- Joined
- Jul 9, 2005
- Location
- Galena, Illinois 61036 U.S.A.
I read this somewhere, just recently, but can't remember where.
There were several good reasons why securing LRT was not as important as it has been portrayed.
Among these were the arguments that 1) it most likely would have been fairly easily retaken, 2) that contrary to the idea that the Rebs could enfilade the Yanks from that position, that there was no field of view to the Union forces on Cemetery Ridge, 3) that it is very doubtful that the Rebs could have brought batteries up to the top of LRT before they were resisted (see #1). Etc.
Any comments?
I know of one of you who has already weighed in of this topic from something I found on another forum:
"Little Round Top
New to the site...don't know if this has been covered already but here it is...I see the idea of Little Round Top being a crucial position as simply being a myth generated from romanticized histiography. Some brief thoughts on Little Round Top:
The simple geography of LRT tends to debunk this myth. While a useful position for the North as an artillery position and a place for the flank to tie into to, it was not crucial for the South to capture it. In fact, LRT was useless to the South and its capture would not have affected the outcome of the battle.
The reverse slope of LRT was wooded at the time of the war. Anyone facing the Union rear could not see anything but the trees in front of them. If the Confederates had turned around Hazlett's guns, they couldn't have hit anything. The myth that Confederate artillery could have commanded the Union rear and cause a retreat is simply not true.
Also, the Confederates could not have hit the rest of the Union line. LRT narrows at the end facing Cemetery Ridge. Perhaps one gun could have been placed on this side of the hill, and even then barely registered on Cemetery Ridge. Clearly, the Cemetery Ridge line would not have been compromised by Confederate occupation of LRT.
Not to mention that it was not part of the Confederate plans to take the hill...or high on the Union priority list to defend.Or that the Yankees could have easily retaken the hill, probably just with Weed and Crawford."
That was from our own beloved nbforrest on 09/21/05.
There were several good reasons why securing LRT was not as important as it has been portrayed.
Among these were the arguments that 1) it most likely would have been fairly easily retaken, 2) that contrary to the idea that the Rebs could enfilade the Yanks from that position, that there was no field of view to the Union forces on Cemetery Ridge, 3) that it is very doubtful that the Rebs could have brought batteries up to the top of LRT before they were resisted (see #1). Etc.
Any comments?
I know of one of you who has already weighed in of this topic from something I found on another forum:
"Little Round Top
New to the site...don't know if this has been covered already but here it is...I see the idea of Little Round Top being a crucial position as simply being a myth generated from romanticized histiography. Some brief thoughts on Little Round Top:
The simple geography of LRT tends to debunk this myth. While a useful position for the North as an artillery position and a place for the flank to tie into to, it was not crucial for the South to capture it. In fact, LRT was useless to the South and its capture would not have affected the outcome of the battle.
The reverse slope of LRT was wooded at the time of the war. Anyone facing the Union rear could not see anything but the trees in front of them. If the Confederates had turned around Hazlett's guns, they couldn't have hit anything. The myth that Confederate artillery could have commanded the Union rear and cause a retreat is simply not true.
Also, the Confederates could not have hit the rest of the Union line. LRT narrows at the end facing Cemetery Ridge. Perhaps one gun could have been placed on this side of the hill, and even then barely registered on Cemetery Ridge. Clearly, the Cemetery Ridge line would not have been compromised by Confederate occupation of LRT.
Not to mention that it was not part of the Confederate plans to take the hill...or high on the Union priority list to defend.Or that the Yankees could have easily retaken the hill, probably just with Weed and Crawford."
That was from our own beloved nbforrest on 09/21/05.