So, about nine months ago, I watched a movie called Gods and Generals, a film based on a book of the same name, written by Geoffrey Shaara as a prequel to his father’s Pulitzer novel- The Killer Angels. It is named for an interesting line in The Killer Angels: ‘There is nothing quite like a God on earth than a General.’ However, just tonight I was fortunate enough to grab, cheaply, the movie adaptation of The Killer Angels, the 1993 epic Gettysburg. This all got me into reading up upon the battle itself, and the impact of the history, which combined with the reading up caused by Gods and Generals, draws some very interesting poetry for this day in American history: all the ironies aside that now adays the US claims, ‘The Union prevailed’, when really, the North prevailed, and the Union subjugated. It’s kind of like saying, ‘we became friends because my boot heal didn’t taste entirely like shit when I slammed it into your face; and by default, now I have one of your teeth, some blood and your flesh smeared all over that heal, now aren’t we just a part of each other!’ But I digress, here are a list of interesting ironies surrounding the battle of Gettysburg, anyone reading this, please do indeed fill in more.
1). Two months before the battle the south lost one of its best Generals in Thomas Stonewall Jackson, done in by friendly fire. The last day of the conflict, Lee orders a desperate unavoidable maneuver, the Pickett charge, in order to break the Union line in the middle. [The position appears weak in and of itself, but because of its middle location, it is perfectly aligned to be covered by Little Round top, and Cemetery Hill's Atillery.] The Objective is to break the Union line, by crossing over a stonewall on Cemetery Ridge, an object already lost from the get go, just like Jackson. In effect, the Confederacy lost Jackson, then lost the war stepping over him!
2). Gettysburg is referred to as the turning point in the civil war, where, the South achieved it’s ‘High water mark’ at that above mentioned wall, as some troops did in fact cross it. But the turning point is decided, the Conferate dream is laid to rest on Cemetery ridge, the battle ceases here except for a cavalry entanglement a few moments later. Couple that with the fact that Gettysburg incurred the highest casualties of the war.
3). The Battle ended, with the Union army not precisely having the upper hand in numbers, just the better ground in terms of postion and supply- so after the fault at Cemetery Ridge, they hold a stand off on the fourth of July, the anniversary of the Union, which the Confederates hope the Yanks will attack on in raining conditions- the Union does nothing, cutting the Confederates off from objectives they cannot achieve in their condition without commitment to certain conflict, that in winning would allow them to regroup and dig in up in the North. The Hinge is the holiday of the Union.
4).Yet, Meade the Union general is criticised for not presenting an opportunity for the Confederates to seize the day!
5). The first real entanglement- actually noticed alert by Union General Buford, is a detachment of soldiers looking for footwear in a nearby village, which allows him time to pick the best ground in the area that wins them the conflict, ensuring that the Confederate troops will be well supported, under foot as they use those shoes to march a retreat! [there's some speculation about whether there were shoes at all, there is no clarification].
6). When the armies faced each other by an engagement of meeting, Union forces were coming from the south and Confederate forces, passing through Gettysburg, from the North.
7). The Only civilian casualty is Mary ‘Ginny’ Wade- struck by a stray shot flying into her kitchen while she was making bread. Mary Wade, whose middle name, happens to be Virginia! Not only is the Confederate Army of Virginia under Lee Stopped, but it seems one way or another, it is certain that, from this moment on, Virginia will be no more with a breath of her own!
8). And one Coincidence- General Robert Edward Lee, lived only to be sixty three years old, which is the exact year that the disastrous battle took place in, 1863
And those are the compelling ironies I discovered about the battle of Gettysburg, I am sure there are many many more, but just this poetry would lend itself to a good battle hymn full of puns. I might sit down to draft that in a little while.
