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oh yea just checked... the reenactment is in october for pea ridge.. hope i can get a great coat by then its gonna be coooooold
__________________ "In mortal combat, a man may and will become so infuriated by the din and dangers of a bloody fight that his heart will turn to stone and his every de sire [be] for blood."
John Hadley, 7th Indiana after the battle at Port Republic
oh hhh yea.. thats the one we are going too.. if I can make it. Need ammo, a great coat, and a new haversack.. /sigh Can't wait for another chance to bag me some johnnies... any chance you'll be there OIJ??
__________________ "In mortal combat, a man may and will become so infuriated by the din and dangers of a bloody fight that his heart will turn to stone and his every de sire [be] for blood."
John Hadley, 7th Indiana after the battle at Port Republic
two miles through cross lots, fences, and thickets all the while under reb sniper fire. Hardly an easy undertaking.
The ford that was 2/3 miles away, while it was indeed 3 feet deep or so, also had a steep bluff on the yank side 160 feet from the waters edge and steep banks. Also exposed to reb fire and a harder crossing then Snavely's ford was.
According to this experiment in 1994 the crossing was only 75 yards downstream, but may have resulted in as many casualties.
"In November 1994, twenty-five West Point cadets and their instructors tried crossing Antietam Creek at the point from which this photo was taken (about 75 yards downstream from the bridge). The water at its deepest point was only about three feet deep, but it required fully three minutes for everyone to get on-line and wade to the opposite shore, and a further minute or so to clamber up the far bank. Some cadets had to help their comrades exit the stream, and in general their orderly line evaporated in the course of reaching dry ground. What the experience would have been like, with arms raised to keep cartridge boxes, weapons, and haversacks dry, under a severe small arms fire, with wounded soldiers having to be held above the water or allowed to drown, was sobering to contemplate. The cadets and their instructors concluded that, while Burnside may have erred in his decision to storm the bridge, it was a reasonable course to have taken. Only 500 Confederates defended the bridge, but Burnside could not know this. Indeed, until 8 a.m. a sizeable division of about 4,000 rebels had been in this sector, and Burnside did not know that most of these had been diverted to staunch the Union attacks on the northern part of the Antietam battlefield. Against such numbers, an attempt to wade the creek with massive numbers of troops might have resulted in a failure as bloody as the doomed frontal assaults at the Battle of Fredericksburg in December 1862--assaults for which Burnside is vigorously faulted. By using a relatively small force to secure the bridge, Burnside minimized the casualties involved in effecting a crossing." http://people.cohums.ohio-state.edu/...our/bridge.htm
__________________ "Those who forget to remember the past are condemned to repeat it", George Santayana.
Referencing Dred's comparison of Thermopylae to the Rohrbach Bridge, there is one further parallel. The Greeks at Thermopylae were doomed when a traitor showed the Persians a little known path that led to the rear of the pass (Hence Leonidas's dismissal of most of the army). Like the Greeks, Burnsides finally found a place to ford the creek downstream from the bridge. Either way, the Confederates were in no position to remain. Stay and be flanked like the Greeks or in the Arthurian Tradition (as interpreted by Monty Python), RUN AWAY! They had to leave. Running low on ammo meant you couldn't stay & play anyway.
Now, there's another interesting thing. Burnsides had this fixation about water. Put water between Burnsides and his objective and he generally gets stopped (New Bern being the exception - but there he had a successful amphibious landing and fought inland). At Fredericksburg, a handful of Barksdale's Mississippians held of Burnsides for hours until they too were ordered to withdraw.
BTW, I've written articles on Antietam and Fredericksburg that appeared in The Skirmish Line. Both articles emphasize the similar line of thought as Dred's does.
BTW, according to Herodotus, the Greek who betrayed the defenders of Thermopylae was not a Lacadaemonian (Spartiate, Spartan) but a Malian, Ephialtes, son of Eurydemus.
Ahh Pea ridge.. of the Western Campaigns... I haven't had much chance to explore these so I am not very knowledgable about them.. I do intend on pickng up some good books tho once I'm caught up with what I have Pea Ridge is on the list. I think my reenactment unit does this battle.. pretty sure the 77th PA was there.
well..we may not have been there but at least i was right about the reenactment being on our calendar.
__________________ "In mortal combat, a man may and will become so infuriated by the din and dangers of a bloody fight that his heart will turn to stone and his every de sire [be] for blood."
John Hadley, 7th Indiana after the battle at Port Republic
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Pea Ridge is on the list. I think my reenactment unit does this battle.. pretty sure the 77th PA was there.
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