Most People Miss THIS Watching Gettysburg | Historian's Take
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ก.พ. 2025
- “Gettysburg” is a cinematic masterpiece, but even the most devoted history buffs may not catch everything hidden within its epic scenes. In this breakdown, we reveal 10 historical details most people miss when watching Gettysburg. Plus, the story of the only civilian causality of the Battle of Gettysburg.
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CORRECTION: Good catch! To those who commented, Stuart did not make it to New Jersey! I meant to discuss Jeb Stuart’s engagement with the 1st New Jersey Cavalry, not that he rode to New Jersey.
The fighting lasted all day, with the central terrain feature of Fleetwood Hill changing hands several times. In the end the Federals withdrew. They suffered higher casualties and had not broken through Stuart’s screen to confirm the location of Lee’s infantry. But the fact that the Union cavalry had stood a 14 hour knockdown fight with Stuart’s finest was a tremendous morale boost. From this point on Union cavalry would become bolder and deadlier. By the 1864 Shenandoah Valley Campaign and the 1865 Appomattox Campaign they had become an elite, decisive arm.
Stuart, in turn, felt the heat for being surprised in his camps after two days of showy reviews. The Richmond papers used terms such as “puffed up cavalry,” and “negligence and bad management.” Did this criticism push Stuart into his disastrous ride around the Union army that left Lee blind at the critical point of the Gettysburg campaign?
Whatever the answer, the effects of the Battle of Brandy Station were felt far beyond the banks of the Rappahannock.
Citation: stonesentinels.com/less-known/brandy-station/
History has proven that nobody admits to being in New Jersey.
im from new jersey this makes me feel pride and Jersey is definitely one of the tuffest states
He probably had heard about Hot Dog Johnny's on Route 46 and went to check it out.
Not to mention an encounter with a Delaware cavalry unit in Westminster Maryland that caused Stuart to delay his arrival in Gettysburg.
Also, it is Seminary ridge, not Cemetery Ridge. It's an easy mistake to make.
I have to say, the performance Jeff Daniels gave was absolutely amazing. Despite the fact that there were far more seasoned actors, he really stood out.
'BAYONETTES!"
One person you missed to talk about that should be is Old Man John Burns who was 69 year old veteran that joined the union side from his front porch and was wounded a few times during the battle
Interesting point! I read somewhere that John Burns was related to Robert Burns the great Scottish poet.
He fired at the rebel soldiers with an Enfield rifle he had borrowed from a wounded Union soldier.
I was one of the 120 mutineers in the film. It was a wonderful experience.
You must be old; the last Confederate War survivor...
I'm with the 63rd PAV. A few of my pards were extras too. Same with gods and generals
Awesome video, my ancestor was in the 2nd LA Inf. Co. A and was mortally wounded during the July 2nd attack on Culps Hill.
I do wish the 63 year old General George Sears Greene would gain acknowledgement for his feat of engineering that saved Culp's Hillon day 2, especially as he was left with little or no reinforcements as troops were moved to other parts of the battlefield.
Genera Greene - from Apponaug, Rhode Island !
0:17
This is gonna sound really strange, but I love the editing you did here. The music track from the opening scene, the visuals, and the narration about how the war effort was going poorly for the North almost makes me feel like I'm watching a special feature on the DVD. It's strangely nostalgic. Gives sort of early 2000's vibes.
0:38 your correct about the haunting music and a sense of dread to the early struggles of the North. Also, it looks like a whole rebel artillery battery was aiming at that one cavalryman, yikes!
Outstanding job! Absolutely loved this! (kudos on the corny 'rising' joke! lol!)
Absolutely fascinating work and so much unmarked/often untold history packed in!
Years later in a twist of irony, Jeff Daniels discovered in the show Finding Your Roots that his ancestor fought in Gettysburg in Chamberlain’s division!
Wow. That amazing.
Chamberlain had a regiment
Actually that is incorrect respectfully. His relative Private Melvin Storms served with the famous Iron Brigade in the 24th Michigan Infantry Regiment. That unit was in the 1st Brigade,1st Division of the 1st Army Corps. Chamberlain's 20th Maine was in the 3rd Brigade,1st Division 5th Army Corps. I had a relative that served in Private Storms Regiment who was seriously wounded but survived the battle and the war. I had two other Union family members killed at Gettysburg i.e. one with the 73rd Ohio Infantry and one with the 2nd US Cavalry. This narrator needs to read John W. Busey's book "These Honored Dead" to get the actual amount of Union dead who were killed and mortally wounded at Gettysburg. Robert K. Krick's "Confederate Dead at Gettysburg" is an accurate accounting of the Confederate's killed and mortally wounded at Gettysburg. Pickett was not commissioned by President Lincoln before the war. Lincoln helped Pickett receive an appointment to West Point! Pickett was grateful to Lincoln and considered him a friend the rest of his life.
@@paulwingerter8267 My G.G. Grandfather and Richard Nixon's G. Grandfather were also in the 73rd Ohio. They were positioned on the west face of Cemetery Hill on the first day, where they remained throughout the battle. Though they missed all of the major engagements, they skirmished before that prime real estate the whole time, taking a 43% casualty rate. Mr. Nixon never left the cemetery. My ancestor lived to be discharged at the end of the war.
@@dinahnicest6525 Hello Dinah! I know about Richard Nixon's Great Grandfather. I have been there over forty times since my first way back in 1984. My cousin Joseph Timmons(KIA) was claimed by his family and carried back to Ohio. I have his memorial under my management on Find A Grave. The well known Gettysburg historian Stuart Dempsey who is a licensed Battlefield guide at Gettysburg also had a relative in the 73rd Ohio. He is a friend of mine. God bless Dinah!
My GG Uncle James A. Foster was in 14th Virginia and survived Pickett's Charge.Sent to Point Lookout, survived the war and passed in 1937
'Gettysburg' showed the tremendous SCOPE of the battle very well.
the courage of both sides at Gettysburg was amazing in the face of brother's heroism bravery and sacrifice prevailed only a shame no Kentucky regiments where there bleeding our blood for either country or states' rights my states history is rich of heroic acts and im one of few who want to bring Kentucky's involvement in the war to light
John Bell Hood was there.
J E B Stuart was delayed by G A Custer’s 1st Michigan Cavalry on the East Cavalry Battlefield. While he fought the N J cavalry earlier, it was Custer who was credited with setting Lee up for failure, and thus eventually winning the war. He was awarded the “surrender table” at Appomattox Courthouse.
Stuart's cavalry ran into Union Cavalry under Judson Kilpatrick, Custer, and Farnsworth at Hanover, PA on June 30th. The result of this fighting caused Stuart to swing around to the north ending up at Carlisle before he rejoined Lee's main body at Gettysburg on July 2nd. Hanover is only 10 or 11 miles east of Gettysburg, and had that battle not taken place, Stuart could have easily been in Gettysburg on July 1st.
An aspect of the campaign not appreciated here is the heat and humidity of Gettysburg PA in July, and wool clothing.
Yes. Especially brutal for Chamberlain;s guys from Maine who had NEVER experienced such conditions before.
We have to keep in mind, they were used to wool. That was everyday clothes for the past few thousand years, and they didn't have AC back home. However, I'm sure that wool was wet, heavy, and warm, and as @jamesburnett7085 said, there were troops who had never experienced that climate before, and lived in cooler states.
This is often a bit overblown. As far as the clothing, wool clothing was pretty much the norm for 19th Century America, and if you’ve ever worn wool clothing like they had in the summer, it actually breathes better than you think and wicks away sweat. Federal issue shirts were made from Domet Wool Flannel and while uncomfortable on the skin, were very effective at temp regulation. Still hot, but not as hot as you think. And better than cotton. The 20th Maine had been in the army and campaigning for about a year by then. In Virginia. They would’ve been used to the heat and discomfort.
Weather wise, only the temp on day 3 would’ve been uncomfortable, with the records seeming to indicate a heat index in the low 90s. Days 1 and 2 seem to have been in the high 70s and low 80s. It was definitely humid, but not significantly worse than most hot days in Virginia.
no doubt. just think of the smell! filth, smoke and death all comingled!
I was at the 150th Gettysburg reenactment as a member of the 20th Me Co.B. Oof! Brutal is a rather nice way to describe the heat! Being from Maine you never fully acclimate but you learn to deal with it and take precautions. Keep that, or those if ya got two, canteens filled and use them! Magnoliaavenueartworks3912 is right about the Fed issue shirts, and cotton shirts, if lucky to get from a sutler or sent from home, work like magic I tell ya! Cotton socks too as the Feds issued wool. Ugg.
The strength of Gettysburg was that it was a strategic movie that gave you an understanding of the battle.
No unnecessary mush or heaven help us, a love interest.
Soviet and Russian Federation war films almost always have The Dreaded Love Interest, to a ridiculous extent.
This battle was taught to me at the USNA in 1989.
hardly gave an understanding. They gave NO time to Culp's Hill or how important Sykles was to the center.
Nice vid! Johnny Culp’s actually didn’t go to the south to fight for the confederacy. He was living in Richmond Virginia before the war working in a harness shop. 13:00
Gettysburg is one of my top 3 favorite war movies. The non-biased approach to history, the authenticity, and the excellent acting and script make it one of the few movies that actually educates and fascinates viewers. Long? Yes. But well worth the investment for those seeing to learn about the battle or the civil war in general.
This is wonderfully done. Thank you so much for posting it.
Glad you enjoyed it!
I love this movie. One thing missed by everyone including the producer is; near the end of the movie, a lone automobile can be seen traveling in the distance across the top on the screen over the mostly deserted battlefield.
Happy holidays and thank you for the nice video’s ! Grtz
The 20th Maine did not face thousands of men. They faced the 15th Alabama, which had 499 men plus officers. They were able to break the 15th Alabama because a companyof the 20th Maine that was thought to be lost fired into the flank of the 15th at roughly the same time as the Chamberlian charge.
Co.B Which was off of the left flank and slightly rearward of the regiment to watch in case the reg't was flanked.
There were also some men from the 2d US Sharpshooters that helped out
I did not know that bit of info. Thanks for sharing!
@@jaydunno8266 That combined detachment of Co.B and the Sharpshooters also captured 38 men from the 15th Alabama who were on water detail, refilling canteens for their regiment, right at the onset of the engagement. The 15th's canteens were empty even before the start of the actual fight because of the long delay and march.
This leads to another interesting detail that a lot of people miss in Gettysburg. When Tom Chamberlain introduces his Confederate captive to Col. Chamberlain, the man quietly asks for water. By that point, the men of the 15th Alabama would have been absolutely dehydrated.
@@geoffreyreuther5260 That is correct. The sharpshooters did capture a water party of the 15th Alabama. Aside from reducing the regiment by that number, the rest of the regiment had to skirmish with the sharpshooters from the Slyder Farm up and over Big Round Top, and then attack Little Round Top with empty or missing canteens. It says a lot about the quality of the 15th Alabama soldiers. The dehydration probably played a part in the decision to withdraw, although that seems to have coincided with the 20th Maine charge.
May that interaction between lee and the wounded union soldier be an inspiration for us all.
I think if the Confederates had taken cemetery Hill, the north would simply have dropped back to a more defensive position.
Honestly I think all the "apologists" for Lee's blunder at Gettysburg that strive to find logical reasoning for his choice to engage the Union Army in such a disadvantagous position simultaneously choose to ignore just how often Lee's many victories relied on a random stroke of luck falling the Confederates way or a similar sort of "blunder" being made by his counterparts prior to a battle.
Consider the 2nd Battle of Bull Run.
The main reason this turned into such a stunning Confederate victory was a mixture of geography, perfect timing, and supreme luck for Stonewall Jackson.
As Longstreet's forces fought Pope's from the front (a battle they would have most assuredly lost had this been the extent of the fighting), Stonewall took the whole of his cavalry and, using the ridge to Pope's flank as a masking element, approached and then struck Pope's forces from the rear flank, catching them completely off guard, causing a full panic in the ranks and ultimately ensuring a Confederate Victory.
No less than 9 (that's NINE) Union scouting pickets that were ON that ridge failed to detect and/or report Stonewall's rampant advance along the flank (astronomically poor luck for the Union), and Pope never placed any "flank guard elements" to buy time for reorienting his troops in the event of a counterattack from another direction (primarily because his intelligence suggested such a manuver was impossible without being detected with ample time to prepare).
Had ANY of those pickets reported the flanking calvary to the Union lines, or had Pope set up guard elements, there is a very real chance Stonewall's entire unit would have been wiped out to the man and the Battle would have been remembered as one of the worst mistakes of the Confederacy during the war.
But fate decided otherwise.
For the same reason that its hard to blame Pope for several ludacrous strokes of good fortune favoring the enemy during battle like THAT, its a little difficult to claim Lee was a fool at Gettysburg.
Lee WAS a brilliant General, there is no contention about that. But he DID make PLENTY of tactical errors, he DID demonstrate hubris and vanity many times in his tactics (the disastrous "Pickett's Charge" was NOT the first time Lee had ordered a charge at superior strength Union Lines...it was just the first time it ended in disaster)
In truth, he SHOULD have lost big at some point prior to Gettysburg (based on the statistics and uncertainty of war alone). But by and large inferior Union Generals, incredible strokes of good fortune, and running an army that was geared towards far more direct goals (strike aggressively; destroy the Army of the Potomac, secure Washington, get a surrender) versus the Union Armies (destroy the Confederacy's ability to fight in its whole, protect any and all settlements of the Union), extended Lee's winning streak beyond expectation and into American legend.
As it also placed into legend his meteoric fall when it finally failed him and effectively cost the Confederacy the entire war in one batlle.
To be fair, Lee did make many mistakes during Gettysburg yes, it’s with 260 years of hindsight that we realize why his decisions like Pickett’s Charge were so blunderous. In theory, Pickett’s charge actually could have worked; the plan was for his massed artillery to clear out most of the Union’s own cannon and break up the defending infantry before sending in Pickett’s division, and brigades from other units were also standing by in reserve to reinforce Pickett and exploit the breach once it had been made. Stuart’s Cavalry was also ordered to ride around the Union army to assist Pickett once he had broken through and hit any Union reinforcements sent to close the gap from their rear. The plan was actually pretty solid. What ended up happening was that his artillery commander overcalculated the distance and most of their barrage went over their targets. Even so, Pickett’s division still managed to break through the Union line at one place, but casualties had been so great that the attack was called off instead of sending in the reserve brigades. It’s a matter of debate between modern military theorists, and the subject of many wargames and simulations to find out if Pickett’s Charge would have been successful in the end had the reserves been deployed.
@@knightingale9833 I agree you're right about the miscalculation by Lee's artillery.
But there are three factors to consider:
One: even if they HAD calculated correctly, Lee had no idea that the Union had THREE artillery positions set at this point, not one. Had he taken out the primary one (which would have been a longshot because of two), the backup batteries still would have turned it into a pounding match that Lee's Artillery would have lost. Badly.
Two: Lee wasted the vast majority of his artillery's ammunition on a single, highly intensive bombardment of the Union Middle. And while this DID send the Union forces briefly into disarray (which Pickett temporarily was able to capitalize on), it also meant a very small portion of it was utilized for targeting the Union artillery in the first place (or for counter artillery purposes). So the miscalculation by the artillery commander was a bit of a mute point.
Three: Suppose for a moment Pickett had managed a breakthrough. What then? Both flanks of the Army of the Potomac had by now been notified that the entire Confederate Army was charging the center line and had formed ranks to sweep down from their positions. They would have descended upon Pickett and any supplimental Confederate forces on both sides from higher ground with massively superior numbers and with full artillery coverage.
If THAT scenario had happened there would have been no need for chasing down the survivors of the Battle of Gettsyburg...the Entire Army of Virginia would have been obliterated on the spot.
The grim truth is that the ones who got lucky in that massacre...was the Confederacy.
Because shadow of their former strength or not. The outcome left their army still combat effective and in a position for an orderly retreat. While the Union, if it WAS in an infinitely better position, was too entrenched and too busted up to effectively and safely pursue them.
Lee acted correctly in engaging the AotP at Gettysburg. He received last- minute intelligence that the AotP was nearby and moving in his direction. Since his army was divided when he received that intelligence, he moved to concentrate his army via the nearest appropriate road junction, which was Gettysburg. His decision to attack on both 2 and 3 July was also correct. His original plan of campaign had been ruined, he was all but out of time, and he had no other viable alternative. He had to either attack or abandon the campaign in failure without having done anything toward accomplishing the strategic objective of the campaign in the first place. That said, Lee got into that situation because of multiple errors which he made before the battle even began.
@@knightingale9833 Lee had no viable alternative to his 3 July assault, as he was all but out of time. He had to either attack or abandon the campaign in failure without having done anything toward accomplishing the strategic objective of the campaign.
@@manilajohn0182 I agree it was the correct decision to engage at Gettysburg given the circumstances.
But this quickly became a questionable proposition after Gen. Buford's successful delaying action at the Ridges of Cemetery Hill. Because they resulted in the whole of the AotP holding the high ground and entrenching.
Their best (and truly ONLY) chance to win came on the second day with the pushes on the AotP's flanks.
And they both failed.
And while the assaults on Cemetery and Culp's Hill to the right and Devil's Den, Wheatfield, Peach Orchard, and Little Round Top on the left were hard fought, they were dual slaughters.
Slaughters the Confederacy couldn't afford.
At that point, Lee DID NOT have enough forces to beat the AotP. Not without fresh troops and the element of surprise. The third day was destined to end one of three ways.
A pitched battle of attrition, where the Army of Virginia will run out of troops first and would either have to retreat with the survivors or be destroyed.
A rout due to the Union's superior position, giving the Army of Virginia the option of retreating or being destroyed.
A temporary breakthrough of the Union line, which would be IMMEDIATELY responded to by a GIGANTIC pincher strike by the whole of the AotP from the flanks, in which case the Army of Virginia would be cut off and destroyed. No retreat would happen.
...It DOES NOT matter that Richmond could no longer support their army anymore. A poorly supplied army is still an army. Lee sacrificed a potential future opportunity presenting itself, or even the potential to harass the Union badly enough to get favorable conditions for the Southern States (if defeat couldn't be avoided) for a suicidal Hail Mary that every one of his generals (save perhaps Pickett) could see was as such by day three in a desperate bid to retain an already shattered dream of crushing the AotP on the way to Washington.
Brilliant as Lee usually was, and chaotic as battlefield conditions are...his choices to fully commit the Army of Virginia in such increasingly dire circumstances sounds less like the work of a master general and more like a West Point dropout.
Great channel! One of the more worthwhile ones one TH-cam. Thanks so much for these vids.
Thanks for watching!
One thing you should know, the bayonet is one of the most psychologically fearful weapons on any battlefield.
And it was almost never used during the Civil War.
The strategic objective of the campaign was to achieve a great enough success to remove pressure from the Confederate defenders at Vicksburg. This is supported by repeated letters from Mississippi Governor Pettus and General Johnston, Lee's April 1863 statements to Secretary of War Seddon, Longstreet's memoirs, Reagan's memoirs, the series of meetings of the Confederate cabinet in mid- May, and Confederate President Davis' decision to authorize Lee's invasion instead of detaching forces from the AoNV westward.
Lee stated in both of his after- action reports that he had never intended to fight a major battle so far from his base unless attacked. From this, it's clear enough that Lee intended to maneuver so as to entice the AotP into attacking the AoNV. This is also the likely reason why, on 1 July, Lee cautioned his corps commanders not to bring on a general engagement until the army was concentrated. In effect, Lee was attempting to carry out a strategically offensive, but tactically defensive campaign- a difficult task when it's remembered that the army was foraging off of the enemy countryside. But maneuvering so as to encourage an attack by the AotP required accurate, up- to- date- information on the strength and location of the AotP.
This is where Lee made the critical mistake of the campaign. He violated the military axiom of "one force, one objective" and issued two objectives to Stuart. In two separate letters, he instructed Stuart to gather both information and provisions- the former being critical toward accomplishing the strategic objective of the campaign, and the latter facilitating the operational objective of the campaign. Lee failed to clarify which of these objectives was the primary one and then compounded this error by emphasizing that Stuart was to "...collect all the supplies you can for the use of the army", rather than simply directing Stuart to forage for his three cavalry brigades only. These two objectives coincided in time so that Stuart couldn't first accomplish one, and then the other, and he lacked the strength to accomplish them both simultaneously.
The resulting lack of information which Lee required about the AotP led directly to the meeting engagement of 1 July. This minor victory was actually a disaster for Lee, because it effectively ruined his plan of campaign. By going over to the tactical offensive, Lee assumed a tactical initiative which he had never wanted. Combined with their recent defeats at Fredricksburg and Chancellorsville, this minor defeat suffered by the AotP all but guaranteed that Union forces would not be carrying out an attack on the AoNV- particularly since they were led by a new commanding general.
The AoNV was foraging and couldn't remain in any one area for more than 3- 5 days and it hadn't foraged since Lee's concentration order of 29 June. This, the situation at Vicksburg, and the tactical success of 1 July led Lee into the tactical offensive again on 2 July. By 3 July, Lee's only options were a continuation of the tactical offensive or the abandonment of the campaign- because although Longstreet's proposal was doable (if tactical in nature), it was highly likely to encourage Meade to carry out a general offensive against the AoNV.
I have spent hours reading historian,s accounts of this battle , visited the battlefield twice but never heard of the friendship between Lincoln and Pickett ,but there were many friendship’s ended by the war. A bit of trivia,when John Brown and his sons overtook the armory at Harpers Ferry, it was recaptured by union soldiers under the command of Major Robert E Lee.
You said it briefly, but Early had already been through Gettysburg several days before, a fact which must have been known to Heth.
My great great grandfather and great grandfather were residents of Gettysburg. The former published "Notes on the Rebel Invasion of Maryland and Pennsylvania" shortly after the battle, and his son, much later published his own account of the battle an the Gettysburg Address.
I served in the National Guard with a Culp, of the Culp's Hill family.
There's no evidence that Heth was aware that Early had been looking for shoes in Gettysburg. Moreover- even if he had known, Heth was aware that Union civilians would often attempt to hide their valuables from approaching Confederate forces, so he had every reason to look for shoes. In any event, Heth had no reason whatsoever to lie about his statement. His actions did not precipitate the battle of Gettysburg. Pettigrew's brigade withdrew upon contact with Union forces on the 30th, and Hill authorized Heth's movement toward Gettysburg on 1 July.
@@manilajohn0182 Heth should have known that Early had gone through Gettysburg, just as a matter of understanding the strategic situation. That the civilians hid stuff is certain, but not in industrial quantities. If he did not know, that is, in a sense, even more damning.
@@jameshorn270 Actually, he it was highly unlikely that Heth would have known what Early may or may not have looked for. No telegraph service existed between corps commanders and no daily pass- down of information existed from corps to division level regarding the scavenging activities of other corps. Messengers did not carry detailed information regarding what this or that division commander was looking for. They carried essential information only. A division commander who has a few hundred or a few thousand of his men marching barefoot will happily take whatever quantity that he might find, large or small. The business of blaming Heth is just an extension of the "Lee's subordinates failed him" storyline. The sober truth is that it was Lee who made multiple glaring errors at the operational and strategic levels in the campaign, and he made them all before the battle at Gettysburg even began. His tactical level decisions were solid, given the situation that he found himself in on 29 June. After 1 July, he had no other viable alternative but to either attack or abandon the campaign in failure.
@@manilajohn0182 Lee would have let his commanders know about the general movements of the rest of the army. Otherwise, it would be possible for units to blunder into situations where they were isolated and out of range of support.
Lee's plan was to lure the Union into making suicidal attacks on a strong position at Cashtown. Meade had similar idea to draw Lee into attacking Union positions at Pipe Clay Creek. Heth forced the hands of both.
@@jameshorn270 Yes, Lee did inform his corps commanders of the movements of the other corps. This did not extend to detailed information regarding what those corps were foraging for, what they found, and what they did not. See Lee's orders to Stuart. He instructed Stuart to gather information and provisions. He didn't instruct him what specifically to look for, nor did he inform him what other corps had obtained, This is why Heth was looking for shoes. He had no idea what other formations in the AoNV had found, or not.
`There's certainly there's no reason for Heth to lie about looking for shoes in Gettysburg. Pettigrew's brigade of Heth's division withdrew from Gettysburg on the 30th upon contact with Union forces. Heth moved on Gettysburg on 1 July with Hill's authorization. Hill had the authority to authorize that movement because Lee told his corps commanders not to bring on a general engagement. Since they commanded army corps, "...not to bring on a general engagement" meant any action which their corps could not handle.
There's no evidence at all that Lee intended to lure the Union into attacking him at Cashtown. Lee didn't even know that the AotP was in motion northward until the 29th, and he then ordered a concentration in the Gettysburg- Cashtown area. If he'd intended to do what you allege, he would not have had his army scattered as it was. While Meade did wish to take up a defensive position at Pipe Creek, there's no evidence that he intended or attempted to draw Lee into attacking him there.
Sam Elliott as Buford ♥️ "Stonewall is dead"...by a confederate bullet
Pickets charge began after the heavy confederate artillery fire. the balls passed over the ridge into the Union rear. that union artillery stopped firing, the Rebs thought their artillery was taking the union guns out. the union guns merely ran out of long range ammo but had plenty of canister rounds. range of 700 yds. plus, the union soldiers at both ends were moved to the center thinking the rebs would not attack there, However, knowing the battle wasn't over, the union troops picked up lots of confederate smooth bores and the ammunition boxes holding "buck and ball" ammo. each soldier carried several conf muskets and loaded them all with buck an ball. ammo for close action. the number of casualties suffered on both flanks caused the attackers to move from the flanks towards the center which made them perfect targets for the union canister fire. The reason for the temporary conf break through in the center was that the union artillery ceased fire fearing to hit their own soldiers. However, behind the artillery were ranks of fresh troops that counter attacked the conf break through. killing and taking lots of confederate prisoners. Retreating. back to their starting positions and beyond, Lee rode among them saying. "It's all my fault"
The Union batteries near the copse of trees were heavily damaged by the Rebel artillery. Cushing was down to three guns and only able to crew two. Brown's battery had to withdraw and was replaced by Cowan's. After the initial firing, the clouds of smoke produced by the cannons obscured the targets. Also each gun would roll back eight to ten feet under recoil and had to be reaimed for each shot. They tended to shoot high after that, so the Union infantry lying down behind their stone wall was relatively untouched, but Meade's HQ had to relocate. The effective range of canister is about 400 yards, Closer than that say as the Rebels crossed the Emmitsburg Pike, double cannister would be used. That's two cans of balls over a single powder bag. The last shot from Cushing's battery was tripe cannister. That was the last of the ammunition. Cowan's battery fired double cannister to break up a charge against his battery. As the Rebels clustered towards the copse of trees, Gen Hancock ordered troops to reinforce the Philadelphia Brigade. The 12th NJ was armed with smoothbores and fired buck and ball at the Rebel attackers. That is noted on their monument.
Pickett's Charge was lead by Pickett, Pettigrew, and Trimble. The North Carolina line under Pettigrew actually got the farthest that day.
Yes, they were under Longstreet. Should have been called "Longstreets Assult"
@@williewonka6694Pickett had a better promoter. he worked intensively after the war to have that particular bout bear his name
@sandiz83 Yeah, I'm sure Longstreet would have been happy with that arrangement.
The 4 brigades of Heth's division were lead by Johnston Pettigrew and the 2 of Pender's division were lead by Isaac Trimble. They contained troops from North Carolina (at least 3 of whom were my ancestors), Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee and Virginia.
@@williewonka6694 Longstreet totally opposed making the attack in that manner - it was *Lee’s* charge.
The 4th Ohio was there, they were raised from north central Ohio where I live. I Found their marker when I went to Gettysburg its on cemetery ridge/hill were they fought. It has my county listed as one of the 5 counties that the unit was raised from. They were also one of the units who was sent to put down the NY draft riots.
As for Longstreet's attack on Day 2, he was waiting for his last brigade, that of Evander Law, to get to the front. It got there exhausted, but was a key part of the fighting that day.
Longstreet chose a circuitous route, so as to avoid Union observation.
On Day 3, you implied that because Longstreet recently lost three children, he wrongly argued against Pickett's Charge. By going down hard on Longstreet, you give credence to Jubal Early's "Lost Cause" theory.
Compared to other US Civil War movies past and present, the movie Gettysburg was filmed on location at Gettysburg and the surrounding areas.
I always thought that Longstreet made most sense - strategic offense and tactical defense. That being said, hindsight is always 20/20.
Longstreet is a tragic lesson from history. He was a man ahead of his time. He understood and attempted put into practice at lot of very modern military ideas about fields of fire, artillery use, and concentration of forces to gain tactical advantage.
Unfortunately, after the war, he reunited with his old friend, Grant, and became a pro-integration republican.
His former southern colleagues condemned him for this. They started a public relations campaign that blamed Longstreet for many of the failures of the southern cause.
Because of this, many of Longstreet’s military ideas and teachings were ignored and not passed on to future American military leaders at West Point and the War College. Many of his ideas and teachings had to be relearned in incredibly costly manner during the early stages of wwi and wwii.
Many interesting details which were new to me. Thank you.
Stuart's calvary most certainly did not go to New Jersey!
So many shameless errors and blunders in this video. This guy needs to visit Gettysburg and take a few personal tours.
Can you blame him? No one wants to go to jersey.😂
I do not think the Rebels fled before Chamberlain's charge because of thinking he had reinforcements coming. They had repeatedly tried to take Chamberlain's position, and had been turned back each time. They were exhausted from charging up hill. They had suffered high casualties with each charge. They were undoubtedly at the end of their tether, and then to have the 20th Maines come charging down on them with fixed bayonets (giving them enormous momentum) was just too much. In addition, a company of sharpshooters had spent much of the time the Confederates had been attacking Chamberlain, hidden behind a wall on the Confederate flank, decided to take this moment to stand up and deliver a well aimed volley on the Confederate flank.
I think there are a lot of other compounding issues as to why the 20th Maine's charge worked (in addition to what you have already stated). Famously, the 15th Alabama (the regiment mostly responsible for opposing the 20th Maine) had just completed a 20 mile march just to arrive at the battlefield and had not been able to rest or get water. The route of that particular regiment during the attack took them over Big Round Top which was even further exhausting.
Additionally, John Bell Hood was wounded early during the attack and he was succeeded in the chain of command by Evander Law whose brigade was opposing Vincent's on the south and east of LRT. By all accounts, Law did a very poor job with the transition to command and didn't appoint a brigade level successor until July 3rd so the regiments were kind of working on their own.
Also, by the time the 15th AL made their final push up LRT, the rest of Law's brigade and the portion of Robertson's brigade that was on LRT had already been repulsed by the arrival of the 140th NY and the north side of the hill so the 15th AL were completely unsupported by that time. The rest of Weed's brigade was also beginning to arrive on LRT, so even had Chamberlain's charge failed, it is unlikely that the 15th AL would have been able to actually push the Union off the hill. I don't think that takes anything away from the heroism of the charge, but practically speaking, one half-strength and exhausted regiment was unlikely to be able to dislodge an entire, relatively fresh, brigade (regardless of what Col. Oates wrote after the war).
The better opportunity the Confederates had to win on July 2nd was at Culp's Hill where one brigade held off an entire division of Ewell's corps until well after dark. And in the middle of the union line that had been left wide open as units were fed into the meat grinder of the Wheatfield and LRT (Barksdale's and Wilcox's charge).
@@Twostep90-o2c This is the first I have heard of Big Round Top being traversed by any Confederate units. Maybe their route went along the lower northern slopes of that hill, but if they went over the top, they only had to shift their line of march by a few degrees to wind up behind Little Round Top.
Gen. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson is more accurately described as Gen. Lee's left hand man, not his right hand man. Gen. James Longstreet was the senior commander, the commander of the 1st Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia, and described as Gen. Lee as "the staff in my right hand". Also, the reputation of Longstreet was more of stability and dependability, whereas Jackson was a devastating wild card (e.g. "the left hand path").
7:20 Amputations were frequently done in the Civil War because the injuries were so severe it was usually found as comminuted and compound fractures - mincing muscles, nerves, and vessels and pulverizing bones apart - rendering lower limbs useless and dead - hence amputations were conducted by physicians and surgeons.
Eye scooping was also done when gunpowders burned and fried the eye(s), and physicians and surgeons had to scoop them out.
It was said Gettysburg was the largest battle in North America as was said here. But it has been debated that the Second Battle of Tenochtitclan (Mexico City) was the largest. Who knows?
Another fact to remember about Little Round Top..the Confederates attacking had already fought Sickle's 3 rd Corps, had taken casualties, and was just about out of water, critical in the summer heat, and ammunition. Sickles had already blunted the attack.
Force marched over 20 miles to reach the field.. countermarched another 2 to 4.. then most had NO water, sent out 22 men with ALL the regiments' canteens.. ALL killed or captured and only then did they commence upon assailing LRT, with a good number already down or unable to venture up the hill... let alone those that did ALL assaults under these inhuman conditions/24 hr period. Incredible men
@@briankeator9925 Indeed. The details people sometimes forget. The understrength 3 corps still put up a serious fight. Being a Division short didn't help.
A lot of times confederate had shoes but chose not to wear them but I'd rather chose to save them for winter shoes didn't last long they wore out quick
@panzerdeal8727
And the sun was in their eyes, and their dogs ate their homework.
The Confederates who fought on Little Round Top did not fight with Sickles' corps. The Texas Brigade (which made up the northern portion of the Confederate assault on LRT) became separated during the attack. Some of its regiments captured Devil's Den but the two the assaulted LRT (the 4th and 5th) didn't engage in any serious fighting with Sickles' corps. Sickles' Corps was mostly opposed by the brigades of Mclaws' Division (farther to the north of the Confederate attack) as well as the more northern portions of Hood's Division. Evander Law's brigade bypassed Devil's Den entirely and instead took a route directly over Big Round Top.
However, as others have pointed out, the Confederate soldiers had already marched an almost inhumane number of miles in over 90 degree weather to make the assault and the features of Devil's Den and the 3rd Corps soldiers occupying it caused the Confederate attack to become uncoordinated and unsupported which contributed to the failure of the assault.
That's not to say that the 3rd Corps didn't have an impact on the day's fighting. When Lee had ordered his attack, the Union line was in a substantially different position than it was when the attack actually commenced. In fact, at the time of the Confederate reconnaissance, the union line hadn't extended south the whole length of Cemetary Ridge, much less to LRT. Lee's plan of engagement had expected the entire union line to be much farther north than it was and they had expected to find LRT unoccupied as well as the entire southern portion of Cemetary Ridge up to the Round Tops (where Sickles was supposed to be), much less the Peach Orchard and the Wheatfield (where Sickles ended up).
Another correction: Stonewall was NOT killed by friendly fire. He was simply wounded - and while it cost him a limb, it was not what killed him. An illness he contracted, pneumonia, I believe it was, is what killed him.
Sickels was a bad soldier and disobeyed his orders. He spent the rest of his life doing repair on his reputation. Chamberlain was a hero . He was a legend till his death at 85 . Great movie , thank you
On the morning of July 1st, Gettysburg resident Jennie Wade and her family fled their town home to this brick double house shared by her sister Georgia McClellan, to distance themselves from the fighting. The Union retreat to Cemetery Hill soon placed Jennie and the rest of the household in the direct path of danger.
Despite the menace of stray bullets that constantly struck the house walls, Jennie busied herself furnishing water and baking biscuits for the many soldiers manning the nearby Union picket line.
Early on the morning of July 3rd, fate claimed Gettysburg's only civilian fatalty. Jennie was killed instantly by a random Confederate bullet while preparing biscuit dough in the kitchen.
Her mother saw her fall and sadly informed the rest of the family:
'...your sister is dead."
For the point on the shoes at Gettysburg, it is understood by the National Park officials at Gettysburg that the story is in-fact a myth or a story that Heth made up. Anyone that has been in the military know that you submit after action reports, and you can get 'creative' to sidetrack from things that didn't go off as well; though if the story originated 14 years later, then it is a point that should be discarded as hearsay.
This is substantiated by the fact that the locals, many of which are related to the people that lived there at the time (thusly their stories get passed down over generations), do not recall a shoe factory having ever been at Gettysburg. Maps also exist from that era, and again, a shoe factory does not pop up on the maps. It was largely a rural town that was being slowly transformed into a train hub due to its geographic location and was host to a small college to include a seminary school for people wanting to go down the priestly route.
Very beautiful park if any of you reading this have never been. It is arguably one of the best preserved civil war battlefields in modern operation as a park. It the closest thing that America has to a 'holy site,' at least on the east coast. Every little bit of ground there, the town too, has interesting stories attached to it. As a kid I was overtaken by the stories of men doing brave combat stuff, and as an adult I have come to appreciate the amount of other people involved, whom provided aid and comfort wherever they could.
Side note: President Eisenhower's retirement home is also located in Gettysburg, due to his personal affinity for the place when the battlefield was used for early testing and training on tanks.
I read that, in the aftermath of Gettysburg, quartermasters from the Union Army retrieved muskets from the fallen soldiers on both sides. Some of the muskets were loaded with as many as twenty unfired rounds, which indicated that, in the haste to load and fire, they didn't realize that they had not fired their last round and so just loaded another round on top of it.
I never knew it was as much as 20, but I did know there were numerous superimposed loads in several weapons! I was going to post the same info until I saw yours!
Hmmm, I'm pretty sure that a Civil War era rifled musket couldn't possibly have held twenty unfired rounds.
@@thomaswebb2584 The most which I've ever read was four. Perhaps there were more than that, but I don't believe that a rifle of that period could physically hold twenty rounds.
@@manilajohn0182 somewhere I read 15 was the most at Gettysburg, but I will try to confirm that.
This was not just at Gettysburg. This was a fairly common occurrence in most every battle during the civil war. The mule ear percussion cap was somewhat of a new invention in firearms technology. The thinking behind it was a larger “Cap” would be easier for a soldier to use because it was larger to grip thus making it easier for the average soldier to place it in the nipple during the heat of battle. The confederate army didn’t have the facilities to spin the fulminate of mercury into the caps like the Union army did. Thus their percussion caps were not as reliable as the Union army’s had. So during the heat of battle and especially the noise of battle. The soldiers who were inexperienced would load their rifeled muskets and place the cap and pull the trigger. They just assumed their rifles had fired and reloaded them. A more experienced soldier would realize that their ramrod wasn’t going down into the barrel as far as normal and would have taken measures to unload their weapon. Newer, less experienced soldiers would just keep loading and loading. They did this mostly out of sheer terror. Sometimes it was just because they didn’t know their own rifles hadn’t went off during the fighting though. This problem got worse as the war progressed and less and less experienced soldiers would be pressed into the war.
In this film was a sad twist of irony. Richard Jordan's character Gen Armistead dies. Thus, Jordan's final role was that of "General Lewis Armistead" in the film Gettysburg (1993), which was a labor of love for him. He was close friends with Michael Shaara, the author of the novel "The Killer Angels", which the movie was based upon, and contributed to the screenplay.
Soon not long after Jordan dies too.
My great great grand Uncle was in the 20th Maine. Going back further I had a great ....grandfather as of the Eathan Allen's Mountain boys in the Revolution.
You have warrior blood! In which branch of our military did you serve in?
Oddly enough with all the casualties of the war actually only 32K Union and 31K CSA Troops were killed in all the battles of the civil war. The vast majority of the deaths were due to disease, after battle wounds and in POW camps.
Would you have cared one way or the other if you died by a bullet vs a germ? Either way you’re dead lol
God, that was a fun ride!! Thanks for this video history lesson.
People often forget that the 15th Alabama actually held Little round top, but we’re ordered off the top and to press the attack on the first day.
Also I’m a duck quack quack quack
Ive never heard of the wounded union soldier encountering Lee ,thanks.
Makes me wonder as if the war was fought more as a matter of course, with soldiers going thru the motion of loading twenty times yet never fired a cap off the nipple, sounds like reluctancy to kill another,more than plain forgetfulness.Yet so many died. I see pictures of the soldiers in camp, and they look nonchalant. We realize what a minie ball could do, but it was what it was to them.. losing a limb was par for the course.
The blockade, people, the blockade! The blockade was THE deciding strategy in the war, NOT any land battle, and it was literally choking the South - starvation, riots, desertion. Lee was utterly desperate taking his army North to try and win a major victory that might encourage Britain to join on their side - that was never going to happen.
General Lee absolutely never spoke to a wounded soldier, near cemetery Ridge as he was never anywhere in that vicinity at any point during the battles.
Neither were you.
Totally false
That CONTRADICTS everything that I have ever read from respected historians and scholars.
Quit lying and trying to push an agenda, as it always eventually becomes obvious!
Just tell the truth….whether you like/dislike the facts has NO BEARING on what happened & WON’T change anything.
One of the criticisms levelled at the Gettysburg movie is the use of re-enactors rather than actors. It saved costs, but most of the re-enactors would be too old to fight in the real Civil War.
But that's a standard problem with Hollywood war movies... casting actors too old for their parts.
I think so many re-enactors being far too well fed is more notable than their age.
It also insured you had people who cared how they looked historically and looked used, as opposed to some costume designer issuing clothing that was to perfect.
I was disappointed that Martin Sheen didn't reprise his role as Lee in "Gods and Generals."
It was a meeting engagment, There is no retreat in a meeting egagment. It becomes a fight to the death.
I find it hard to believe Jeb Stuart and his cavalry ranged as far as New Jersey, though they were certainly out of touch with Lee. 5:02
I noted that error too. J.E.B. Stuart was N0T in the garden state.
Yeah, this video lost all credibility when I heard that one. It's like 190 miles from Gettysburg to New Jersey.
Somehow crossed the Susquehanna and Delaware rivers and the State of Pennsylvania.
@@williewonka6694
In less than 24 hours.
Good catch. You are correct, Stuart did not make it to New Jersey. I meant to discuss Jeb Stuart’s engagement with the 1st New Jersey Cavalry, not that he rode to New Jersey. I gave more details about this correction in a pinned comment on this video.
The Union lost battle after battle, due to poor leadership at the highest levels. Things changed at Gettysburg. There, the Union's Junior Officers stepped up and took matters into their own hands on more than one occasion. That's all the Federal rank and file needed to score a major victory.
I've done just the opposite. I place Gettysburg above Patton. I've been drawn to watch Patton just 3 times. I never felt compelled to buy the movie. I've purchased Gettysburg twice, once in VHS and again in DVD, and I've watched it a minimum of two to three times a year since it was first released. My two son's loved it too.
.....did you know that Patton's grandfather died in Pickett's Charge as an officer under Lee ? This death was shown in the film, as Ted Turner himself portrayed Patton being shot !
@@johnfoster535 Yes, I knew. I had the pleasure of meeting and serving with Patton IV back in 1977 when I was asssigned to 2-67 Armor of the 2nd Armor Division. I was an Infantry Mortarman in a 4.2" Mortar Platoon which supported the tank battalion. Patton IV seemed to be just like his daddy. He always had his pearl handle revolver holstered on his hip.
True about the shoes. Thank you.
Everyone interested in the American Civil War, should at least once in their lives, walk across that long field up to Cemetery Ridge. One detail I thought the film couldn't get was Alexander's bombardment of the Union position on the ridge. The vast number of cannons engaged, and the Union response was, at that time, the loudest man made sound ever made. The noise was heard as far away as Pittsburgh.
I've been there. Many have no idea about how gruesome and deadly linear warfare really is. The veterans met there in the 1930s. They reenacted Picketts charge. Except this time, the former enemies ran up to each other and embraced each other while weeping.
@@leroyproud294 Yes, I saw that a long time ago, and there's some "silent" footage of the 50 year reunion in 1913.
1:50 "Supplies, especially shoes" are given as the reason for the move to Gettysburg on the 30th in the post campaign report. (written in September 1863... not decades later)
The movement on the 1st is all about picking a fight and seeing if there is anything solid behind the federal cavalry.
17:45 the result of very badly trained soldiers. During the campaign Lee had to issue orders that the company offices actually made sure their men cleaned their guns after use.
In spring of 1864 Meade had to order the issue of 10 rounds pr. man to be fired under the supervision of the company commanders. Because it was well known that many men had been in combat multiply times without successfully firing their guns. This was for most soldiers the only time during the entire war they did any sort of shooting outside of combat.
(the 6000 come from the report of the chief of the Washington arsenal later that year)
There are multiple errors in this video. Chamberlain's men were not matched against thousands, for instance.
Hey may have been facing a regiment of ÷/- 600, but a retreat by Chamberlain would have permitted thousands of rebel troops to exploit on ascend little round top
@@Defender78 Agree. Even so, as presented it was one of many misrepresentations within the video.
He was outnumbered but you’re right, only two regiments, not a whole division. I think it’s really stretching to assume that if the 20th retreated, that would’ve guaranteed thousands of rebs on the hill. Where would they have come from? The rest of Hood’s division was fighting in the Devils Den/Rose farm and had no idea about what was going on on LRT. McLaws was focused on the Peach Orchard and all 4 of his brigades went into that area as well as the Rose farm. No other confederates were available to respond, and even if they were, how could they communicate with the reserves? No brigade commander was present with any of the 5 regiments that attacked the hill, it would’ve taken a minimum of 30 minutes to get something moving that way, and as we know from the timeline, 2 full Union brigades summitted the hill within an hour of the initial attack on the 20th, in addition to Vincent’s brigade. There’s no way a single confederate regiment could have overwhelmed or stood against fresh troops like that.
Correction. Jenny was not the only female killed in the battle of Gettysburg. She was the only CIVILIAN!.There was at least one girl disguised as a man killed in "Pickett's Charge". It's estimated as many as 200 young women managed to pass themselves as men and fought in that war.
Don't Try it Lee "I HAVE THE HIGH GROUND!"
What is often overlooked is that Meade was in worse shape than Lee WRT supplies.
Yep. Many Union units found themselves shoeless after incessant marches to keep up with Lee. Once an army in on campaign, you generally lose your supply base.
@ - Meade had taken over the Army days before. His predecessor was not much on logistics, but had ordered supplies. Unfortunately, Rebel cavalry had intercepted those supplies, 200 wagons worth, days before... The Union was extremely short of fodder and other critical supplies, and, as you said, was on the march to Gettysburg, moving away from its bases. Timing was not good. Fortunately, Lee was impatient and played right into their hands, as it happens.
But, supplies, and disorder/casualties after a strenuous battle, explain Meades failure to follow. And the Union cavalry just had no horse food!
If you win a battle take he shoes of the dead enamel !
If you have ever fired a black powder musket, rifle you know when it's fired. The act of the reload, percussion cap , then load the cartridge and ram it down, then full cock and fire. There is more to it than that why they didn't fire . The NCO's observing the line would have seen someone not loading but with black powder hard to tell if they fired. Side note: modern tests have been done with reenactors shooting at a cardboard line of troops at 200 yards. Within 2 volleys the line was gone. So it's not the rifle, it was the training or lack thereof. In WW2 only 10% of troops shot back but by Vietnam it was 90% why?
The little marksmanship training they had was either shooting at bullseye or glass target. There is a basic fact that humans do not like taking another life and will go to extremes to not do it. Why didn't the volleys wipe out either line, it wasn't the rifle they could hit easily to 300 yards, it was the troops on either side. They hadn't been trained like modern militaries with humanoid pop up targets, so they a lot of times they shot high or low. The book "On Killing" by LtCol Dave Grossman explains this.
Stonewall Jackson wasn’t killed by friendly fire, two of the wounds weren’t life threatening but the third warranted amputation of his left arm. He died from pneumonia a week after being shot.
How about "died as a result of friendly fire"? Pure semantics? He still passed after Confederate balls passed through him causing the infection after the amputation. The chain of events clearly initiated by the third round.
It wasn’t the turning point. It was just one of them.
Pickets charge wasn't pickets charge. He only commanded the left flank. Overall command of the attack was Pettigrew He was a north Carolinian because most of the troops attacking were from north Carolina
Amazing Channel! thanks for posting
EXTREMELY well done. Thank You.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Hi I’d like to add something to your history please, there is another reason I believe that JEB STUART was late to Gettysburg as why the scout Harrison stated in the movie “he got his name in the Yankee papers” referring to Stuart as he ment that he got himself in a skirmish as of June 29th 1863 in a little town near Taney town as you can see the town called WESTMINSTER (where I live) he was bringing his cavalry of 6,000 men after taking over a Union train, he met with Union soldiers coming from Baltimore and so this extremely small but really important skirmish called “Corbits Charge” or The battle of Westminster (md) 4 people died only and 11 were only wounded some people do believe that this skirmish is one of the reasons JEB Stuart arrived day two / July 2nd 1863. Maybe you could edit this video or make a new one if you like this. Thank you for you time
50.000 casualties. That’s an average amount for European wars. Shows you how brutal war can be.
I'd read about the instances of men loading and failing to fire their weapons. I don't think this was peculiar to the Civil War. This might be a peculiarity of the muzzle loaded weapon, as in the roar and confusion of battle, you might not be aware that your weapon failed to fire. A breechloading or magazine fed rifle likely can't be reloaded if full.
Heath wanted ONE thing, a fight. Even against militia, he wanted some action and decided to ignore orders. The shoe story is pure bunk and a cover for his idiocy.
Well done and well said!
Chamberlain never made that speech that Daniel's made in the movie. Chamberlain never discussed slavery from everything that is known about him.
Poetic license genius
The problem I have is in the movie Bufford's troops had a combination of breach loading and some repeating rifles. I don't recall seeing this in the movie.
I did notice the Sharps carbines, but we don't get that close of a view of his men, to really determine their other weapons.
consider many soldiers you see are reactors they were likely some. the movie actors often credit them in making Gettysburg the succeess it is
There are a couple inaccuracies in this video.
1. Lee’s army was called the Army of Northern Virginia, not the Army of Virginia.
2. Chamberlain was outnumbered by the 15th Alabama, but he wasn’t outnumbered by thousands of troops. The 15th Alabama had 543 men.
Otherwise, it is a very good video.
The Alabamans were also at the end of their rope, from thirst and exhaustion. A water party of 26 of their men stumbled into the Union lines and were captured. In addition, Col. Oates reported that he had just ordered (or was about to order - historians differed) the 15th and 47th Alabama, and perhaps the 4th, to retire to the rear, which made Chamberlain's charge more effective. All of that is not to say it wasn't a pivotal and epic moment!
Yup. The Army of Virginia was a Union force, cobbled together in 1862, and employed in the battle of Second Manassas, or Second Bull Run. It didn't last long, and people get them confused .
@@panzerdeal8727 Lead by the "miscreant" Pope.
@@JimBro317 And they had just marched 27 miles that day. In July.
There also weren't 16000 killed on July 1st
There were only 7000 killed across both sides over all 3 days
Not sure where he got that statistic
I wasn’t there, but if I thought 1500 pairs of shoes was a battlefield multiplier for my unit, I would probably think really hard about taking that chance. If in fact that happened, and I was marching barefooted, I would feel much better with a pair of shoes on my feet or that I thought my CO tried getting me a pair of shoes.
The last bit makes Mary, Jonas's wife getting killed in her house by a stray bullet during the battle, just a tad historically inaccurate in The Blue and the Gray.
16,000 men were not killed on July 1, 1863. Stuart's cavalry was never in New Jersey. Where are you getting this bad info?
People often confuse casualties with battle deaths. Casualties include killed in action and died of wounds, wounded who didn’t die and missing with the great majority of missing being prisoners of war. Some of the mortally wounded did not die until weeks, months and even years after a battle and some of the prisoners died in captivity.
Good catch. You are correct, Stuart did not make it to New Jersey. I meant to discuss Jeb Stuart’s engagement with the 1st New Jersey Cavalry, not that he rode to New Jersey. I gave more details about this correction in a pinned comment on this video.
Without adequate information on the whereabouts of the Union army due to Stuart's failure, the battle was a meeting engagement. That's as simple as it is. Should Lee have fought there? Doesn't matter, the battle was fought and ended in a draw. Very similar to Antietam. Should Lee have continued the attacks on the 2nd and 3rd days? Lee's confidence in his army was high. Bruce Catton notes in his histories that Gettysburg was the place the Army of the Potomac happened to come together as a fighting force unlike it had before that. Confederate soldiers even remarked that the Yanks fought better at Gettysburg than any battlefield before that day.
Lee approved Stuart's planned ride and had his own cavalry with him that he failed to utilize.
Part of the plan Lee approved was the cavalry given to Lee to use so even that can't be blamed entirely on Stuart.
The real issue was Lee was a poor leader in terms of understanding his subordinates and their weaknesses. If Lee had good subordinates he did well but if he had subordinates with weaknesses he suffered because he failed to adapt to the changes. Lee should have been with Ewell most of the battle because he knew Ewell was new to corps command and needed his hand held. Instead Lee spends his time with Longstreet who was experienced.
Lee just assumed all his men were like himself when they weren't.
Stuart's absence, yes. But failure? No. See "Plenty of Blame to Go Around" by Eric Wittenberg.
@@mcfail3450 Lee was not a poor leader, what a crock. Lee's subordinates were outstanding but by this point, many of them had been killed or wounded. Douglas Southall Freeman's three volumes, LEE'S LIUETENANTS, is pretty clear how able these men were. Stuart was not to be that out of touch with Lee and had not been in the past. Lee and Longstreet often were together. Your second guessing is simply more of that "what if" that amateurs love to speculate about. Yawn.
@@jliller Stuart was to be in better communication, which he had generally done in past campaigns. I've read plenty of books on the campaign.
@@unbreakable7633 Stuart was cut off from communication with the ANV because the AOTP was in the way.
Shoe factory no but there were two dutch coblers in Gettysburg but all because there were cobblers there you cannot repair shoes that are shot and just like everything north or south supplies were hard to get
There were several women soldiers that were discovered wounded and killed on both sides wasn’t just a civilian casualty
This is a review of the movie based on a work of fiction and has some relation to the actual battle !
Rafael Moses , Lee's Commissary officer, had a lot to do with influencing Lee's strategies at Gettysburg. Btw, Rafael Moses owned 60 slaves and Lee owned none. During the war Rafael Moses's had 59 out of his 60 slaves run away. Moses must have been a tyrant.
Footnote --in the east the Generals were inept (Little Mac, Pope, Little Mac(Antietam) Burnside, Hooker). In the west, you had Grant and Sherman.
Excellent commentary - My g-greatfather, a Georgia Creek Indian, was a member of Cobb's Legion until it was disbursed just before Gettysburg. He lost a lower leg from shrapnel somewhere around Devil's Den. He recovered to serve in the Army of Northern Virginia Band and surrendered at Appomattox. The Creek Indians were opposed to slavery. In fact, some of my Creek Indian ancestors worked on the Underground Railroad. My g-grandfather lived to 102, but died before my birth. People asked him why all my ancestral men from that era volunteered for the Confederate Army. Contemporary historians on both sides got it wrong. It was not slavery or states rights that sent yeomen to fight for Confederate Army. Grandpa Jack said that it was entirely social pressure. The wealthy planters, who controlled rural counties, manipulated the middle class and farmers into fighting their war.
The South hung a great number of its own troops to stop desertion, and it was documented that Confederate calvary had to be stationed in front and behind any column of troops marching through woods who would desert given the smallest opportunity.
None of the states outlawed slavery, however, because the 13th Amendment says this "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction". You can predictably guess that about 70% of the black male population went through the Alabama prison system circa 1880 to 1919 (when, curiously enough, the entire black population voted to remove the right to vote).
States like Alabama, California, Florida, Texas, Ohio, and so on have vast prison populations that lease out convict labor, and jaywalking is a very serious offense that often results is years long jail time. For example, catch a jaywalking ticket in Birmingham, AL, and that's a court date with a $270 fine, and missing that court date means you're in deep trouble with the law. There's a vast and profitable leased labor business in the US that competes very well against cheap Chinese and Indian labor.
If you Great grandfather was in Cobbs Legion than he did not fight at the Devils Den. The Devils Den was fought by General John B Hood's Division. Cobbs Legion was part of Mclaws Division. Both Mclaws and Hood were in general Longstreets 1st Corps but Mclaws (with Cobbs Legion) Fought in the Wheat Field, peach Orchard, As well as Seminary Ridge and around Little Round top. Cobbs legion was one of the Best units in the Army of Northern Virgina you certainly must be proud of your grandfather.
@@thmarine2707 Actually, I had a bunch of gg-grandfathers and one great-grandfather in Cobb's Legion. All were Georgia Creek Indians and all were opposed to slavery. They were scattered about the Gettysburg battlefield because by then Cobb's Legion had been broken up, I do remember "McLaws Division" being mentioned in some of their service records, None of my ancestors in the Army of Northern Virginia and Army of the Tennessee were killed, although most were wounded. By the time of Sheridan's Shenandoah Valley Campaign in the summer and fall of 1864, some had been reassigned to Jubal Early. This is as strange a story as may be told. In 1987, I purchased an abandoned Colonial Era farm in the Shenandoah Valley that was not for sale. I parked my pickup in the entrance to the driveway and was somehow enchanted by the dilapidated 1770 farmhouse. After we restored the house and farm, archaeologists and historians with the National Park Service showed up at the door and told us that we were a key property in the proposed Shenandoah Battlefields National Park. Cavalrymen under Custer and Rosser had fought around our house and pastures in the Battle of Toms Brook. On their maps, they named the farm after me, not the historical owners ( I am architect Richard Thornton). I was later appointed the Advisory Council of the American Battlefields Protection Program. Seven years later, I was unexpectedly divorced and back living in Georgia., I was Principal Planner for Cobb County and heavily involved in preserving its battlefields. Out of curiosity, I looked up the service records of my ancestors. I was shocked to learn that one of my former Cobb's Legion gg-grandfathers had been CAPTURED while on picket duty at the entrance to the driveway of my former Shenandoah farm on Nov., 4, 1864. Life is stranger than fiction.
The last Confederate general to surrender owned slaves, and supported the infamous "Trail of Tears".
He was Cherokee chief Stand Wati, and there's a bust of him down in Paul's Valley.
@@Hiraghm That is very true and Col. Chillie McIntosh, the Creek commander in Oklahoma, was also a slave-owner. However, I am Eastern Creek in Georgia. Some of my relatives on both my mother's and father's sides even worked on the Underground Railroad, plus during the Civil War helped escaped Union POW's and Confederate deserters reach Union lines. Check out the articles on the Bone and Roberts families at Bone's Pond in Early County, GA.
I have often wondered if Lee felt that he made a critical error by resigning his commission and betraying his oath.
9:29 if I’m not mistaken… Longstreet’s attack didn’t start until around 4:00 or so not noon.
Check your troop numbers at Little Tound Top. Chamberlands troops were attacked by an equal number of Confederate troops not Longstreets entire Corps.
3:18 actually, I've seen some other history buffs claim that it's actually an issue with memoirs, is they're written so long after the events that those writing them would suffer from their own delicisonal views of said events. ie years of replaying those events in their heads actually has a negative impact on the accuracy of the events they record ie muddies the waters, fuzzy brains etc. At times memoirs are intentionally written falsely by those writing them either to make themselves look better or to destroy people they hated.
There is no better example than General Manstein, and Halder from WWII. Which well their memoirs are basically crap beyond crap, more like personal propaganda pieces or hit pieces toward politicians and officers they didn't like. General Paulus for example even to this day is viewed very negatively because of what Halder wrote. When in actually it starting to come out that Halder was actually at fault for many of the bad decisions often pinned on Hitler and Paulus during the summer, fall and winter of 1942. Paulus also ratting out his fellow officers after the war for war crimes didn't help either apparently, and I'm pretty sure Halder painted him as incompetent so no one would listen to him.
Vasily Chuikov also wrote very lets say terrible memoirs for the same reasons. There were a number of times he was on the verge of abandoning his post, before Stalingrad and during it. He of course whitewashed such negative aspects about his own actions out of his memoirs for obvious reasons. TIKhistory during his Stalingrad series points a lot of this stuff out actually, that you sadly can not trust the memoirs of almost any of the generals that survived the war just on this one battle. He even realized the Wilhelm Hoffman’s Stalingrad Diary was fake, and likely written by Chuikov as a propaganda piece during the war for the Red Army.
What if? What if the Confederates had wont the battle? What would it have changed over the longer term? The Army of the Potomac by then was well practiced in losing battles, falling back regrouping and rebuilding the army. While the shattered condition of the ANV would have required it to withdraw back to VA. At best the ANV might remain in Pennsylvania a few days or weeks to continue foraging. Vicksburg would have still fallen. Grant likely would still come east bringing his stronger determination to continue the fight as he showed following the Wilderness , Spotsylvania campaign making the ANV the objective rather than Richmond .
Depending on how the ANV won the battle. If they won with say less than 30 percent casualties then they could've marched on Washington and encircled/sieged the city.
@@amkrause2004 It's a thought but I have to disagree. The condition of the ANV following the battle was such no offensive would be reasonable. Then there are supplies, not just food but ammunition, horses needed to sustain the arms burdened with many causalities. The Union on the other hand could bring in troops via rail. The ANV had no supply lines, The strategy for the ANV was to live off the land during the offensive. So I dont see the ANV at that point being able to conduct a siege.
Agree - Gettysburg marked the end of Confederate capability to sustain an offensive, and put Lee solely on the defensive for the remainder of the war. Winning the battle would not have meant the South would win the war, but losing the battle had much to do with losing the war.
@@jacksons1010 you forget he is trying to pull what washington did. the Union easily has the manpower and supplies to keep this up where the confederacy does not. However the issue is political will. After their defeat at Yorktown the british people had had enough of the war and ended it. the north was in the same boat.
@@Revkor That’s just not factual. The Union was not on the brink of collapse, and the Army of the Potomac was not at all the majority of the North’s fighting force in the way that Cornwallis’ was at Yorktown. We need look no further than Grant taking Vicksburg at this very same time to realize that Gettysburg was not going to present any opportunity for the South to decide the war in their favor.