Another forgotten or overlooked figure from Gettysburg

[samgrant]

Here's a link to a site about Greene, which has more liknks to more info, in case anyone is interested.

http://www.civilwarnews.com/archive/...ars_greene.htm

[whitworth]

I recently started to search for that Army of the Potomac Corps Commander at Gettysburg, MG Carl Schurz. See if you recall ever seeing that fact.

Both Schurz and Greene went with the transferred 11th and 12th Corps, respectively, when the Corps went to Tennessee.
Greene was severely wounded at the Battle of Wauhatchie; perhaps his last command. Schurz had a Board of Inquiry hearing due to his actions at the same battle.
Most, if not all, Prussian, German and Polish names disappeared from the command of the 11th Corps, by the time it was combined with the 12th Corps and formed the 20th Corps for the subsequent Atlanta campaign.

[samgrant]

Originally Posted by tomh

Ole,

After playing with this thread last night I went looking at some of my favorite dealers and lo and behold Gutterman's has a greene rifle available for sale!

Take a look at http://www.19thcenturyweapons.com/po...eenerifle.html for some nice photos. This one has a great patent on the barrel and is in fine condition.

BTW: Interesting thought about whether the soldiers were concerned about weapon appearances, and I disagree, I think the Lemat is a really pretty design. All in the eyes of the beholder...

Later,
TomH

Thought it was a breach loader, but the pix suggest a ramrod. ????

[tomh]

samgrant,

The bolt action rifle was loaded in a similar manner as the carbine. A bullet was placed in the chamber, then a complete cartridge (bullet at rear of cartridge, powder at top) was placed behind the bullet. When fired, the powder propelled the front bullet out of the weapon with the rear bullet acting as a gas seal (hows that for a complicated load system?). The bolt would then be used to force the back bullet forward into the chamber to allow the insertion of a complete cartridge behind it to repeat the process. I believe the rammer was used to remove an unfired bullet from the chamber. If the weapon had been reloaded, the bullet would be seated with the bolt before the insertion of another cartridge. To unload the weapon, the cartridge could easily be removed from the chamber but the seated bullet would need to be driven out.

TomH

[gary]

The rod was for primarily used for cleaning the bore.

[Fifth Iowa]

Originally Posted by gary

...he immortalized himself during his lifetime because he was skilled with his pen and unabashedly wielded it...

Very true. It's sad that countless heroic men and women are forgotten by us, because their acts of bravery were not recorded. And, on the other hand, many people whose accomplishments were much more modest, were praised to the point where they seemed to be "giants" among men.

[samgrant]

Forgotten or Overlooked ...

I should have posted this here I guess, as it definitely qualifies.

http://civilwartalk.com/forums/civil-war-history-gettysburg-forum/25291-young-hero-gettysburg-george-kimball.html

[subace914]

Originally Posted by Fifth Iowa

Very true. It's sad that countless heroic men and women are forgotten by us, because their acts of bravery were not recorded. And, on the other hand, many people whose accomplishments were much more modest, were praised to the point where they seemed to be "giants" among men.

Regardless of the details, it is true that Chamberlain's men ran out of ammunition, and he ordered the bayonet when the battle looked desperate.

That is heroic enough.

[subace914]

Originally Posted by william42

Thanks Gary. Had not heard of Gen. Greene before until your post. It looks as though his position was similar to Chamberlains at the south end of the line in its strategic importance. If either end had collapsed it would have been disastrous for the yankees.

Terry

I would say that there is plenty of heroism to go around, and one can give sufficient credit to men like Green (yes I've read about him) without taking away from others like Chamberlain.

Here's an interesting side note: one regiment that fought on Culp's Hill was the 137th New York, with a story very similar to the 20th Maine. They guarded a week point on the flank, they refused their line during the attack, and they countercharged down the hill.

I would encourage you all to study that forgotten regiment.

[samgrant]

George W. Sandoe (pvt, 26th PA Emergency Infantry), along Marsh Creek, June 26, attcked by Early's troops, killed - "first Union soldier to die by enemy action at Gettysburg. A hired substitute, he had been in the company just three days."

- Trudeau, Gettysburg