Civil War Artillery At Gettysburg . Another one that’s well worthwhile if you’re interested in Arty. I have this one on my nook. It gets into the nuts and bolts of the types of guns, and the gunners who served in the batteries.
To be honest, I don’t do much of the tourist type stuff. Anyplace I go on the Battlefield is special for me. I can close my eyes and hear the rattle of musketry and the thunder of the guns. I can smell the smoke and the sweat and the blood. I can see the gunners stuffing shot in the barrel and the infantry grappling with bayonets and clubbed muskets. Wifey has said that I may have died there. As Shelby Foote said, “the ground talks to you”.
Penny’s pretty new to it, I know the stories, I have the passion for the history, but I’m not polished enough for being a guide. The good ones can bring the story alive.
A couple years ago they had started a new Ranger Program called (I believe) The Face of The Battle. I guess maybe the damn Covid killed it, but it really should be brought back. You’d meet the Ranger at a certain spot at a certain time. They’d have a photo of a soldier, tell you things about him, where he was from, and then relate his experience of the battle. What he saw and felt. It put the thing on a very personal level.
They used to have a “Living History where re-enactors camped on the field and demonstrated weapons and tactics, and camp life. I missed it as well.
I sure hope these programs are not lost for good. It’d be a real shame if a damn bug no deadlier than the flu caused this to be lost as well.
7mm
