Gettysburg - 154th anniversary

[Atreus21]

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/449151/gettysburg-battle-heroes-among-brave-volunteers

On the afternoon of July 2, 1863, Colonel Harrison Jeffords of the 4th Michigan Volunteer Infantry and his regiment found themselves in the Wheatfield, embroiled in hand-to-hand combat with the men of Kershaw’s South Carolina Brigade. Through the chaos, Jeffords spotted his regiment’s flag, which he had sworn to defend with his life, seized by the enemy. He rushed toward the flag and was shot through the thigh and took a bayonet thrust to his abdomen. His men recovered their colonel and wrestled their flag from the enemy’s grip. Jeffords, however, would not recover, becoming the highest-ranking officer to die of a bayonet wound in the Civil War.

This week marks the 154th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg, which was fought on July 1–3, 1863. On this venerable occasion, it is important to recognize that selflessness and devotion to the preservation of the Union was displayed not only by professional soldiers but by volunteers such as Colonel Jeffords — a lawyer who left his practice to join the cause — and his men. But for their willingness to heed Lincoln’s call, we would not be the nation we are today. July 1 had been a brutal day for the Union Army of the Potomac. The Confederate Army of Northern Virginia had once again licked their Yankee counterparts. The Army of the Potomac had yet to achieve an outright victory against the Confederates, but the tide turned on Gettysburg’s bloodiest day, July 2, thanks to the heroics of Colonel Jeffords and other citizen-soldiers like him.

Harrison Jeffords

The column goes on to recognize Colonel William Colvill of the 1st Minnesota Volunteer Infantry....

...and Colonel Strong Vincent....

...who in turn commanded Colonel Joshua Chamberlain of the 20th Maine.

Guys like me, who've never had to stare down a few thousand guys trying to kill you, or even one for that matter, simply can't fathom what this must have been like. I wonder if you never know if you're brave or cowardly until put to a real test.

God bless the men who made these sacrifices for the union.

 

[agent00f]

Funny the national review pretends to celebrate the Union when they're in bed with the confederacy.

 

[Jhhnn]

Funny the national review pretends to celebrate the Union when they're in bed with the confederacy.

Even the National Review knows it's gone too far towards factionalism. We are one nation & one people. All of us need to affirm that if we're to prosper.

 

[agent00f]

Even the National Review knows it's gone too far towards factionalism. We are one nation & one people. All of us need to affirm that if we're to prosper.

They knew what they were doing by embracing sons of the confederacy to get their tax cuts.

 

[Sheik Yerbouti]

I lived not too far from Gettysburg and visited it numerous times. Enough to become 'friendly' with the tour guides/park rangers, and learned some interesting bits.
10,000,000 rounds of ammo fired in 3 days, that is nuts, considering most guns were cap and ball, and equally horrifying
They were (as late as 2003) still finding corpses in the nearby farms, a farmer turned one over and immediately called the park.
It is supposed to be VERY haunted, especially around Devil's Den.
And please excuse my memory, but it was either the MN or MI troops who ran out of ammo and ended firing anything that fit in their cannons, forks, knives, nails, etc.
If you find anything, you are obligated to return it to the park, which is totally understandable, although I'm not sure how honest I would have been if I found a musket ball or button
The weather was tolerable on the first day of the battle, but on days 2 and 3 it was in the mid 90's and those wool uniforms were probably pretty damn uncomfortable
This was in one of the houses by the fields

"The Gettysburg Museum of the American Civil War at the Visitor Center. You have to look up; it’s on the ceiling as you pass between galleries. “Shot and Shell” “Cannon shells ripped through the buildings on John Forney’s farm. A single cannonball pierced the row of wooden joists overhead that once supported his house.”"


I cannot recommend it enough as a place of historical value and interest.

 

[bigboxes]

I visited Gettysburg as a kid in the late 70's. It had a big impact on me.

 

[theeedude]

So many good men died to keep a bunch of treasonous racists from seceding.

 

[Atreus21]

I lived not too far from Gettysburg and visited it numerous times. Enough to become 'friendly' with the tour guides/park rangers, and learned some interesting bits.
10,000,000 rounds of ammo fired in 3 days, that is nuts, considering most guns were cap and ball, and equally horrifying
They were (as late as 2003) still finding corpses in the nearby farms, a farmer turned one over and immediately called the park.
It is supposed to be VERY haunted, especially around Devil's Den.
And please excuse my memory, but it was either the MN or MI troops who ran out of ammo and ended firing anything that fit in their cannons, forks, knives, nails, etc.
If you find anything, you are obligated to return it to the park, which is totally understandable, although I'm not sure how honest I would have been if I found a musket ball or button
The weather was tolerable on the first day of the battle, but on days 2 and 3 it was in the mid 90's and those wool uniforms were probably pretty damn uncomfortable
This was in one of the houses by the fields

"The Gettysburg Museum of the American Civil War at the Visitor Center. You have to look up; it’s on the ceiling as you pass between galleries. “Shot and Shell” “Cannon shells ripped through the buildings on John Forney’s farm. A single cannonball pierced the row of wooden joists overhead that once supported his house.”"


I cannot recommend it enough as a place of historical value and interest.

I've been there about 4 times. My dad had active duty in New England on numerous occasions and would visit every chance he got and brought us along. He became so familiar with the battle that the navy tapped him to give tours.

Civil war buffery is a fun hobby and instills some respect and perspective.

 

[bigboxes]

I'm a huge history buff. It was my minor in my undergrad.

 

[Sheik Yerbouti]

I'm a huge history buff. It was my minor in my undergrad.

Yea, me too, although not to that degree (heh, get it?) But depending on the place, it can have almost a mesmerizing effect on me. I could stay there for hours exploring it. I lived near Boston for about 10 years, and that place is just sick with historical places/events.

 

[bigboxes]

Yea, me too, although not to that degree (heh, get it?) But depending on the place, it can have almost a mesmerizing effect on me. I could stay there for hours exploring it. I lived near Boston for about 10 years, and that place is just sick with historical places/events.

Been to Boston (Bunker Hill Monument, USS Constitution and Boston Harbor), Paul Revere's home, Boston Massacre), Salem, Marblehead, Lexington, Concord, Plymouth Colony.

 

[bigboxes]

When I was in Rome and Jerusalem I almost lost my mind.

 

[bigboxes]

I've got a distant relative, a Captain out of New York State, that led a company of black soldiers, a Mississippi company. Not sure which one. I have the details somewhere.

 

[Sheik Yerbouti]

I've got a distant relative, a Captain out of New York State, that led a company of black soldiers, a Mississippi company. Not sure which one. I have the details somewhere.

Nice. I had a Civil War discharge paper from my great-great-great(?) grandfather, he paid $150 to get out to tend his farms. Fought at Vickburg.