When historians go toe to toe

[Georgia Sixth]

If you think this forum has some lively debates, get a load of this. It's a symposium at the University of Kansas dealing with Day Three at Gettysburg. The most vigorous debate centers on Lee's decision making (and they're pretty evenly split) and everyone presents their views with elan. It's fun to watch them cross swords.

And Nathanb1, Diane, et al...two of the historians are women....and they don't agree.

Battle of Gettysburg Panel Discussion The Battle Day Three - YouTube

If you want to save a little time, start watching at 16:12.

 

[Custers Luck]

It was interesting!!, But I know the people here have done a better job in there debates, I love it when they go toe to toe here,There so smart ,Some times I feel like I should hold a degree in somthing! just to read what there debating about!!!

 

[JerseyBart]

If you think this forum has some lively debates, get a load of this. It's a symposium at the University of Kansas dealing with Day Three at Gettysburg. The most vigorous debate centers on Lee's decision making (and they're pretty evenly split) and everyone presents their views with elan. It's fun to watch them cross swords.

And Nathanb1, Diane, et al...two of the historians are women....and they don't agree.

Battle of Gettysburg Panel Discussion The Battle Day Three - YouTube

If you want to save a little time, start watching at 16:12.

I cannot wait to watch it.

 

[Georgia Sixth]

It was interesting!!, But I know the people here have done a better job in there debates, I love it when they go toe to toe here,There so smart ,Some times I feel like I should hold a degree in somthing! just to read what there debating about!!!

The water's more fun if you dive in.

 

[Bonny Blue Flag]

A few of the topics discussed:
- Was this the turning point of the Confederacy for the CW? The panel agreed it was one of several major points in the army of he Confederacy...1) Combination of Confederate loss of Vicksburg and Gettysburg on the same day. 2) the Emancipation Proclamation. 3) Fall of Atlanta. 4) the re-election of Lincoln.
- Army of the Potomac can replace a lot of what was lost, the Army of Northern Virginia cannot.
- Is defense a stronger form of war in this era? The collective answer was "Yes, with a negative aim of being coupled with an offensive purpose.
- Magazine rifles were available but were not used during the war, for concern of going through ammo too fast.
- 3 days of July humidity, thousands and thousands of dead soldiers and horses on the field, a horrible and feted environment for many miles.
- 75 thousand horses on both sides of the field, producing a total of 1 million pounds of manure a day.
- A lot of rain led to the armies basically fighting in a waist-deep moat scenario.
- The CW was a transitional phase of war. The industrial revolution began to have an effect and advancement of tactics.

Will add more later.

--BBF

 

[ole]

It was interesting!!, But I know the people here have done a better job in there debates, I love it when they go toe to toe here,There so smart ,Some times I feel like I should hold a degree in somthing! just to read what there debating about!!!

You are getting the equivalent.

 

[rpkennedy]

We just don't have those fancy degrees. Of course, my dad (a research scientist) says that Ph.D just stands for "piled higher, deeper".

R

 

[kealbo54]

Hate to sound all grumpy n stuff,but I wasnt too impressed with that panel.I would put about any 6 people on this forum up against them.

 

[AUG]

That one woman who was bringing up rifled muskets as the main reason why Pickett's charge failed and and comparing it to Fredericksburg I am sorry but Facepalm. Also I don't know how many times it was said the Confederates crossed "that mile of ground" as it was about half a mile from where the Confederates started off at Seminary Ridge to Cemetery Ridge. Like kealbo, I don't mean to be nitpicky but there are people on this forum who could take on those historians.

 

[kealbo54]

I caught "Pickett had three fresh DIVISIONS",and thought,who are these people?

 

[Nathanb1]

That one woman who was bringing up rifled muskets as the main reason why Pickett's charge failed and and comparing it to Fredericksburg I am sorry but Facepalm. Also I don't know how many times it was said the Confederates crossed "that mile of ground" as it was about half a mile from where the Confederates started off at Seminary Ridge to Cemetery Ridge. Like kealbo, I don't mean to be nitpicky but there are people on this forum who could take on those historians.

I was underwhelmed. And talk about male chauvinist pigs. OMG. Then...I wanted to slap those women for being so mealy-mouthed. Seriously.

I'm surprised someone didn't want Lee to sneak up and set fires on LRT.

 

[rpkennedy]

That one woman who was bringing up rifled muskets as the main reason why Pickett's charge failed and and comparing it to Fredericksburg I am sorry but Facepalm. Also I don't know how many times it was said the Confederates crossed "that mile of ground" as it was about half a mile from where the Confederates started off at Seminary Ridge to Cemetery Ridge. Like kealbo, I don't mean to be nitpicky but there are people on this forum who could take on those historians.

It makes me shake my head. Rifles didn't make that big a difference as that vast majority of the musketry occurred inside of 150 yards or so. Not to mention the various units along Cemetery Ridge that had gathered the guns off of the field the previous night so that there were several regiments that had 3 or more weapons per man. And the 12th New Jersey (IIRC) loaded their .69 caliber muskets with 21 pieces of buckshot from their buck-and-ball cartridges. And the 14th Connecticut which had a good number of Sharps pieces in their ranks.

R

 

[AUG]

It makes me shake my head. Rifles didn't make that big a difference as that vast majority of the musketry occurred inside of 150 yards or so. Not to mention the various units along Cemetery Ridge that had gathered the guns off of the field the previous night so that there were several regiments that had 3 or more weapons per man. And the 12th New Jersey (IIRC) loaded their .69 caliber muskets with 21 pieces of buckshot from their buck-and-ball cartridges. And the 14th Connecticut which had a good number of Sharps pieces in their ranks.

R

Also weren't the 69th and 71st Pennsylvania about 4 ranks deep around the copse of trees? Men in the 3rd and 4th ranks were loading guns and passing them up, almost keeping up a constant rate of fire. Most of the fighting occurred at close range and not to mention that after a while the smoke gets so thick you can't see more than 10 or 20 feet anyway.

 

[Nathanb1]

So far, Kansas has not impressed me with the level of Civil War knowledge among their profs. I went to a teacher seminar a couple of years ago with two...and was pretty appalled. I felt like the folks who knew their stuff on the panel were so embarrassed by the others they didn't know quite what to say and still be polite.

 

[Custers Luck]

Told ya!!!!! they had no passion or self confidence in what they were talking about, pluse that one women EVERY time she ended a sentance her voice got HIGHER which leaves a question mark at the end, she talked like some valley girl! AHHHHHHHH I hate that!!!! People here could have chewed them up and spit them out!!!!!

 

[ole]

Time to call it a day. The TV is trying to get me to buy som stuff about old music.

 

[JPK Huson 1863]

You know, before I joined here, I really did tool around, look for a few days- longer, I guess. I knew I wanted to join a Civil War group of some kind, was a little chicken for one thing because the level of expertise can sometimes mean folks just, plain don't want to play with the little kids. This one just seemed to have it all, a sense of community plus I could sense the knock-down, drag-out pros here even if I didn't know all that much. Sure, there were a couple of rambunctious threads going at the time, didn't look like any real blood drawn. As far as ' knowing stuff ', I REALLY made the right decision, plus you folks do play very nicely with the little kids, although you call us on it in a hot second if we start to get big pants and talk a lot of cr*p. Nice to know professional historians can't get away with talking cr*p anymore than we can.

 

[whitworth]

Ha, a discussion by aging Americans on why Lee lost on the third day at Gettysburg. Americans aren't very good at discussing defeat by a great American, R.E. Lee. Well he was before and after the war was lost.
It's like getting a clear discussion why there is a Yosemite fire. The fire will be discussed; not why fire was never in their thinking.