Gettysburg: The Ghastly Dead

[CaptSpook]

Well done video.

One of the more fascinating features is the use of original photos, enhanced as they were in the production, to demonstrate the reality of post mortem battlefields.

I highly recommend Greg Coco's book "A Strange and Blighted Land" in preparation for the video.

 

[Dr Rick]

Hello gang, this could be of possible interest especially considering the time of year...

I was in Gettysburg last week and really spent some time digging into the Elliott's burial map and decided to make a short video about what happened to the dead bodies after the Battle. It includes a lot of zoomed-in aftermath photos from Gardner, O'Sullivan and Brady as well as photos from other Civil War sites to help illustrate the point being made.

This video has a lot of GRAPHIC content: viewer discretion is advised.

YouTube has age restricted it, therefore you'll need to log in to view it. The video is a little morbid, but I also hope you find it educational.

Click 'watch on YouTube'.

The below image is just the thumbnail and not active.

View attachment 418943

Very nice. Thank You!

 

[chuckcurtis]

Excellent video. The professionalism with which you handled this topic brings honor to the subject. I think it was Robert E. Lee who said it's good that war is so terrible or we should grow too fond of it. Your video provides an excellent reminder of this observation.

 

[Gettysburg Guide #154]

You really need a different screen name because the author of this video is anything but "aimless". This is very well done! Congratulations on producing such a fine piece.

I like your emphasis on the stench. There are accounts of the townspeople covering their mouths and noses with handkerchiefs dipped in peppermint and pennyroyal to avoid the foul odors. (And we complain about face masks.) Several deaths of local citizens in the weeks and months following the battle were attributed by the locals to the effects of the pestilential air.

One statement you make gives the impression that the entire Army of the Potomac stayed in Gettysburg for 10 days. Of course, a few elements did stay burying (sort of) the dead, and medical people were assisting with the wounded. However the bulk of the army was chasing Lee. Indeed, I have read some accounts that complain that the number of doctors left to care for the wounded was insufficient.

 

[Kathy the history sleuth]

I'm looking forward to part 2.

 

[Punxsy]

The Presidents and generals knew this would happen.

 

[Aimless Lee]

Well done video.

One of the more fascinating features is the use of original photos, enhanced as they were in the production, to demonstrate the reality of post mortem battlefields.

I highly recommend Greg Coco's book "A Strange and Blighted Land" in preparation for the video.

Thanks for watching! I wish I had known about Greg Coco's book prior to filming this, it probably would have been a tremendous help!

 

[Aimless Lee]

Excellent video. The professionalism with which you handled this topic brings honor to the subject. I think it was Robert E. Lee who said it's good that war is so terrible or we should grow too fond of it. Your video provides an excellent reminder of this observation.

I'm actually using that quote from R.E. Lee's to open up the 2nd video. (I'm still editing it though!)

 

[Aimless Lee]

You really need a different screen name because the author of this video is anything but "aimless". This is very well done! Congratulations on producing such a fine piece.

I like your emphasis on the stench. There are accounts of the townspeople covering their mouths and noses with handkerchiefs dipped in peppermint and pennyroyal to avoid the foul odors. (And we complain about face masks.) Several deaths of local citizens in the weeks and months following the battle were attributed by the locals to the effects of the pestilential air.

One statement you make gives the impression that the entire Army of the Potomac stayed in Gettysburg for 10 days. Of course, a few elements did stay burying (sort of) the dead, and medical people were assisting with the wounded. However the bulk of the army was chasing Lee. Indeed, I have read some accounts that complain that the number of doctors left to care for the wounded was insufficient.

I couldn't think of a better screen name when I first joined. Besides I wander around aimlessly from topic to topic, so it felt appropriate at the time. I'd love to make more videos like this, but it takes a lot of time. I really enjoy it though and right now I'm trying to make Part 2 worth the watch!

I wish I had known about the handkerchiefs dipped in peppermint and pennyroyal! I definitely would have included that in the video!

I was under the impression that Meade stayed at Gettysburg for another 10 days. I thought that was why Lincoln was so upset with him. But I could be totally wrong. I did my best to get as many facts right as possible, my apologies if some slipped through the cracks. It was not intentional.

 

[CaptSpook]

I couldn't think of a better screen name when I first joined. Besides I wander around aimlessly from topic to topic, so it felt appropriate at the time. I'd love to make more videos like this, but it takes a lot of time. I really enjoy it though and right now I'm trying to make Part 2 worth the watch!

I wish I had known about the handkerchiefs dipped in peppermint and pennyroyal! I definitely would have included that in the video!

I was under the impression that Meade stayed at Gettysburg for another 10 days. I thought that was why Lincoln was so upset with him. But I could be totally wrong. I did my best to get as many facts right as possible, my apologies if some slipped through the cracks. It was not intentional.

I think your video stands "well done" on its own. Greg Coco's book provides so much detail you would have to produce a long series of videos to cover all of it.

I served two tours in Vietnam and will never forget the terrible odor from humans decomposing under the sun. It's the one aspect of history I'd rather forget but it is also the one aspect that can never be captured in simply reading books or viewing films, even films that are considered realistic. Combat veterans know what I'm talking about and I don't say this to stand out, rather to remind others that war is indeed terrible and the experiences we and those in all wars have had are impossible to fully express. The best we can expect is what you have produced in your excellent video.

Again, well done.

 

[Aimless Lee]

I think your video stands "well done" on its own. Greg Coco's book provides so much detail you would have to produce a long series of videos to cover all of it.

I served two tours in Vietnam and will never forget the terrible odor from humans decomposing under the sun. It's the one aspect of history I'd rather forget but it is also the one aspect that can never be captured in simply reading books or viewing films, even films that are considered realistic. Combat veterans know what I'm talking about and I don't say this to stand out, rather to remind others that war is indeed terrible and the experiences we and those in all wars have had are impossible to fully express. The best we can expect is what you have produced in your excellent video.

Again, well done.

I can't even imagine what the smell must have been like. One of the quotes that fell onto the cutting room floor talked about the incredible amount of flies that swarmed over the bodies and many diaries mentioned the stench of decay. But even imagining it probably isn't half as bad as the reality of the situation. Making this video gave me a new appreciation for the hell it must have been in the days and weeks after the battle. Thank you for your service to this country and for watching my video!

 

[Tony Z]

No apology necessary; mentioned only to have it corrected. Link is working now.

A well done video; thank you for creating.

Though an 'uncomfortable' topic, looking forward to Part 2.

Pairs well with Gregory Coco's book 'A Strange and Blighted Land: Gettysburg: the Aftermath of a Battle'.

Before G. Coco passed, he was a tour guide for us, for one of the Civil War Institute's tours, during the week. Think it was around 1999 or 2000, and dealing with, obviously, the aftermath of the battle.

To say the least, it was most excellent!

 

[Aimless Lee]

Before G. Coco passed, he was a tour guide for us, for one of the Civil War Institute's tours, during the week. Think it was around 1999 or 2000, and dealing with, obviously, the aftermath of the battle.

To say the least, it was most excellent!

I bet it was! I'd really love to be on that tour! Especially if Greg Coco was a gifted storyteller and knew how to spin some yarn!

 

[Cornpone and Molasses]

@Aimless Lee Thanksgiving posting this link. Looking forward to watching part 2.

 

[Aimless Lee]

@Aimless Lee Thanksgiving posting this link. Looking forward to watching part 2.

Thanks for watching! Part 2 is about 40% done - I still have a lot of editing ahead of me with that one. Stay tuned!

 

[Lubliner]

I have come upon fresh, solitary armadillo and Gecko road-kills in the deep south, and was instantly innervated by the smell. I can't imagine multiplying that to the magnitude these men had to witness with no escape from it.
I also came upon a chonk shell in the Florida wilderness, and thinking it would be pleasant to 'hear the sound of the sea' just one hundred yards off, I picked it up. To my extreme mortification and disgust, it was filled with maggots feasting on the remains within.
The stench is overwhelming, and should not be classified as 'a smell'; it is much worse.
Lubliner.

 

[Lincoln56]

Before G. Coco passed, he was a tour guide for us

That must have been an excellent experience - wish I'd had such an opportunity.

Have been a huge fan of all of Mr. Coco's works. Find them to be worthwhile reads and always come away more informed and educated. Not a dry writing style but instead an engaging one. Think he made a significant contribution to the literature of Gettysburg.

Truly unfortunate he has passed.

 

[Tony Z]

That must have been an excellent experience - wish I'd had such an opportunity.

Have been a huge fan of all of Mr. Coco's works. Find them to be worthwhile reads and always come away more informed and educated. Not a dry writing style but instead an engaging one. Think he made a significant contribution to the literature of Gettysburg.

Truly unfortunate he has passed.

Most excellent tour guide. Coco was also a licensed battlefield guide, and he lived (for a while), in a house on the battlefield that saw duty as a hospital. He did not say why he moved (haunted?).

timeframe for the tour was right when the Gettysburg Outlet Mall was being built and I remember vividly how he railed against it.

 

[Noonanda]

I can't even imagine what the smell must have been like. One of the quotes that fell onto the cutting room floor talked about the incredible amount of flies that swarmed over the bodies and many diaries mentioned the stench of decay. But even imagining it probably isn't half as bad as the reality of the situation. Making this video gave me a new appreciation for the hell it must have been in the days and weeks after the battle. Thank you for your service to this country and for watching my video!

In some of the photos what could either be the grainyness of the photos, to me it looks like flies all over the bodies. And I can attest to what CaptSpook said about the smells. Iraqi Summer along the Euphrates was brutal hot and humid and we could tell when there was a floater in the river.

 

[Mrs. V]

In some of the photos what could either be the grainyness of the photos, to me it looks like flies all over the bodies. And I can attest to what CaptSpook said about the smells. Iraqi Summer along the Euphrates was brutal hot and humid and we could tell when there was a floater in the river.

Every once in a while, I will be in the grocery store and smell meat that has gone bad. I always alert staff..and I always give them a mini education in how you tell it's gone off! "Smell that?? I don't care what it looks like.."