A question about the 20th Maine's position on Vincent's Spur

Doug5861

Private
Joined
Jul 1, 2013
How much did the road building affect the contour of the ground in front of the 20th Maine. If the monument marks their line, the bayonet charge down hill couldn't have gone that far as the ground is now.
 
I am certainly no expert, but in the many time I have stood on that hill I have tried to imagine that front as it would have been. My guess would be that the slope in front of the 20th Maine position would have been leveled some to bring Warren Avenue through their. I had always assumed the slope their would be similar to the front side of the hill facing Devils Den.
 
My inspection of the area leads me to believe that the original ground wasn't much higher than what you now see. I'm sure that some rocks were removed to pave the road, but the elevation changes between LRT and BRT don't seem that dramatic to me.
 
I wonder has anyone seen pictures of that place on the field around the time of the battle? I think I remember seeing photographs of the area in which the 20th Maine was positioned, but I wonder if there are any of what their front looked like?
 
At the time of the battle, the valley between the Round Tops was about 20 feet deeper than it exists now. Rocks were blasted and the ground graded for the trolley line and, later on, the roads.

Ryan
Correct. The topography was forever changed with the construction of....you guessed it.....Chamberlain Ave. Colonel William Oates 15th Alabama was noted as being dismayed at how the hill and surrounding landscape was altered. Unfortunately, by altering the landscape several disputes arose and figured prominently in the 15th Alabama being denied a monument on Little Round Top.
 
Correct. The topography was forever changed with the construction of....you guessed it.....Chamberlain Ave. Colonel William Oates 15th Alabama was noted as being dismayed at how the hill and surrounding landscape was altered. Unfortunately, by altering the landscape several disputes arose and figured prominently in the 15th Alabama being denied a monument on Little Round Top.
I don't think the terrain has anything to do with the 15th Alabama not getting a stone there. The battlefield commission has rules about placing monuments and I think that's the main factor. If anyone has a true argument about monument placement it's Confederates who faught and held the Peach Orchard.
 
I don't think the terrain has anything to do with the 15th Alabama not getting a stone there. The battlefield commission has rules about placing monuments and I think that's the main factor. If anyone has a true argument about monument placement it's Confederates who faught and held the Peach Orchard.

Wingatecivilwar5 The Battle Line Rule was cited but the commissioners (namely Robbins 4th Alabama didn't want one regiment in Law's Brigade to be singled out for courageous actions at the expense of the other regiments.) After Oates got his Congressman and Southern Newspapers behind him, the Gettysburg Commissioners acquiesced to the monument being placed on Little Round Top. Oates even contracted with a local Gettysburg Stone Cutter Company to do the shaft and work with the understanding that it was done. The problem came when Chamberlain said that his "left" was never turned and he "maintained" a perfect straight battle line/formation during the battle.:nah disagree: The Commissioners decided that Chamberlain was the more "dignified, gentlemanly, and scholarly person" so the monument was turned down. And since it will be bought up, I will address it now.....Oates visited the battlefield several years later after the alterations and became disoriented with the new topography and marked L instead of R.....I truly believe he marked the map from his view looking up and reversed from Chamberlain's view of looking down....Hence my right is now your left and your left is my right....
 
At the time of the battle, the valley between the Round Tops was about 20 feet deeper than it exists now. Rocks were blasted and the ground graded for the trolley line and, later on, the roads.

Ryan

Thanks to the grading of the avenues, the trolley line, and even the railroad line crossing the battlefield—and don’t forget Camp Colt, the German POW camp, and non-battle structures like homes, Stuckey’s, and two airfields—there aren’t many places on the battlefield that are like they were at the time of the battle, unfortunately. The 20th Maine monument area is just one example.
 
Thanks to the grading of the avenues, the trolley line, and even the railroad line crossing the battlefield—and don’t forget Camp Colt, the German POW camp, and non-battle structures like homes, Stuckey’s, and two airfields—there aren’t many places on the battlefield that are like they were at the time of the battle, unfortunately. The 20th Maine monument area is just one example.

That is an excellent point. Today, we visitors tend to think that the field is more pristine than it has been in the past but the post-war past has left an indelible mark at Gettysburg.

Ryan
 
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