CFI1513840
Well Known Member
Oops, misdrilled T-712 Z brackets, waiting for replacements?
So yesterday I drove up to Little Round Top, the extreme left flank of the Union line at Gettysburg. It was cold ? low 30?s ? the wind gusting to about 25 miles an hour. The place hasn?t changed much. The scattered boulders, the low rock walls still preserved, and except for the road, pathways and monuments, the terrain is pretty much the same, unsullied by the advance of technology. On July 2, 1863, it was hot, dusty, chaotic and deadly. When wandering around, one can develop a keen sense of the events that took place there, almost as if the spirits of the fallen warriors are acting as guides.
Let your imagination take you back, the deafening tumult of war, the shouts and cries, the dramatic events related by one of the troops of the 20th Maine?
?This is the spot where we ran out of ammunition and Colonel Chamberlain ordered fixed bayonets. Look down towards that ravine. That?s where the 15th Alabama were pouring up for another assault. It was clear to all of us what we had to do when he gave that order and no one hesitated. Just the word was enough, and it spread like wildfire through the whole line ?Bayonet!? We fixed bayonets and ran like madmen towards the enemy. They fell back, then scattered. We continued on in a great sweep like the hinge of a gate, through the 47th and the 4th Alabama all the way around to meet the 44th New York. Prisoners outnumbered us two to one. Colonel Chamberlain was kindly disposed to take their weapons and offer them an end to the fighting. He said we could befriend and by no means kill, if they came our way in peace and good will?.
Little Round Top is the place where Joshua Chamberlain?s 20th Maine made such a difference, suffering almost 50% casualties in the process. Of course, it is only one of many sites and momentous events that occurred at Gettysburg during those three days in July of 1863. But one could argue the importance of this single battle, even to the extent of affecting the outcome of the war. Chamberlain was fighting to preserve the Union, and although I probably had kinfolk fighting on both sides, I would have to agree with him. If the outcome was thus decided, thank you Colonel Chamberlain. I?m glad we are still One Nation and that the first Homebuilders, the Wright brothers from Ohio, had the opportunity to achieve powered flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
If you?re so inclined, fly your RV to W05, although I would suggest waiting for more pleasant weather than I had yesterday. If you want to trade an RV ride for a tour of the battlefield, send me an e-mail and I?ll meet you at the airport. http://www.airnav.com/airport/W05
So yesterday I drove up to Little Round Top, the extreme left flank of the Union line at Gettysburg. It was cold ? low 30?s ? the wind gusting to about 25 miles an hour. The place hasn?t changed much. The scattered boulders, the low rock walls still preserved, and except for the road, pathways and monuments, the terrain is pretty much the same, unsullied by the advance of technology. On July 2, 1863, it was hot, dusty, chaotic and deadly. When wandering around, one can develop a keen sense of the events that took place there, almost as if the spirits of the fallen warriors are acting as guides.
Let your imagination take you back, the deafening tumult of war, the shouts and cries, the dramatic events related by one of the troops of the 20th Maine?
?This is the spot where we ran out of ammunition and Colonel Chamberlain ordered fixed bayonets. Look down towards that ravine. That?s where the 15th Alabama were pouring up for another assault. It was clear to all of us what we had to do when he gave that order and no one hesitated. Just the word was enough, and it spread like wildfire through the whole line ?Bayonet!? We fixed bayonets and ran like madmen towards the enemy. They fell back, then scattered. We continued on in a great sweep like the hinge of a gate, through the 47th and the 4th Alabama all the way around to meet the 44th New York. Prisoners outnumbered us two to one. Colonel Chamberlain was kindly disposed to take their weapons and offer them an end to the fighting. He said we could befriend and by no means kill, if they came our way in peace and good will?.
Little Round Top is the place where Joshua Chamberlain?s 20th Maine made such a difference, suffering almost 50% casualties in the process. Of course, it is only one of many sites and momentous events that occurred at Gettysburg during those three days in July of 1863. But one could argue the importance of this single battle, even to the extent of affecting the outcome of the war. Chamberlain was fighting to preserve the Union, and although I probably had kinfolk fighting on both sides, I would have to agree with him. If the outcome was thus decided, thank you Colonel Chamberlain. I?m glad we are still One Nation and that the first Homebuilders, the Wright brothers from Ohio, had the opportunity to achieve powered flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
If you?re so inclined, fly your RV to W05, although I would suggest waiting for more pleasant weather than I had yesterday. If you want to trade an RV ride for a tour of the battlefield, send me an e-mail and I?ll meet you at the airport. http://www.airnav.com/airport/W05
