Why the obsession with Gettysburg?

MHB1862

Corporal
Joined
Oct 26, 2016
Location
Virginia
Gettysburg occupies so much attention from ACW enthusiasts.
It was one fight and not the most important fight of the war and yet nowhere else generates as much ink or interest. Why?
 
Gettysburg occupies so much attention from ACW enthusiasts.
It was one fight and not the most important fight of the war and yet nowhere else generates as much ink or interest. Why?
Because a Confederate victory at Gettysburg could of been a game changer. Union morale was down after the successive defeats at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville.
If Lee could of captured Philadelphia or Baltimore that might of been the straw that broke the back of the Confederacy.
After the defeat at Gettysburg there was no more attempts by the Confederacy to sieze and hold Union territory. In conventional war victory can not be obtained until one side can do so.
Leftyhunter
 
Because a Confederate victory at Gettysburg could of been a game changer. Union morale was down after the successive defeats at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville.
If Lee could of captured Philadelphia or Baltimore that might of been the straw that broke the back of the Confederacy.
After the defeat at Gettysburg there was no more attempts by the Confederacy to sieze and hold Union territory. In conventional war victory can not be obtained until one side can do so.
Leftyhunter

I respectfully disagree. The ANV would have had to annihilate the AOP in order to take or even threaten Philadelphia or Baltimore. The ANV logistics were next to impossible to sustain a force on Union soil. It seems most likely that the ANV would have been forced to return to VA after a relatively short stay in the North, especially with even a diminished AOP in the neighborhood. I get that the invasion might have been a play for foreign recognition. Even so, PA is a long ways from any viable resupply route for the ANV. I think it unlikely that any ground taken could have been held indefinitely. The move north was a gamble from the beginning.
 
Gettysburg occupies so much attention from ACW enthusiasts.
It was one fight and not the most important fight of the war and yet nowhere else generates as much ink or interest. Why?

A little movie called Gettysburg probably has a little something to do with it. :giggle: Sorry! I just had to say that. Actually, Gettysburg has always seemed to garner the most attention. The accessibility to the park by train back in the 1870's was probably an early lure. The Grand Reunion in 1888 brought enormous attention to the battlefield as did the 50th reunion and the others that have followed. In addition to Lincoln, six other presidents have "addressed" the public there: Rutherford B. Hayes (1879), Theodore Roosevelt (1904), Calvin Coolidge (1928), Herbert Hoover, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Dwight D. Eisenhower. One future president, Vice-President Lyndon B. Johnson, also spoke at Gettysburg. Success seemed to breed success with the development of the large Visitor's Center and museum. And then of course they purchased the cyclorama (first viewed in Boston in 1884).

Lastly, there is an undeniable sense of awe that one feels when they visit the Gettysburg battlefield. Although in truth, I get a very similar feeling at Antietam too.
 
A little movie called Gettysburg probably has a little something to do with it. :giggle: Sorry! I just had to say that. Actually, Gettysburg has always seemed to garner the most attention. The accessibility to the park by train back in the 1870's was probably an early lure. The Grand Reunion in 1888 brought enormous attention to the battlefield as did the 50th reunion and the others that have followed. In addition to Lincoln, six other presidents have "addressed" the public there: Rutherford B. Hayes (1879), Theodore Roosevelt (1904), Calvin Coolidge (1928), Herbert Hoover, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Dwight D. Eisenhower. One future president, Vice-President Lyndon B. Johnson, also spoke at Gettysburg. Success seemed to breed success with the development of the large Visitor's Center and museum. And then of course they purchased the cyclorama (first viewed in Boston in 1884).

Lastly, there is an undeniable sense of awe that one feels when they visit the Gettysburg battlefield. Although in truth, I get a very similar feeling at Antietam too.


I agree completely. Sharpsburg is awe inspiring. There the visitor gets a sense of the ground and the sacrifices made there without the commercial hype. A determined hiker can cover virtually any part of the battle he/she wishes and see the ground very much like it was on September 17th. IMO no other eastern theatre battlefield compares.
 
My personal opinion is that there is much that appeals to our national collective unconscious (if I can go all Jungian for a moment). That it was the bloodiest battle in the war, that it was seen as a turning point to blunt the Confederate momentum, that Lincoln attributed such poignant meaning to it....all of these contribute to the emotional significance we attach to it. There are countless individual stories as well, present in every battle, but some of them stand out and stir up tremendous emotion.

As @Eleanor Rose said, there is (for those devoted to study of the War) a magic to the place which we have given to it. Perhaps the fact that this blip on the map witnessed so much blood and so much courage, culminating in events that became mythologized. Whether that's useful, accurate, or something else, we have definitely built on what the people felt back then.

Just a thought,
Adam
 
I agree completely. Sharpsburg is awe inspiring. There the visitor gets a sense of the ground and the sacrifices made there without the commercial hype. A determined hiker can cover virtually any part of the battle he/she wishes and see the ground very much like it was on September 17th. IMO no other eastern theatre battlefield compares.

Mass visitation just never took off there, and success breeds success. I like it quiet and uncluttered, though I have nothing against monuments. I keep getting drawn back to the place, even though I've covered it very well.

Like Gettysburg, Sharpsburg / Antietam was a momentum killer for Lee.

Of course, there are places on the battlefield at Gettysburg to get well away from the crowds, mostly to the east.

One thing at Gettysburg that puzzles me is the relative lack of interest in the eternal flame national unity monument. It was such a huge deal when it was built and dedicated. Maintenance of it doesn't even seem to be a high priority for the NPS.
 
I'm my opinion there are several reasons. The myth of shoes in the town giving it an accidental meeting feel, the thought that if the AOP loses the war was over, the high water mark etc. Being the largest battle ever fought in North America I think gives a lot of press as well. There is a last at bat in the bottom of the ninth mythology to it, also being considered the "turning point" of the war ( which I disagree with). That's my two cents fwiw.
 
(if I can go all Jungian for a moment).

Are you implying that Civil War nuts like me have a "complex"? :confused: I remember just enough about Carl Jung from my college days to be extremely dangerous. :D I really got into his theory that young people disengage from humanity for a period of time. That seemed all too likely when I taught middle school. And don't even get me started about his theory on a second puberty between the ages of 35-40. Come to think of it, a lot of Jung's work can easily be related to the men who fought in the Civil War. Do go on General Adam!
 
Are you implying that Civil War nuts like me have a "complex"? :confused: I remember just enough about Carl Jung from my college days to be extremely dangerous. :D I really got into his theory that young people disengage from humanity for a period of time. That seemed all too likely when I taught middle school. And don't even get me started about his theory on a second puberty between the ages of 35-40. Come to think of it, a lot of Jung's work can easily be related to the men who fought in the Civil War. Do go on General Adam!
Oh @Eleanor Rose, you are a woman of great wisdom and many talents! Somehow I knew you'd know Jung's work. :smile:

The one thing that I like about Jung is the idea of the collective unconscious. The Civil War is - for better or worse - a major part of our national being and, consequently, our national mythology as well. Even people who don't know much about the Civil War have heard of the Gettysburg Address, as one example.

Just a thought,
Adam
 
Somehow I knew you'd know Jung's work.

Why do I have a feeling we could talk for hours about a lot of different topics? Just one more thing I love about CWT. Remember planes fly in both directions. I bet your family would love to visit the Outer Banks and NC mountains. And I happen to know a great pair of local tour guides who are retired and available at no charge.:whistling:
 
I'm my opinion there are several reasons. The myth of shoes in the town giving it an accidental meeting feel, the thought that if the AOP loses the war was over, the high water mark etc. Being the largest battle ever fought in North America I think gives a lot of press as well. There is a last at bat in the bottom of the ninth mythology to it, also being considered the "turning point" of the war ( which I disagree with). That's my two cents fwiw.

The word "mythology" seems appropriate.
Perhaps it stems from being the first significant Union victory in the eastern theatre and that the winners write the history.
IMHO the turning point of the war was when Grant slid left after Second Wilderness.
 
I agree completely. Sharpsburg is awe inspiring. There the visitor gets a sense of the ground and the sacrifices made there without the commercial hype. A determined hiker can cover virtually any part of the battle he/she wishes and see the ground very much like it was on September 17th. IMO no other eastern theatre battlefield compares.

I agree. Antietam is my favorite battlefield.
 
The word "mythology" seems appropriate.
Perhaps it stems from being the first significant Union victory in the eastern theatre and that the winners write the history.
IMHO the turning point of the war was when Grant slid left after Second Wilderness.
Then you and I are of the same thinking. That is exactly where I believe the turning point is.
 
I think Gettysburg occupies such a large place in the CW mind for several reasons; because it was the "high point" of the CSA, the battle was fought on such a large scale over an extended period (3 days versus 1 at Antietam), and it was the major battle fought in a Union state (if one considers Maryland a border state) in the Eastern Theater.
 
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