Overdone?

[VMI Cadets]

Is anyone else suffering from Gettysburg burn-out?

As a kid and even into my 20s, and as a former frequent visitor to Gettysburg in my youth (military service limiting my visits nowadays), I found Gettysburg to hold a special place as "the" pivotal point in the entire history of the Civil War.

I still visit when I can, and absolutely love to be there...but I am in Gettysburg overload. Almost every magazine you find out there on the war has something Gettysburg in it, either cover story, major story, or book reviews...in nearly every issue. If I see another Gettysburg special issue anytime soon........

All due deference to Gettysburg aside, the war lasted went on for another 21 months and preceded it by 27, but for some reason, it seems like Gettysburg is THE battle or nearly so. Men fought and died at hundreds of other locations throughout the south.

Why the need to have Gettysburg all the time, every time?

[ole]

It is fortunate that you've been exposed to Gettysburg to the point of overload. I envy you. I haven't been there yet, so I'm quite glad to learn new things about it in preparation for that trip. My objective will be to soak up so much of it that I, too, become sick of it.
Ole

[william42]

VMI, I think Gettysburg is the most recognizable battle name of the war to the average Joe, who's not a buff. And merchandizers realize that, so I think they put out more stuff on that battle than on any other, since it's more likely to sell, than, say, a book about the battle of Franklin. Everybody's heard of Gettysburg, very few of Franklin. Any publishing company probably is going to put out what sells best first, then put out the other stuff. That's how I got started. Picked up "The Killer Angels", about Gettysburg, then my interest in the whole war grew from there. It's become a pretty consuming hobby for me over the years.

But a lot of folks might just buy a book on Gettysburg first, as I did, and not pursue it any further. For a novice curious about the war, Gettysburg would probably be a likely starting point. And then it seems like every few years a researcher finds some new tidbits of info, about Gettysburg, maybe from a diary or something, then puts out another new book. Diaries are still being discovered still. Just my opinion. Good discussion topic.



Terry

[30th_il]

Yes, yes, yes. I love gettysburg but you can have steak every nite of the week and get tired of it too. It seems that if a book/magazine isn't about g-burg it doesn't raise any interest (doesn't sell) and this is my only reasoning that g-burg is always on the charts. VMI Cadets, wouldn't it be something, if they "overdid" Vicksburg, Atlanta, Chickamauga! I have a fondness for the western theater anyways and so the constant g-burg is of awareness to me. In fact, I have enderd all my subscriptions with civil war magazines because of the g-burg effect, and now buy the issues as the hit the shelves and buy it according to it's content(s). I feel almost blasphemous in thinking this way! ha!

[blue_zouave]

Originally Posted by 30th_il

In fact, I have enderd all my subscriptions with civil war magazines because of the g-burg effect, and now buy the issues as the hit the shelves and buy it according to it's content(s). I feel almost blasphemous in thinking this way! ha!

I did the same thing and suffer no remorse. In fact, the reason I set my Civil War novel in the Western theater was that I thought the East was way overdone!

Zou

[VMI Cadets]

Originally Posted by 30th_il

VMI Cadets, wouldn't it be something, if they "overdid" Vicksburg, Atlanta, Chickamauga! I have a fondness for the western theater anyways and so the constant g-burg is of awareness to me. In fact, I have enderd all my subscriptions with civil war magazines because of the g-burg effect, and now buy the issues as the hit the shelves and buy it according to it's content(s). I feel almost blasphemous in thinking this way! ha!

I must admit that I've been fairly narrowly focused on the Virginia Theater for most of my Civil War interest, mostly due to my love of Virginia and my cadetship at VMI. Not until I went to Alabama for service did I start to get an appreciation for the Carolina and Georgia campaigns and the Western Theater. I was fascinated by Shiloh, Chickamauga, Andersonville, Fort Gaines, and Chattanooga.

I haven't yet cancelled my subscriptions to N&S or B&G and usually pick and choose the other two major ones, but at times, I get close. A guy I work with share the mags and our running joke is about the Gettysburg specials that run every other issue. He's very much a Western Theater student while, again, I tend to concentrate on the Valley Campaigns and the Homefront.

As for the bottom line, it's sad that EVERYthing has to come down to the dollar.

Thanks for the replies.

VMI CRB

[nbforrest]

I agree that Gettysburg is unduly focused on. That being said, I still enjoy reading and learning about the battle and tramping over the battlefield. I like reading up on all of the war's battles. But I wouldn't mind if some attention was moved away from Gettysburg onto other (more) interesting actions.

Respectfully

[whitworth]

Of course, one can always take up table tennis.


Gettysburg, in many ways was a turning point. It proved the Army of Northern Virginia could lose a significant battle. The battle proved Lee and the other Confederate generals could make significant errors, practically all that were overlooked by historians.
It proved that the Confederate armies were running short of supplies. It lacked virtually every supply, some more than others, to fight an effective war.

It boosted the morale of the Army of the Potomac. It showed the Confederacy could lose a battle and lose the war. A little over a year later, the Army of the Potomac had the Army of Northern Virginia in siege warfare. By this time, the Confederate army was incapable of surviving a siege.

Great generals are not great, when their tanks run out of fuel, and their horses run out of forage.
The gathering of supplies by the Army of Northern Virginia in Pennsylvania, only proved too clearly to the Army of the Potomac generals, that the cupboard was almost bare in the south. That was proved in Pennsylvania by the Confederacy.

[whitworth]

I was wondering if any military professor ever mentioned Hopewell Pass Gap, Thoroughfare Gap, and Glasscock Gap in the Bull Run Mountains, and their significance between June 20, 1863 to June 28, 1863?

[samgrant]

No, there can not be a 'burnout' on Gettysburg, it was the battle that galvanized the North, tho Vicksburg was more important, that Gburg thing was the only significant battle fought in Union territory, so it became and remains a most memorable battle in the memory of most Americans both North and South.