undefended at that time, regardless of Lee's comment in this movie clip. The entire battle would've been unlike what actually happened.
@@checkmateking2854 I think that's what he meant though the sentence isn't clear. Either he meant Sickles staying on Cemetery Ridge or if Hooker had remained GinC of the AoP.
Up until that point in the war union secondary commanders at divisional and brigade level severely lacked initiative. Some better officers had started sifting up through the ranks and replacing McClellan's people, and it was a divisional commander who'd risen up through the ranks that sent a brigade onto those hills to try to hold it. In a way that little bit of initiative defeated the entire Confederacy, and it Union subleaders ahd shown proper initiative at several points earlier in the war, it would have been a much shorter affair.
Lee understood the risk but he also realized how much of a reward it would be to defeat the Union army in Pennsylvania. If they had force a Yankee retreat as they had done so many times before and continued to move north the whole aspect of the war would have changed. It would have been far greater than any victory the south achieved in the war
Don't think so. By the end of the second day, even if they'd won, they were too beat up to do much more than "withdraw" back to Virginia anyway. Union intelligence had determined at the end of day 2 that the only units that hadn't been involved were those of Pickett's Brigade. The AoP would have the laurels of another victory, but with no elections in 1863, let's assume the same results in the West and Grant coming east, I'm doubtful it would've changed much.
Please. If the war wasn't about slavery then why was the CSA exclusively slave-holding (as many of the states referred to themselves in numerous articles of separation)? Why was the core issue that underpinned compromises in 1787, 1820 and 1850 that kept the union together slavery? Why was "States' Rats" suddenly not so important when it was Northern states' rights that was usurped by draconian federal overlords enforcing adherence to fugitive slave laws despite their strong opposition?
Lincoln raised an army to attack the southern states. Without the invasion slavery could have been handled peacefullly as it was everywhere else in the world. ihe slaves represented a lot of money. All the money that Lincoln spent killing southerners could have beeen used to reemberse southern planters. The Yooeman farmers and city dwellers had no slaves. So dont tell me they went to war over slavery. They repreented a very small number of people.I had 5 relatives that served in the CSA, none owned a slave between them.
If you work in a tight knit team, you will gain respect and comeradery among officers. Even if some officers are higher in rank then the other officers. You should watch the 1977 British movie "A bridge too far". Lt Col Frost is pinned down on one side of the bridge at Arnhem and his second in command, a Major is allowed to call Frost, Johnny. Also Lt General Browning is spoken by his first name by Mj General Urquhart and vice versa.
He was nicknamed Pete as a boy by his father... a boyhood nickname that stuck through his life and he was called Pete by just about everybody including his family... his men called him "Old Pete". Its said his father nicknamed him Pete because he was rock-like, like the Apostle Peter from the Bible.... But most likely it was because his own name was also James Longstreet, and James Sr. bestowed a distinctive nickname to his son James Jr. I have no idea why the other post by Mardiff V is even relevant... but yeah "A Bridge Too Far" is a good movie.
Thank you for the info, Zappiss. Always great to learn something new about the war. Like I said, I only have general knowledge (no pun intended) about the war. I pretty much knew that someone more well informed would eventually tell me something I did not know before. BTW, thanks for uploading this scene from this most incredible movie. :-)
Shortly after the Battle of Bull Run/Manassas, Longstreet's family took ill, loosing his wife and his son, if memory serves me correctly another child too was also deceased, General Longstreet was unable to remain as to make final arrangements for burial, to which General Pickett was tasked to do. When Longstreet was wounded in the Mexican War, he handed the flag to Pickett who carried it forward. So, this bond was a long one.
The Confederates lost many valuable generals this day, that would never be replaced. Barksdale was killed leading this charge, and Hood seriously wounded, was never the same.
Not to mention the North lost General Reynolds the day before and almost lost Hancock the following day. A total of nine generals died in the three days of fighting.
Somebody said that if the rebel army had defeated the federal army at Gettysburg they would still have had a hard time defeating federal forces guarding DC. This might not have been necessarily so since most of the DC defenses were to the south of the city.(towards Richmond) In this scenario it could have ended up like when the Japanese army took Singapore from the landward side in early 1942. All of Singapore’s defenses were seaward facing south!!
@@sawyernorthrop4078 Why? Do you not know, that the Northern troops, were as barbaric as the Confederates troops,(If not worse)? Slavery aside, didn't many a slave become more enslaved by Lincoln's Emancipation? Like the song say's the Confederates would "take what they need, and leave the rest", but the Federal troops would basically implement "Scorched Earth". They would throw dead bodies into wells, burn down whole towns, steal every thing of any value, kill any decenters, rape at will, kill at will, burn any one's crops, and generally bring terror and mayhem wherever they went. The Federal troops laid siege to everywhere, and starved many innocent women and children to death. They plundered, and pillaged. They even went as far as to hire Confederate mercenaries, to further demoralize and humiliate the already , emaciated population of the Southern states. This my friend (regardless of how you may view it), culminates in an act of waging aggressive war. Hence the term "War Of Northern Aggression". Thank you for your comment, and good luck with all your endeavors.
@@dennismartin5821 yet south bought kidnapped black folk and beat them in to being slaves . But what you said is a lot worse fucking southern inbred tard
@@dennismartin5821 I fail to see how suppressing a violent rebellion is an act of aggression. May I remind you that every single soldier in the Confederate army was a US citizen committing treason, and thus could have legally been hanged after the war?
Im not sure if that scene is in the movie, or if its another youre remembering, but if it was then it was probably in one of the camp scenes where Lee is speaking to Longstreet.
Opening paragraph, Georgia Declaration of Secession: The people of Georgia having dissolved their political connection with the Government of the United States of America, present to their confederates and the world the causes which have led to the separation. For the last ten years we have had numerous and serious causes of complaint against our non-slave-holding confederate States with reference to the subject of African slavery.
Don’t let these neo-confederates tell you the Civil War was about states rights. Read the remarks of the Confederate VP or any of the seceding documents. Nothing much in those remarks about heritage or states right. Plenty in those remarks about African slavery. The economic engine of the South.
W H I T E L I V E S M A T T E R Hey white lives matter dude. The lost cause is lost. The South will not rise again. Maybe you should start looking for some real estate in Whitelandia. 😄
@W H I T E L I V E S M A T T E R It's mocking communism. My father was a Marine who got wounded fighting Chinese and North Korean communists in Korea. What have you done for the cause?
I have read many comments on videos of this film stating that Longstreet doubted Picketts ability's as a commander. From what I have heard and read their were no such concerns in Picketts ability's before the charge and most people who are well read on the subject consider him blameless for the outcome. I doubt there was a force in any army of the time that could have succeeded in that attack.
Yes Sir, Lee had a major default in judgement. I believe, that he discovered the true nature of, what the war was really about, and who was ultimately going to profit from it. I.E. the Catholic Church.
Not ego, desperation. Lee knew he needed to end the war in 1863. If the war went on longer, the South had no chance, they were running out of everything including men. It may have been unrealistic, but it was his only chance and a slim one at best.
I can never understand why Americans hold Lee in such high esteem. A bungler and a 'butcher'. Not only did he drive his men into a suicidal charge at Gettysburg, after being defeated there, he prolonged the war for a further two years. A hero? I think not. 🇺🇸 🇬🇧
Exactly. Lee was the butcher of the South, he lost a higher percentage of his men then any other general. He fought like he was battling Napoleon and not a modern Army.
It's funny, they make Hood look like he was way older than he actually was during gettysburg. He actually was in his late twenties when the war started and early thirties when it ended. Quite young to be a lieutenant general in the Confederate Army.
Longstreet says he will wait as long as he can because Pickett is not available. But Pickett is a full days march away. Waiting a few more hours will not change that. I can't believe that's what Longstreet actually said.
The delay in the attack was a result of problems bringing Hoods and McLaws divisions into position for the attack without the enemy seeing it, not because Longstreet waited for Pickett. This delay however has always been used in trying to shift the blame for the confederate defeat from Lee to Longstreet by claiming that Longstreet had been ordered to attack at sunrise which simply isn't true.
imagine if Longstreet hadn't waited until 4 to start the attack! Lee expected it at 9 and even contemporaries of Longstreet say he was sullen about Lee not taking his advice and didn't have his heart into the attack. Of course, as Lee's Lieutenant he should of attacked. He would of taken little round top and the 3rd day would never of happened.
Lee didn't even issue orders until 1100. Lee authorized a delay until Law's brigade came up, and it was Lee who instructed Longstreet to remain out of sight of Union forces during his approach. The error is taking the wrong road which exposed Longstreet's men was made by the guide, and not by Longstreet.
"He is of the opinion that withdrawing from Gettysburg and giving it back to the enemy would be very bad for morale." You know what else is bad for morale is everybody dying.
The objective was the Federal Army, not Gettysburg, and that is why our side lost!
As early as this was on day 2, the ANV could not yet move away and much less "to the right". Simple fact is they were still trying to link with Stuart and they desperately needed that cavalry back. If they moves "away" from where Stuart was about to arrive, that would have placed Stuart in a very complicated position. He would either have been crushed around Gettysburg or he would have had to ride his supply wagons all the way behind the mountains with an even greater delay. Either way, Lee would not have Stuart for a long time. Now, blind, with no cavalry, how could Lee start moving is army around the enemy and so close to it? The Union had cavalry which was close and watching. Besides, what could have possibly been the roads Lee would take? The closest ones were going right into incoming Union reinforcements. Other ones would just be too far away and take too much time. Time and supplies that Lee did not have. It should also be noted how hard Longstreet found it to move 2 divisions "to the right of the Union". So why would it be easier to move the whole army? Its absolutely one of those things that sound awesome but would have been a pain to try. The whole idea just assumes the Union would keep concentrating at Gettysburg and never realize the ANV was moving under their nose. Well….that is a very big leap of faith and a very dangerous one.
@@printolive5512 i guess the problem was that the Confederate gouvernment Couldt provide shoes or even sufficent amount of food for their Fighting men. Having the union army between virginia and the ANV would have been a very perious situation, I think Lee did right, a victory in Gettysburg could have resulted in a peace agreement.
I must agree sir. If they would have the men they lost at Gettysburg after Gettysburg.... there may not have been a Petersburg. The end rest would not have differed though. Gen Lee would have had to surrender at another place later than April 9.
By this time in the war, the csa forces had no chance. The aop had finally become a good army and was a killing machine.
@@printolive5512 Sorry to hear your side lost 158 years ago. Maybe you might want to time travel to 2020 and help your country of 50 states.
I don’t know why but I like all the background sounds. All the sounds of when they walk too, swords rattling etc.
Makes it more realistic
U rite
Me to love the sounds
@Dee Cns - Same here.
We have surround sound in our living room and you're right; it's awesome. Sounds coming from all around. I especially like when Longstreet walks into the barn (field hospital) to see Hood; there are small birds chirping from the rafters and probably nests inside the barn. Even those birds knew Hood should have been allowed to go to the right.
Tom Berenger was amazing as Longsteet
his fake beard on the other hand
@@odinvik7821 BOOO!!! Longstreet's beard should have been nominated for an award! ;)
@@usersatch Yeah, a Razzie.
@@odinvik7821 okay, -1 point for the fake beard, but +5 for the hat!
@ReddNekk13 He was virtually unrecognizable in Roughriders.
I m a Civil War re-enactor and have seen this movie countless times and never get tired of it .The man that portrays Gen A P Hill is our good friend Pat Falci . He has shared many a story behind the scenes . Once I asked him( my not knowing) when they did the scene at The Cashtown Inn with Martin (Lee) was he asking if he wanted to go for coffee later or was there actually a scripted dialogue. You couldn’t hear what was said. Pat laughed, said dialogue, we might not here it but cameras do and in case they needed it later, which they didn’t.
There were so many cut scenes that would have added to the understanding of the battle, but it was already over 3 hours with the cuts.
WTF did you just try to say?
@@Frankie5Angels150, Agreed!
@@Frankie5Angels150 LOL!
SO where do you re-enact? Andersonville?
Ive read many of the comments below and am impressed with the respect, knowledge and thoughtfulness of most. Thank you.
As for me, my late grandfather, Willard M. Wallace, PhD, Prof of History at Wesleyan Univ in CT wrote...The Soul of the Lion...a biography of J.L. Chamberlain. So, I grew up visiting battlefields... incl Gettysburg. That noted, I dont recall Gramps ever criticizing Lee or Longstreet. I suspect the following variables formed Lee's decision to attack rather than re-deploy:
1.Until that battle, Lee's Army had never been defeated.
2. Lee knew he had no consistent supply train of weaponry and other necessities
3. Lee knew that if the battle was won Lincoln was likely to sign a peace treaty with Jefferson Davis.
4. Lee could not have known that a 'Tipping Point' had been reached within the Union Army. What had once been a group of poorly trained and resentful soldiers - had evolved into and extremely effective fighting force comparable to his own. Ground troops had become more experienced and Commanders, like Hancock + Chamberlain had risen to positions where they could make a difference.
5. Lee knew General Meade - and based on that understanding - he made a calculated decision: Meade would be cautious (which in fact he was - as demonstrated by Meade's choice not to pursue Lee after Pickets charge).
6. Lee probably should have listened to Longstreet... but it was Lee who was dealing with pressure from Jefferson Davis and ultimately I suspect Lee believed fate was on his side.
7. And of course there were other variables involved... The absence of Jeb Stuart's Calvary, Longstreet's potentially purposeful delay to attack... and so many more... Some we know and others we don't. Ultimately the battle was incredibly tragic and I am always haunted yet amazed by the bravery and commitment of the soldiers on both sides.
Wow, what I would give to visit CW battlefields. You're pretty lucky. What an exciting privilege.
False. Antietam was a defeat for Lee. Only by a miracle did he suffer a defeat with an idiot like McCellan in command. Had a better general been in command, the war could've ended there.
Malvern Hill was a union victory.
Beaver Dam Creek was a union victory, in terms of tactical capacity & losses. Confederates took heavier losses.
Lee had been beaten many times before. So...thats just a BS claim.
@@SoulKiller7Eternal I think you're generally right on two points, but often times it takes months or years for the proper historical conclusions to be reached about turning point battles. So while your point is correct, I still believe the South had a general notion that prior to that battle, they had kicked a lot of Yankee behind. In addition, although the point about Antietam is also generally right, from a morale perspective, the crushing push against Burnside (by AP Hill?) at the end of the battle and the miraculous "save" might have dampened enthusiasm about anyone declaring victory for that bloody day. The way I see it.
I live near Gettysburg. I know a bunch of guys who were extras in this movie.
Lee's fatal mistake at Gettysburg was letting Pickett talk him into making the charge. If he had listened to Longstreet instead, the battle would have been a draw at worst, and certainly could have been won. Marching across that open field right in the face of the enemy artillery is just unfathomable. I've stood on that very spot more than once and wondered how anybody could have expected to make it there alive. Those poor men had to know that they probably weren't going to survive it.
Very nice summary.
I like the way the officers address each other with noble civility. As Hood settles on his horse he respectfully seeks leave from Longstreet by say "With your permission sir". He salutes him and Longstreet returns the salute graciously granting the leave sought.
Even in battle when sending a message back to Lee one his general prefaces his report with words "General X sends his compliments and reports....".
Wonderful turns of expression. The 19th century could teach us all lessons of respect, honour and grace.
I am from Australia. Such dialogue has never really been part of our culture. More's the pity.
This!!! This was part of what chivalry was. Not just opening doors for ladies or taking your hat off when speaking to one. It was the respectful language people had with each other. Actions and words. God I miss even a touch of it
The best example of all is when Gen Lee addresses his horse as “Sir”!
I'm a 70 year old Aussie country boy, yes there was a time when such dialogue was common enough.
@@Frankie5Angels150 We Horse folk talk to our family that way.
And then they turn around and treat humans like chattel, whipping their skin until their muscles ripped off their bones. The “southern gentry” might have modelled their manners after European aristocracy but they were nevertheless barbaric racists who tore their country apart because they would rather cause mass slaughter than risk freeing the slaves that sustained their way of life. Don’t let nice manners fool you, these men were fighting to preserve slavery and it’s horrors.
Apparently during this scene, Martin Sheen was having a hard time with his lines. So while they were taking a break between the takes for this scene, he wrote "And Hill will support" on the corner of the map to help him remember the line.
Interesting. Hilarious because Hill was of absolutely no use and held back Mahone. Peter Principle
Lol😂 Didn't know that, Mr. Lee
And you know this how?
Ted Turner's movie was a weak attempt to glorify the horrendous treason of these Southern generals, while they used poor, ignorant share croppers as canon fodder. Pathetic!!
@@stephenfulbright9772 A. P. Hill was. highly respected corps commander (Lee would have replace him if was not capable). He was not of the caliber of Stonewall Jackson but then almost none were.
Since this movie has been out, people sometimes troll the Gettysburg park ranger giving the tour of the area where the Mississippi units fought by asking the ranger "Is Mississippi ready for this day?" when the ranger asks if there are any questions.
Love it!
It’s a damned good quote , even though Barksdale didn’t survive the day
Heh
lol
@@totallynotalpharius2283 I'll say this for Barksdale. He was a Secessionist politician but instead of staying home he put his "money where his mouth was" and went off to fight.
And never came home.
Tom Berenger looked fantastically regal and imposing in his portrayal of Longstreet. The uniform, the hat, the beard, everything was perfectly placed.
I agree with you. All in all the casting was perfect. And I think the actors really wanted to give their best in such an iconic filmatisation of one of the battles that forged the USA of today.
@@trident6547 absolutely agree. The acting in this movie was all on point; working to portray the characters as they were
This movie never gets old for me. I really need to grab a blue ray disk and watch it on a 4K tv
Sadly, I have never even seen it offered on BluRay. I agree, it would be stunning; and of course in Surround Sound.
I've not found it on Bluray yet. But I hope someday I will.
Love the bluray version includes extended scenes that should of been left in with General Ewell.
infalide fire means cannon& gun fire from the side flanks
Enfilade. But yes correct 😁
John Bell Hood was only 33 years old at Gettysburg. They portrayed him as an old man.
Dadgum, you might look old too if you had personally led a devastating, bloody assault against entrenched Union positions at Gaines Mill - among OTHER Texas Brigade fights!!
True that! At Franklin, TN in 64, he had lost a leg an arm, and was in terrible pain. Then in charge of the AOT. A true Texas hero who gave his all, yet sacrificed the flower of the South. So sad. So sad...
Yeah they totally misrepresented Hood
Well Hood, like many ATT, had a full beard. He also had a grim, stern appearnce that belied his youth. Take a look at those old photographs and you may see what I'm talking about.
@@markbuchanan9199 He didn't lose the arm, just the use of it.
The problem with the entire battle plan was that it was based on an early morning reconnaissance by one of Lee's engineer officers. He claimed to have ridden all the way to the base of Big Round Top and not seen any US forces. Lee wanted Longstreet to attack with his two divisions up the Chambersburg road with a division on each side. Lee thought the Army of the Potomac's line ended at the southern end of Cemetery Ridge. Even had Longstreet been able to position his troops where Lee wanted WITHOUT being seen by the Army of the Potomac, it would have been after 1200 before the attack could have begun. This was not a case of simply marching across the wheatfields and through the Peach Orchard. Lee wanted Longstreet south of those points and adjacent to the Round Tops when he began his attack. Had Longstreet marched at daybreak, something that was physically impossible given the bivouac locations of his two divisions as they arrived behind Seminary Ridge between midnight and early morning that very day. By the time Longstreet could have stepped off on his attack, Sickle's III Corps was now on his right flank, arrayed between the end of Cemetery Ridge and Big Round Top, where Army of the Potomac signal troops had established an observation and signal point. Sykes' V Corps was closing on Sickle's rear. At this point in time, Sickle's had yet to advance into his salient. Sickle's could have attacked Longstreet's right as he was assembling for his attack or during his attack, which would have swung Longstreet's axis from the Chambersburg Road to the area between south Cemetery Ridge and the Round Tops with Hood's division in the lead and McLaws' division to the rear. While Longstreet would still have savaged III Corps, Hood would have been attacking straight into III and V Corps and with I and II Corps troops on his left. Hood would have been fought out, McLaws would pass through Hood and he would get fought out attacking V Corps. Without Picket or support from Hill's corps, Longstreet would have been unable to exploit any success on the southern end of Meade's line as Sedgewick's VI Corps was arriving on the battlefield. Ewell's earlier attack on Culp's Hill was a failure and would have remained a failure as he faced troops from I, II, VI, XI and XII Corps even if perfectly coordinated with Longstreet, a near impossibility in the days before reliable portable radios. Lee was not infallible. He should have gone forward with Longstreet and he should have committed Anderson's Division from Hill's corps on Longstreet's left when he realized what was happening. He didn't. Which meant that whether Longstreet had gone at 1200 or 1600, he still would have failed. As Pickett supposedly pointed out, the Yankees had something to do with it. Under Meade during the Gettysburg campaign, the Army of the Potomac marched and fought harder and smarter than it ever did before or after. The US cavalry fought Stuart and won a number of tactical victories and came out with a draw for the campaign. I Corps by itself reduced Hill's corps (minus Anderson) to combat ineffectiveness for the rest of the battle. XII Corps stopped Ewell in his tracks on the second day and anticipated his attack on the third day. V Corps redeemed Sickle's failure and stopped Longstreet, while II Corps stopped Lee's attack on the third day. Both sides made mistakes. Meade made fewer mistakes than Lee. Lee did not LOSE the battle, he was fought out by Meade and the officers and men of the Army of the Potomac.
I think one of the HUGE questions re Sickles' move is this: If he hadn't moved forward would he have put any of his men on LRT? If he had been in his assigned position would Warren have scouted LRT or have assumed that Sickles had invested the hill? So many what ifs makes history fascinating to me.
Excellent synopsis. Thanks.
It was up the Emmitsburg Road, not the Chambersburg Road, which is where the 1st days fighting started and was now in Confederate hands.
Longstreet petitioned Lee to extend the attack to the right. Lee declined, not wanting to weaken his center.
Who knows if a further flaking maneuver would have led to an envelopment, but that is what Longstreet tired to get Lee to approve most of the afternoon.
Sure but there were many problems. The biggest was a highly active General Meade to contend with.
Maybe the real confederacy was the friends we made along the way?
General Longstreet: "mmm-hmmm...we got beaucoup movement."
You dont sleep on no fuckin ambush.
I am reality!
Death? What do y'all know about death. 💀
Dude..... I see what you did right there..... good one.
We all gotta die sometime, Red
I walked Picketts charge many times, but i can't imagine it under fire. Gen. Lee was brilliant, but he made a mistake that day.
ViperGTS MRE How many yards of open ground do you think they were crossing?
@@creepspilla It's at least a half mile.
I wouldn't call Lee brilliant. I'd say he was overrated and only had success against inept buffoons who had no business commanding armies. He got his ass handed to him when he faced REAL generals.
I like to refer to Lee as "Grant's Bitch."
Yeah, he won a lot of battles at the start, but they were ALWAYS with great losses he couldn't afford, costing him initiative. He could never exploit his successes, like a GREAT general could.
I do sometimes wonder how much of Lee's early success was because the Union leadership was so incompetent for so long, until Grant, Lee didn't have any real opposition.
So many Union generals were politicians for so much of the war. Once this changed the Confederacy's success rate plummeted.
@@t.c.thompson2359 At Chancellorsville Lee suffered higher percentage losses than did the Union army. Plus losing Jackson.
Lee should have simply called in an airstrike.
+johnnytastetest or at least sent in some drones...
lol
johnnytastetest called in a tactical nuke
Maybe use bioweapons like gas.
They did pretty good without all the modern tactics.
Thank you very much for all the hard work downloading this movie. Great job.
My annual viewing of this film is in four days
@Francisco Nieves what? Do you know what "good riddance" even means?
I reenact a Regular Army regiment, the one that garrisoned my home state out West.
The Civil War has been called 'brother against brother' and it is no more so than within the professional officer corps of both armies.
There were less than 2000 professional officers in 1860, a **very** small club. After two or three postings, an officer would know every single other officer if only by reputation and mess gossip. These men were a small fraternity of war... the godfathers of each other's children and the in-laws of each other's sons and daughters. The movie 'Gettysburg' did a wonderful job in portraying that brotherhood. You notice this in how fellow professionals address each other by first name, but how the 'temporary hired hands' of the volunteers were addressed by rank.
Lee's was in the corp of engineers and knew the value of knowing the terrain yet in this most critical of battles he did not have good intelligence on the union's right flank. Really lost the battle on the 2nd day.
The map is inaccurate. Lee only knew of Federal forces along Cemetery Ridge and his staff reported the round tops were unoccupied. The actual plan involved Longstreet swinging wide and hitting the Union forces on Cemetery Ridge on the flank. Longstreet was surprised when he discovered the Federal line was much further and more forward than originally planned. This forced him to make alterations on the fly that further slowed the attack.
@Truthteller91 Wasn't so much that he was waiting as Longstreets enemies claimed forcefully later, but rather his two divisions were exhausted from long marches and humid weather. Then being forces to take another long, roundabout march to reach their attack position. Moving lines on paper is easy but moving actual large bodies of men is another undertaking.
If that damn fool Sickles had stayed in place, his men would have had ample time to pile up rocks and trees for cover. We would have seen a repeat of Culps and Cemetery Hill where the Confederates attacked and mowed down by protected Union troops. Hell only two brigades on Culps Hill managed to hold off most Ewells corps on the second day alone because the terrain was just that difficult and the Union defenses that prepared.
@Truthteller91 Lee had been waiting for satisfactory recon of the union left and didnt even issue orders until 1100 or so, and there was still quit a bit of marching to get in to position on the right. Artillery was not yet in position. They had to find roads with which their flanking movement would be unobserved. Hood, as he was getting his infantry into position, scouted a little further to the right, and found the way clear to take the union troops and supply trains from the rear. Hood requested twice, to deploy further to the right, and was denied by Longstreet. To add to all of this, it was Longstreet alone in this battle, no other part of the Confederate line was attacking anywhere else.
@@xisotopex The TL;DR sum up of xiso's point: It was primarily Stuart's fault. Leaving the Confederate army blind is what really cost them, especially in slow time of maneuver due to lack of recon. Had Stuart's Calvary been present, the attack would have been much swifter and both Round Tops probably taken. Much of the blame being laid on Longstreet was in retaliation to his participation with the Reconstruction efforts.
Great movie! Martin Sheen does a great job as Robert E. Lee.
The acting in the last part of this clip is A+. Theres not one sign that was even scripted. Amazing. Thats what makes this movie, though it be 4 1/2 hrs long, so re-watchable.
Both father and son of my ancestors fought on the same day for the Union at Gettysburg. Though, the father fought the first two days and the son for the next two.
You know they were sweating balls with those uniforms on in our good ol hi humidity.
I was there for the whole shoot I was. Gen McLaws being a reenactor I was used to. The wool uniforms once you get soaked with sweat it kinds acts like a coolant lol but the summer was very hot
@@bbblythe6843 The smell must have been unreal
@@bbblythe6843 this is my favorite Civil War film, it turned me into a reenactor. I've since gotten out of "The Hobby" but I have many fond memories of my time in "Mr. Lincoln's Army" Cheers!
#swampass
Living my entire life just 31 miles from Gettysburg (in York) I often wonder how many casualties there were due to dehydration and or heat exhaustion.
Been to Gettysburg many times, including in early July. I can't imagine wearing those heavy wool uniforms in that heat.
I have worn a wool blazer in very hot, humid weather and wasn't more uncomfortable with it on than when I took it off. It has to be pure wool, though, no blends with other fibres.
Agreed Lee was not at his best in that battle. Word is thst he was already tired by the time he got to the field on the first day.
@@greatwave1 Lee was suffering from diarrhea/dysentary and was miserable. He actually wore a white duster instead of the gray, but for the movie, gray was better...more iconic, so they went with that.
@@michaelj.acosta6810 I comment on it elsewhere but the range of uniform colours among the senior Confederate officers is interesting. Medium grey, the colour I would expect, dark, almost charcoal grey like Hood wears, and a blue-grey colour of different shades (Lee and Longstreet).
the battle is not what is important in life, it's the cities we burn along the way
To subdue your enemy without battle is the height of skill.
Do it again Uncle Billy! Do it again!
@Doug Bevins You're an actual moron. Sherman was a war criminal whose army raped and murdered civilians. Also the south were not traitors, the states all legally seceded. Lincoln shouldn't have committed unconstitutional acts like the suspension of habeas corpus and putting a blockade on southern ports. Lincoln imprisoned over 2000 of Northerners who critiqued him. He was a tyrant, and the south were fighting for their independence. Which they had every legal right to do so. Why else do you think Confederate President Jefferson Davis couldn't be tried by the Supreme Court for treason. Because no treason was committed you fucking moron.
@Doug Bevins You cannot simultaneously believe that the American Revolution was legitimate and yet the secession was not. They are based in the same principles.
@Doug Bevins Your problem is that you have the "liberal" version of the history of the Civil War. It was written by the victors to justify the war in the first place. Slavery was the straw that broke the camel's back. The underlying cause of the Civil War was that the Constitution gave power to the government by the number of states and the voting population of those states. Under those terms, the South became a vassal state to the whims of the Northern majority. They were HEAVILY taxed (per share of income they paid 6x what the North paid per capita) and on top of that they were ignored when it came to actual policy. The North taxed the South (the liquor tax alone accounted for 80% of Federal revenue prior to the Civil War and the South paid MOST (over 80% of the liquor tax) of that.
The idea that the Civil War is ONLY about slavery is revisionist history. The South had far more legitimate grievances than that - and I'd remind you that the North STILL HELD SLAVES DURING THE ENTIRETY OF THE WAR!
Why are the Rebel generals attired in a confusing mix of uniforms? Some are light blue, some light gray, dark blue (?) .
Why didn't they have a standard color and uniform design ?
Good point. They seemed to cover the whole spectrum from charcoal grey to a blue only slightly lighter than the Union Army's. But it was an accurate depiction of what they wore, as far as I can tell.
After Gettysburg the Lee army is only defense. The mission now is protect Richmond.
The first day ended up being the decisive standpoint of the next engagements in Gettysburg. Union Army withdraws to more advantageous ground, civilians hurriedly flee from Gettysburg which only allowed the A of NV access to a small town that is anchored by 2 hills. The foliage in those days was also much more dense, so it allowed for the Union Army to recon with impunity, and establish guns at elevation. Firing down.
The foliage was much less dense in those days. The woods around Gettysburg were actively harvested for firewood, building materials and fencing... livestock grazed in the fields and woods of the area keeping the underbush and grasses down. In the years since the battle the area has gone mostly feral, no longer actively resourced it has gotten WAY OVERGROWN. In the past few years the National Park Service has begun to get more aggressive with tree removal and controlled burns to try and return some level of authenticity to the landscape... but even these efforts pale in comparison to farmers and civilians actively resourcing their lands. Cemetary Hill was nearly bare... and Culps Hill was not the thickly wooded and densely overgrown forest we see today. "Reynolds Woods" (where the stone monument that marks the spot where Gen. Reynolds was shot, known as Herbst Woods at the time of the battle) is really the only area that you get a true sense of an authentic wooded landscape as the trees and underbush there have been heavily controlled by the Park... no underbush... grazed space... sparcely wooded. The surrounding areas have all been let overgrown to dense woods and thick brush. Little Round Top was clear cut by a farmer and herds of cattle and sheep where allowed to graze on its slopes and top... thats the reason its bald on one side... but at the time of the battle Little Round Top was very sparcely wooded, almost a bare hill. I think the National Park Service has done a much better job managing the battlefield over the last 10 years by introducing controlled burns, tree harvesting and clear cutting.... something that up till then would have been unthinkable for the the Park Service land management "hands off" attitude towards the natural setting of the battlefield. 20 Years ago... it literally would have been impossible to fight the battle of Gettysburg on that battlefield... there is no way units would have been able to even maneuver in most areas of the July 2nd attack... and most Union artillery positions that were so vital on the 1st and 3rd on Cemetary Hill and Upper Cemetary Ridge would have been completely useless and unworkable for artillery. The Battlefield has come a long way in recent years... but still much more work is needed.
I’ve always enjoyed how, the higher the rank, the more often you hear the generals call each other by their first name; or even a shortened version like “You too Pete.” But no one, I mean NO ONE, would EVER call General Lee... Robert.
Many called him Bobby. But probably not to his face.
Ewell called him Bobert once.
Never happened again.
I once said to him “yo Little Bob, wazzzzup”.
I ended up as point man during Pickett’s charge
@@notmenotme614 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
@@notmenotme614 hehehe
The actor playing General Hood, Patrick Gorman, was 59 years old at the time of this movie. The real age of John Bell Hood at Gettysburg? 32
“I’ll wait as long as I can” some historians say he waited to long, others say he got his divisions lost on the way to his positions from not knowing the layout of the ground and roads. I think some blame on Gettysburg falls on Longstreet just as much as Lee. If I remember right it wasn’t till mid day till Longstreet’s divisions engaged. Other historians say General Stickle’s may have created a diversion by moving off the line toward the confederate position. But that’s history. We can analyze every position over 150yrs later. Still love the civil war and it’s history.
As with anything in history, there are a lot of what-ifs. There are several times in this battle, or a number of others, that unknowingly hinged on certain tasks being carried out quickly and/or correctly.
Culp's Hill bring taken on the first day, Longstreet attacking earlier in the day, Warren by chance not noticing the Confederate troops in the trees, Stuart's cavalry attack not being foiled before it could begin on the third day.
Many tiny things that could have changed the outcome of battle.
@@bobholly3843 There is a book I read that outlines 17 different circumstances that led to the Confederate defeat,all in descending order.I forget the name of the tome.Lee did have 2 cavalry brigades with him.Jones and Imboden back from a successful raid in W.Va.
Longstreet is basically absolved these days of the terrible lies thrown at him for the last 100 hundred years by lost causers. He received his orders approx 11.00, given permission to wait for Laws brigade to arrive. Lees scouts misdirected the 1st Corp troops and then Sickles men were found sat on the start line. Lee and Longstreet then cobbled together a different plan and stepped off at approx 16.00 hrs to deliver one of the most deadly attacks of the war.
It was Lees scouts that led Longstreet astray, and he didn’t receive his orders until 11.00hrs. Don’t just believe the lies told by lost causers.
The ground was not properly scouted. Where is Stuart?
This entire attack plan was disrupted by General Sickles movement of his Third Corps up to the Emmitsburg Road and thus the fierce fighting around the Peach Orchard....Sickles move is still questioned today either as a terrible decision or as the right move to deny the Confederates suitable ground to place their artillery...it's an argument that will go on forever I guess.
Yeah, I am one of the few Who think that Sickles save the Union on the second day. He might be a terrible person, But he could fight sure.
For sure
@@frederic94000 Have you read the book "Gettysburg's Peach Orchard-Longstreet, Sickles, and the Bloody Fight for "Commanding Ground" Along the Emmitsburg Road".....very extensively detailed account of the savage fighting there and how it so much affected what was done the next day with the ordering of Picketts Charge......also "Sickles at Gettysburg" is a great read about explaining his decision to move the Third Corps forward to the Emmitsburg Road.
Thank you. I will certainly take a look at it sounds very interesting.
This one is very interesting too.
th-cam.com/video/gR6M0-8O9Zg/w-d-xo.html
It could be a reason why Lee orders Pickett s charge, union center was almost penetrated on day 2.
True. Sickles may have made a tactically horrible move (hed also lose his leg from a cannon round this day of battle) but he also provided JUST enough time for Chamberlains men to work their way to those exact hills and hold the rebels.
Lee would be right at the end however: This battle eould be VERY close
Another thing to keep in mind is that Pickett's division was without the brigades of Corse and Jenkins. These had been left behind in Virginia, and there were several other formations that could have gone to Pennsylvania with the Army of Northern Virginia that were kept to protect Richmond. It's estimated that Lee could have had nearly 12,000 additional troops for the campaign[roughly two additional divisional equivalents], which despite the logistical burden it would have brought, would have increased the fighting power of the Confederate Army.
Good information. Thank you 😊
Yeah they would have either been even out or the Confederate army was still have been outnumbered by few thousand men. Because the Union army had about 80,000 to 90,000 some sources said 100,000 men at that time. Confederates only had 70,000 to 75,000 men.
In any case, the Union had enough ammo for all of 'em.
@@adamkimberling6609 the Union also had roughly 10,000 men coming out of Harper's Ferry and West Virginia to the west, and Couch had something like another 10,000 in the Harrisburg region. the Union intelligence knew what Lee had and roughly where they were, so the most likely outcome is delaying skirmishes at Gettysburg falling back on Meade's Pipe Creek defenses further south and east. this would have pulled Lee into a three pronged pincer movement which odds are would have destroyed the Army of Northern Virginia. and this isn't counting the other smaller commands scattered about the region that Halleck authorized Meade to draw from should he choose to.
@@Farlomous that is also true. There is no way lee would escape back to Virginia if these additional men were called up. Lee and his army would have been slow because they had miles and miles of wounded either in wagons or walking if abled.
Man, I wish briefings as a Tank Commander in the Marines were this short...
I'm an Army tanker. And ours were just as bad.
@@fatdaddyeddiejr I have absolutely no doubt. If I have to listen to another butter bar fumble his way through a briefing one more time, I swear to God...
I like how Colonel Alexander, the Artillery Commander steps into the group behind Longstreet just as the briefingis over!I was expecting someone to ask Why are you late?
Sir I'm 28 Sir!
he was listening, but artillery and cavalry usually receive specific orders regarding action after the main briefing. Infantry takes longer to organize so the infantry leaders have to leave early.
Longstreet's was usually late.
What honor both armies had. Leadership was second to none.
I have studied the Civil War since I was a young boy. And I was motivated in my study by the 23 ancestors that were boys in gray. I had 3 great great great grandfathers in Heth’s Div. marching up the Chambersburg Pike Road on the first day.
One of the things about this epic movie, is each time the generals on both sides had a chance they would refer to each other by their first names. “ Sam, you take care of yourself... You too Pete!” But NEVER EVER would you hear Gen. Lee involved in it. He was a loan figure.
I live in Chambersburg :)
Lee says "I'm gonna need your help, Pete" near the end when he is grieving about the losses and stressing about the extraction of his army when they are sitting at the campfire.
That right. Informally it's first names, but "on duty" for lack of a better term it's "Yes sir!"
Objective was to capture Washington. Stuart left Lee blind. Lost the high ground
@@gfak123 I like Jeb...but he was a cowboy.
I love how Lee said he spoke to General Ewell. Because you can see that he was pretty much using what Ewell said to shore up his own argument. Given that Lee was heavily biased against Longstreet's idea, one wonders if he didn't paint a picture that made Ewell naturally agree that Longstreet's idea would be bad.
Longstreet was right and history would prove him right about this battle.
There is a deleted scene that shows this conversation with Ewell.
You are right, most confederates did not own slaves. But the planters conditioned Southern culture, led the South out of the union and into war when there was no threat to state sovereignty or even to slavery. The rest followed. You might as well say that before Hitler took over, most Germans weren't Nazis. No, they weren't, but they went along easily enough.
It's also like saying most West Virginians don't own coal mines, so why should they care about the coal industry? Plantations run on slave labor were the economic engine of the south.
Lee did not know the Union Army was repositiioning in strength on Little Round Top, his attack was on his enemies flank was his best offensive option at that time. Longstreet was slow in positioning for the attack which gave the Union the time to reinforce along Little Round Top. The attack on the second day was sound militarily and nearly succeeded, if it were not due to the brilliant leadership of Col. Joshua Chamberlain, the battle would have gone to Lee and his army.
Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson, was indeed a rare man, I don't think he could have been replaced. His tactac's are still being studied in war colleges today.He may have been hard on his men, but he was brillant at what he did. Jackson graduated from West Point in a class which was to furnish twenty four general officers to the United States and Confederate armies between 1861 & 1865. He resigned his comission to become an instructor at Virginia Military Institute (VMI) he is buried there.
Obviously he couldn't be replaced. Both Hood and A. P. Hill were brilliant division commanders but when in higher command (Hood in Georgia, Hill as corps commander) neither did well. Jackson was one of a kind. Sheridan might have been his equal in his '64 Valley Campaign but the South was pretty well fought out by then so it's not really an apt comparison.
Jackson has very little to teach modern armies. He performed very poorly at the Seven Days Battle and his slowness was a major reason for the belatedness of the flank attack at Chancellorsville. Attacking at 1 or 2 in the afternoon would have allowed the Confederates to push the Union Army all the way to Germana and United States Ford. He was gifted in some arenas but in no way is comparable to the modern tactics of US Grant or someone like that. Same for Lee.
@@evanmoorman3828obviously the current war is not even comparable to a war of 160 years ago. It is an absurd comparison that you make, for your information the seven day battle, neither Jackson nor Longstreet were so involved, in any case, the person responsible for that "bad result" would be Lee and only read, since it was well known that the attacks by Longstreet and Jackson consisted of being more aggressive, without offending but you should study the civil war more thoroughly
@@HuesopandillaGlorius of course. I was analogizing to make a point. I have studied the Civil War quite a bit and Jackson was involved in essentially every battle of the seven days battle campaign (as was Longstreet). en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonewall_Jackson Jackson, who was to be fair to him, probably sleep deprived, performed very poorly.
Stonewall would have taken Cemetery and Culp's Hills you can bet!
The one short coming of this movie, it does not cover General Stuarts part of General Lees' July 3rd attack on the Federal Army at Gettysburg. I believe General Stuart and his calvary were to move around and then come up from behind the Federal Army while the C> S. A. Corp under General Longsteet would mount a combined artillery and infantry attack on the center of the Federal Army's defensive positions at Cemetery Ridge.General Stuarts' part of the confederate army's plan that day was thwarted by a large Federal army calvary force.Had that part of the plan succeeded, then Pickets charge might have turned out differently. Oh well.
stuart would have never been able to get there in time. Even if he had not been stoppped by the US Cavalry who was waiting and watching for him
Lee fell victim to the same invincibility complex which was the downfall of the man who developed the tactics both armies were using - Napoleon. Its amazing that after 3 1/2 years of waiting for the election cycle to turn over, just months prior to what would have been a sure McClellan victory and armistice with the Confederacy, Lee in all his brilliance just blew it all on Gettysburg.
So he went full George Lucas. So high on the kool-aid of his past successes that he wouldn't listen to criticism.
I agree. Gen. Lee wasn't listening to anybody! Yet, the first two days of the Gettysburg Campaign, the Confederates nearly won Gettysburg. On the third day, though... nope! The Union Forces had the high ground, and a good many of them were fighting from behind a Stone Wall. Sending in 15,000 Confederate Forces from the State of Virginia (which is my home State), over ground that was looked at, as being the perfect field for the Union Forces to use the Confederate Forces as Target Practice (So to speak), resulted in at least a 50% casualty rate. Gen. Pickett's division was, for all intents and purposes, torn to shreds! Gen. Pickett never forgave Gen. Lee for that. His words were:"That Old Man had my division slaughtered"!
@@ronaldshank7589 I would not agree that the CSA nearly won the first two days at Gettysburg. Buford and Reynolds handily held them the first day, but even if they hadn't, it would have only been a minor victory as the full armies were not there yet. By the second day Meade had men pouring in. What is not shown in the movie was that even had Hood prevailed at Little Roubd Top against the 20th Maine there were troops all over the place available to be poured in. Fresh troops, unbloodied, fighting Hood and McLaws exhausted, dehydrated and decimated men. Likewise, Ewell was handily repulsed further north. Meade had the advantage of somewhat interior lines, knowing the ground, ample reserves, being somewhat fortified, and decent knowledge of the enemy dispositions. What is evident is not how bad a failure Lee had but how much of an opportunity Meade missed. If I had been him I would have cackled with glee at Lee attacking on Cemetery Ridge. I think I might have instructed my men to actually withdraw in hopes that Lee would pour more men in, then Meade could have encircled and destroyed an entire corps or more, then attacked and destroyed what was left of Lee's force opposite.
@@jamesbutler8821 I'll tell you what:It was said that the Confederates nearly won both days, and you have to understand, that I was only going by what I saw in the movie, so, upon reconsideration on my part, maybe it wasn't that close. You and I don't know, verbatim, what really happened, because we weren't there. Maybe you're right. I will agree with you, on the point that you made, about the Union Forces pouring in from all over the place. I readily agree with you on that point.
What really blew the whole thing for the Confederate Forces, was that stupid charge that Gen. Lee ordered, known as Pickett's Charge. I think you and I can agree on one very important question:What was Gen. Lee even thinking?!? What was up with that?!?
Gen. George Pickett never forgave Gen. Lee for that, and brooded on that specific loss until his dying day. His words were:"That Old Man had my division slaughtered"!
Gen. Lee put more Confederate Troops in harm's way, and in death's way,in that one disastrous charge, than at any other time during the Civil War, at least up to that point. This one error on his part cost at least 7,500 Brave Confederates either their very lives, or at least being wounded, missing, or being captured by the Union. As I text this to you, I'm shaking my head in disbelief, that one "General", who was known to be one of the absolute best Military Commanders that this Nation has ever known, would do such a horrible thing. It definitely sullied his reputation!
I'll close with this to you: Have a very happy Memorial Day, Sir!
@@ronaldshank7589 Please, do some reading on the battle. NEVER, EVER base your historical knowledge on anything you see on the screen. 'We don't know, verbatim, what really happened, because we weren't there'??? LOL Ok. I have read more eyewitness accounts and military reports and historical analysis than I can count. In addition, I have actually toured the battlefield and walked the ground. Unless you are presuming all those people were liars we DO know what happened, in very great detail. On the battlefield you can actually get an even better idea of what happened than from a book by seeing and walking the actual ground and seeing not only where the relevant units were at key moments of the battle, but also units on their flank and rear. The movie, for example makes it seem like the 20th Maine was all alone at Little Round Top. The reality was that they were far from alone in defending it and there were troops all over who would have held up any local success by Hood there. I also fault the movie for completely omitting the battles over Culp's Hill ( touring there NOT very helpful FYI, because the NPS has allowed it become overgrown and look completely different than it did) and the spanking Stuart got. They also don't adequately show that Meade had troops piled on troops at Cemetery ridge, that he used to not only repel Pickett but advance on his flanks and fire into him from three sides and the reality of his dispositions was that he had the advantage of interior lines to pull men from other areas to meet attacks while Lee was fully committed or had divisions already spent from prior engagements. If Meade had not been so new to command he could have easily taken advantage of Lee's blindness to annihilate his entire army by quick marching a division or two to get in Lee's rear. That might be expecting a bit much of the Union troops then though, by 1864 Sheridan's cavalry alone would have chewed him to pieces.
The movie portrays Longstreet as being right in his desire to redeploy the army to force Mead to come to them, and Lee being wrong in his desire to assault the entrenched Union army on the ridges. That's probably the simplest way to convey how Gettysburg played out. But it was a bit more complicated than that.
Lee did reject Longstreet's suggestion to redeploy the entire army or move his entire division on a flanking maneuver. But that does not mean that Lee forbade Longstreet to take any flanking action at all. Later, Hood asks Longstreet to let him move around to Big Round Top and command the heights to flank the Union line. Longstreet refuses claiming that Lee won't allow ANY flanking action. But Lee never actually said no flanking was allowed at all, and based on Lee's style of command, he probably would have been perfectly content if Longstreet had allowed a flanking movement up Big Round Top. Lee - like most good commanders - was willing to let his subordinates take the initiative and run with good ideas independently. He would have probably been OK with Longstreet sending some brigades up Big Round Top.
The problem was, by the time Hood asked Longstreet to let him flank to the right, it was already late in the morning. Longstreet was sour about Lee's rejection of his suggestions and delayed the preparation of his Division some hours. If he'd deployed quicker, there probably would have been time for Hood to deploy a couple brigades to take Big Round Top. But due to the delay, by the time Hood is requesting the flanking movement, the time to conduct the frontal assault was already upon them and there wasn't time to redeploy. Longstreet therefore is able to truthfully tell Hood that he wouldn't have time to get a battery up on Big Round Top because he wouldn't even be in action until dark.
But that was slightly disingenuous - because the reason there was no time was because of Longstreet's delay and his possible sulking - concluding that Lee had rejected ALL maneuver, when Lee actually had done no such thing - he'd just rejected the notion of redeploying the ENTIRE army of Northern Virginia. History more or less shows that Longstreet was right to want to redeploy the army. But that doesn't mean that Longstreet's grudging and possibly even deliberate delaying the morning of the second day didn't hurt the Confederate plan a lot. If Longstreet had moved quicker and independently decided to seize Big Round Top early in the morning, the battle of the second day would have gone quite differently.
Longstreet's delay on Day 2 cost them the battle.
Longstreet delayed his attack until the rest of his beard had arrived...a fatal error.
Karl Tanner exactly right!! “ I’ll wait as long as I can”.....then everyone blames Lee
That was a frequent complaint lodged against Longstreet--he would engage the enemy before his entire beard had been brought up and put on line.
@@JohnnyRebKy Lee sealed his fate when he allowed the Union to take the high ground. Leading a successful attack against such rocky hights is difficult enough but to do it outnumbered, outgunned, and on emeny soil? Longstreet's delay didn't help but withdrawing to better ground would have increased his chances. Any "bad morale" would have quickly disappeared with a victory.
Random Traveler and how do you propose Lee move the entire army and it’s 50 miles worth of wagon trains around concentrated enemy?? Lee didn’t see it practicable and I agree with him
JohnnyRebKy They blame Lee for disregarding his own plan - to find a suitable defensive position and induce Meade to attack. Lee accepted the reverse situation, and once set upon the ruinous course could not be swayed from it. As for Longstreet’s delay, at least this movie accurately depicts the timing of Lee’s orders, dispensing with the lie that this occurred in the pre-dawn hour.
Interesting scene, because literally everything said went the opposite of how it should, including Hood taking care of himself.
Hood's injury was a totally freak thing; he was still back of the line giving instructions when that piece of shrapnel got him. He was one unlucky dude, but then so were many others killed and injured in freak ways.
General Sickles and his movement of III Corps up to the Emmitsburg Road disrupted the entire Confederate plan for July 2nd...the move is still debated and controversial to this day but the more I read about it the more I agree with it.
@Harold Slick A great book on the subject is "Gettysburg's Peach Orchard-Longstreet, Sickles, and the Bloody Fight for the "Commanding Ground" Along the Emmitsburg Road" by James A. Hessler and Britt C. Isenberg, both Gettysburg battlefield guides.
@@indy_go_blue6048 it was war, thousands of men were unlucky too.
@@neroresurrected all 750,000 of them
The real General Hood was a whole lot younger, better looking, and was one of the more reckless and incompetent generals in the Civil War, albeit brave. They make him seem almost grandfatherly and wise in this film.
He was young and headstrong.
To use a football analogy: Hood was a good offensive or defensive coordinator, but was not suited to be a head coach, as he displayed commanding the Army of Tennessee.
Lee spoke to General Ewell and took his advice?
1:37
Lee, you had every reason to move south now.
The enemy army is to your north.
The enemy capital is to your south.
HOME is to your south.
The enemy can set up all they want up north....but it will be meaningless for them if you pull out now.
Longstreet was right....you should have listened to him...eule's decisions were influenced by his unfortunate string of defeats, and scars of excessive caution.
The enemy army was not to the North. The federal army was to the South and East of the confederates. Lee would gave to disengage and then go around the federals. That would be very difficult, especially without Stuart. And it might invite disaster if Meade detected the movement and decided to strike while Lee was maneuvering.
@@junkjunk81 The Confederates were afraid of being cut off from their own territory. Had Meade been able to intercept them after the battle when they retreated to the south, their defeat could have been turned into a total disaster. But Meade did not move that fast.
Fun Fact, the 2 generals that commanded the opposite ends of the Confederate line, Hood in the south, Edward "Allegany" Johnson in the northeast, would be together in the Army of Tennessee a year later during the disastrous battles of Franklin and Nashville.
"George, can you take that ridge?"
To all of you who say I didn't like this or that, you cast this movie, or shut up this was well done.
@emfceql20 to the left of General Hood is General Heth with the bandaged head. To the right is General McLaw.
I knew Heth but there's another general behind Hood, next to McClaws. I'm thinking he's Anderson?
A never ending conversation. What if? And most background shows that episodes such as this were an indication of how close it was. It was no "blowout". It was a very marginal victory for Meade's army, even though they had the advantage in numbers and defensive terrain all 3 days overall. It was a close victory for Meade's army, and a crippling loss for Lee's army, based upon numbers lost versus the replenishing forces available on each side after the battle. If this were a battle of David vs Goliath, it is clear that David's missile glanced Goliath's head, and Goliath recovered quickly to squash David's shoulders, arms, and fingers as he retreated.
@@misterscollard Correct. The Souths economy was all but ruined at this point.
When they made this movie, Im sure they did their best to make the uniforms, weapons, military life, everything both sides experienced during the war, and portray the historical figures. Martin Sheen Did his best to portray LEE. The others I know they acted their hearts out.
the man playing Barksdale is his actual descendant.
@@SantomPh wow. I did not know that.
I don’t know why, maybe it’s because everyone involved is so passionate and committed to delivering 120%, but even non-actors like Barksdale and so many others knew this was a special occasion
Gettysbeard!
Check out pictures of the real James Kemper (played by Royce Applegate, who doesn't even remotely resemble him) for a beard. Also Fitzhugh Lee, and, of course, Jeb Stuart.
Obamasburg
panzerken fantastico
I-
Beards were quite common at that time.
GOD BLESS MY AWESOME FRIEND MOCTESUMA ESPARZA. I AM VERY PROUD OF YOU AND VERY HAPPY FOR YOU MR. ESPARZA. THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH MY FRIEND. I CANNOT THANK GOD ENOUGH FOR MY BEAUTIFUL FRIENDS AND THE EXTRAORDINARY BLESSINGS! I AM INDESCRIBABLY GRATEFUL AND THANKFUL. 🙏🎁🎄🙏🎁🎄🙏🎁🎄
Are you ok? Perhaps you should increase your medication?
Love how the map looks exactly like the ones in Grand Tactician Civil War.
Was that hood or mclaws men in the background marching?
Logic suggests it is Anderson near to Hill - he also has a likeness compared to photos of Anderson himself
When General Lee says "Demonstrate", what he means is to make a lot of noise with the Canons. Test shots. do you understand what I mean?
Lee should have pulled out of Gettysburg as soon as the Union Army was occupying that hill. He could have easily pulled out of Gettysburg by giving orders for the army to pull out and threaten Washington DC. The Union Army would not have stayed on that hill with angry politicians calling him to protect the city. Would have given Lee the chance to chose where the fight takes place and causes the Union Army to rush to Lee to stop him tired and probably hungry, Lees force could have had a major advantage and probably would have won the war if the Union Army was defeated. So close to DC US Govt would have had no choice but to surrender and end the war
+Area51UfosAliensFartingBowling Yes Washington was defended by a few forts and a huge garrison army, but if lee won and destroyed the Army of the potomac the news alone would be devastating and the garrison force with little experience in battle would have very low morale and might break under a Confederate attack, on the other hand Lee would have been thought of as invincible and the confederate troops would have a high Esprit de corps much like Napoleon and his Grand Armee who almost always fought outnumbered.
Tough sell getting miles upon miles of wagon trains and troops around that flank. Longstreet had the right idea, but once day one was over, Lee had little choice but to stay and fight it out. Pickett's charge was a bad idea, but otherwise Lee played it dead on right. Just couldn't get it done.
I doubt even conquering Washington would have ended the war...
no the Union force was the army of the Potomac it was at gettysburg
even his commanders gave him the same advice to threaten Washington it wouldn't have ended the war but the point of it would be to let Lee choose how the battle goes, let him choose where he fights rather then letting the union do that if he had the Union would have lost Gettysburg. They only won because of their strong defensive position and Lees unwillingness to alter his battle plan
Historically this took place on the west side of Gettysburg at the Mary Thompson house on Chamberburg Pike. The movie filmed this in the Rose Farm near the wheat field not far from Little round top in the area the second days fight took place.
The best laid plans of mice and men.
Much has been said about Longstreet's idea to flank to the right.
Yet no game I have found makes that option. The maps end too abruptly to the south. Some even stop right at the bottom of the roundtops.
Does such a game exist that will allow us to try that strategy?
It would be interesting to get a period map and extend the Avalon Hill Gettysburg map board and try it out. When I hear wargamers discussions of Operation Barbarossa, I ask if any have ever tried the Viktor Suvorov “Icebreaker” thesis where the Soviets attack the Germans. As far as I know, none have. Seems like a lot of wargamers just like to collect the games.
15th Alabama: Nooooo you can't just charge into our flank like that! We were winning!
20th Maine: Haha bayonnet go brrrrr.
Another result of JEBStuart's absence was that Lee had no accurate map of the Gettysburg area, and based his plan on the report of some infantry officers sent out on foot to schout the roads. As a result, Longstreet;s Corps was sent out on an attempt to get around the Union left flank, covered by hills and trees and then emerge into the open and assault Little Round Top when it be already too late to send reinforcement there. Longstreet ambled down the road-and found the emergence point was in plain sight of a Union signal stationon his objective, hurriedly wig-wagging away. With Lee's plan gan aglee, Longstreet countermarched to get back to a better emergent point from which to launch his "surprise" attack. countermarched, adding a whole hour to the process, then paused to allow his men's canteens to be refilled, finally stepping off for the attack before the canteen party returned to their units. By this time, a full brigade, including the 20th Maine had beat feet up Round topped was improvising a defensive line. The Confederates who tried to make the originally planned attack bogged down in the bolder pile Devil's Demand later trying to break through the Union 6th Corps which had advanced without orders from the base of Round top exposing itself to to the oncoming CSA attack on disadvantageous ground. Sykes explained that there was higher ground in his front. His superior pointed out that would be the casein any position Sykes could reach "from here to the Allegeny mountains!"As a result, Longstreet's attack was remarkably feeble when it finally went in, long afterLee's attack on the Union right flank had fizzled out. Lee lost thousands of irreplaceable confederate veterans for no decisive result!
00:56 "i combed my beard all night long"
Kind of curious how the final editing of this great historical film leaves out nearly all of Gen. A.P. Hill's lines or facetime. Especially in this scene. Notice here that when Lee is setting up Longstreet's Corps for attack with Hill in reserve, the camera focuses on Generals Hood and Heth, leaving A.P. Hill just out of frame to the left. Is his character ever clearly identified throughout the film?
He is in the deleted scene or included in the director's cut, at the end of Day 1. Lee demands answers from Ewell, Early, Rhodes and A.P. Hill. Even there Hill is silent except for one small "yes sir" when Lee addressed him by name. Ewell appears in the opening credits and in the original release you never even saw him.
It's been awhile since I've read it, but I don't think Hill even has a line of dialogue in the book (The Killer Angels) that they used as a base for this film. The Southern perspective is almost entirely Lee and Longstreet.
@@Emfceql20 Barksdale is mortally wounded in the Peach Orchard fighting later that day.
Jackson would have taken Little Round Top the first day then told Lee he did it.
Jackson would have been on the left with his corps.
You mean Culp’s Hill. Not Little Round Top. Baldy Dick Ewell took over Jackson’s Corp after his death. If you watch the deleted portion after the first days battle, Gen. Ewell is telling Lee that he should have taken the hill meaning Culps Hill. They attacked too late in the evening and it was so dark that both sides literally bypassed each other. If Ewell would have reached the top of Culps Hill he would have seen the Baltimore Pike which runs behind the hill and was totally jammed up with the Unions Supply Wagons getting out of Gettysburg from the first days fighting.
Lee couldn't afford the loss of Jackson. Hell Lee couldn't afford shoes.
Truthteller91 Longstreet’s men saw that the Union had an observation post on Little Round Top. Had he moved to attack sooner they would have easily seen him coming. Too many armchair generals play “what if” as if you could change actions on one side with no reaction from the other. If Hood and McLaws maneuvered in plain view then Meade would have moved troops in response and might well have better defended Little Round Top than actually happened. Longstreet’s near success attacking on the right was because his maneuver was largely unseen and few Union troops were in position.
@Truthteller91 You certainly are playing "what if", and indulging one of the more annoying tropes of the "Lost Cause". Had Longstreet attacked immediately on the morning of the 2nd he would've launched the assault in view of the Union and found Sickles' III Corps occupying a line anchored on Little Round Top. It was NOT undefended at that time, regardless of Lee's comment in this movie clip. The entire battle would've been unlike what actually happened.
Why didn't McLaws come with Longstreet and Hood?
sheen should have been nominated for an oscar
So should Daniels.
If Hooker had just held his original assigned position.... one does wonder. Incredible bravery in that battle. It saved the Union for sure.
Hooker wasn't at Gettysburg
@@checkmateking2854 I think that's what he meant though the sentence isn't clear. Either he meant Sickles staying on Cemetery Ridge or if Hooker had remained GinC of the AoP.
@@indy_go_blue6048 I think he meant Sickles.
“This little rocky hill, the unoccupied one”...
Up until that point in the war union secondary commanders at divisional and brigade level severely lacked initiative. Some better officers had started sifting up through the ranks and replacing McClellan's people, and it was a divisional commander who'd risen up through the ranks that sent a brigade onto those hills to try to hold it. In a way that little bit of initiative defeated the entire Confederacy, and it Union subleaders ahd shown proper initiative at several points earlier in the war, it would have been a much shorter affair.
@@hagamapama I did not know.
Pete Longstreet, what a name!
The only way Lee could win at Gettysburg was if General Meade and the United States Army did not show up.
Or retreat simply find a battlefield where you can hide and wait for Meade to attack
Heth was also cousin to Pickett! Both had something in common, they both graduated last of their classes at West Point.
Lee understood the risk but he also realized how much of a reward it would be to defeat the Union army in Pennsylvania. If they had force a Yankee retreat as they had done so many times before and continued to move north the whole aspect of the war would have changed. It would have been far greater than any victory the south achieved in the war
Don't think so. By the end of the second day, even if they'd won, they were too beat up to do much more than "withdraw" back to Virginia anyway. Union intelligence had determined at the end of day 2 that the only units that hadn't been involved were those of Pickett's Brigade. The AoP would have the laurels of another victory, but with no elections in 1863, let's assume the same results in the West and Grant coming east, I'm doubtful it would've changed much.
Antetim and Gettysburg both offensive failures. Lee could not project power north. He’s vastly overrated
Actually the plan was defeat the Army of the Potomic and march on washington. That was the goal of the invasion of the north.
Probably silly question; why did Hood refer to Longstreet as 'Pete'? I thought his name was James, where did he get 'Pete'?
His middle name was Peter.
Please. If the war wasn't about slavery then why was the CSA exclusively slave-holding (as many of the states referred to themselves in numerous articles of separation)? Why was the core issue that underpinned compromises in 1787, 1820 and 1850 that kept the union together slavery? Why was "States' Rats" suddenly not so important when it was Northern states' rights that was usurped by draconian federal overlords enforcing adherence to fugitive slave laws despite their strong opposition?
Lincoln raised an army to attack the southern states. Without the invasion slavery could have been handled peacefullly as it was everywhere else in the world. ihe slaves represented a lot of money. All the money that Lincoln spent killing southerners could have beeen used to reemberse southern planters. The Yooeman farmers and city dwellers had no slaves. So dont tell me they went to war over slavery. They repreented a very small number of people.I had 5 relatives that served in the CSA, none owned a slave between them.
You too, Pete 3:46..?? Was Longstreet named with this nickname, Pete, by his buddies in the Confederate Army..??
If you work in a tight knit team, you will gain respect and comeradery among officers. Even if some officers are higher in rank then the other officers. You should watch the 1977 British movie "A bridge too far". Lt Col Frost is pinned down on one side of the bridge at Arnhem and his second in command, a Major is allowed to call Frost, Johnny. Also Lt General Browning is spoken by his first name by Mj General Urquhart and vice versa.
He was nicknamed Pete as a boy by his father... a boyhood nickname that stuck through his life and he was called Pete by just about everybody including his family... his men called him "Old Pete". Its said his father nicknamed him Pete because he was rock-like, like the Apostle Peter from the Bible.... But most likely it was because his own name was also James Longstreet, and James Sr. bestowed a distinctive nickname to his son James Jr. I have no idea why the other post by Mardiff V is even relevant... but yeah "A Bridge Too Far" is a good movie.
Thank you for the info, Zappiss. Always great to learn something new about the war. Like I said, I only have general knowledge (no pun intended) about the war. I pretty much knew that someone more well informed would eventually tell me something I did not know before. BTW, thanks for uploading this scene from this most incredible movie. :-)
I like how James Longstreet and John Bell Hood address each other as Sam and Pete. How _did_ they get those nicknames? At random?
Longstreet was known as "Gloomy Pete" to his men and other commanders, "Pete" for short.
fucking each other in the ass there buttys
Shortly after the Battle of Bull Run/Manassas, Longstreet's family took ill, loosing his wife and his son, if memory serves me correctly another child too was also deceased, General Longstreet was unable to remain as to make final arrangements for burial, to which General Pickett was tasked to do. When Longstreet was wounded in the Mexican War, he handed the flag to Pickett who carried it forward. So, this bond was a long one.
Both nicknames came from their days at West Point. Who knows why.
The Confederates lost many valuable generals this day, that would never be replaced. Barksdale was killed leading this charge, and Hood seriously wounded, was never the same.
Not to mention the North lost General Reynolds the day before and almost lost Hancock the following day. A total of nine generals died in the three days of fighting.
Somebody said that if the rebel army had defeated the federal army at Gettysburg they would still have had a hard time defeating federal forces guarding DC. This might not have been necessarily so since most of the DC defenses were to the south of the city.(towards Richmond) In this scenario it could have ended up like when the Japanese army took Singapore from the landward side in early 1942. All of Singapore’s defenses were seaward facing south!!
I called it the War of Northern Aggression. The irony was lost though, on how fast, and aggressively I was told that I was wrong.
I'm curious how you came to that conclusion
@@sawyernorthrop4078 Why? Do you not know, that the Northern troops, were as barbaric as the Confederates troops,(If not worse)? Slavery aside, didn't many a slave become more enslaved by Lincoln's Emancipation? Like the song say's the Confederates would "take what they need, and leave the rest", but the Federal troops would basically implement "Scorched Earth". They would throw dead bodies into wells, burn down whole towns, steal every thing of any value, kill any decenters, rape at will, kill at will, burn any one's crops, and generally bring terror and mayhem wherever they went. The Federal troops laid siege to everywhere, and starved many innocent women and children to death. They plundered, and pillaged. They even went as far as to hire Confederate mercenaries, to further demoralize and humiliate the already , emaciated population of the Southern states. This my friend (regardless of how you may view it), culminates in an act of waging aggressive war. Hence the term "War Of Northern Aggression". Thank you for your comment, and good luck with all your endeavors.
@@dennismartin5821 yet south bought kidnapped black folk and beat them in to being slaves . But what you said is a lot worse fucking southern inbred tard
heaven forbid a war not be fought with aggresion. You Lost Cause hicks are a truly moronic bunch of fools.
@@dennismartin5821 I fail to see how suppressing a violent rebellion is an act of aggression. May I remind you that every single soldier in the Confederate army was a US citizen committing treason, and thus could have legally been hanged after the war?
Im not sure if that scene is in the movie, or if its another youre remembering, but if it was then it was probably in one of the camp scenes where Lee is speaking to Longstreet.
Opening paragraph, Georgia Declaration of Secession:
The people of Georgia having dissolved their political connection with the Government of the United States of America, present to their confederates and the world the causes which have led to the separation. For the last ten years we have had numerous and serious causes of complaint against our non-slave-holding confederate States with reference to the subject of African slavery.
Don’t let these neo-confederates tell you the Civil War was about states rights. Read the remarks of the Confederate VP or any of the seceding documents. Nothing much in those remarks about heritage or states right. Plenty in those remarks about African slavery. The economic engine of the South.
W H I T E L I V E S M A T T E R Hey white lives matter dude. The lost cause is lost. The South will not rise again. Maybe you should start looking for some real estate in Whitelandia. 😄
@W H I T E L I V E S M A T T E R It's mocking communism. My father was a Marine who got wounded fighting Chinese and North Korean communists in Korea. What have you done for the cause?
clear what they were fighting for. So much for States rights. This was about slavery. Nothing else.
I have read many comments on videos of this film stating that Longstreet doubted Picketts ability's as a commander.
From what I have heard and read their were no such concerns in Picketts ability's before the charge and most people who are well read on the subject consider him blameless for the outcome.
I doubt there was a force in any army of the time that could have succeeded in that attack.
Lee let his ego take over and the men suffered for it.
Yes Sir, Lee had a major default in judgement. I believe, that he discovered the true nature of, what the war was really about, and who was ultimately going to profit from it. I.E. the Catholic Church.
Not ego, desperation. Lee knew he needed to end the war in 1863. If the war went on longer, the South had no chance, they were running out of everything including men. It may have been unrealistic, but it was his only chance and a slim one at best.
Why did Hood have a blue uniform, like the Union, instead of Confederate gray?
The First Battle of Bull Run the North and the South all of them have blue uniforms
I can never understand why Americans hold Lee in such high esteem.
A bungler and a 'butcher'.
Not only did he drive his men into a suicidal charge at Gettysburg, after being defeated there, he prolonged the war for a further two years. A hero?
I think not. 🇺🇸 🇬🇧
Exactly. Lee was the butcher of the South, he lost a higher percentage of his men then any other general. He fought like he was battling Napoleon and not a modern Army.
It's funny, they make Hood look like he was way older than he actually was during gettysburg. He actually was in his late twenties when the war started and early thirties when it ended. Quite young to be a lieutenant general in the Confederate Army.
Lee's ego was his own undoing. He thought he was invincible due to his string of victories.
He also thought morale was enough to shrug off bullets.
The Greeks had a word for it : hubris.
Longstreet says he will wait as long as he can because Pickett is not available. But Pickett is a full days march away. Waiting a few more hours will not change that. I can't believe that's what Longstreet actually said.
The delay in the attack was a result of problems bringing Hoods and McLaws divisions into position for the attack without the enemy seeing it, not because Longstreet waited for Pickett. This delay however has always been used in trying to shift the blame for the confederate defeat from Lee to Longstreet by claiming that Longstreet had been ordered to attack at sunrise which simply isn't true.
General Barksdale fell and was left for dead. Died the next day in the Hummelbaugh farmhouse.
Good
imagine if Longstreet hadn't waited until 4 to start the attack!
Lee expected it at 9 and even contemporaries of Longstreet say he was sullen about Lee not taking his advice and didn't have his heart into the attack. Of course, as Lee's Lieutenant he should of attacked. He would of taken little round top and the 3rd day would never of happened.
Lee didn't even issue orders until 1100. Lee authorized a delay until Law's brigade came up, and it was Lee who instructed Longstreet to remain out of sight of Union forces during his approach. The error is taking the wrong road which exposed Longstreet's men was made by the guide, and not by Longstreet.
Longstreet was SLOW on Day 2!
Martin Sheen from the show "The West Wing" as Robert E. Lee......awesome.
Robert Duvall who portrayed General R. E. Lee, in "Gods and Generals, " is an actual descendant of Lee. Has physical traits identified with Lee. 😉👍