tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6322916946732811685.post984031274547435311..comments2024-03-28T16:31:54.494-04:00Comments on Borepatch: Ghosts in GettysburgBorepatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05029434172945099693noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6322916946732811685.post-29406843667731740382016-10-25T09:45:49.345-04:002016-10-25T09:45:49.345-04:00Walking the Sunken Road at Antietam battlefield wa...Walking the Sunken Road at Antietam battlefield was a real eye opener. The cornfield ends RIGHT THERE! You don't need a rifle to hit the men standing there - a stout stick or a rock would do just fine. And the men marching through the corn couldn't see a thing until it was too late.McChuckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08192934741632433007noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6322916946732811685.post-18755943993471432792016-10-25T07:55:15.177-04:002016-10-25T07:55:15.177-04:00I have walked the ground at most of the Civil War ...I have walked the ground at most of the Civil War battlefields and Indian War battlefields. In a number of cases, seeing the terrain has helped clarify what happened. For example, there was no way that Custer could not have seen most of the Indian village along the Little Big Horn from the top of the ridge. Reno's attack on the lower village went in along what is now the median of I-90, well beyond the trees along the river (and there are more today than in 1876). Plus there was the gigantic horse herd on the hills on the opposite side of the valley. Chancellorsville/ Wilderness/Spotsylvania, on the other hand, looked exactly like what you see in the narratives and maps. In other cases like Stones River the battlefield is so chopped up my modern development, seeing it actually impairs your understanding. What you really need to be careful with are treelines. Most of the 19th century battlefields have many more trees today than at the time of the battle which distort perceptions about what the commanders could see. At Gettysburg, the NPS has been removing trees setting off a fight between the historical preservationists and the environmentalists. Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13416410052064018322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6322916946732811685.post-6079337253598476272016-10-24T18:55:34.584-04:002016-10-24T18:55:34.584-04:00I tell anyone visiting The Little Big Horn Battlef...I tell anyone visiting The Little Big Horn Battlefield (about an hour away) to pay attention to the terrain. The ground and the markers are about all anyone has to "see" the battle and if all you do is read a few road side signs you've missed most of the story. <br /><br />The incongruity, both there and at the Fetterman Battlefield an hour down the road, is you can stand where where at least some of the men fought using stone aged weapons and watch truck traffic run up and down an interstate highway.Shermhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07098953206824247173noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6322916946732811685.post-41646104012287823362016-10-24T15:35:36.998-04:002016-10-24T15:35:36.998-04:00Yep, 'walking' the ground gives one a whol...Yep, 'walking' the ground gives one a whole new appreciation of the reality...Old NFOhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16404197287935017147noreply@blogger.com