Gettysburg

[hayward]

Just got back from a 24 hour visit.  If anyone ever goes there, I highly reccomend before doing anything, to just schedule a tour ahead of time with a licensed guide like the one we had today.  It's neat to drive and walk around and read all kinds of monuments and what not, but save that for after the tour.  After three hours, you can basically get in the car and leave and say you've learned all of a 3 day war from start to finish.  Amazing the knowledge that they share with you.  If you had family in the war they'll pin-point the area they were in and research that days ahead before your tour and fill you in on everything. Worth every penny.

[toslow]

One day I’m going to do a bike run to Gettysburg. Something that’s on my bucket list 

[Crnr2Crnr]

if you ever get down to West Virgina @hayward be sure to check out Carnifex Ferry Battlefield SP

https://wvstateparks.com/park/carnifex-ferry-battlefield-state-park/

 

[hayward]

18 minutes ago, toslow said:

One day I’m going to do a bike run to Gettysburg. Something that’s on my bucket list 

Two things you NEED to do.  Take the tour.  Then, go see the painting.  We did the painting yesterday and the tour today.  I would have appreciated the painting and understood it better if we'd had done the tour first.

 

[hayward]

14 minutes ago, Crnr2Crnr said:

if you ever get down to West Virgina @hayward be sure to check out Carnifex Ferry Battlefield SP

https://wvstateparks.com/park/carnifex-ferry-battlefield-state-park/

 

Certainly will.   I'm no civil war history buff.  It interests me because of my ancestors involvement, which i guess is kinda selfish.  But if the opportunity arises, I would like to check out the southern battlefields as time goes on in life.  I don't get away much but maybe someday.

[toslow]

I was born and raised in Nova Scotia, love the historical parts of the province, and the stories that people tell 

[hayward]

35 minutes ago, toslow said:

I was born and raised in Nova Scotia, love the historical parts of the province, and the stories that people tell 

yeah lotta neat stories on this tour about people in the war.  Couple that sticks out in my head were the two brothers from I believe Virginia, hadn't seen each other since they left home when the war started, meet up with each other on the battlefield the morning of the first day of the battle.  Exchange words and stories and by the next day, one had been captured by the enemy and the other killed.

Another one was Gen. Sickle of the union.  Cheated repeatedly on his wife, wife finds out about it and has an affair with a man from Washington D.C.  In 1859 Sickle finds out about her affair and confronts the man on his doorstep in Washington D.C., pulls out a pistol in broad daylight and kills him.  Arrested and tried and found innocent because he claimed "period of insanity" or something like that.  Guide claims it was the first time ever someone claimed that in a court of law.

This same Sickle had a monument built for him on the battlefield of Gettysburg, and supposedly while raising money for his own personal statue to be installed in the middle of his monument, he embezzles the money and to this day there is still no statue.

You gotta make time in life to go.  You do it right and you won't regret it.  I have a card of the guide we had I can share his number.  Supposedly there are 140 licensed guides associated with the historical Gettysburg park service/society .  This guy was maybe the best, I don't know, but he was good.

[Badger**]

Some of the infantry regiments from Wisconsin showed up late to the battle but its was heard across the battle field as the Wisconsin Infantry marched on the field of battle at Gettysburg the Northern Army all yelled ON WISCONSIN. The Iron Brigade. 

 

Quote

The Iron Brigade (including the 2nd, 6th, and 7th Wisconsin Infantry regiments) was in the thick of the battle on the first day. The 3rd, 5th, and 26th Wisconsin Infantry regiments and the 1st U.S. Sharpshooters, Company G (Berdan's Sharpshooters), also fought but sustained many fewer casualties.

On the morning of July 1st, the 2nd Wisconsin Infantry was the first to engage with Confederate troops. It immediately lost nearly a third of its men, among them Colonel Lucius Fairchild, whose left arm had to be amputated. On the second and third days, the remaining Iron Brigade units were generally kept away from the front lines. Over the course of the battle they lost a total of 578 men.

The 26th Wisconsin Infantry, which was composed almost entirely of German immigrants, fought throughout the first day and lost more than 210 of its men. The 3rd and the 5th Wisconsin Infantry regiments arrived late in the battle and saw less action than the other Wisconsin regiments. Berdan's Sharpshooters were instrumental in repulsing Confederate attacks, including Pickett's Charge on the third day.

 

[soeaster]

The 1st Minnesota Infantry Regiment at Gettysburg

The 1st Minnesota Infantry performed one of the most critical actions of the battle during Longstreet’s Assault of July 2nd. Sickles’ Corps was falling back in disarray. Longstreet’s men were advancing to penetrate the center of the Union line, which had been dangerously thinned to prop up other sectors. General Hancock rode up to the 1st Minnesota, the only organized Union troops at hand, pointed at the advancing Confederates, and ordered them to “Take those colors!” Their sacrificial charge against overwhelming odds halted the Confederate advance. It bought desperately needed time for the center of the Union line to reform. The result was that Lee was forced into one last desperate gamble the next day with Pickett’s Charge.

The regiment entered the field 420 strong. Company L’s 32 men served as skirmishers and Company C’s 56 men were detached on July 2.

Colonel William Colvill, an attorney and newspaper owner from Red Wing, led the men into action. He was wounded during the July 2 charge. Captain Nathan Messick took over command only to be killed the next day during the repulse of Pickett’s Charge. Captain Wilson B. Farrell briefly took over until he was also killed. Finally Captain Henry C. Coates took over command for the rest of the battle. The regiment lost 50 men killed, 173 wounded and 1 missing.

https://gettysburg.stonesentinels.com/union-monuments/minnesota/1st-minnesota/

[ZR800efi]

seen alot of cool ghost stories about that place. be a cool spot to do a tour of

[SkisNH]

https://youtu.be/5PZvIAtneug

A good northern drinking song...

[hayward]

Yes, saw quite a few Wisconsin and some Minnesota memorials around the battlefeild, also a bunch of Maine and New York influence,  but didn't have the time to spend on everything. 

Longstreet was a show-off that may have cost the south that battle and possibly the whole war.  He was known to be pretty "showy", always wanting to ride around the union troops when he was scouting.  When confederates left Fredricksburg and headed north, Lee told him to ride to the union and keep tabs/check back on their numbers and whereabouts.  The dumby rode below the line to the south and headed up the eastern side of the union line also marching north, and got fucked over as the line was so long, he couldn't make it back over to Lee and inform him of any information.  He was literally stuck on the wrong side the whole way north, and ended up in Carlisle, Pa.  Never showed up to the battle field until the end of day 2.  

Between his shenanigans, and the fact that other generals disobeyed Lee's orders by starting to fire shots on the first day bright and early in the morning when they were  to hold there positions and wait for everyone to be strategically placed and organized, things today as we know it may be a whole lot different.

[EvilBird]

Would love to go someday . I enjoy History esp Civil War stuff. 

[Highmark]

10 hours ago, hayward said:

Just got back from a 24 hour visit.  If anyone ever goes there, I highly reccomend before doing anything, to just schedule a tour ahead of time with a licensed guide like the one we had today.  It's neat to drive and walk around and read all kinds of monuments and what not, but save that for after the tour.  After three hours, you can basically get in the car and leave and say you've learned all of a 3 day war from start to finish.  Amazing the knowledge that they share with you.  If you had family in the war they'll pin-point the area they were in and research that days ahead before your tour and fill you in on everything. Worth every penny.

Its absolutely phenomenal.  One of my favorite places I've ever been to.   We just purchased the CD tour which was fantastic.   We went in July and it was the same weather that the battle was fought in.   Those men were tough to say the least.   

Generally I don't complement the govt but the NPS does (or did when I was there) a fantastic job at not making it political and honoring both sides in a good way. 

Its great to see where divisions or what not from each state fought.

   

Edited November 7, 2022 by Highmark

[hayward]

4 hours ago, Highmark said:

Its absolutely phenomenal.  One of my favorite places I've ever been to.   We just purchased the CD tour which was fantastic.   We went in July and it was the same weather that the battle was fought in.   Those men were tough to say the least.   

Generally I don't complement the govt but the NPS does (or did when I was there) a fantastic job at not making it political and honoring both sides in a good way. 

Its great to see where divisions or what not from each state fought.

   

Yep, the guide just said it like the battle happened.  Didn't favor one's side or the other.  He did say in his belief the confederate statues and monuments ought to stay where they are, as it's a part of U.S. history, and there's plenty to learn from their presence being there.   A group tried to take one down back in 2020 or so but got shot down when right-wing militia showed up with automatic weapons, surrounding the left-wing group that was already surrounding the statue.  I bet that was a sight to see.

Did you notice how few of confederate monuments are there?  The south was evidently broke at the end of the war from buying prosthetic limbs for their wounded confederate soldiers, that they didn't have any money for putting up monuments for themselves.  And the federal govt. wasn't going to do it for them, just as they didn't even spend any money on confederate soldiers prosthetics.  They left it up to those states from the south that made up the confederacy.  They were on their own, even though after the war they were all considered part of the united states.  Buncha hard-asses I tell ya.