Civil War Battles

thebattle29

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Washington's battery, New York City
Hello, ladies and gentlemen.

I ask, no, I challenge you all to write an essay on a Civil War battle of your choice. I suggest ~1,000 to ~3,000 words! One week from now, I will judge which essay is the best, and will announce it on Saturday!
Good luck!
-thebattle29
 
If you yourself will first submit a 2,500 word example, I just may dig up and revise an older unpublished essay of mine. Gee, I would hate to win by default, reminding me of a Monopoly Game Chance card! (You have won second place....).
Lubliner.
 
If you yourself will first submit a 2,500 word example, I just may dig up and revise an older unpublished essay of mine. Gee, I would hate to win by default, reminding me of a Monopoly Game Chance card! (You have won second place....).
Lubliner.
Alright, you asked for it! There may be a few errors, but just tell me!

Gettysburg
Introduction
On July 27th, 1861, the 1st Battle of Bull Run began. The two armies of the Union and the Confederacy clashed as the fate of the 11 seceded states hung in the balance. Picnickers watched from the heights above as the armies collided. They believed that the war would be over by noon. Did it end? No! The Confederates won the day. And this victory was the most brutal fight in American history to that time. Now, it’s less than a month away from the 2nd anniversary of Bull Run, and in July of 1863 this anniversary would give way to an even bloodier, bigger battle. What was this fight? Gettysburg.

Beginnings; The first spilled blood
Starting June 9th, the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, with Robert Edward Lee at the head of them, slogged across fords in the Potomac River and began the 2nd invasion of the North. After the bloodbath at Chancellorsville, the Union army, now under Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade, progressed with great speed and accuracy, hunting down Lee. On July 1st, the 2 armies collided at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

July 1st; Victory for the rebels!
Confederate Lieutenant General Ambrose Powell Hill, commanding Confederate 3rd Corps, sent out orders to elements of Archer’s Brigade, of Harry Heth’s Confederate division ran into 2 brigades of Union cavalry under Brig. Gen. John Buford. A Union soldier named Marcellus Jones took aim at a long line of grey-clad infantry, loaded his carbine, and fired. It was the first shot out of millions to be fired at the single deadliest battle in American history.
Buford held off Archer, and Joseph R. Davis launched an assault on Buford, who almost broke, but at the last second, Major General John Fulton Reynolds and I Corps, Army of the Potomac, (Specifically Wadsworth’s 1st Division and the Iron Brigade) saved the day. Reynolds, while leading a gallant charge of the Iron Brigade into Herbst's woods, he was shot in the back of the head, and killed instantaneously. He was replaced by Abner Doubleday, and died as a hero. Now Hill was being forced to commit his next division, under the command of Dorsey Pender, and Pettigrew’s Tar Heel Brigade (That’s how North Carolinians were nicknamed Tar Heels! They were so tough it was said that they stuck hot tar on the soles of their shoes, and held their position at all costs!) advanced onto Unionists. Later in the day, Major General Oliver Otis Howard’s XI Corps arrived to help Doubleday, who was starting to falter. One of Howard’s division commanders, Brigadier General Francis Channing Barlow, made the grievous mistake of moving to Blocher’s Knoll, which created a large vulnerable bulge just as Confederate Lieutenant General Richard Ewell and the 2nd Corps launched a massive assault on Howard. XI Corps collapsed, and I Corps, now reinforced, was flanked. The Iron Brigade finally collapsed, a sight the rebels had not seen since Antietam. They retreated through the nearby town of Gettysburg and were fiercely pursued by the Confederates. The remnants of the I Corps and XI Corps reformed on Cemetery Hill, where Howard held back a brigade and an array of cannon in reserve.

Position
George Meade arrived at the battlefield at nightfall, alongside Winfield Scott Hancock’s II Corps, Henry Warner Slocum’s XII Corps, Daniel Sickles’ III Corps, and Alfred Pleasanton’s newly created Cavalry Corps. John Sedgewick’s VI Corps was still en route. The Union Army of the Potomac had now arrived.
Meade had set up his line of battle along a 2 mile front. He positioned I and XII Corps on Culp's Hill, a wooded area overlooking Gettysburg, and also the “Hook” of the Union line, which represented a fishhook. Ironically, a Confederate soldier nearby, John Wesley Culp, was from Gettysburg, and lived on Culp’s Hill before the war. Howard’s XI Corps was on Cemetery Hill, and that began to end the “Hook” that the Union line was on. The line swung south, towards Cemetery Ridge, and Winfield Scott Hancock’s II Corps was in position along a stone wall and a few farms, overlooking Seminary Ridge with heavy cannon under Robert Tyler’s Artillery Reserve. The line stretched to ideally Little Round Top, but Sickles and the III Corps had advanced all the way to a peach orchard and wheatfield, with Sickles lamenting that Little Round Top was bad ground and his new positions were better for his artillery. This would not be helpful.
The Confederate 1st Corps, under Lee’s favored Lieutenant General, James Longstreet, was set up south of Seminary Ridge, and was navigating its way through unknown woods and had no idea what the Union was doing, much less where they were. This was due to the fact that the Confederate Cavalry Corps, under James Ewell Brown “Jeb” Stuart was off joyriding and causing the Yankee newspapers to have a field day. Hill’s 3rd Corps was positioned on Seminary Ridge, just opposite of Cemetery Ridge. And, finally, Ewell’s 2nd Corps was positioned in Gettysburg and continued to Benner’s Hill, which was opposite of Culp’s Hill. Stuart’s Cavalry was finally riding back to Lee’s army, and during the night of July 2nd, he would be scolded by Lee for embarrassing the Confederate army.

July 2nd; The bloodiest day
The first attack
The first two divisions of the Confederate 1st Corps finally found the route to Little Round Top, and were overjoyed when they found Sickles’ Corps in a vulnerable bulge. At 5:00 P.M, Longstreet ordered an attack.
Texan Major General John Bell Hood’s division smashed into Devil’s Den and Major General Laffayette McLaws destroyed the helpless Unionists in a desperate, vicious fight in the Peach Orchard and Wheatfield. With Cadmus Wilcox’s brigade crushing everything in its path on their route to Cemetery Ridge, Union General Hancock rode up to John Caldwell’s division and randomly picked William J. Colvill’s 1st Minnesota Regiment.
He stared at the Minnesotans, then pointed at the rebel battle flags and famously proclaimed “You see those colors? Take them!” The Minnesotans launched an attack with 342 men, and although they repulsed Wright, they suffered a horrifying cost. 82 percent of the regiment, the highest percentage of troops suffered in action in the Civil War, did not come back. Colvill himself was wounded 3 times, only proving their bravery.
Little Round Top
Around this time, the Union line at Devil’s Den crumbled, and the Confederates launched an attack. Previously, the 1st and 2nd U.S. Sharpshooters had fought the rebels under William Oates’ 16th Alabama. Now Oates’ men were hunting the sharpshooters when they came across Round Top. It was completely undefended, and he wanted to fortify it. Suddenly, orders from the acting divisional commander, Evander McIver Law (Hood was wounded. He lost his arm.), were to attack Little Round Top. Oates was furious, but he had no say. He marched up the Little Round Top, racing to the peak with the Union. The Union won the race.
Union Colonel Strong Vincent’s Brigade, of Sykes’ V Corps, were at the top, waiting behind makeshift works. They were the 16th Michigan, 44th New York, 83rd Pennsylvania, and most famously on the flank, the 20th Maine. The Maine volunteers were the extreme left flank of the Union Army. If they broke, the entire Union Army would collapse and be routed from the field. Union Lieutenant Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain listened carefully and sprung into action, fortifying even more. Soon, he received word that Vincent was mortally wounded (Fatal wound). His last words were “Don’t give an inch.”
Chamberlain obeyed the Colonel’s dying orders. William Oates and his men were trying to get water, because they were understandably thirsty from running around for a few miles in a uniform and 60 pounds of weaponry in 90 degree weather while being shot at by U.S. Sharpshooters under Wyman White. Then, he received immediate orders to attack the 20th Maine, under the former college professor Joshua Chamberlain. They launched their first assault, and failed. They launched their second assault, and failed. Over and over they attacked, and over and over they were repulsed. But Chamberlain’s men were tired, and running out of bullets. The mild mannered college professor had orders to hold the hill, and he decided to hold. Without bullets, he only had two options. Fix bayonets or retreat. He went with the bayonets.
The 100 able-bodied men fixed bayonets. With the rebels charging up, Chamberlain gave the order. Charge. They swept down the hill, and the remaining Confederates surrendered. Elsewhere on the hill, Colonel Patrick O’Rorke and his 140th New York performed a similar action, losing quite a few men, including O’Rorke himself. The Confederates withdrew the attack after Sedgewick and the troops of the VI Corps charged onto the field. The Confederates under A. P. Hill, who had been helping Longstreet, did nothing to turn the tide. The only big difference was when Sickles was wounded, and taken to the rear. He lost a leg, and the III Corps withdrew to its original position.

Culp’s Hill
When Henry Slocum sent his troops to Cemetery Ridge, all that was left on Culp’s Hill was George Sears “Pop” Greene and whatever was left of Wadsworth’s Division (Iron Brigade and Lysander Cutler’s Brigade). Then, Ewell’s last division, under “Allegheny” Johnston, the 4th Division, launched an attack on Culp’s Hill. But the Iron Brigade is just plain tough, and Greene employed a tactic. His men had 2 lines. One fired from the earthworks, and the other reloaded the unloaded rifles passed back to them. This way they could rapid-fire. The line held.

July 3rd; The final charge
Culp’s Hill; Wave 2
The Confederates under Johnston attacked Culp’s Hill for the 2nd time. This time, Slocum and his troops were deployed there. They were: Kane’s Brigade, Cutler’s Brigade, Iron Brigade, Greene’s Brigade, Candy’s Brigade, and McDougall’s Brigade.
As the Confederates marched up the hill, they noticed something, that the bullets being shot at them were faster and more plentiful than before. This was because George Sykes and his V Corps had returned on their flank. The Confederates, battered, bruised, and broken, retreated.
Nearby, at Spangler’s Spring, the Unionists received orders to attack the rebels, who were fortified behind a stone wall. Union Colonel Mudge led the attack, and suffered grievous losses. The position was eventually taken, but at heavy cost.

Pickett’s Charge
In the night, Longstreet’s final division under George Pickett arrived. Lee scolded the recently arrived J.E.B. Stuart for not scouting, and instead, joyriding. Longstreet’s first two divisions were fatigued, and Pickett was fresh. But, Pickett was not happy. Two of his five brigades were in Richmond, VA, to guard the capital. Thus, Pickett only had three to-be-famed brigades, Lewis A. Armistead’s brigade, Richard Brooke Garnett’s brigade, and James Kemper’s brigade.
Lewis Armistead was a member of the illustrious Armistead family. Going back to the revolution, where so many heroes were created and destroyed, this military family was in 1812, in the Mexican-American war, and now this. He was best friends with a Union corps commander, just across the field. His name was Winfield Scott Hancock.
Lee informed Longstreet of the situation. He would take three divisions, two of which were not in his corps (They were with Hill’s 3rd), and march them one mile across open ground where they are subject to artillery fire from a ridge they desperately need to capture with brute force, marching 20,000 across a field straight at Hancock’s II Corps and the defenders. Generals Pettigrew and Trimble, their troops preparing for the final charge, rushed forward into lines in the trees on the battered Seminary Ridge, writing home to their loved ones, many with tears in their eyes, that this was the end. Richard Garnett had been a disappointment to Thomas Jonathan “Stonewall” Jackson, a renowned commander who died a few months before, and was ready to prove himself again. He was to die in combat.
In the night, the Union corps commanders and the Commanding General, George G. Meade, voted on whether or not they should retreat.
It was unanimously agreed; they would fight it out.
Gettysburg, as if it wasn't bad enough, was about to become hell on earth.


James Longstreet wrote the order of battle in his memoirs:
“[Lee] rode over after sunrise and gave his orders. His plan was to assault the enemy's left centre by a column to be composed of McLaws's and Hood's divisions reinforced by Pickett's brigades. I thought that it would not do; that the point had been fully tested the day before, by more men, when all were fresh; that the enemy was there looking for us, as we heard him during the night putting up his defences; that the divisions of McLaws and Hood were holding a mile [1,600 m] along the right of my line against twenty thousand men, who would follow their withdrawal, strike the flank of the assaulting column, crush it, and get on our rear towards the Potomac River; that thirty thousand men was the minimum of force necessary for the work; that even such force would need close co-operation on other parts of the line; that the column as he proposed to organize it would have only about thirteen thousand men (the divisions having lost a third of their numbers the day before); that the column would have to march a mile [1,600 m] under concentrating battery fire, and a thousand yards [900 m] under long-range musketry; that the conditions were different from those in the days of Napoleon, when field batteries had a range of six hundred yards [550 m] and musketry about sixty yards [55 m]. He said the distance was not more than fourteen hundred yards [1280 m]. General Meade's estimate was a mile or a mile and a half [1.6 or 2.4 km] (Captain Long, the guide of the field of Gettysburg in 1888, stated that it was a trifle over a mile). He then concluded that the divisions of McLaws and Hood could remain on the defensive line; that he would reinforce by divisions of the Third Corps and Pickett's brigades, and stated the point to which the march should be directed. I asked the strength of the column. He stated fifteen thousand.”

Longstreet pretty much summed up the Confederate order of battle that was introduced to the line on Seminary Ridge, where the Confederates would launch their 15,000 man attack and would attempt to break the Union line, after an excessive artillery bombardment. While all this was happening, Stuart’s cavalry would go around the Union line and hit them in the rear, taking out supplies and forcing the Unionists into a withdrawal.

At 1 P.M., the single largest concentration of field artillery on the North American continent up to that time began with:
“BAM!” ”BAM!” “BAM!” “BAM!”
About 160 cannon fired all at once as a massive wall of lead was hulked over a mile across a field towards the Union II Corps on Cemetery Ridge. The Union believed that there would be no more attacks, and that the Confederates were exhausted from the past 2 days. Instead, they were being shelled by a massive amount of cannon.
Despite this massive number, the fuses used to fire the cannon were faulty, due to another company making them after the original exploded. The Union artillery, under Brig. Gen. Henry Jackson Hunt was far more accurate in counter battery fire, but Hunt devised a plan. He ordered his cannon to stop firing for 2 reasons:
To conserve ammunition.

To confuse the Confederates into thinking the guns were silent and launch the attack.

The ruse worked. The Confederates kept firing for a while, but ran low on ammunition and Pickett went up to Longstreet. Pickett asked for the order to advance. Longstreet knew it was a death trap, and could merely bow his head. Earlier on Longstreet pointed out to Lee that he had Pickett division centered in the advance, with McLaws and the wounded Hood on their line, but A. P. Hill’s 3rd Corps were the majority of the attack, and maybe Hill should lead the advance. Lee stared at Longstreet for a moment, and the look on his face said “No.”
With the attack opening up, the cannon on Seminary Ridge fired one last volley into the Union, and Pickett rode up to the massive infantry column, and yelled, “Up, men! Up, and to your posts! And let no man forget today, that you are from old Virginia!” A cheer went up in the ranks as Pickett urged them forward. One Union officer said that it was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen.
It was about to get ugly.

About 2 minutes into the charge, the Union heavy guns poured solid shot and cannonballs into their ranks. The Union gunners had a tactic of aiming low, and the iron balls would “jump” and “skip”. This could maim or kill half a dozen men.
Then, they opened up with shrapnel, which would explode in the air above the enemy and send flying pieces of metal into the troops below.
The Emmitsburg road was about 300 yards from Norman Hall and Alexander Webb’s brigades who were positioned behind a stone wall in the center of the Confederate attack, and the Confederates needed to at least get to the road, and they knew they needed to go farther still.
As the rebels advanced deliberately, and in line, the Union cannon opened up with shells. Shells are cannonballs filled with gunpowder that explode on impact. They were deadly. Hundreds of Confederates were dropping as they did their work and marched forward, and whenever a man fell, another man took his place. They continued, and the Union gunners also continued. Finally, they had lost hundreds, but the confederates reached the Emmitsburg road. They were bombarded and the Union started loading a few more deadly weapons; Canister, buckshot, rifle fire.
The Emmitsburg road was a death trap, and the Yankees were doing some of the best artillery work either side had ever seen. But, at the Emmitsburg road the Confederates did something more. They began to fire. Rifle fire tore at the mounted officers, and all of them either dismounted or got an iron ball lodged square in their chest. Except one. Winfield Scott Hancock, a veteran of the Mexican-American War and the Eastern theatre of the Civil War, was not budging. An aide begged him to get down, and Hancock replied “There are times when a corps commander’s life does not count.”
Only 300 yards away was his best friend, Lewis Addison Armistead. Armistead knew that Hancock was over there, and wanted to see him, but it was too much here. He pressed his brigade over the fence, as did Garnett and Kemper. This wild mass of men was shot at in very close range by Union rifles and muskets, and another weapon out of the barrel of the cannon was introduced.
Canister was like a large seltzer can full of lead “slugs” and golf ball shaped metal “Grapeshot”. When fired, it essentially turned the cannon into a giant shotgun.
Now the rebels were surging forward, and Garnett, ready to regain his honor, charged forward. In an instant, a volley of musket fire and a cannon were heard, and Armistead watched as his horse galloped out of the smoke, but not Garnett.
The line was crumbling, and Armistead desperately rallied 200 men, and charged over the stone wall. Around this time, Hancock was wounded and brought to the rear. Armistead didn’t know that Hancock was down, but as his men stormed Cushing’s battery, a bullet struck him.
The charge crumbled, and sustained over 50 percent casualties. They were forced to retreat.

Meanwhile, a cavalry battle was raging between David McM Gregg and Jeb Stuart. Finally, due to the Union General George Armstrong Custer, and his “Wolverine” Michigan Cavalry, they held out.

Conclusion
Gettysburg had been brought to a close. 50,000 casualties; 8,000 were killed.
It was the single bloodiest battle in American history. Lee was repulsed. Washington did not surrender. The Confederates were fought down to a bloody pulp. In late 1863, after the crucial battles of Chickamauga, the 2nd bloodiest battle in American history, and Chattanooga, which gave the Union total control of the railroads of the deep south, Union general Ulysses S. Grant took command of the entire Union military as General-in-chief. In 1864 he began the Overland Campaign, a brutal offensive into Virginia that left 88,000 dead, wounded, or missing. Meanwhile, Union General William Tecumseh Sherman invaded the deep south with the Army of Tennessee, the Army of the Ohio, and the Army of the Cumberland. In 1865 Richmond fell, and in 2 parallel battles, Appomattox with Lee against Grant, and the bloody battle of Bentonville for Joseph Eggleton Johnston, the Confederates knew they were done for. They surrendered, though the “Lost Cause” still lurks among us. As we strive to make this country better, we know that nothing will ever be perfect, but all nations are imperfect. But we have proved we can hold out against anything that’s thrown at us. Thousands off young men died in the Civil War, and many have pledged that it will never happen again.
The Battle of Gettysburg would have a lasting impact on American history, and forever will.
 
Alright, you asked for it! There may be a few errors, but just tell me!

Introduction
On July 27th, 1861, the 1st Battle of Bull Run began. The two armies of the Union and the Confederacy clashed as the fate of the 11 seceded states hung in the balance. Picnickers watched from the heights above as the armies collided. They believed that the war would be over by noon. Did it end? No! The Confederates won the day. And this victory was the most brutal fight in American history to that time. Now, it’s less than a month away from the 2nd anniversary of Bull Run, and in July of 1863 this anniversary would give way to an even bloodier, bigger battle. What was this fight? Gettysburg.

Beginnings; The first spilled blood
Starting June 9th, the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, with Robert Edward Lee at the head of them, slogged across fords in the Potomac River and began the 2nd invasion of the North. After the bloodbath at Chancellorsville, the Union army, now under Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade, progressed with great speed and accuracy, hunting down Lee. On July 1st, the 2 armies collided at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

July 1st; Victory for the rebels!
Confederate Lieutenant General Ambrose Powell Hill, commanding Confederate 3rd Corps, sent out orders to elements of Archer’s Brigade, of Harry Heth’s Confederate division ran into 2 brigades of Union cavalry under Brig. Gen. John Buford. A Union soldier named Marcellus Jones took aim at a long line of grey-clad infantry, loaded his carbine, and fired. It was the first shot out of millions to be fired at the single deadliest battle in American history.
Buford held off Archer, and Joseph R. Davis launched an assault on Buford, who almost broke, but at the last second, Major General John Fulton Reynolds and I Corps, Army of the Potomac, (Specifically Wadsworth’s 1st Division and the Iron Brigade) saved the day. Reynolds, while leading a gallant charge of the Iron Brigade into Herbst's woods, he was shot in the back of the head, and killed instantaneously. He was replaced by Abner Doubleday, and died as a hero. Now Hill was being forced to commit his next division, under the command of Dorsey Pender, and Pettigrew’s Tar Heel Brigade (That’s how North Carolinians were nicknamed Tar Heels! They were so tough it was said that they stuck hot tar on the soles of their shoes, and held their position at all costs!) advanced onto Unionists. Later in the day, Major General Oliver Otis Howard’s XI Corps arrived to help Doubleday, who was starting to falter. One of Howard’s division commanders, Brigadier General Francis Channing Barlow, made the grievous mistake of moving to Blocher’s Knoll, which created a large vulnerable bulge just as Confederate Lieutenant General Richard Ewell and the 2nd Corps launched a massive assault on Howard. XI Corps collapsed, and I Corps, now reinforced, was flanked. The Iron Brigade finally collapsed, a sight the rebels had not seen since Antietam. They retreated through the nearby town of Gettysburg and were fiercely pursued by the Confederates. The remnants of the I Corps and XI Corps reformed on Cemetery Hill, where Howard held back a brigade and an array of cannon in reserve.

Position
George Meade arrived at the battlefield at nightfall, alongside Winfield Scott Hancock’s II Corps, Henry Warner Slocum’s XII Corps, Daniel Sickles’ III Corps, and Alfred Pleasanton’s newly created Cavalry Corps. John Sedgewick’s VI Corps was still en route. The Union Army of the Potomac had now arrived.
Meade had set up his line of battle along a 2 mile front. He positioned I and XII Corps on Culp's Hill, a wooded area overlooking Gettysburg, and also the “Hook” of the Union line, which represented a fishhook. Ironically, a Confederate soldier nearby, John Wesley Culp, was from Gettysburg, and lived on Culp’s Hill before the war. Howard’s XI Corps was on Cemetery Hill, and that began to end the “Hook” that the Union line was on. The line swung south, towards Cemetery Ridge, and Winfield Scott Hancock’s II Corps was in position along a stone wall and a few farms, overlooking Seminary Ridge with heavy cannon under Robert Tyler’s Artillery Reserve. The line stretched to ideally Little Round Top, but Sickles and the III Corps had advanced all the way to a peach orchard and wheatfield, with Sickles lamenting that Little Round Top was bad ground and his new positions were better for his artillery. This would not be helpful.
The Confederate 1st Corps, under Lee’s favored Lieutenant General, James Longstreet, was set up south of Seminary Ridge, and was navigating its way through unknown woods and had no idea what the Union was doing, much less where they were. This was due to the fact that the Confederate Cavalry Corps, under James Ewell Brown “Jeb” Stuart was off joyriding and causing the Yankee newspapers to have a field day. Hill’s 3rd Corps was positioned on Seminary Ridge, just opposite of Cemetery Ridge. And, finally, Ewell’s 2nd Corps was positioned in Gettysburg and continued to Benner’s Hill, which was opposite of Culp’s Hill. Stuart’s Cavalry was finally riding back to Lee’s army, and during the night of July 2nd, he would be scolded by Lee for embarrassing the Confederate army.

July 2nd; The bloodiest day
The first attack
The first two divisions of the Confederate 1st Corps finally found the route to Little Round Top, and were overjoyed when they found Sickles’ Corps in a vulnerable bulge. At 5:00 P.M, Longstreet ordered an attack.
Texan Major General John Bell Hood’s division smashed into Devil’s Den and Major General Laffayette McLaws destroyed the helpless Unionists in a desperate, vicious fight in the Peach Orchard and Wheatfield. With Cadmus Wilcox’s brigade crushing everything in its path on their route to Cemetery Ridge, Union General Hancock rode up to John Caldwell’s division and randomly picked William J. Colvill’s 1st Minnesota Regiment.
He stared at the Minnesotans, then pointed at the rebel battle flags and famously proclaimed “You see those colors? Take them!” The Minnesotans launched an attack with 342 men, and although they repulsed Wright, they suffered a horrifying cost. 82 percent of the regiment, the highest percentage of troops suffered in action in the Civil War, did not come back. Colvill himself was wounded 3 times, only proving their bravery.
Little Round Top
Around this time, the Union line at Devil’s Den crumbled, and the Confederates launched an attack. Previously, the 1st and 2nd U.S. Sharpshooters had fought the rebels under William Oates’ 16th Alabama. Now Oates’ men were hunting the sharpshooters when they came across Round Top. It was completely undefended, and he wanted to fortify it. Suddenly, orders from the acting divisional commander, Evander McIver Law (Hood was wounded. He lost his arm.), were to attack Little Round Top. Oates was furious, but he had no say. He marched up the Little Round Top, racing to the peak with the Union. The Union won the race.
Union Colonel Strong Vincent’s Brigade, of Sykes’ V Corps, were at the top, waiting behind makeshift works. They were the 16th Michigan, 44th New York, 83rd Pennsylvania, and most famously on the flank, the 20th Maine. The Maine volunteers were the extreme left flank of the Union Army. If they broke, the entire Union Army would collapse and be routed from the field. Union Lieutenant Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain listened carefully and sprung into action, fortifying even more. Soon, he received word that Vincent was mortally wounded (Fatal wound). His last words were “Don’t give an inch.”
Chamberlain obeyed the Colonel’s dying orders. William Oates and his men were trying to get water, because they were understandably thirsty from running around for a few miles in a uniform and 60 pounds of weaponry in 90 degree weather while being shot at by U.S. Sharpshooters under Wyman White. Then, he received immediate orders to attack the 20th Maine, under the former college professor Joshua Chamberlain. They launched their first assault, and failed. They launched their second assault, and failed. Over and over they attacked, and over and over they were repulsed. But Chamberlain’s men were tired, and running out of bullets. The mild mannered college professor had orders to hold the hill, and he decided to hold. Without bullets, he only had two options. Fix bayonets or retreat. He went with the bayonets.
The 100 able-bodied men fixed bayonets. With the rebels charging up, Chamberlain gave the order. Charge. They swept down the hill, and the remaining Confederates surrendered. Elsewhere on the hill, Colonel Patrick O’Rorke and his 140th New York performed a similar action, losing quite a few men, including O’Rorke himself. The Confederates withdrew the attack after Sedgewick and the troops of the VI Corps charged onto the field. The Confederates under A. P. Hill, who had been helping Longstreet, did nothing to turn the tide. The only big difference was when Sickles was wounded, and taken to the rear. He lost a leg, and the III Corps withdrew to its original position.

Culp’s Hill
When Henry Slocum sent his troops to Cemetery Ridge, all that was left on Culp’s Hill was George Sears “Pop” Greene and whatever was left of Wadsworth’s Division (Iron Brigade and Lysander Cutler’s Brigade). Then, Ewell’s last division, under “Allegheny” Johnston, the 4th Division, launched an attack on Culp’s Hill. But the Iron Brigade is just plain tough, and Greene employed a tactic. His men had 2 lines. One fired from the earthworks, and the other reloaded the unloaded rifles passed back to them. This way they could rapid-fire. The line held.

July 3rd; The final charge
Culp’s Hill; Wave 2
The Confederates under Johnston attacked Culp’s Hill for the 2nd time. This time, Slocum and his troops were deployed there. They were: Kane’s Brigade, Cutler’s Brigade, Iron Brigade, Greene’s Brigade, Candy’s Brigade, and McDougall’s Brigade.
As the Confederates marched up the hill, they noticed something, that the bullets being shot at them were faster and more plentiful than before. This was because George Sykes and his V Corps had returned on their flank. The Confederates, battered, bruised, and broken, retreated.
Nearby, at Spangler’s Spring, the Unionists received orders to attack the rebels, who were fortified behind a stone wall. Union Colonel Mudge led the attack, and suffered grievous losses. The position was eventually taken, but at heavy cost.

Pickett’s Charge
In the night, Longstreet’s final division under George Pickett arrived. Lee scolded the recently arrived J.E.B. Stuart for not scouting, and instead, joyriding. Longstreet’s first two divisions were fatigued, and Pickett was fresh. But, Pickett was not happy. Two of his five brigades were in Richmond, VA, to guard the capital. Thus, Pickett only had three to-be-famed brigades, Lewis A. Armistead’s brigade, Richard Brooke Garnett’s brigade, and James Kemper’s brigade.
Lewis Armistead was a member of the illustrious Armistead family. Going back to the revolution, where so many heroes were created and destroyed, this military family was in 1812, in the Mexican-American war, and now this. He was best friends with a Union corps commander, just across the field. His name was Winfield Scott Hancock.
Lee informed Longstreet of the situation. He would take three divisions, two of which were not in his corps (They were with Hill’s 3rd), and march them one mile across open ground where they are subject to artillery fire from a ridge they desperately need to capture with brute force, marching 20,000 across a field straight at Hancock’s II Corps and the defenders. Generals Pettigrew and Trimble, their troops preparing for the final charge, rushed forward into lines in the trees on the battered Seminary Ridge, writing home to their loved ones, many with tears in their eyes, that this was the end. Richard Garnett had been a disappointment to Thomas Jonathan “Stonewall” Jackson, a renowned commander who died a few months before, and was ready to prove himself again. He was to die in combat.
In the night, the Union corps commanders and the Commanding General, George G. Meade, voted on whether or not they should retreat.
It was unanimously agreed; they would fight it out.
Gettysburg, as if it wasn't bad enough, was about to become hell on earth.


James Longstreet wrote the order of battle in his memoirs:
“[Lee] rode over after sunrise and gave his orders. His plan was to assault the enemy's left centre by a column to be composed of McLaws's and Hood's divisions reinforced by Pickett's brigades. I thought that it would not do; that the point had been fully tested the day before, by more men, when all were fresh; that the enemy was there looking for us, as we heard him during the night putting up his defences; that the divisions of McLaws and Hood were holding a mile [1,600 m] along the right of my line against twenty thousand men, who would follow their withdrawal, strike the flank of the assaulting column, crush it, and get on our rear towards the Potomac River; that thirty thousand men was the minimum of force necessary for the work; that even such force would need close co-operation on other parts of the line; that the column as he proposed to organize it would have only about thirteen thousand men (the divisions having lost a third of their numbers the day before); that the column would have to march a mile [1,600 m] under concentrating battery fire, and a thousand yards [900 m] under long-range musketry; that the conditions were different from those in the days of Napoleon, when field batteries had a range of six hundred yards [550 m] and musketry about sixty yards [55 m]. He said the distance was not more than fourteen hundred yards [1280 m]. General Meade's estimate was a mile or a mile and a half [1.6 or 2.4 km] (Captain Long, the guide of the field of Gettysburg in 1888, stated that it was a trifle over a mile). He then concluded that the divisions of McLaws and Hood could remain on the defensive line; that he would reinforce by divisions of the Third Corps and Pickett's brigades, and stated the point to which the march should be directed. I asked the strength of the column. He stated fifteen thousand.”

Longstreet pretty much summed up the Confederate order of battle that was introduced to the line on Seminary Ridge, where the Confederates would launch their 15,000 man attack and would attempt to break the Union line, after an excessive artillery bombardment. While all this was happening, Stuart’s cavalry would go around the Union line and hit them in the rear, taking out supplies and forcing the Unionists into a withdrawal.

At 1 P.M., the single largest concentration of field artillery on the North American continent up to that time began with:
“BAM!” ”BAM!” “BAM!” “BAM!”
About 160 cannon fired all at once as a massive wall of lead was hulked over a mile across a field towards the Union II Corps on Cemetery Ridge. The Union believed that there would be no more attacks, and that the Confederates were exhausted from the past 2 days. Instead, they were being shelled by a massive amount of cannon.
Despite this massive number, the fuses used to fire the cannon were faulty, due to another company making them after the original exploded. The Union artillery, under Brig. Gen. Henry Jackson Hunt was far more accurate in counter battery fire, but Hunt devised a plan. He ordered his cannon to stop firing for 2 reasons:
To conserve ammunition.

To confuse the Confederates into thinking the guns were silent and launch the attack.

The ruse worked. The Confederates kept firing for a while, but ran low on ammunition and Pickett went up to Longstreet. Pickett asked for the order to advance. Longstreet knew it was a death trap, and could merely bow his head. Earlier on Longstreet pointed out to Lee that he had Pickett division centered in the advance, with McLaws and the wounded Hood on their line, but A. P. Hill’s 3rd Corps were the majority of the attack, and maybe Hill should lead the advance. Lee stared at Longstreet for a moment, and the look on his face said “No.”
With the attack opening up, the cannon on Seminary Ridge fired one last volley into the Union, and Pickett rode up to the massive infantry column, and yelled, “Up, men! Up, and to your posts! And let no man forget today, that you are from old Virginia!” A cheer went up in the ranks as Pickett urged them forward. One Union officer said that it was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen.
It was about to get ugly.

About 2 minutes into the charge, the Union heavy guns poured solid shot and cannonballs into their ranks. The Union gunners had a tactic of aiming low, and the iron balls would “jump” and “skip”. This could maim or kill half a dozen men.
Then, they opened up with shrapnel, which would explode in the air above the enemy and send flying pieces of metal into the troops below.
The Emmitsburg road was about 300 yards from Norman Hall and Alexander Webb’s brigades who were positioned behind a stone wall in the center of the Confederate attack, and the Confederates needed to at least get to the road, and they knew they needed to go farther still.
As the rebels advanced deliberately, and in line, the Union cannon opened up with shells. Shells are cannonballs filled with gunpowder that explode on impact. They were deadly. Hundreds of Confederates were dropping as they did their work and marched forward, and whenever a man fell, another man took his place. They continued, and the Union gunners also continued. Finally, they had lost hundreds, but the confederates reached the Emmitsburg road. They were bombarded and the Union started loading a few more deadly weapons; Canister, buckshot, rifle fire.
The Emmitsburg road was a death trap, and the Yankees were doing some of the best artillery work either side had ever seen. But, at the Emmitsburg road the Confederates did something more. They began to fire. Rifle fire tore at the mounted officers, and all of them either dismounted or got an iron ball lodged square in their chest. Except one. Winfield Scott Hancock, a veteran of the Mexican-American War and the Eastern theatre of the Civil War, was not budging. An aide begged him to get down, and Hancock replied “There are times when a corps commander’s life does not count.”
Only 300 yards away was his best friend, Lewis Addison Armistead. Armistead knew that Hancock was over there, and wanted to see him, but it was too much here. He pressed his brigade over the fence, as did Garnett and Kemper. This wild mass of men was shot at in very close range by Union rifles and muskets, and another weapon out of the barrel of the cannon was introduced.
Canister was like a large seltzer can full of lead “slugs” and golf ball shaped metal “Grapeshot”. When fired, it essentially turned the cannon into a giant shotgun.
Now the rebels were surging forward, and Garnett, ready to regain his honor, charged forward. In an instant, a volley of musket fire and a cannon were heard, and Armistead watched as his horse galloped out of the smoke, but not Garnett.
The line was crumbling, and Armistead desperately rallied 200 men, and charged over the stone wall. Around this time, Hancock was wounded and brought to the rear. Armistead didn’t know that Hancock was down, but as his men stormed Cushing’s battery, a bullet struck him.
The charge crumbled, and sustained over 50 percent casualties. They were forced to retreat.

Meanwhile, a cavalry battle was raging between David McM Gregg and Jeb Stuart. Finally, due to the Union General George Armstrong Custer, and his “Wolverine” Michigan Cavalry, they held out.

Conclusion
Gettysburg had been brought to a close. 50,000 casualties; 8,000 were killed.
It was the single bloodiest battle in American history. Lee was repulsed. Washington did not surrender. The Confederates were fought down to a bloody pulp. In late 1863, after the crucial battles of Chickamauga, the 2nd bloodiest battle in American history, and Chattanooga, which gave the Union total control of the railroads of the deep south, Union general Ulysses S. Grant took command of the entire Union military as General-in-chief. In 1864 he began the Overland Campaign, a brutal offensive into Virginia that left 88,000 dead, wounded, or missing. Meanwhile, Union General William Tecumseh Sherman invaded the deep south with the Army of Tennessee, the Army of the Ohio, and the Army of the Cumberland. In 1865 Richmond fell, and in 2 parallel battles, Appomattox with Lee against Grant, and the bloody battle of Bentonville for Joseph Eggleton Johnston, the Confederates knew they were done for. They surrendered, though the “Lost Cause” still lurks among us. As we strive to make this country better, we know that nothing will ever be perfect, but all nations are imperfect. But we have proved we can hold out against anything that’s thrown at us. Thousands off young men died in the Civil War, and many have pledged that it will never happen again.
The Battle of Gettysburg would have a lasting impact on American history, and forever will.
I used it for school a while back.
 
I used it for school a while back.
I am glad you did. Let me have some time to read your essay, and also some more time to choose one of my own. I will give you the Title now I am thinking of submitting; "The strange case of Captain Wren". This man had a diary I once wrote a two-part essay upon. I no longer have the diary, but the story is still with me, but I may not have any way of annotating reference beyond the diary itself.
I hope some more members will freely contribute to the thread. It is a decent idea. Thank you for your fairness.
Lubliner.
 
I have just posted a thread as a Forum Host that involves a question you might try to answer in essay style. I invite you to try, as I believe you were interested in academic formats of composition from your thread here. It is up to your own prerogative to do so, but I would be keenly interested in what you may be able to submit. Generally these questions I pose are answered as reference blocks of pertinent data, but fail to inspire the more involved criteria of Intro, Theme body, and conclusion. The thread is here;
Though it involves the Gettysburg Battle which your own essay described so well, it is a less known part of the campaign's aftermath. If you do enjoy the process of instructional formats, and find the topic worthy of your own consideration, I would be delighted to have you join in!
Lubliner.
 
I am glad you did. Let me have some time to read your essay, and also some more time to choose one of my own. I will give you the Title now I am thinking of submitting; "The strange case of Captain Wren". This man had a diary I once wrote a two-part essay upon. I no longer have the diary, but the story is still with me, but I may not have any way of annotating reference beyond the diary itself.
I hope some more members will freely contribute to the thread. It is a decent idea. Thank you for your fairness.
Lubliner.
Can't wait!
 
I have just posted a thread as a Forum Host that involves a question you might try to answer in essay style. I invite you to try, as I believe you were interested in academic formats of composition from your thread here. It is up to your own prerogative to do so, but I would be keenly interested in what you may be able to submit. Generally these questions I pose are answered as reference blocks of pertinent data, but fail to inspire the more involved criteria of Intro, Theme body, and conclusion. The thread is here;
Though it involves the Gettysburg Battle which your own essay described so well, it is a less known part of the campaign's aftermath. If you do enjoy the process of instructional formats, and find the topic worthy of your own consideration, I would be delighted to have you join in!
Lubliner.
I will enjoy reading the thread and I will do some research to write an essay.
 
I will enjoy reading the thread and I will do some research to write an essay.
I will submit my own here within a day or two. I do realize the opportunity to invest more time into an interest of mine and it is appreciated. My own submission might not quite be a standard essay as such, but more along the lines of story-telling. It is factual, but I will try to be sure it remains interesting, and knowledgeable.
Lubliner.
 
@thebattle29, Captain Wren flew off and would not return when I called. So I had to think up a new topic for my essay and must admit it is not about a battle. It qualifies for the "What If..." forum subsection and deals with the concept as stated. Your task for reviewing by Saturday should remain easy unless some quick thinkers desire to respond with their own submission. If not, then I am an absolute shoo-in for first place!!
I will proceed to copy my document and post it below. I hope it still meets the criteria you desired, and maybe inspire some thoughtful revisions for any reader that chooses to read it.
Lubliner.
 
THREE UNITED SOCIETIES
“The real, the imaginary, and their bisection”

Alternate history can be used as a guide for mending the scar left by the great rebellion. To study the benefits possibly gained from this exercise one must first believe in the alternatives. Judging from our new nation now we must endeavor to not reopen the old wound whose severity remains incomprehensible to us. How can we learn?

We already know what existed though hidden discoveries are continually surfacing. Because of this old knowledge and new, we have the capability to reset the patterns that hypnotize by repetition, and instead provide a new source of syncopations. These can change the rhythmic harmony of historical redundancy into a timely understanding. We should not brush it aside as wasted efforts.

Our forefathers were hotheaded and stubborn, strong-willed and determined. Once a division of purpose created separate societies neither side could compromise. We must exceed their patience and provide a better intelligence to prove we can learn what they could not. Instead of repeating the various schisms of intolerance, we must learn to bridge the gap that separates one generation from another without grinding the visions of utopia into dust. We must find some source of appeasement to keep our encroachments to a minimum. We must imagine a world of perfection and believe in it, for without that belief, the world is doomed.

If we had perfect foreknowledge instead of hindsight maybe we wouldn’t need to be looking back. Suppose our forefathers foresaw the bloodshed and horrors a civil war would incur before Anderson moved to Fort Sumter. There are plenty more suppositions to propose before someone moves in a blockade and tosses in a grenade. Suppose the whole idea of such bloody horror was so well understood that civil war and it’s ultimate consequence could be averted. Suppose those two different societies believed the sacrifice too costly. Remember neither the north nor the south believed in what was to become.

Setting the stage for compromise, knowing the price of civil war too expensive, a diversion of principles and policies lead to a new approach. Lincoln was elected, and Anderson didn’t betray the trust known from a southern view. South Carolina did secede under the likewise auspice of separation of church and state, which likewise can be addressed by differences in belief and salvation. The settlement upon a confederacy and a union being two separate nations become the expedient course to take.

Our southern forefathers gave us statements just as valid when they spoke of reconciliation, payment of debts owed, and harmonious relations after the fact of secession. Though a separation can be completed and wholly accomplished many more agreements must be worked out. The expiration of slavery needs to become a goal in the southern mind without disrupting the society by shock death, but instead allow it a peaceful demise. Meanwhile the abilities of oration among prominent men need to speak wisely upon the topics needing review instead of incitation and recitation of prejudice and spite.

This can be done now because it is an imaginary world that does not exist then. It can exist now with that ugly scar left behind by the civil war more acceptable, just by reforming our situational compromises; those patterns of constant conflict keep reverberating like a shock wave. We now no longer need to deal directly with slavery as a form of servitude, or do we? Communism says it can’t be done, that everyone has a master wielding power. Letting this subvert our own principles of necessary discussion is an exercise of control. It is off-topic and beyond our imaginary world because it exists. We need to remain on topic to our civil war, that was averted by compromises and agreements here. We need to safeguard our imagination so the real world won’t call it into existence.

We need to solve the two common boundaries of allegiance that spread across a continent, knowing there is a line of separation. This will include the viable infrastructure to be built for accommodating strong ties of trade and arbitration. It will allow the principles of profit to be shared by agreement so foreign favoritism is precluded. This will keep two nations at peace with a neighborly justice that can preserve and protect the peace which it has nurtured since this continent was settled. Other settlements still exist in both worlds of real and imaginary utopias.

We must strive to keep the podium on the stand and not cast onto the floor. There is no profitable outcome to continual repetition, unless it is the inspirational song of the drum, beating it’s cadence over the wilderness of humanity;
“Uprisings lessen ennui, uprisings chasten ennui, uprisings destroy ennui, everlasting, everlasting”.
There is no amen.

Having set this imaginary world upon the precepts that forego unnecessary rebuttals, such as what can’t be done, I want to replace that repetition with the payment of compromise. What exactly could have taken place without the death of a full generation, and a destruction as complete as the great flood? -(Why call me out on this irrelevancy?)-

There is no need to settle this dispute by judging our forefathers on an answer beyond their own belief system. Imagine a world built on the premise of “Let me alone” being backed by strong associates, (though it truly was, but the price has already been discussed). And by expelling the coercive forces of bi-polar meetings end to end, we can alleviate much disagreeable duress caused by it.

Two societies will become three once the slaves are freed. When any heat is applied by friction, a flux in the whole set-up causes a malady deep down under our present surface. Imaginary worlds are brought into existence just like electricity is produced through magnetism. This happens every time our previous past merges into our present day future. All that is necessary to accomplish our purposes can be expounded without the consequence of reliving a nightmare beyond all imagination; in all three separate societies.

These societies can be united upon multiple agreements where the minority is allowed foundation, exempted from a majority census. Should more ancestral descendants predominate over the ones that conquered peace by sacrifice? Should families of ten be given more authority than households of one? Of course not! I can’t prove my own doings singly while alone unless the hearer has faith in what I say. Who is here to vouch for me when families gather to give grace at a table of nurturing prayer. Does denying an invitation inspire me to proclaim atheism as my friend? Of course not. “Let me alone”.

We are governed by the proof of something that happened a long time ago. We shape our points of travel and discussion by memories both dormant and active. Many of us do not keep account of every penny spent, while others may have to. Many of us already settled our debate with society and paid for our entry into freedom, while others still work it out among themselves. Having to return to square one each time is annoying to the one repeating an exercise, when advancements are openly available. But as ever, the song always tends to be the same here to me anyway. I am too old now to repeat myself, and it has gone on long enough. It does not have to be as it was, nor as it is. “So please, just let me eat alone, thank you. I am imaginary”.

Lubliner. :smile coffee:
[1264 words]
 
THREE UNITED SOCIETIES
“The real, the imaginary, and their bisection”

Alternate history can be used as a guide for mending the scar left by the great rebellion. To study the benefits possibly gained from this exercise one must first believe in the alternatives. Judging from our new nation now we must endeavor to not reopen the old wound whose severity remains incomprehensible to us. How can we learn?

We already know what existed though hidden discoveries are continually surfacing. Because of this old knowledge and new, we have the capability to reset the patterns that hypnotize by repetition, and instead provide a new source of syncopations. These can change the rhythmic harmony of historical redundancy into a timely understanding. We should not brush it aside as wasted efforts.

Our forefathers were hotheaded and stubborn, strong-willed and determined. Once a division of purpose created separate societies neither side could compromise. We must exceed their patience and provide a better intelligence to prove we can learn what they could not. Instead of repeating the various schisms of intolerance, we must learn to bridge the gap that separates one generation from another without grinding the visions of utopia into dust. We must find some source of appeasement to keep our encroachments to a minimum. We must imagine a world of perfection and believe in it, for without that belief, the world is doomed.

If we had perfect foreknowledge instead of hindsight maybe we wouldn’t need to be looking back. Suppose our forefathers foresaw the bloodshed and horrors a civil war would incur before Anderson moved to Fort Sumter. There are plenty more suppositions to propose before someone moves in a blockade and tosses in a grenade. Suppose the whole idea of such bloody horror was so well understood that civil war and it’s ultimate consequence could be averted. Suppose those two different societies believed the sacrifice too costly. Remember neither the north nor the south believed in what was to become.

Setting the stage for compromise, knowing the price of civil war too expensive, a diversion of principles and policies lead to a new approach. Lincoln was elected, and Anderson didn’t betray the trust known from a southern view. South Carolina did secede under the likewise auspice of separation of church and state, which likewise can be addressed by differences in belief and salvation. The settlement upon a confederacy and a union being two separate nations become the expedient course to take.

Our southern forefathers gave us statements just as valid when they spoke of reconciliation, payment of debts owed, and harmonious relations after the fact of secession. Though a separation can be completed and wholly accomplished many more agreements must be worked out. The expiration of slavery needs to become a goal in the southern mind without disrupting the society by shock death, but instead allow it a peaceful demise. Meanwhile the abilities of oration among prominent men need to speak wisely upon the topics needing review instead of incitation and recitation of prejudice and spite.

This can be done now because it is an imaginary world that does not exist then. It can exist now with that ugly scar left behind by the civil war more acceptable, just by reforming our situational compromises; those patterns of constant conflict keep reverberating like a shock wave. We now no longer need to deal directly with slavery as a form of servitude, or do we? Communism says it can’t be done, that everyone has a master wielding power. Letting this subvert our own principles of necessary discussion is an exercise of control. It is off-topic and beyond our imaginary world because it exists. We need to remain on topic to our civil war, that was averted by compromises and agreements here. We need to safeguard our imagination so the real world won’t call it into existence.

We need to solve the two common boundaries of allegiance that spread across a continent, knowing there is a line of separation. This will include the viable infrastructure to be built for accommodating strong ties of trade and arbitration. It will allow the principles of profit to be shared by agreement so foreign favoritism is precluded. This will keep two nations at peace with a neighborly justice that can preserve and protect the peace which it has nurtured since this continent was settled. Other settlements still exist in both worlds of real and imaginary utopias.

We must strive to keep the podium on the stand and not cast onto the floor. There is no profitable outcome to continual repetition, unless it is the inspirational song of the drum, beating it’s cadence over the wilderness of humanity;
“Uprisings lessen ennui, uprisings chasten ennui, uprisings destroy ennui, everlasting, everlasting”.
There is no amen.

Having set this imaginary world upon the precepts that forego unnecessary rebuttals, such as what can’t be done, I want to replace that repetition with the payment of compromise. What exactly could have taken place without the death of a full generation, and a destruction as complete as the great flood? -(Why call me out on this irrelevancy?)-

There is no need to settle this dispute by judging our forefathers on an answer beyond their own belief system. Imagine a world built on the premise of “Let me alone” being backed by strong associates, (though it truly was, but the price has already been discussed). And by expelling the coercive forces of bi-polar meetings end to end, we can alleviate much disagreeable duress caused by it.

Two societies will become three once the slaves are freed. When any heat is applied by friction, a flux in the whole set-up causes a malady deep down under our present surface. Imaginary worlds are brought into existence just like electricity is produced through magnetism. This happens every time our previous past merges into our present day future. All that is necessary to accomplish our purposes can be expounded without the consequence of reliving a nightmare beyond all imagination; in all three separate societies.

These societies can be united upon multiple agreements where the minority is allowed foundation, exempted from a majority census. Should more ancestral descendants predominate over the ones that conquered peace by sacrifice? Should families of ten be given more authority than households of one? Of course not! I can’t prove my own doings singly while alone unless the hearer has faith in what I say. Who is here to vouch for me when families gather to give grace at a table of nurturing prayer. Does denying an invitation inspire me to proclaim atheism as my friend? Of course not. “Let me alone”.

We are governed by the proof of something that happened a long time ago. We shape our points of travel and discussion by memories both dormant and active. Many of us do not keep account of every penny spent, while others may have to. Many of us already settled our debate with society and paid for our entry into freedom, while others still work it out among themselves. Having to return to square one each time is annoying to the one repeating an exercise, when advancements are openly available. But as ever, the song always tends to be the same here to me anyway. I am too old now to repeat myself, and it has gone on long enough. It does not have to be as it was, nor as it is. “So please, just let me eat alone, thank you. I am imaginary”.

Lubliner. :smile coffee:
[1264 words]
Maybe 1/2 place @thebattle29?
Lubliner.
 
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