Val, you probably got a lot more detailed information by visting the website with memoirs, but I find on line reading just can't hold my attention as a book can. For some reason, my eyes glaze over after just a few paragraphs of lengthy reading on line, while with a book, I don't have that problem. Of course, I could print up what one finds on line, but it just wouldn't be the same.

I too had to go back to clarify things which is why I read the book twice.

I may actually read the books by Schaara's son........after the PA trip.

 

I guess this doesn't apply to reading multiple lines of text on THIS online service

 

I probably mentioned this before.....

My son Ben just graduated from Bowdoin College, which is 'thick' with Chamberlain lore. Ben worked in the library's extensive 'special collections' unit and....among other things....got to catalog J. Lawrence Chamberlain's eyeglasses The collection of 20th Maine memorabilia is also often cited in the footnotes of various books on the battle of G-burg, etc.

Chamberlain's residence is right across the street from the college; it's now an interesting museum. There is also a lot of Chamberlain ephemera in the town of Brewster (next door to Bangor ME); I believe that he was born there and most of the family stayed in that area.

 

I am late to the discussion because I had to wait a bit to get the book from the library. so if this point has already been covered, my apologies.

what strikes me the most is the appaling numbers of casaulties suffered by both sides. I think the combined population of the USA and the CSA was approximately 30 million . our current population is aprox. 300 million. It is unthinkable that we could bear to suffer 10 times the casualties of gettysburg in a single battle or event. I think people were conditioned to suffering in those days and expected life to be harsh. nearly every family had children that died of disease, and loved ones who never made it past 40.

but still, the sheer carnage is difficult to comprehend.

 

No, it applies here too. Short attention span I guess.

 

I could have gotten the book on tape at the library. I don't know if that would make me listen to it more than read it though. I hope to get a few more pages tonight when I hit the sack.

 

teebee. +1 and I discussed that after I finished reading the book. We were appalled at the # of people who died at Gettysburg (which equalled the losses of the ENTIRE VietNam war). Reading about and thinking about this war was a particularly emotional experience for +1 and me since we have a son and a brother in the military who have been serving in hot spots on/off for many years. This study made us think about war being here at home and it was very tough to consider.

 

I see the second semester class is working its way through. I think that is great. IF you cant remember the names, etc I recommend frequent referal to the foreword. It will help you remember most of the officers. Also, refer to the situation maps at the start of each day. They also help you to follow the action and the characters.

 

I have just been reading a 2005/6 book by Tom Carhart, a Civil War historian: Lost Triumph, Lee's Real Plan at Gettysburg and Why it Failed. By bringing in some new evidence from interviews and other records; and by invoking similar Napoleonic battles, like Austerlitz, that Lee knew well and would surely have thought about in planning the battle, Carhart concludes that Lee's three-part plan on Day 3 involved (1) a frontal attack on the Union's right flank by Ewell and Johnson at Culp's Hill (2) Longstreet's attack on Cemetery Ridge (Pickett's Charge), penetrating the Union line, and (3) an attack by Stuart's 6000 man cavalry on the back side of Culp's Hill and Cemetery Ridge, causing the right flank of The Union army to collapse simultaneously with the center of their line on Cemetery Ridge and ending up with a distruction of Meade's army 'in detail'.

Carhart says,
"But although we find no record of the actual orders from Lee, we do know from Official Record that Lee ordered the third part of his three-pronged offensive, Stuart's attack from the rear that would have enabled Johnson's men to take Culp's Hill from the front and begin to roll up the right wing of the Union infantry line. This is contained in the Official Report of the man who failed Lee, Jeb Stuart. Here we find the order Lee had given him to take his three brigades of 5,000 cavalrymen to which Lee added the 1,000 mounted infantrymen of Jenkin's brigade, out to York's Pike to the northeast several miles, then turn south to the top of Cress Ridge. Lee was thus sending his his entire cavalry contingent out on his left wing under Stuart" (p. 163). Stuart apparently had clear orders on the exact route and timing of his attack. And audible signals to Lee (number and pattern of cannon fire) were agreed upon in advance.

He goes on to say in the next chapter that the attack made in Pickett's Charge was not just a frontal attack, but was intended to effect a penetration of the Union line... So that the 13,000 men in that charge could meet up with 5,000 horsemen that Stuart would bring in from the other side. And as the far end of the Union right wing was crushed, the 10,000 men of Johnson's division and the 1,000 of Jenkin's brigade would just have continued west along the bend of the Fishhook, rolling the blue units up as they reached them. Meanwhile the 13,000 infantry of Pickett's Charge and the 5,000 horsemen of Stuart's command would have met at the clump of trees and routed the Union soldiers waiting there (p173).

The book is 288 pages long-- fascinating reading! The premise is well argued. And he brings in lots of interesting historical evidence.

 

^Jim, take a look at Lee's battle report that can be found at the link I provided above. It mentions some of this in general. By Lee's own report, he ordered Stuart to attack at the Union rear. KA has a few lines about Ewell's part on day three, essentially leaving the reader with the sense that the effort failed

Does your book go into detail about what happened to Stuart that day?