A little OT (got this in an email today):

A sweet and gentle Southern lady from Alabama was driving across the
Savannah River Bridge in Georgia one day. As she neared the top of the
bridge, she noticed a young man fixin' to jump.

She stopped her car, rolled down the window and said, "Please don't
jump, think of your dear mother and father."

He replied, "Mom and Dad are both dead; I'm going to jump."

She said, "Well, think of your wife and children."

He replied, "I'm not married and I don't have any kids."

She said, "Well, think of Robert E. Lee."

He replied, "Who's Robert E. Lee?"

She replied, "Well, bless your heart, you just go ahead and jump, you
God-da--ed Yankee."

 

I am not convinced R.E. Lee was fighting for freedom for an independent confederacy. I think he was fighting because it was what he was trained to do, and because he loved Virginia above all. He was "trapped" by the events of the time. "With all my devotion to the Union and the feeling of loyalty and duty of an American citizen, I have not been able to raise my hand against my relatives, my children, my home. I have therefore resigned my commission in the Army..."

 

^^ Great point, Vitito. I think he's still revered and respected by so many because of his commitment to Virginia. I thought a lot about him and various things I've read about him over the years today. We're all "trapped by the events" of our time in many ways.

 

I agree Val He must have been torn inside.

 

James Longstreet. Consider him carefully. "He has invented a trench and a theory of defensive warfare." He is a true character study. I think Shaara is fascinated by him above all others.

 

Lewis Armistead and Winfield Hancock. Best of friends, closer than brothers. One for the South, one for the North. Riding into battle to face one another on the field. The author gives you a glipse of the battle. Hancock "will be waiting for Armistead at the top of Cemetary Hill." (foreword p xv) Waiting with his troops for battle, or waiting to meet him by arranged truce? Either is possible. And such is the state of affairs in Pennsylvania on June 29, 1863.

 

I agree LB. R.E. Lee graduated West Point in 1829, 14 years after Waterloo. Napoleonic warfare must have been the focus, massive infantry attacks, cavalry charges, etc. Longstreet must have invented his defensive tactics to account for technology changes, and the increase in casualties.

Last night's research: In GODS AND GENERALS, J. Shaara indicates that Lee resigned his commission on the same day Virginia decided to secede, April 20 (12 April Fort Sumter, followed shorly by Abe's call for 75,000 volunteers)..........he indicates that Lee was hoping that Virginia would NOT secede, but in any event, he would NOT fight for the Union since most of the fighting by the "invasion force," called for by Abe to put down the rebellion, would have to take place in Virginia, and he could not partake in that. He could not lead the Union Army if the fighting was on Virginia soil, his home.

 

I agree. I think that the members of the Confederacy viewed themselves as citizens of their states which were bound in a loose confederation. I think the notion of a strong central government was much more important in the north. Remember, the south was still largely agrairian and tied to the land whereas the north was at the beginning of the industrial revolution, with cities, commerce and trade.

A few points I want to touch upon from last night:

1. Bear in mind when thinking about the characters that they exist in their time, not ours. View the characters in the historical context, not through 2006 eyes.

2. The notion of honor and how the battles are fought are very dated, but consider the fact that at the beginning of the Civil War men were still using front loading muskets. Also consider that the techniques and strategies that generals use very often lag behind the technology. This is true in every war, and certainly was true in the Civil War.

3. As you read the book try to imagine, and keep in mind the conditions that the armies lived with. No motor vehicles, poor communication, living off the land, very poor medical care, no modern medicine and etc.

 

After Lee possibly the most interesting character. Certainly one of the few three dimensional characters.

 

Better yet, allow yourself to be transported back to that world and try to feel it. I think Shaara's writing is so good that it allows you to enter the world of 1863.