Anybody ever been to Civil War battlefields?

[UtahDan]

Originally Posted by Archaea

To accompany my child who performed with his school group at the Kennedy Center in DC, I traveled with the group to DC.

Observations for those that care, otherwise, snicker or ridicule to your heart's content:

DC is small and very accessible, but finding a gas station there is a nightmare.

The Washington Hilton, where Reagan was shot, is run down and not a very good property.

Gays in DC are very in your face about it; made me want to start a straight sex awareness week, or a Straight Sex with skinny, young and attractive females awareness week. My guess is it wouldn't go over well in DC.

After having visited DC a number of times, I don't care to go back. There is less to do there than New York which can be new every time.

Seeing battlefields with boys is great. We were in Gettysburg on Monday and they did a reenactment of amputations of the wounded. The guides are knowledgeable and friendly.

The battle came as a result of a number of horrific blunders and it is no wonder General Pickett finished last in his class at West Point.

How could one be a general or President knowing you get to pick which young men die?

It was a moving experience having taken the tour of the fields, then to go to the cemetery and read Lincoln's words. One leaves wondering what would have happened had the sides found political solutions. Would we be witnessing apartheid in the South?

Would our economies have not risen to the extent that we would not have defeated Japan and Germany in WWII?

Gettysburgh may have had as many as 51,000 casualties with armies of 75,000 against 93,000. Amazing.

Bull Run was less impressive, and it seems odd given the positioning on the hill that they made so much out of Jackson given his position on the hill, but maybe I didn't get the proper perspective.

Who has seen famous battlefields?

Gettysburg, Antietam Creek (Sharpsburg), Harpers Ferry (site of the US arsenal that John Brown siezed at the confluence of the Potomac and the Shenandoah), Bull Run (Manassas), Cedar Creek, Wilderness, Spotsylvania Court House, Brandy Station (largest cavalry engagement of the war), Cold Harbor, Fredericksburg (surfah is right, that one is WELL worth the visit), Petersburg, Appomatox. Fairfax Court house, though not a battlefield strictly speaking, was the site of much of the activity of Mosby's Raiders and is also where George Washington's will was probated. These are all in my back yard.

For a civil war buff, there is no better place to live than Virginia. Gettysburg remains my favorite though. Nothing matches it in either size, scope or importance, from Chamberlain's defense of little round top, to the slaughter at Devils Den, to Pickett's suicidal charge to the Gettysburg address. I always feel a sense of reverence up there that I don't get other places, I think, because of the incomprehensbile sacrifice that occurred there.

I have always been curious as to why we fixate so much on the civil war (rightly) but not the revolution. Maybe there were just bigger characters and more of them.

[Archaea]

Originally Posted by UtahDan

Gettysburg, Antietam Creek (Sharpsburg), Harpers Ferry (site of the US arsenal that John Brown siezed at the confluence of the Potomac and the Shenandoah), Bull Run (Manassas), Cedar Creek, Wilderness, Spotsylvania Court House, Brandy Station (largest cavalry engagement of the war), Cold Harbor, Fredericksburg (surfah is right, that one is WELL worth the visit), Petersburg, Appomatox. Fairfax Court house, though not a battlefield strictly speaking, was the site of much of the activity of Mosby's Raiders and is also where George Washington's will was probated. These are all in my back yard.


I have always been curious as to why we fixate so much on the civil war (rightly) but not the revolution. Maybe there were just bigger characters and more of them.

The carnage is so massive, and the fight of brother against brother is moving.

I could not and cannot read the Gettysburg Address without being moved to tears. To see thousands of brothers laid to rest in that cemetery is very powerful.

I wish our leaders now were embued with that sense of resolve. Now all we have is a bunch of shitheads. Curse them all to hell.

One reads what Lincoln, and senses a deeply intellectual, yet troubled man.

Reading modern politicians, all I am moved to do is to vomit or to defecate due to their insincerity.

Damn them all.

[UtahDan]

Originally Posted by Archaea

The carnage is so massive, and the fight of brother against brother is moving.

I could not and cannot read the Gettysburg Address without being moved to tears. To see thousands of brothers laid to rest in that cemetery is very powerful.

I wish our leaders now were embued with that sense of resolve. Now all we have is a bunch of shitheads. Curse them all to hell.

One reads what Lincoln, and senses a deeply intellectual, yet troubled man.

Reading modern politicians, all I am moved to do is to vomit or to defecate due to their insincerity.

Damn them all.

"...that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain"

Poetic. I agree that in this age of insta-polls sincerity may be somewhat dead. And yet, I keep thinking that the pedulum is ripe to swing the other way on this.

Oh, and thanks for stopping in to say hello while you were here. I could have at least shown you a good place to have lunch. Sheesh.

[Archaea]

I had a bunch of twelve to fourteen year old boys. You would not have been impressed.

Plus on Saturday, after staying up to 2:00 AM the night before I got up ran down along the river over to Virginia down to the SouthEast, got lost and virtually lost all running power, then ran around the monuments. I was not a happy camper. (twenty miserable miles).

Sunday I barely got to exercise and Monday was a day without exercise. So I was grumpy.

Next time I may have to take a list of my comrades there, as I'm pretty bored with DC now. Friends and acquaintances might make it worth the trip next time, without kids.

Sorry.

[Archaea]

Originally Posted by UtahDan

Poetic. I agree that in this age of insta-polls sincerity may be somewhat dead. And yet, I keep thinking that the pedulum is ripe to swing the other way on this.

I don't see it. I wish I did, but sincerity is dead.

I know Harry and like him personally, but every time I hear him speak, I want to say Screw You, that's not what you said behind closed doors. But when I see him again, I'm just, "Oh how's the wife?, want to go hunting, how have you recovered from your illness."

No reason to call out friends. Yet every single one of those guys and gals are publically asswipes.

We don't have honest debate, honest and candid discussion, only PR bs that nobody but a few pollsters believe.

I wish we could implement Thomas Jefferson's hope of a revolution every generation, as it might breed sincerity. The days of earnest, sincere politicians never probably survived into the 20th Century and shall not manifest themselves in the 21st.

[All-American]

I look at the civil war, attempt to comprehend the devotion those men had for their country, what they were willing to do to preserve what they believed in, and I see giants of men on both sides. I look around today for somebody, ANYBODY, of the stature of those men, and mourn that they cannot be found.

Yoda had it all wrong.

[YardTime]

I lived less than 5 miles from a historic "War of Northern Aggression" battlefield when I lived in Kennesaw, Ga. a year and a half ago.

Kennesaw is just north northwest of Atlanta and there is a mountain, which I'm sure most here would call a hill, called Kennesaw Mountain there. It is a very historic battlefield being a key geographic feature in the Battle of Atlanta. Trenches are still there as are cannon placements. It's a beautiful place. I used to drive right by it everyday on my way to work.

If you are into that sort of thing and you're visiting Atlanta, I'd highly recommend visiting that site and combine that with a visit to the Cyclorama located at the entrance to the Atlanta zoo. The cyclorama has on display one of the train engines that took part in the great train chase during the war between the states. Some yankees planned to sneak in to Atlanta, steal a train, and blow up the train tracks behind them as they escaped. They were discovered though and the great chase began. Additionally there is a 360 degree painting depicting the Battle of Atlanta.

Now if you want to head a couple hours south of Atlanta, the site of the Andersonville Prison Camp is pretty neat to see. It's only about a 45 minute drive from where I grew up.

[Cali Coug]

Originally Posted by UtahDan

Gettysburg, Antietam Creek (Sharpsburg), Harpers Ferry (site of the US arsenal that John Brown siezed at the confluence of the Potomac and the Shenandoah), Bull Run (Manassas), Cedar Creek, Wilderness, Spotsylvania Court House, Brandy Station (largest cavalry engagement of the war), Cold Harbor, Fredericksburg (surfah is right, that one is WELL worth the visit), Petersburg, Appomatox. Fairfax Court house, though not a battlefield strictly speaking, was the site of much of the activity of Mosby's Raiders and is also where George Washington's will was probated. These are all in my back yard.

For a civil war buff, there is no better place to live than Virginia. Gettysburg remains my favorite though. Nothing matches it in either size, scope or importance, from Chamberlain's defense of little round top, to the slaughter at Devils Den, to Pickett's suicidal charge to the Gettysburg address. I always feel a sense of reverence up there that I don't get other places, I think, because of the incomprehensbile sacrifice that occurred there.

I have always been curious as to why we fixate so much on the civil war (rightly) but not the revolution. Maybe there were just bigger characters and more of them.

Chamberlain's defense of Little Round Top is one of my favorite stories from all of history. You run out of bullets but must hold the hill. Time to "affix bayonets."

"Affix bayonets"... how scary those words must have been to the Union soldiers on Little Round Top. Chamberlain's men held the end of the Union's line. If they fell, Gettysburg would be lost, and holding the line wouldn't be easy. At the bottom of the hill were some of the finest generals America has ever known doing their best to get their men up the hill. At the top of the hill were the Union soldiers, brave men, but men with no ammunition or supplies. As his men began to panic, Chamberlain ordered his men to charge down the hill, with him personally leading the way, and in so doing altered the course of this nation forever.

The phrase "affix bayonets" has always stuck with me. It seems like a metaphor for life. When everything looks grim and falling apart, there is nothing left to do but affix bayonets and charge. Put your fate in God's hands. "We know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do." 2 Nephi 25:23.

Truly inspiring.