My great grandfather and other extended family members from my community were in that attack. 7th Tennessee Infantry, Tennessee Brigade. They were to the left of Pickett's center, and some made over the wall on Cemetery Ridge. Out of 1,000 men originally mustered into the regiment, only 7 remained to be surrendered in 1865.
Thanks sir! I’m a Decent of 5 Virginian’s there. I have a great gr,gr, uncle who was the Adjutant of the 45th Tennessee for Tom he was later colonel of the 54th Alabama they were wiped out pretty good Peachtree Creek. I got nothing to think about Tennessee but good things. My heart has a lot of thoughts Ab that place, “Gettysburg “ I suppose it’s the what if’s “. And I think about what if we could have, stopped em on the big muddy? And how we always hear about the “ Turning point “ but them Yankee’s played “ run through the jungle “ lol @ Chickamauga in the bottom of Tennessee. Thank you again
This lecture is totally awesome. I love the explanations and analogies. This is the most thought provoking lecture I've heard about Gettysburg. Not just a repetition of the story.... Top notch.
The warfare of the Civil War is so interesting with the way it was conducted. People in my generation having only known modernized warfare if they know it at all could not concieve the concept of Fog of War and you illustrate why it is such a big deal in this presentation and it really helps understand how much it affected the situation. Great presentation as always
Loved Troy’s book “Lee’s Real Plan at Gettysburg.” It clears the cluttered post-war history and convincingly offers proof of Lee’s intentions on July 2 and 3 in a both tactical and strategic context. Finally I can understand how Gettysburg action is consistent with the actions of the architect of Chancellorsville.
George Washington was reincarnated as Robert E. Lee. Lee's wife - Mary Custis Lee - was the great-granddaughter of Martha Custis Washington. Lee's father - Light-Horse Harry Lee - was GW's best friend and delivered his famous eulogy, "First in war, first in peace, first in the heart of his countrymen." Lee was born 7 years after GW's death and 7 miles from GW's birthplace. Lee's father-in-law was George Washington Parke Custis - the step-grandson and adopted son of GW - who built Arlington House as a memorial to GW. Lee was married at and lived at Arlington House which contained more GW memorabilia than Mount Vernon. Lee's first-born son was George Washington Custis Lee. GW took command of the Continental Army on July 3rd, 1775 and exactly 88 years later, Lee ordered Pickett's Charge. This is perhaps the most obvious direct-reincarnation in world history! Lee was reincarnated as Dwight D. Eisenhower whose only private home was his Gettysburg Farm. Ike gave several foreign dignitaries tours of the battlefield. On Nov. 19, 1963 - the 100th Anniversary of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, President Kennedy asked Ike to sub for him at the ceremony because he was going to Dallas. In Ike's Oval Office, he had four photographs grouped together on the wall: Benjamin Franklin, Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, and Robert E. Lee. Franklin went on the record for his belief in reincarnation six months before his death. At the end of his life, Franklin was obsessed with keeping the fragmented country together and abolishing slavery. His last official act was submitting a bill to Congress to abolish slavery on Feb. 12, 1790.
I wish this was , Explained, more often, my Deceased wife’s grandfather was Apple Hutton’s aide decamp he used his horse just start up in pickets charge, he’d survive the war, he’s the one who hid Mr Hutton’s sword, at the surrender, he later owned the property that Dullies airport now occupies, his house is where the Holiday inn is. I have photos of it, and her father was a small boy in it. Anyway to her grave, she never had good feelings of General James Longstreet’s hesitation, on the early hrs of July 3rd, 1863, bc of the fact that the line was broken, unlike Fredericksburg where, they never broke the line. This is the first time I have ever heard, this kind of interpretation. And I have studied it, and even lived w it for years. And since the 1990 the growing love for General Longstreet, as the, would be hero, had His commander, respected his belief’s , wishes and or desire’s. And from then on people seem to like to compare, the two General’s on Generalship. I find that strange, considering. I just can’t thank you enough! I feel, staff, was a lot of the reason, that battle, comes out as it does. And can not take anything away from some good Federal Generalship, best bc of excellent Staff, work. My 2cents. Again I’m so grateful for this work, please do more. I’m sharing with all I can.
George Washington was reincarnated as Robert E. Lee. Lee's wife - Mary Custis Lee - was the great-granddaughter of Martha Custis Washington. Lee's father - Light-Horse Harry Lee - was GW's best friend and delivered his famous eulogy, "First in war, first in peace, first in the heart of his countrymen." Lee was born 7 years after GW's death and 7 miles from GW's birthplace. Lee's father-in-law was George Washington Parke Custis - the step-grandson and adopted son of GW - who built Arlington House as a memorial to GW. Lee was married at and lived at Arlington House which contained more GW memorabilia than Mount Vernon. Lee's first-born son was George Washington Custis Lee. GW took command of the Continental Army on July 3rd, 1775 and exactly 88 years later, Lee ordered Pickett's Charge. This is perhaps the most obvious direct-reincarnation in world history! Lee was reincarnated as Dwight D. Eisenhower whose only private home was his Gettysburg Farm. Ike gave several foreign dignitaries tours of the battlefield. On Nov. 19, 1963 - the 100th Anniversary of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, President Kennedy asked Ike to sub for him at the ceremony because he was going to Dallas. In Ike's Oval Office, he had four photographs grouped together on the wall: Benjamin Franklin, Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, and Robert E. Lee. Franklin went on the record for his belief in reincarnation six months before his death. At the end of his life, Franklin was obsessed with keeping the fragmented country together and abolishing slavery. His last official act was submitting a bill to Congress to abolish slavery on Feb. 12, 1790.
NPS Rangers are simply 1st class. Relating the aspects of a critical event in the Battle of Gettysburg to the ordinary laymen by giving examples and/or explaining what it was like to be in a battle, is ALL IMPORTANT for understanding the complexity of warfare. Lectures such as these are primarily designed for serving military personnel and military historians. Thanx.
Interesting and enlightening lecture, and the first time I have heard anything about Jomani or how his theories and observations affected the tactics of the Civil War, or how "supporting troops" were used in actual practice by both sides. On the larger point of Longstreet's opposition to Lee's battle plan, this lecture also shows why Longstreet believed a shift to new ground where the Union army would attack an entrenched ANVa position defended by artillery could result in a "2nd Fredericksburg," with the Union army suffering devastating losses. The speaker's fresh perspective outweighs the weaknessg of his style, which seems to be a product of his experience lecturing open-air battlefield tours, rather than classroom or youtube lectures, while also incorporating significant authoritative excerpts from the official records. IMO, his analogies are enlightening. He obviously is well informed, loves his topic and has done extensive research.
Interesting that this 4 year old video hits my feed on July 3. I was just thinking earlier this morning that this is the anniversary of Pickett’s charge and wondered if there were any new videos on Gettysburg on RUclips today. Is the Google algorithm reading minds now?
Lee's plan may have merits as long as you look at the battle from a tactical point of view. But the goal was to win the war. War ALWAYS has a political purpose. Lee should have never allowed himself to get sucked into this battle. His Pennsylvania campaign started out brilliantly strategic and ended up a tactical slugfest for meaningless ground. Lee squandered the resource he could least afford to lose, his men. Lee was brilliant and I have much respect for him, but it is sad to see intelligent people who admire Lee so much they refuse to acknowledge the glaringly obvious, i.e. Lee made horrible decisions @ Gettysberg with long-term strategic consequences. A mature person can respect & admire someone AND point out their shortcomings at the same time.
Yeah Lee made a pretty large number of important mistakes during Gettysburg. It was a poorly fought battle on the Confederates' part and the Union army was never truly in danger at any point
I love Gen Lee as much as most folks but I'm of the view that his brilliance was spasmodic and he was capable of errors, who isn't? Even his so called greatest victory at Chancellorsville was down to Jackson's brilliant execution. I feel that Lee was looking for a decisive clash as he was personally sick and sick of the war too. Antietam was a good example too of his anxiety to get the matter settled even at a great risk of the total destruction of his army. This I believe is further illustrated in his refusal of Longstreet's advice of going around the flank with his comment 'the enemy is there and I am going to strike him there'.
JEB Stuart did not provide him reconnaissance very much needed, Gen Lee fought Blind .. the intriguing question, why did he decide to fight without adequate reconnaissance.
Most of these talks take place at the national park site for each battle, this one specifically for Gettysburg. I suggest you visit the website for a list of programs offered at each site.. The park rangers are simply the best. Thank you Gettysburg NPS for posting these talks 🙏
Outstanding presentation. Thank you. I particularly like the format of showing only the slides as opposed to filming inside the classroom with views of the audience and poor views of the screen. However this has some limitations as well. Often when the presenter would point to specific spots or discuss specifics of the slides, it is unclear where he is pointing because we cannot see him do so. Perhaps a combination of both formats would make it work. Great material though, thank you again.
George Washington was reincarnated as Robert E. Lee. Lee's wife - Mary Custis Lee - was the great-granddaughter of Martha Custis Washington. Lee's father - Light-Horse Harry Lee - was GW's best friend and delivered his famous eulogy, "First in war, first in peace, first in the heart of his countrymen." Lee was born 7 years after GW's death and 7 miles from GW's birthplace. Lee's father-in-law was George Washington Parke Custis - the step-grandson and adopted son of GW - who built Arlington House as a memorial to GW. Lee was married at and lived at Arlington House which contained more GW memorabilia than Mount Vernon. Lee's first-born son was George Washington Custis Lee. GW took command of the Continental Army on July 3rd, 1775 and exactly 88 years later, Lee ordered Pickett's Charge. This is perhaps the most obvious direct-reincarnation in world history! Lee was reincarnated as Dwight D. Eisenhower whose only private home was his Gettysburg Farm. Ike gave several foreign dignitaries tours of the battlefield. On Nov. 19, 1963 - the 100th Anniversary of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, President Kennedy asked Ike to sub for him at the ceremony because he was going to Dallas. In Ike's Oval Office, he had four photographs grouped together on the wall: Benjamin Franklin, Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, and Robert E. Lee. Franklin went on the record for his belief in reincarnation six months before his death. At the end of his life, Franklin was obsessed with keeping the fragmented country together and abolishing slavery. His last official act was submitting a bill to Congress to abolish slavery on Feb. 12, 1790.
Jomini was not a swede.but I wished he was haha! He was from Switzerland! Other than then that its spot on!! loved watching this lecture!!! Love from Sweden
The information is interesting to listen to but the constant over explanation of every single finite detail gets old at 16 minutes in. PITH is a friend and concise points are even better.
I agree. It is monotonous, like when someone engages in monotony. You know what monotony is right? Tedious repetition. You’ve heard people engage in monotonous repetition right? 😂
I don't mind it that much. You guys are scholars, buffs. To me it really sinks in this way. Reminds me of the Marine Corps. major for Land Campaigns in NROTC. "Attention to detail" and all that....
@@rfern263 you know you can fast forward right. Some people like stuff explained like me. Attention to details. Stop complaining about small things when there is an easy solution
Excellent presentation. The words of art arising from Jumel's analyses go far to explain the command thinking. Yet, had Lee dislodged Meade he would still have faced his enemy below him on the way back to Virginia as well as Union support from the north, east and west. Had Lincoln withdrawn from Washington he might well have invited Britain and France to recognize the Confederacy but really, Lee could never have captured either Westminster MD or the District of Columbia. Sea communications with Baltimore and rail into Harrisburg insured that Lee would always be confined to the Cumberland Valley and with Meade at Pipe Creek Lee could not easily disperse for purposes of foraging. With whom could Lincoln have replaced Meade?
How do you explain Monocacy and 1864 July when the fort Stevenson was attacked in the capital down within sight of General Jubilee staff? You seem to be really far ahead of a lot of things. So I just thought I’d ask the question
Gettysburg was never going to be another typical easy win for Robert E Lee. He would have better served his men and his ambition by advancing on Washington Instead. However Lee's hubris go the better of him and it sealed the fate of the Confederacy.
When you walk the horse trail that was the feeder road for Picketts division you can see that the orientation of the charge is different from the park road on Seminary ridge. The Confederates were NOT arrayed along present day confederate avenue the way the modern road is orientated. Pickett used the Spangler lane (where the florida monument is) to deploy his troops... with the Henry Spangler house as the anchor of the center of his line. He deployed in the sun... not in the shade... many accounts mention them deployed in the open before the charge. This is the feild in front of the Henry Spangler house. The orientation if you look... is more towards Cemetary Hill than traditionally portrayed at a much sharper angle. Everyone thinks Pickett deployed and attacked across the feild where the Virginia monument is... this is very wrong. If you really want to walk Pickett's charge you start at the Henry Spangler Farm and face Zeigler's Grove and walk directly towards it. Kempers brigade passed the Cordori barn at a 75 degree angle.
The pugnacious General Lee was so angry that by attacking on the 3rd of July of 1863 it was like throwing a Brick at his enemy. Much as i would do in a street fight by throwing a Brick at my opponent because i knew he was kicking my ass...
Longstreet did have a cavalry unit to draw upon for the persuit..Imboden's Western Virginia brigade. They'd screened the western flank of the ANVA on the march up and had supplied couriers for Lee until Stuart returned..did better than jones and Robertson on the right in that respect.
Six months after Confederates slaughtered Union soldiers from behind a stone wall in Fredericksburg, Lee orders a charge across an open field towards Union soldiers defending behind a stone wall.
I always thought the plan was to cut off the forces on Cemetery Hill from escaping down the Taneytown rd...which is why Stuart was attacking from the rear on the Union army. Of course he didn't want to trap the entire union army but to trap only the forces on Cemetery Hill and Culps Hill
That's what I thought. Certainly the forces on Cemetery and Culp's Hills would have been trapped by the confederate "hammer and anvil"...whereas the troops to the South...along the union center and of course the troops on Little Round Top could have made their escape south toward Maryland. So..... MANY of the union forces, defending his objective, Washington D.C., would have been put out of commission (i.e. prisoners or dead) but then Lee would have had to deal, AGAIN with the remaining union forces, that escaped, and THOSE forces would AGAIN be between him and Washington and maybe in a stronger position than what they were on Cemetery Hill. So I'm not so sure Lee didn't have a follow up plan to IMMEDIATELY attack and defeat ALL the union forces, in that battle, first the ones on Culp's Hill and Cemetary Hill and then the forces trying to retreat back into Maryland, rather than let ANY of them escape. His objective was to march on Washington D.C. and force Lincoln to concede the war and the Confederate government. I don't think he wanted to fight ANOTHER battle with Union forces...between Gettysburg and Washington.
Sounds like the adage of hindsight is 20/20 Fate wins out because Providence is seldom a part of the plan. Lee's hubris and pride met their expected end at Gettysburg. Power belongs to God.
you can surround an arc if you have enough men, Lee would never have the necessary numbers to surround the Union army. also, an arc is at a disadvantage when the opposing firepower is superior, but again Lee would never have superior firepower. sorry after the first day's failure to capture Cemetery Hill, the battle was a forgone conclusion. Sickles move forward was the only hope he had and we say the interior lines provided by the arc allowed Meade to move troops around and plug holes where needed. with Sedgwick coming in that evening if Lee would have gotten around the flank, they themselves would have been flanked.
even if the 3rd day charge had penetrated deep into the union center, instead of the few yards , then what would have been different? they didn't have enough survivors to do anything else. would the union army have been swept off the cemetary hill to the north and round top to the south? No. if anything it's good the rebels were repulsed at the point they because the retreating men had less ground to cover back to their lines.
the key to day three seems to me that Meade was the first to out guess Lee ... he stayed on the third for a defensive fight ... he anticipated Lee would attack ... Lee let the back door open because Lee felt Meade would leave the field ...
I've got an idea: Let's push the Union army back onto the best defensive terrain, then wait for the Union to fortify the position and deploy their artillery with perfect fields of fire, then march our army over a mile of open ground, straight at that Union position and get shot to pieces.
Facing 5:1 and 20:1 manpower/war materiel odds, Lee was forced into non-convention. It's the way he fought - and won. He fought wars of the unexpected, and thought nothing of dividing his tiny force in the face of overwhelming odds. You can better understand Pickett's Charge by asking the question of "What else did he have the means to do?" He had the option of retreat, but war's can't be won by retreat. In fact, the textbook called for retreat in every battle Lee was engaged. Instead, he would attack his 37,000 barefoot "army" against Federal armies numbering as many as 120,000,
Pretty much. Lee suffered at antietam and Gettysburg what northern generals had to deal with often which is having to attack, having to attack with coordination, and communication difficulties during offensive campaigns.
Totally agree with other comments; I'm perplexed by this series of lectures. Not so much for the content (although this particular lecture seems to be pitched at school children), but the editorial style. On the one hand, I get incredibly frustrated by watching a speaker in long shot with flashes of a slide with no time to read it, or as in this case, a series of slides that stay so long and without cutting to a speaker, that I get totally distracted and write this comment... How can they get it so wrong?
Yes, the position is referred many times in reports to Davis because referring to a copse of trees in their final reports made has no significance to Davis. I truly believe Lee did refer to those trees as the object of attack because that is where the center of the union was. Hence, Lee I believe, used the trees as a reference point for converging his men. So even though I appreciate this presentation . I disagree greatly with his analysis.
I love the topics and it's always great to talk about the Confederate perspective the Pickett's Charge. But it always seems to be how the Confederates messed up and not how well the Philadelphia Brigade and federals who took the brunt of the assault did. Is there ever going to be a discussion on how the Philadelphia Brigade especially the 69th Pennsylvania ( I am a 69th Pa. re-enactor) performed and blunted the assault of General Longstreet?
I’m replying on July 3. Well, it was a completely inadvisable and ill conceived strategy and Longstreet opposed it from the beginning. The union had the better position and the odds of taking the high ground were futile even if everything that went wrong hadn’t. But everything that could go wrong went wrong and it was just disastrous. While most of my family were southern confederates, and some were in this battle, I did have one snowbird ancestor who moved to Atlanta around 1900. His father or grandfather was supposedly a union soldier from Pennsylvania, Allegheny County area. I know which companies all my known southern confederate soldiers were in but I haven’t figured out how to find which companies/regiments my northern ancestor(s) would have been in.
Its easy in hindsight to say both sides wasted oportunities and adopted the wrong strategy, if you were in command of either side you most likely would have fouled it up worse, they didn't have as good of an overall view of what was going on as we do today, Lee should have moved to another favorable position after the first day and Meade should have been able to flank and roll them up easily with the large numbers of reserves they had on the second day IMO
In general I liked the clip in that i enjoy almost any virtually any clip about the civil war. In terms of what I wanted to know most specifically about, which the title of the pic indicates, I was left sadly disappointed. The second line. The primary thing I want to know about or why pick this site in the first place. I didn't need a lecture of how important the second line was. My question was why did it never materialized 1) what troops were available. 2) of those available, who was made aware that they would be providing close up support, than remain in reserve defending main line on seminary ridge , in case of counter attack. 3). Under what conditions was each support brigade to begin their movement in the supporting role assigned. By direct order, and by whom ? Or as circumstances looked favorable to. An order based on the discretion of each brigade or division commander independently. The latter seeming to be the case. 4). Why when the charge was half way forward, and it was plainly obvious that no support line firming, which by now it should have been, is there no record of any preemptive order to get it moving by anyone, including the commanding general. These questions were not answered by this article, which it's title seemed to indicate it would. So in that sense, an interesting read, but did not full fill my expectations
I'm sure many of you agree with me. Had Anderson's Division been moved to Culps Hill at Gettysburg. Perhaps Lee would have won. What's your thought? -Bill Howes.
Second wave would be cut to ribbons by double canister just like the first. The only chance was a pre-dawn night attack with temps 20 degrees cooler. Or feint towards Wilmington/Washington and get the feds out of the Gettysburg defenses in a hurry. Anything except attack that fishhook again with its internally reinforced lines and boulder strewn/hill anchored flanks. Longstreet could see it clear as day.
when your fighting you never ever . put them in a corner with no way out then they would be on death ground. and they will fight with every thing they have. they see they have no chance but will sell there life as high as they can.
I felt as though the analogies and verbal imagery were a fresh take on the prosecution of warfare during the civil war. I also appreciated the breakdown of language and the influence of Jomini on their thinking which was clearly part of all officer training during this time. I wish they would break away from the graphics and show the speaker.
Isn't that the truth?!? His whole presentation could have been done in 30 minutes or less if hadn't reiterated his points a dozen times or more. The speaker is obviously very knowledgeable but one quickly loses interest waiting for him to go to the next point. I mean, how many times and ways does he need to explain what "dislodge" means?
If you have a larger force it seems logical you can spread out your forces wider than your enemy and overlap the flanks, why the union was unable to do this boggles my mind as they always had much bigger forces at every major battle
They did many times, especially in the fighting from Chickamauga to Atlanta to the coast of GA. Atlanta was not taken, it had to be withdrawn from bc the Confederacy could not protect it's flanks
your hung up on semantics, You can be sure there were more simple goals and meanings transmitted on the day of the battle. Over analyzing the fog of war is fraught with risk
George Washington was reincarnated as Robert E. Lee. Lee's wife - Mary Custis Lee - was the great-granddaughter of Martha Custis Washington. Lee's father - Light-Horse Harry Lee - was GW's best friend and delivered his famous eulogy, "First in war, first in peace, first in the heart of his countrymen." Lee was born 7 years after GW's death and 7 miles from GW's birthplace. Lee's father-in-law was George Washington Parke Custis - the step-grandson and adopted son of GW - who built Arlington House as a memorial to GW. Lee was married at and lived at Arlington House which contained more GW memorabilia than Mount Vernon. Lee's first-born son was George Washington Custis Lee. GW took command of the Continental Army on July 3rd, 1775 and exactly 88 years later, Lee ordered Pickett's Charge. This is perhaps the most obvious direct-reincarnation in world history! Lee was reincarnated as Dwight D. Eisenhower whose only private home was his Gettysburg Farm. Ike gave several foreign dignitaries tours of the battlefield. On Nov. 19, 1963 - the 100th Anniversary of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, President Kennedy asked Ike to sub for him at the ceremony because he was going to Dallas. In Ike's Oval Office, he had four photographs grouped together on the wall: Benjamin Franklin, Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, and Robert E. Lee. Franklin went on the record for his belief in reincarnation six months before his death. At the end of his life, Franklin was obsessed with keeping the fragmented country together and abolishing slavery. His last official act was submitting a bill to Congress to abolish slavery on Feb. 12, 1790.
@DEeMON I agree (concur, to be in unison with). I gave up after 20 minutes (minute, a unit of time. Equal to 60 seconds) it was akin (analogous, comparable) to a 6th grade vocabulary (words found in a language or particular subject) lesson, meant more for 10 or 11 year olds.
Re-enacted the raising of the US flag on Iwo Jima for a “photo op”?!! Wtf are you talking about???!! The flag was raised a second time because the Secretary of the Navy wanted the first one as a memento.
What I NEVER understood about Pickett's Charge is WHY Lee did not command his Cavalry to coordinate an attack on the rear of the Union line, on cemetery Hill, with the ground attack from the west and the ground assault on Culp's Hill? It seems to me holding the cavalry back to burn wagons or stymie a union retreat back to Maryland was a waste of a very powerful force.... IF he had used the cavalry to hit the Union "center" at the same time as Pickett's troops arrived at the angle...I don't see HOW he could have lost the battle? It would have been a PERFECT plan! It's hard to believe Lee didn't intend to do that from the start???!!!
Stuart did attack the rear. he was repulsed by PA infantry regiments and Wisc/Micjh cavalry under Custer during fighting in the area now known as east cavalry field
i dispute the theory of a second wave ,at least to the extent that longstreet stopped wrights and possibly poseys brigades from moving forward when he considered the initial assault a failure.
You are right Frank. Anyone who believes this presenter just started studying the battle. They will, if they continue, find little support for this "historians' stab at making a name for himself with "new" interpretation.
spot on, Anderson's division suffered nearly 40% casualties at Gettysburg, to say they were available for Pickett's charge is absurd; Pettigrew and Trimble's commands were also essentially combat ineffective
One of three mistskes that lost the war or a drsw for the south. Pickers charge, chickmauga, not listening to Forrest, Shiloh,, not listening to Forrest. My opinion. Providence??? C. J. And Ruthie B
Robert E. Lee should have sent his whole army of Northern Virginia against one part of the Union Army instead of attacking both flanks on day 2 and the center of the union line on day 3! The Union had the position of the high ground and they were entrenched. Lee lost to many men attacking to many different positions!
It would to a point. Lee does not make it back into VA until July 13th. The man who has all the correspondence would not make Richmond until the 16-17. Davis would read reports. Lee offered resignation July 31. Davis finished reading battle reports and responds to Lee by August 11th. Telegraph was not good not reliable in the South. Southern Newspapers call the battle a success in mid July, but by July 26th the Charleston Mercury is calling it a hard fought defeat
Yes, I will ascribe my beliefs to the opinions of random youtube commenters rather than a professional historian employed by the National Park Service. An expert presentation complete with background on training, wonderful analogies and tactics. Instead, I am to believe people who bought a couple books in garages, the usual obsessed confederate apologists, conspiracy nuts and guys who debate things after watching a bunch of History channel docs.
Unfortunately, I cannot fully agree with this presentation. The analysis may be true on the tactical, but not on a higher strategic level: Especially, I do not believe that Gen. Lee's aim was to show Meade any "golden bridge" or that Pickett's Charge was a terrain oriented attack. Lee's strategic aim was to destroy the Northern Army completely - in order to destroy the will of the enemy. To achieve this he needed complete victory and not only a retreat. e.g.: ruclips.net/video/lrXxz4iniRs/видео.html The possession of Gettysburg or its hills was of no strategic need or significance. It was simply the favourable tactical way to reach his strategic goal.
Also, Sun Tzu would be horrified to hear the suggestion Lee was following Sun Tzu @ Gettys berg. (2) teachings of Sun Tzu that are applicable @ Gettysberg: 1) A skillful general leads his enemy to battle @ the time & place of his choosing (At Gettysberg, Lee was the one being led to the slaughter, not the other way around) 2) Some ground should not be contested
Stephen Troup I think Lee was trying to accomplish an extraordinary feat at Gettysburg. He believed his men could pull it off, take any position no matter how formidable the defence was. To beat the Union Army there under those conditions, by dislodging it from such strong position on the hills would be all too impressive. Had Lee done it, it is possible that the North would conclude that he's not worth fighting, and sued for peace.
balloons, the golden gate bridge, logs, streams, fences, arguments and American football. The non-stop analogies are more of a distraction than an aid and make the lecture a bit tedious.
George Washington was reincarnated as Robert E. Lee. Lee's wife - Mary Custis Lee - was the great-granddaughter of Martha Custis Washington. Lee's father - Light-Horse Harry Lee - was GW's best friend and delivered his famous eulogy, "First in war, first in peace, first in the heart of his countrymen." Lee was born 7 years after GW's death and 7 miles from GW's birthplace. Lee's father-in-law was George Washington Parke Custis - the step-grandson and adopted son of GW - who built Arlington House as a memorial to GW. Lee was married at and lived at Arlington House which contained more GW memorabilia than Mount Vernon. Lee's first-born son was George Washington Custis Lee. GW took command of the Continental Army on July 3rd, 1775 and exactly 88 years later, Lee ordered Pickett's Charge. This is perhaps the most obvious direct-reincarnation in world history! Lee was reincarnated as Dwight D. Eisenhower whose only private home was his Gettysburg Farm. Ike gave several foreign dignitaries tours of the battlefield. On Nov. 19, 1963 - the 100th Anniversary of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, President Kennedy asked Ike to sub for him at the ceremony because he was going to Dallas. In Ike's Oval Office, he had four photographs grouped together on the wall: Benjamin Franklin, Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, and Robert E. Lee. Franklin went on the record for his belief in reincarnation six months before his death. At the end of his life, Franklin was obsessed with keeping the fragmented country together and abolishing slavery. His last official act was submitting a bill to Congress to abolish slavery on Feb. 12, 1790.
This is a bizarre presentation. On one hand, it assumes that the audience is both unfamiliar with simple things, such as the word "dislodge", and is inattentive -- requiring multiple repetitions before they comprehend. On the other, it presumes that the audience is so familiar with the battle that they know the locations of individual features and locations of even smaller units -- at a level of detail much finer than on the maps presented during the talk. I am giving up at the 1 hour mark. I expect that I could easily present the material to this point in 10-15 minutes -- it is that redundant and loaded with pointless digressions.
Agreed entirely - endless repetitions of pointless metaphors that are quite easy to grasp and time wasting. And the endless "Have you got that?" is annoying as heck.
One thing lost on so much analysis of Gettysberg is that on the night of July 2nd, Meade called all his general's into a conference for their ideas and recommendations. Meade believed, rightly so that Lee would attack the center on July 3rd. It was also decided that if Lee did not attack on July 3rd that the AoP would march out and attack Lee. Lee's plan to fight over the ground at Gettysberg was foolish after Day 1, but had he just had the patience to wait 24 hrs, Meade would have come to him on ground much more favorable to Lee. Lee was brilliant but fell victim to tunnel vision, by Day 3 his strategic brilliance had fizzled out into mediocre predictability.
I can hardly listen to his repetition over and over of his concept of the objective of the attack. I can't believe that he prepared for this talk without some edit of repeating remarks.
Lee in ill health, Longstreet over cautious of Lee's order's...forced to fight where he had not planned to...Stuart's absence isn't a major blow as there's calvary units there..if Lee's munition's weren't spent he might have waited for the counter attack and luckily the yanks didn't want anymore .....it was hotter than seven hellfires the whole time...just try and imagine...nobody really wins in battles bothsides loss the best young feller's they have and the old croonie's that run the show safe at home .....war is hell
It's beyond foolish to think that Meade would abandon the amazingly defensible position he had (especially after continuously reinforcing it for 48 hrs) to put his army out in the open. I don't buy that this was Lee's thinking. This lecture is built on getting too much in a someone's head and building too much on one word without looking at broader context.
You're going to have to listen to another lecture to get a better understanding of this attack, or of "the second wave." This talk is convoluted, digressive, theory-dominated, and full of inaccuracies. This Golden Bridge stuff is pure nonsense; Lee aimed at crushing the enemy at Gettysburg or as it retreated from there.
Wait what? We're basing a theory on the meaning of "on." And wild speculation on how many trees stood where and how fast they grew. And a freaking painting?! Planting a flag in 1863 somehow meant the same as planting a flag in 1945? (And where does he get the idea that the _anyone_ had any thought of intimidating the Japanese by raising the flag on Iwo Jima in the first place?) Two is the natural number of mutual support. I draw the line at numerology. Someone is "Doing history (at a) high(er level)."
I bought two books that were from the west point library at a yard sale. Filled with troop and artillery positions for engagements of the civil war that people don't even know happened. So the endless rehashing of Gettysburg by amateur historians and armchair tactician knowitalls is become sad. Im sure many experts posting comments here never have bothered to study the smaller engagements and so they slowly fade from history.
Premise is flawed..Lee needed to defeat the Army Had the Union retreated,Lee would have gained nothing, except another battle he was less prepared fight..Terrain was nothing, he needed to defeat the army
Thank you very much for this free lesson. ....... why do I honor my Southern legacy? Because here is the proof of the greatest soldiers who ever walked the earth since the Roman Legions.
@Scott Riley : Are you a Neo-Confederate? The greatest soldiers were the ones who won the Civil War and defeated the evil proponents of slavery. "I felt like anything rather than rejoicing at the downfall of a foe who had fought so long and valiantly, and had suffered so much for a cause, though that cause was, I believe, one of the worst for which a people ever fought, and one for which there was the least excuse." - Ulysses S. Grant
In this battle Lee was missing one MAIN part of his army,,,,,,,,,,,JEB Stuart. I feel this is one reason Lee lost this battle. I know there "may have been" other reasons as well but. And many historians agree,,,,,,," IF" Stuart and been there with the INFO that Lee needed so much ,, this battle would have gone very differently,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Just ask Gen. Longstreet,,,,,,:):)
@Scott Riley : I have news for you. First, you're a liar. Second, you're a Neo-Confederate. Third, you've threatened the US with violent rebellion. Therefore... BY the power(77) vested in me by GOD as the reincarnated Christ(77=C3+H8+R18+I9+S19+T20), I hereby rule that 1.2.20 is your Judgment Day: you FAIL. Sentence: Really awful luck for the rest of your life, then your eternal soul won't be reincarnated as human for 7,400 years with 174 years incommutable. When you're born-again as human, it'll be as a very dark African woman. Note: You can repent... c.c. 7seals.yuku.com
My great grandfather and other extended family members from my community were in that attack. 7th Tennessee Infantry, Tennessee Brigade. They were to the left of Pickett's center, and some made over the wall on Cemetery Ridge. Out of 1,000 men originally mustered into the regiment, only 7 remained to be surrendered in 1865.
Suicide charges will get units wiped out. Banzai!!
@@willoutlaw4971 What a nincompoop!!!
Thanks sir! I’m a Decent of 5 Virginian’s there. I have a great gr,gr, uncle who was the Adjutant of the 45th Tennessee for Tom he was later colonel of the 54th Alabama they were wiped out pretty good Peachtree Creek. I got nothing to think about Tennessee but good things. My heart has a lot of thoughts Ab that place, “Gettysburg “ I suppose it’s the what if’s “. And I think about what if we could have, stopped em on the big muddy? And how we always hear about the “ Turning point “ but them Yankee’s played “ run through the jungle “ lol @ Chickamauga in the bottom of Tennessee. Thank you again
This lecture is totally awesome. I love the explanations and analogies. This is the most thought provoking lecture I've heard about Gettysburg. Not just a repetition of the story....
Top notch.
The warfare of the Civil War is so interesting with the way it was conducted. People in my generation having only known modernized warfare if they know it at all could not concieve the concept of Fog of War and you illustrate why it is such a big deal in this presentation and it really helps understand how much it affected the situation. Great presentation as always
In the Era of smokeless only an aficionado would know about clouds of black powder
Loved Troy’s book “Lee’s Real Plan at Gettysburg.” It clears the cluttered post-war history and convincingly offers proof of Lee’s intentions on July 2 and 3 in a both tactical and strategic context. Finally I can understand how Gettysburg action is consistent with the actions of the architect of Chancellorsville.
Thanks for sharing this, I’m on the hunt for this book.
The highest standards have been maintained with this thought-provoking presentation. Thank you so very much for it.
George Washington was reincarnated as Robert E. Lee. Lee's wife - Mary Custis Lee - was the great-granddaughter of Martha Custis Washington. Lee's father - Light-Horse Harry Lee - was GW's best friend and delivered his famous eulogy, "First in war, first in peace, first in the heart of his countrymen." Lee was born 7 years after GW's death and 7 miles from GW's birthplace. Lee's father-in-law was George Washington Parke Custis - the step-grandson and adopted son of GW - who built Arlington House as a memorial to GW. Lee was married at and lived at Arlington House which contained more GW memorabilia than Mount Vernon. Lee's first-born son was George Washington Custis Lee. GW took command of the Continental Army on July 3rd, 1775 and exactly 88 years later, Lee ordered Pickett's Charge. This is perhaps the most obvious direct-reincarnation in world history!
Lee was reincarnated as Dwight D. Eisenhower whose only private home was his Gettysburg Farm. Ike gave several foreign dignitaries tours of the battlefield. On Nov. 19, 1963 - the 100th Anniversary of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, President Kennedy asked Ike to sub for him at the ceremony because he was going to Dallas. In Ike's Oval Office, he had four photographs grouped together on the wall: Benjamin Franklin, Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, and Robert E. Lee. Franklin went on the record for his belief in reincarnation six months before his death. At the end of his life, Franklin was obsessed with keeping the fragmented country together and abolishing slavery. His last official act was submitting a bill to Congress to abolish slavery on Feb. 12, 1790.
YEAH - This Presentation had WAAAYY Too Much Thought - Knowledge - Information and Common Sense - Didn't It REPROBATE??
I wish this was , Explained, more often, my Deceased wife’s grandfather was Apple Hutton’s aide decamp he used his horse just start up in pickets charge, he’d survive the war, he’s the one who hid Mr Hutton’s sword, at the surrender, he later owned the property that Dullies airport now occupies, his house is where the Holiday inn is. I have photos of it, and her father was a small boy in it. Anyway to her grave, she never had good feelings of General James Longstreet’s hesitation, on the early hrs of July 3rd, 1863, bc of the fact that the line was broken, unlike Fredericksburg where, they never broke the line. This is the first time I have ever heard, this kind of interpretation. And I have studied it, and even lived w it for years. And since the 1990 the growing love for General Longstreet, as the, would be hero, had His commander, respected his belief’s , wishes and or desire’s. And from then on people seem to like to compare, the two General’s on Generalship. I find that strange, considering. I just can’t thank you enough! I feel, staff, was a lot of the reason, that battle, comes out as it does. And can not take anything away from some good Federal Generalship, best bc of excellent Staff, work. My 2cents. Again I’m so grateful for this work, please do more. I’m sharing with all I can.
Excellent, very informative, really enjoyed it, learned a great deal!
George Washington was reincarnated as Robert E. Lee. Lee's wife - Mary Custis Lee - was the great-granddaughter of Martha Custis Washington. Lee's father - Light-Horse Harry Lee - was GW's best friend and delivered his famous eulogy, "First in war, first in peace, first in the heart of his countrymen." Lee was born 7 years after GW's death and 7 miles from GW's birthplace. Lee's father-in-law was George Washington Parke Custis - the step-grandson and adopted son of GW - who built Arlington House as a memorial to GW. Lee was married at and lived at Arlington House which contained more GW memorabilia than Mount Vernon. Lee's first-born son was George Washington Custis Lee. GW took command of the Continental Army on July 3rd, 1775 and exactly 88 years later, Lee ordered Pickett's Charge. This is perhaps the most obvious direct-reincarnation in world history!
Lee was reincarnated as Dwight D. Eisenhower whose only private home was his Gettysburg Farm. Ike gave several foreign dignitaries tours of the battlefield. On Nov. 19, 1963 - the 100th Anniversary of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, President Kennedy asked Ike to sub for him at the ceremony because he was going to Dallas. In Ike's Oval Office, he had four photographs grouped together on the wall: Benjamin Franklin, Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, and Robert E. Lee. Franklin went on the record for his belief in reincarnation six months before his death. At the end of his life, Franklin was obsessed with keeping the fragmented country together and abolishing slavery. His last official act was submitting a bill to Congress to abolish slavery on Feb. 12, 1790.
NPS Rangers are simply 1st class. Relating the aspects of a critical event in the Battle of Gettysburg to the ordinary laymen by giving examples and/or explaining what it was like to be in a battle, is ALL IMPORTANT for understanding the complexity of warfare. Lectures such as these are primarily designed for serving military personnel and military historians. Thanx.
Excellent program.
Interesting and enlightening lecture, and the first time I have heard anything about Jomani or how his theories and observations affected the tactics of the Civil War, or how "supporting troops" were used in actual practice by both sides.
On the larger point of Longstreet's opposition to Lee's battle plan, this lecture also shows why Longstreet believed a shift to new ground where the Union army would attack an entrenched ANVa position defended by artillery could result in a "2nd Fredericksburg," with the Union army suffering devastating losses. The speaker's fresh perspective outweighs the weaknessg of his style, which seems to be a product of his experience lecturing open-air battlefield tours, rather than classroom or youtube lectures, while also incorporating significant authoritative excerpts from the official records. IMO, his analogies are enlightening. He obviously is well informed, loves his topic and has done extensive research.
Excellent! Thank you.
Interesting that this 4 year old video hits my feed on July 3. I was just thinking earlier this morning that this is the anniversary of Pickett’s charge and wondered if there were any new videos on Gettysburg on RUclips today.
Is the Google algorithm reading minds now?
Lee's plan may have merits as long as you look at the battle from a tactical point of view. But the goal was to win the war. War ALWAYS has a political purpose. Lee should have never allowed himself to get sucked into this battle. His Pennsylvania campaign started out brilliantly strategic and ended up a tactical slugfest for meaningless ground. Lee squandered the resource he could least afford to lose, his men.
Lee was brilliant and I have much respect for him, but it is sad to see intelligent people who admire Lee so much they refuse to acknowledge the glaringly obvious, i.e. Lee made horrible decisions @ Gettysberg with long-term strategic consequences. A mature person can respect & admire someone AND point out their shortcomings at the same time.
Yeah Lee made a pretty large number of important mistakes during Gettysburg. It was a poorly fought battle on the Confederates' part and the Union army was never truly in danger at any point
I love Gen Lee as much as most folks but I'm of the view that his brilliance was spasmodic and he was capable of errors, who isn't? Even his so called greatest victory at Chancellorsville was down to Jackson's brilliant execution. I feel that Lee was looking for a decisive clash as he was personally sick and sick of the war too. Antietam was a good example too of his anxiety to get the matter settled even at a great risk of the total destruction of his army. This I believe is further illustrated in his refusal of Longstreet's advice of going around the flank with his comment 'the enemy is there and I am going to strike him there'.
good grief. I'm sorry for you
I thought it was basically a common belief that Lee made pretty egregious mistakes during Gettysburg
JEB Stuart did not provide him reconnaissance very much needed, Gen Lee fought Blind .. the intriguing question, why did he decide to fight without adequate reconnaissance.
Outstanding presentation! A very good primer on tactics as well as the overall strategy. This is 'a keeper'!
How do you get into these lectures? Where can you find a schedule, or a sign up?
Most of these talks take place at the national park site for each battle, this one specifically for Gettysburg. I suggest you visit the website for a list of programs offered at each site.. The park rangers are simply the best. Thank you Gettysburg NPS for posting these talks 🙏
Outstanding presentation. Thank you. I particularly like the format of showing only the slides as opposed to filming inside the classroom with views of the audience and poor views of the screen. However this has some limitations as well. Often when the presenter would point to specific spots or discuss specifics of the slides, it is unclear where he is pointing because we cannot see him do so. Perhaps a combination of both formats would make it work. Great material though, thank you again.
George Washington was reincarnated as Robert E. Lee. Lee's wife - Mary Custis Lee - was the great-granddaughter of Martha Custis Washington. Lee's father - Light-Horse Harry Lee - was GW's best friend and delivered his famous eulogy, "First in war, first in peace, first in the heart of his countrymen." Lee was born 7 years after GW's death and 7 miles from GW's birthplace. Lee's father-in-law was George Washington Parke Custis - the step-grandson and adopted son of GW - who built Arlington House as a memorial to GW. Lee was married at and lived at Arlington House which contained more GW memorabilia than Mount Vernon. Lee's first-born son was George Washington Custis Lee. GW took command of the Continental Army on July 3rd, 1775 and exactly 88 years later, Lee ordered Pickett's Charge. This is perhaps the most obvious direct-reincarnation in world history!
Lee was reincarnated as Dwight D. Eisenhower whose only private home was his Gettysburg Farm. Ike gave several foreign dignitaries tours of the battlefield. On Nov. 19, 1963 - the 100th Anniversary of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, President Kennedy asked Ike to sub for him at the ceremony because he was going to Dallas. In Ike's Oval Office, he had four photographs grouped together on the wall: Benjamin Franklin, Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, and Robert E. Lee. Franklin went on the record for his belief in reincarnation six months before his death. At the end of his life, Franklin was obsessed with keeping the fragmented country together and abolishing slavery. His last official act was submitting a bill to Congress to abolish slavery on Feb. 12, 1790.
@@BradWatsonMiami
It is Appointed for man ONCE to die and then the Judgement - HIS STORY
Jomini was not a swede.but I wished he was haha! He was from Switzerland! Other than then that its spot on!! loved watching this lecture!!! Love from Sweden
I have actually wondered if there was a computer program that presents a "virtual tour" of historical 1863 Gettysburg...great idea!!!
The Golden Gate Bridge in this is iconic in so many ways
Excellent...great teacher..invaluable information
History is a conversation. Excellent presentation. I appreciate the breakdown. Thank you.
EXCELLENT!!!
The information is interesting to listen to but the constant over explanation of every single finite detail gets old at 16 minutes in. PITH is a friend and concise points are even better.
haha, im 20 minutes in and definitely see this. Good info, but he seems to get stuck over explaining golden bridges and jabs
I agree. It is monotonous, like when someone engages in monotony. You know what monotony is right? Tedious repetition. You’ve heard people engage in monotonous repetition right? 😂
I don't mind it that much. You guys are scholars, buffs. To me it really sinks in this way. Reminds me of the Marine Corps. major for Land Campaigns in NROTC.
"Attention to detail" and all that....
@@rfern263 you know you can fast forward right. Some people like stuff explained like me. Attention to details. Stop complaining about small things when there is an easy solution
You could just skip forward
Jomini- " Always attack with at least 2 supporting lines"; Viscount Sackville at Minden- "hold my beer"
Great presentation. Though I was laughing at his sports analogy as I know way more about military history than I do sports! 😂
Well you’re never too old to learn. Lol
Sports are big in military colleges
Would like to see same kind of detailed analysis about biggest battles of Napoleonic Wars or Franco-Prussian Sedan..
longstreets report indicates an attacking column totally at odds with the troop formation that finally went forward.
Frank Gioia yes they attacked in line formation.
Excellent presentation. The words of art arising from Jumel's analyses go far to explain the command thinking. Yet, had Lee dislodged Meade he would still have faced his enemy below him on the way back to Virginia as well as Union support from the north, east and west. Had Lincoln withdrawn from Washington he might well have invited Britain and France to recognize the Confederacy but really, Lee could never have captured either Westminster MD or the District of Columbia. Sea communications with Baltimore and rail into Harrisburg insured that Lee would always be confined to the Cumberland Valley and with Meade at Pipe Creek Lee could not easily disperse for purposes of foraging. With whom could Lincoln have replaced Meade?
How do you explain Monocacy and 1864 July when the fort Stevenson was attacked in the capital down within sight of General Jubilee staff? You seem to be really far ahead of a lot of things. So I just thought I’d ask the question
Gettysburg was never going to be another typical easy win for Robert E Lee. He would have better served his men and his ambition by advancing on Washington Instead. However Lee's hubris go the better of him and it sealed the fate of the Confederacy.
When you walk the horse trail that was the feeder road for Picketts division you can see that the orientation of the charge is different from the park road on Seminary ridge. The Confederates were NOT arrayed along present day confederate avenue the way the modern road is orientated. Pickett used the Spangler lane (where the florida monument is) to deploy his troops... with the Henry Spangler house as the anchor of the center of his line. He deployed in the sun... not in the shade... many accounts mention them deployed in the open before the charge. This is the feild in front of the Henry Spangler house.
The orientation if you look... is more towards Cemetary Hill than traditionally portrayed at a much sharper angle.
Everyone thinks Pickett deployed and attacked across the feild where the Virginia monument is... this is very wrong. If you really want to walk Pickett's charge you start at the Henry Spangler Farm and face Zeigler's Grove and walk directly towards it. Kempers brigade passed the Cordori barn at a 75 degree angle.
Good talk
The pugnacious General Lee was so angry that by attacking on the 3rd of July of 1863 it was like throwing a Brick at his enemy. Much as i would do in a street fight by throwing a Brick at my opponent because i knew he was kicking my ass...
Perhaps LIDAR an be used to look at the topography of Cemetery Hill ??
Longstreet did have a cavalry unit to draw upon for the persuit..Imboden's Western Virginia brigade. They'd screened the western flank of the ANVA on the march up and had supplied couriers for Lee until Stuart returned..did better than jones and Robertson on the right in that respect.
This channel is a killer, y’all awesome
Six months after Confederates slaughtered Union soldiers from behind a stone wall in Fredericksburg, Lee orders a charge across an open field towards Union soldiers defending behind a stone wall.
DOH
Doh
Shows us how brilliant Lee was. A prime example of Confederate brilliance.
I always thought the plan was to cut off the forces on Cemetery Hill from escaping down the Taneytown rd...which is why Stuart was attacking from the rear on the Union army. Of course he didn't want to trap the entire union army but to trap only the forces on Cemetery Hill and Culps Hill
first wave
That's what I thought. Certainly the forces on Cemetery and Culp's Hills would have been trapped by the confederate "hammer and anvil"...whereas the troops to the South...along the union center and of course the troops on Little Round Top could have made their escape south toward Maryland. So..... MANY of the union forces, defending his objective, Washington D.C., would have been put out of commission (i.e. prisoners or dead) but then Lee would have had to deal, AGAIN with the remaining union forces, that escaped, and THOSE forces would AGAIN be between him and Washington and maybe in a stronger position than what they were on Cemetery Hill. So I'm not so sure Lee didn't have a follow up plan to IMMEDIATELY attack and defeat ALL the union forces, in that battle, first the ones on Culp's Hill and Cemetary Hill and then the forces trying to retreat back into Maryland, rather than let ANY of them escape. His objective was to march on Washington D.C. and force Lincoln to concede the war and the Confederate government. I don't think he wanted to fight ANOTHER battle with Union forces...between Gettysburg and Washington.
Sounds like the adage of hindsight is 20/20
Fate wins out because Providence is seldom a part of the plan. Lee's hubris and pride met their expected end at Gettysburg.
Power belongs to God.
you can surround an arc if you have enough men, Lee would never have the necessary numbers to surround the Union army. also, an arc is at a disadvantage when the opposing firepower is superior, but again Lee would never have superior firepower. sorry after the first day's failure to capture Cemetery Hill, the battle was a forgone conclusion. Sickles move forward was the only hope he had and we say the interior lines provided by the arc allowed Meade to move troops around and plug holes where needed. with Sedgwick coming in that evening if Lee would have gotten around the flank, they themselves would have been flanked.
even if the 3rd day charge had penetrated deep into the union center, instead of the few yards , then what would have been different? they didn't have enough survivors to do anything else. would the union army have been swept off the cemetary hill to the north and round top to the south? No. if anything it's good the rebels were repulsed at the point they because the retreating men had less ground to cover back to their lines.
the key to day three seems to me that Meade was the first to out guess Lee ... he stayed on the third for a defensive fight ... he anticipated Lee would attack ... Lee let the back door open because Lee felt Meade would leave the field ...
I've got an idea: Let's push the Union army back onto the best defensive terrain, then wait for the Union to fortify the position and deploy their artillery with perfect fields of fire, then march our army over a mile of open ground, straight at that Union position and get shot to pieces.
Facing 5:1 and 20:1 manpower/war materiel odds, Lee was forced into non-convention. It's the way he fought - and won. He fought wars of the unexpected, and thought nothing of dividing his tiny force in the face of overwhelming odds. You can better understand Pickett's Charge by asking the question of "What else did he have the means to do?" He had the option of retreat, but war's can't be won by retreat. In fact, the textbook called for retreat in every battle Lee was engaged. Instead, he would attack his 37,000 barefoot "army" against Federal armies numbering as many as 120,000,
Pretty much. Lee suffered at antietam and Gettysburg what northern generals had to deal with often which is having to attack, having to attack with coordination, and communication difficulties during offensive campaigns.
Totally agree with other comments; I'm perplexed by this series of lectures. Not so much for the content (although this particular lecture seems to be pitched at school children), but the editorial style. On the one hand, I get incredibly frustrated by watching a speaker in long shot with flashes of a slide with no time to read it, or as in this case, a series of slides that stay so long and without cutting to a speaker, that I get totally distracted and write this comment...
How can they get it so wrong?
Especially when in the audio it's clear it's pointing out things on the slide that we can't see.
Yes, the position is referred many times in reports to Davis because referring to a copse of trees in their final reports made has no significance to Davis. I truly believe Lee did refer to those trees as the object of attack because that is where the center of the union was. Hence, Lee I believe, used the trees as a reference point for converging his men. So even though I appreciate this presentation . I disagree greatly with his analysis.
The title seems wrong
by the time we arrive at the "second charge " it will be another day ...
I love the topics and it's always great to talk about the Confederate perspective the Pickett's Charge. But it always seems to be how the Confederates messed up and not how well the Philadelphia Brigade and federals who took the brunt of the assault did. Is there ever going to be a discussion on how the Philadelphia Brigade especially the 69th Pennsylvania ( I am a 69th Pa. re-enactor) performed and blunted the assault of General Longstreet?
I’m replying on July 3.
Well, it was a completely inadvisable and ill conceived strategy and Longstreet opposed it from the beginning. The union had the better position and the odds of taking the high ground were futile even if everything that went wrong hadn’t. But everything that could go wrong went wrong and it was just disastrous.
While most of my family were southern confederates, and some were in this battle, I did have one snowbird ancestor who moved to Atlanta around 1900. His father or grandfather was supposedly a union soldier from Pennsylvania, Allegheny County area.
I know which companies all my known southern confederate soldiers were in but I haven’t figured out how to find which companies/regiments my northern ancestor(s) would have been in.
Y’all had a hard fight!
At the point of penetration, the Union army had about 7,000 men.
Its easy in hindsight to say both sides wasted oportunities and adopted the wrong strategy, if you were in command of either side you most likely would have fouled it up worse, they didn't have as good of an overall view of what was going on as we do today, Lee should have moved to another favorable position after the first day and Meade should have been able to flank and roll them up easily with the large numbers of reserves they had on the second day IMO
Why no mention of Gen. Pickett's reports ? Not even his picture ?
In general I liked the clip in that i enjoy almost any virtually any clip about the civil war.
In terms of what I wanted to know most specifically about, which the title of the pic indicates, I was left sadly disappointed.
The second line. The primary thing I want to know about or why pick this site in the first place.
I didn't need a lecture of how important the second line was. My question was why did it never materialized
1) what troops were available.
2) of those available, who was made aware that they would be providing close up support, than remain in reserve defending main line on seminary ridge , in case of counter attack.
3). Under what conditions was each support brigade to begin their movement in the supporting role assigned.
By direct order, and by whom ? Or as circumstances looked favorable to. An order based on the discretion of each brigade or division commander independently. The latter seeming to be the case.
4). Why when the charge was half way forward, and it was plainly obvious that no support line firming, which by now it should have been, is there no record of any preemptive order to get it moving by anyone, including the commanding general.
These questions were not answered by this article, which it's title seemed to indicate it would. So in that sense, an interesting read, but did not full fill my expectations
And of course what would a Civil War Battlefield be today without a Mc Donalds........
Wasn't Stuart supposed to close the so-called bridge,...Lee intended to destroy the GAR,..not let it escape.
GAR was a veterans organization formed after the war.
I'm sure many of you agree with me. Had Anderson's Division been moved to Culps Hill at Gettysburg. Perhaps Lee would have won. What's your thought? -Bill Howes.
Second wave would be cut to ribbons by double canister just like the first. The only chance was a pre-dawn night attack with temps 20 degrees cooler. Or feint towards Wilmington/Washington and get the feds out of the Gettysburg defenses in a hurry. Anything except attack that fishhook again with its internally reinforced lines and boulder strewn/hill anchored flanks. Longstreet could see it clear as day.
Where's the first wave ?.
if the point of taking the ground is to achieve a commanding position, then it is inherently counterproductive to attempt to take the ground.
when your fighting you never ever . put them in a corner with no way out then they would be on death ground. and they will fight with every thing they have. they see they have no chance but will sell there life as high as they can.
I felt as though the analogies and verbal imagery were a fresh take on the prosecution of warfare during the civil war. I also appreciated the breakdown of language and the influence of Jomini on their thinking which was clearly part of all officer training during this time.
I wish they would break away from the graphics and show the speaker.
Very good and informative presentation, but he can belabor a metaphor.
Isn't that the truth?!? His whole presentation could have been done in 30 minutes or less if hadn't reiterated his points a dozen times or more. The speaker is obviously very knowledgeable but one quickly loses interest waiting for him to go to the next point. I mean, how many times and ways does he need to explain what "dislodge" means?
If you have a larger force it seems logical you can spread out your forces wider than your enemy and overlap the flanks, why the union was unable to do this boggles my mind as they always had much bigger forces at every major battle
They did many times, especially in the fighting from Chickamauga to Atlanta to the coast of GA. Atlanta was not taken, it had to be withdrawn from bc the Confederacy could not protect it's flanks
Yes but the overriding concern for the AOP was to always "not lose." They could not take great risks.
Good presentation though.
your hung up on semantics, You can be sure there were more simple goals and meanings transmitted on the day of the battle. Over analyzing the fog of war is fraught with risk
George Washington was reincarnated as Robert E. Lee. Lee's wife - Mary Custis Lee - was the great-granddaughter of Martha Custis Washington. Lee's father - Light-Horse Harry Lee - was GW's best friend and delivered his famous eulogy, "First in war, first in peace, first in the heart of his countrymen." Lee was born 7 years after GW's death and 7 miles from GW's birthplace. Lee's father-in-law was George Washington Parke Custis - the step-grandson and adopted son of GW - who built Arlington House as a memorial to GW. Lee was married at and lived at Arlington House which contained more GW memorabilia than Mount Vernon. Lee's first-born son was George Washington Custis Lee. GW took command of the Continental Army on July 3rd, 1775 and exactly 88 years later, Lee ordered Pickett's Charge. This is perhaps the most obvious direct-reincarnation in world history!
Lee was reincarnated as Dwight D. Eisenhower whose only private home was his Gettysburg Farm. Ike gave several foreign dignitaries tours of the battlefield. On Nov. 19, 1963 - the 100th Anniversary of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, President Kennedy asked Ike to sub for him at the ceremony because he was going to Dallas. In Ike's Oval Office, he had four photographs grouped together on the wall: Benjamin Franklin, Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, and Robert E. Lee. Franklin went on the record for his belief in reincarnation six months before his death. At the end of his life, Franklin was obsessed with keeping the fragmented country together and abolishing slavery. His last official act was submitting a bill to Congress to abolish slavery on Feb. 12, 1790.
@DEeMON
I agree (concur, to be in unison with). I gave up after 20 minutes (minute, a unit of time. Equal to 60 seconds) it was akin (analogous, comparable) to a 6th grade vocabulary (words found in a language or particular subject) lesson, meant more for 10 or 11 year olds.
One understands English. Why is this presenter speaking as if the words meanings are revelations?
I think the speaker is trying to reinforce his OWN views on the audience as if they are Lee's.
Re-enacted the raising of the US flag on Iwo Jima for a “photo op”?!!
Wtf are you talking about???!!
The flag was raised a second time because the Secretary of the Navy wanted the first one as a memento.
18:25 Antoine-Henri Jomini was Swiss not Swedish
20:56 Like damn chess.
"you move that my queen will checkmate you"
This channel is Wonderful, this presenter not so much.
What I NEVER understood about Pickett's Charge is WHY Lee did not command his Cavalry to coordinate an attack on the rear of the Union line, on cemetery Hill, with the ground attack from the west and the ground assault on Culp's Hill? It seems to me holding the cavalry back to burn wagons or stymie a union retreat back to Maryland was a waste of a very powerful force.... IF he had used the cavalry to hit the Union "center" at the same time as Pickett's troops arrived at the angle...I don't see HOW he could have lost the battle? It would have been a PERFECT plan! It's hard to believe Lee didn't intend to do that from the start???!!!
Stuart did attack the rear. he was repulsed by PA infantry regiments and Wisc/Micjh cavalry under Custer during fighting in the area now known as east cavalry field
There was very little chance that Stuart would have been able to cover the miles around the Union right flank and no evidence that Lee ordered him to.
i dispute the theory of a second wave ,at least to the extent that longstreet stopped wrights and possibly poseys brigades from moving forward when he considered the initial assault a failure.
You are right Frank. Anyone who believes this presenter just started studying the battle. They will, if they continue, find little support for this "historians' stab at making a name for himself with "new" interpretation.
spot on, Anderson's division suffered nearly 40% casualties at Gettysburg, to say they were available for Pickett's charge is absurd; Pettigrew and Trimble's commands were also essentially combat ineffective
I think Longstreet was right, to flank around to his right. Then Meade would ave to get between Longstreet and DC.
One of three mistskes that lost the war or a drsw for the south. Pickers charge, chickmauga, not listening to Forrest, Shiloh,, not listening to Forrest. My opinion. Providence??? C. J. And Ruthie B
Robert E. Lee should have sent his whole army of Northern Virginia against one part of the Union Army instead of attacking both flanks on day 2 and the center of the union line on day 3! The Union had the position of the high ground and they were entrenched. Lee lost to many men attacking to many different positions!
6:20 It would not take weeks for reports to reach Davis. Goodness something is wrong here.
It would to a point. Lee does not make it back into VA until July 13th. The man who has all the correspondence would not make Richmond until the 16-17. Davis would read reports. Lee offered resignation July 31. Davis finished reading battle reports and responds to Lee by August 11th. Telegraph was not good not reliable in the South. Southern Newspapers call the battle a success in mid July, but by July 26th the Charleston Mercury is calling it a hard fought defeat
Lee saved the Union with that mistake
Yes, I will ascribe my beliefs to the opinions of random youtube commenters rather than a professional historian employed by the National Park Service. An expert presentation complete with background on training, wonderful analogies and tactics. Instead, I am to believe people who bought a couple books in garages, the usual obsessed confederate apologists, conspiracy nuts and guys who debate things after watching a bunch of History channel docs.
There is only one basis to judge what you hear & read, on the merits, not on who says it.
Employed by the NATIONAL park service is the key phrase.
Instead of believing either, do some reading.
Unfortunately, I cannot fully agree with this presentation. The analysis may be true on the tactical, but not on a higher strategic level:
Especially, I do not believe that Gen. Lee's aim was to show Meade any "golden bridge" or that Pickett's Charge was a terrain oriented attack. Lee's strategic aim was to destroy the Northern Army completely - in order to destroy the will of the enemy. To achieve this he needed complete victory and not only a retreat.
e.g.: ruclips.net/video/lrXxz4iniRs/видео.html
The possession of Gettysburg or its hills was of no strategic need or significance. It was simply the favourable tactical way to reach his strategic goal.
True. And to achieve that strategic goal Lee would have done the Cause of Southern Independence a great service by listening to Longstreet.
Also, Sun Tzu would be horrified to hear the suggestion Lee was following Sun Tzu @ Gettys berg.
(2) teachings of Sun Tzu that are applicable @ Gettysberg:
1) A skillful general leads his enemy to battle @ the time & place of his choosing (At Gettysberg, Lee was the one being led to the slaughter, not the other way around)
2) Some ground should not be contested
Stephen Troup I think Lee was trying to accomplish an extraordinary feat at Gettysburg. He believed his men could pull it off, take any position no matter how formidable the defence was. To beat the Union Army there under those conditions, by dislodging it from such strong position on the hills would be all too impressive. Had Lee done it, it is possible that the North would conclude that he's not worth fighting, and sued for peace.
The bottom line is Lee's army attacked and got it's arse handed to them. The Union won the event and consequently won the war.
Wow, breathtaking new analysis
Pedantic
balloons, the golden gate bridge, logs, streams, fences, arguments and American football. The non-stop analogies are more of a distraction than an aid and make the lecture a bit tedious.
Exactly ...I mean balloons ?wtf ?
I agree turned a 5 min thing into a 15 min maybe longer thing. I was like damn get to the point already
George Washington was reincarnated as Robert E. Lee. Lee's wife - Mary Custis Lee - was the great-granddaughter of Martha Custis Washington. Lee's father - Light-Horse Harry Lee - was GW's best friend and delivered his famous eulogy, "First in war, first in peace, first in the heart of his countrymen." Lee was born 7 years after GW's death and 7 miles from GW's birthplace. Lee's father-in-law was George Washington Parke Custis - the step-grandson and adopted son of GW - who built Arlington House as a memorial to GW. Lee was married at and lived at Arlington House which contained more GW memorabilia than Mount Vernon. Lee's first-born son was George Washington Custis Lee. GW took command of the Continental Army on July 3rd, 1775 and exactly 88 years later, Lee ordered Pickett's Charge. This is perhaps the most obvious direct-reincarnation in world history!
Lee was reincarnated as Dwight D. Eisenhower whose only private home was his Gettysburg Farm. Ike gave several foreign dignitaries tours of the battlefield. On Nov. 19, 1963 - the 100th Anniversary of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, President Kennedy asked Ike to sub for him at the ceremony because he was going to Dallas. In Ike's Oval Office, he had four photographs grouped together on the wall: Benjamin Franklin, Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, and Robert E. Lee. Franklin went on the record for his belief in reincarnation six months before his death. At the end of his life, Franklin was obsessed with keeping the fragmented country together and abolishing slavery. His last official act was submitting a bill to Congress to abolish slavery on Feb. 12, 1790.
If GW had reincarnated, Lee would've fought for the Union.
This is a bizarre presentation. On one hand, it assumes that the audience is both unfamiliar with simple things, such as the word "dislodge", and is inattentive -- requiring multiple repetitions before they comprehend. On the other, it presumes that the audience is so familiar with the battle that they know the locations of individual features and locations of even smaller units -- at a level of detail much finer than on the maps presented during the talk.
I am giving up at the 1 hour mark. I expect that I could easily present the material to this point in 10-15 minutes -- it is that redundant and loaded with pointless digressions.
Agreed entirely - endless repetitions of pointless metaphors that are quite easy to grasp and time wasting. And the endless "Have you got that?" is annoying as heck.
Because most people in this country are 3rd graders regarding history.
31 minutes and i'm out
I’ll save an hour of it for later.
RIGHT? Dislodge and possession are confusing to who?
One thing lost on so much analysis of Gettysberg is that on the night of July 2nd, Meade called all his general's into a conference for their ideas and recommendations. Meade believed, rightly so that Lee would attack the center on July 3rd. It was also decided that if Lee did not attack on July 3rd that the AoP would march out and attack Lee. Lee's plan to fight over the ground at Gettysberg was foolish after Day 1, but had he just had the patience to wait 24 hrs, Meade would have come to him on ground much more favorable to Lee.
Lee was brilliant but fell victim to tunnel vision, by Day 3 his strategic brilliance had fizzled out into mediocre predictability.
I can hardly listen to his repetition over and over of his concept of the objective of the attack. I can't believe that he prepared for this talk without some edit of repeating remarks.
Thought I would wade through this
Lasted 3mins
Yanks love to talk
Who does he think he is talking to a bunch of idiots? Metaphors are tedious.
I don't have time for all this. Give me the Cliff Notes.
Russian shopping expose kmgmlyl aggressive bullet.
Lee in ill health, Longstreet over cautious of Lee's order's...forced to fight where he had not planned to...Stuart's absence isn't a major blow as there's calvary units there..if Lee's munition's weren't spent he might have waited for the counter attack and luckily the yanks didn't want anymore .....it was hotter than seven hellfires the whole time...just try and imagine...nobody really wins in battles bothsides loss the best young feller's they have and the old croonie's that run the show safe at home .....war is hell
It's beyond foolish to think that Meade would abandon the amazingly defensible position he had (especially after continuously reinforcing it for 48 hrs) to put his army out in the open. I don't buy that this was Lee's thinking.
This lecture is built on getting too much in a someone's head and building too much on one word without looking at broader context.
Presenter is enthusiastic but can be helped with training on effective communication, he is honestly very tiring to listen to.
Exactly.
I hear this guys voice and I see Dwight Yoakam’s face. Weird.
You're going to have to listen to another lecture to get a better understanding of this attack, or of "the second wave." This talk is convoluted, digressive, theory-dominated, and full of inaccuracies. This Golden Bridge stuff is pure nonsense; Lee aimed at crushing the enemy at Gettysburg or as it retreated from there.
Presentation is way too wordy - painfully slow, rabbit paths, repetitive verbage.
Wait what? We're basing a theory on the meaning of "on." And wild speculation on how many trees stood where and how fast they grew. And a freaking painting?! Planting a flag in 1863 somehow meant the same as planting a flag in 1945? (And where does he get the idea that the _anyone_ had any thought of intimidating the Japanese by raising the flag on Iwo Jima in the first place?)
Two is the natural number of mutual support. I draw the line at numerology.
Someone is "Doing history (at a) high(er level)."
I bought two books that were from the west point library at a yard sale.
Filled with troop and artillery positions for engagements of the civil war that people don't even know happened.
So the endless rehashing of Gettysburg by amateur historians and armchair tactician knowitalls is become sad.
Im sure many experts posting comments here never have bothered to study the smaller engagements and so they slowly fade from history.
Premise is flawed..Lee needed to defeat the Army Had the Union retreated,Lee would have gained nothing, except another battle he was less prepared fight..Terrain was nothing, he needed to defeat the army
Thank you very much for this free lesson. ....... why do I honor my Southern legacy? Because here is the proof of the greatest soldiers who ever walked the earth since the Roman Legions.
@Scott Riley : Are you a Neo-Confederate? The greatest soldiers were the ones who won the Civil War and defeated the evil proponents of slavery.
"I felt like anything rather than rejoicing at the downfall of a foe who had fought so long and valiantly, and had suffered so much for a cause, though that cause was, I believe, one of the worst for which a people ever fought, and one for which there was the least excuse." - Ulysses S. Grant
good lecture but he makes it someone annoying by overstressing some key points, ad nauseum
In this battle Lee was missing one MAIN part of his army,,,,,,,,,,,JEB Stuart. I feel this is one reason Lee lost this battle. I know there "may have been" other reasons as well but. And many historians agree,,,,,,," IF" Stuart and been there with the INFO that Lee needed so much ,, this battle would have gone very differently,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Just ask Gen. Longstreet,,,,,,:):)
The Confederacy was essentially over extended and no general past or present could have turned the battle into a Confederate victory.
I have news for you son, they’re millions of us who see the The South as a separate nation.................when the time is right.
@Scott Riley : I have news for you. First, you're a liar. Second, you're a Neo-Confederate. Third, you've threatened the US with violent rebellion. Therefore...
BY the power(77) vested in me by GOD as the reincarnated Christ(77=C3+H8+R18+I9+S19+T20), I hereby rule that 1.2.20 is your Judgment Day: you FAIL.
Sentence: Really awful luck for the rest of your life, then your eternal soul won't be reincarnated as human for 7,400 years with 174 years incommutable. When you're born-again as human, it'll be as a very dark African woman.
Note: You can repent...
c.c. 7seals.yuku.com