#The Battle of Gettysburg

[oldschoolfrp]

Gettysburg (Avalon Hill, 1958) is considered the first wargame to depict an historic battle. It was released in advance of the centennial of the bloodiest engagement of the American Civil War, fought July 1-3, 1863. Designer Charles S. Roberts acknowledged the game had some flawed mechanics and balance issues due to a lack of playtesting but it remained in print for many years, with a 2nd edition in 1961, a 3rd ed in 1964, and later printings through the 1970s and 80s. Attempts to fix the movement rules resulted in different editions of the game switching back and forth between a square grid and hexes on the board.

Suggested improvements to the game included those offered in The General V1 N5, January 1965, by Staff Sergeant Lou Zocchi (later a published game designer himself and the founder of dice company Gamescience):

[sabistarphotos]

May 30, 2022

Gettysburg National Military Park, PA

[airasilver]

“One of the guns was directly behind me and at every discharge, the concussion would throw gravel over me and I could not only see and smell the thick cloud of burning powder, but could taste it also.” - Charles D. Page, of the 14th Regiment, Connecticut Volunteer Infantry, in

"Voices from Gettysburg"

Firsthand accounts add color to Gettysburg battle by Jack Brubaker| The Scribbler

OId news can be illuminating!

The Philadelphia Inquirer on June 30, 1863, printed a colorful report of the June 28 burning of the Columbia-Wrightsville bridge to prevent Confederate forces from entering

Lancaster County.

"The light in the heavens must have been seen for many miles," the Inquirer noted. "Some of the timbers as they fell into the stream seemed to form themselves into rafts, which floated

down like infernal ferry-boats to the region pictured by DANTE."

You will not encounter that type of language when reading most 21st-century accounts of the

prelude to the battle at Gettysburg July 1-3, 1863. It is difficult to match original reporting or reflections on extraordinary historical events.

"Voices from Gettysburg:

Letters, Papers, and Memoirs From the Greatest Battle of the Civil War, the latest contribution from Civil War and Abraham Lincoln scholar Allen C. Guelzo, is filled with such accounts of participants in America's bloodiest conflict.

While some of these materials

have not been published previously, you can find most of them elsewhere. The difference here is that Guelzo serves as an expert guide to these early writings.

Guelzo not only discusses the battle but the varied abilities of army commanders and, somewhat surprisingly, the politics of the time that helped nudge both armies toward a showdown at Gettysburg.

For example, he breaks down the number of Union army generals who were Democrats or Republicans and how they may have felt about who commanded the Army of the Potomac.

He says Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia invaded Pennsylvania in 1863 with an eye toward persuading voters to defeat Abraham Lincoln in the 1864 election.

The bulk of the book is devoted to contemporary accounts. One sterling example is a reminiscence of the mutual cannonade preceding the Confederate assault on Union lines on July 3. Charles D. Page, of the 14th Regiment, Connecticut Volunteer Infantry, published his recollections in 1906.

Commenting on the smoke from the big guns, Page said, "so very thick was it that the sun seemed blotted out. One of the guns was directly behind me and at every discharge, the concussion would throw gravel over me and I could not only see and smell the thick cloud of burning powder, but could taste it also."

Guelzo includes Lincoln's "Response to a Serenade" in Washington, D.C., on July 7, 1863, four days after the battle ended at Gettysburg. The president's speech was a sort of “dress rehearsal" for the "Gettysburg Address" he would deliver that November.

"How long ago is it?"

Lincoln asked. "Eighty odd years - since on the Fourth of July for the first time in the history of the world a nation by its representatives, assembled and declared as a selfevident [sic] truth that 'all men are created equal.'"

Guelzo assembled the writings for this book during 15 years of researching and teaching Civil War history at Gettysburg College. He says he learned that

"there was no substitute for listening to the voices of those that had been at Gettysburg in 1863."

Guelzo is now a senior research scholar at Princeton University. He published "Gettysburg: The Last Invasion" in 2013. His 2021 biography, "Robert

E. Lee: A Life," provides a clarifying analysis not only of Lee's military genius but also of his complex act of treason in leaving, rather than leading, the Union army.

Jack Brubaker, retired from LNP. / LancasterOnline staff, writes "The Scribbler" column every Sunday. He welcomes comments and contributions at scribblerlnp@gmail.com.

[starfish-spencer]

I know it's spooky season but I started this a while ago and I finally finished it!

Why didn't Psych ever have a beach day episode?

my favorite silly goofy polycule

You can click on the pictures to see them better!

[sgtgrunt0331-3]

On July 2, 1863, Colonel Joshua Chamberlain lead his men of the 20th Maine on a bayonet charge down the slopes of little round top, during the battle of Gettysburg. He would later be awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions that day.

This clip, from the movie Gettysburg, depicts the epic moment in history. It's one of the best, if not the best scene in the movie.

[tomorrowusa]

« Donald Trump is the first former US president to be tried for paying hush money to an adult film star who said his penis is shaped like a mushroom. » —Jimmy Kimmel

Jimmy Kimmel on Monday also had a few words about Trump falling asleep in court.

But the best part of this segment was his focus on Trump's rally in Pennsylvania last Saturday.

After watching that, I think that nobody this year should be granted a high school diploma without first transcribing 5 minutes of Trump speaking at a rally. New voters need to experience Trump's total incoherence in a concrete way.

BTW: While I miss the Midwest, one thing that makes me happy to be in New York right now is this...

That's the top of Page 1 of the 34 count indictment against Trump in the hush money case. It's a great feeling to be one of the "People of the State of New York" in whose name this prosecution was brought about. Eat your heart out, Colorado!

[coolthingsguyslike]

[roosterarts]

The Battle of Gettysburg 160th Anniversary

"In July 1863

A nation torn in tragedy

A trick of fate, two great armies merge

Gods of war at Gettysburg

Devastation lies ahead

50, 000 bodies litter the land

Hell rages three full days

The reaper sows, there's the devil to pay"

- The Devil to Pay, Iced Earth

*************************************

The Battle of Gettysburg:

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

----------------------------------------

The battle of Gettysburg is more than just a single battle. It was a series of engagements spanning three days. The events that occured during that fight could not be all told in ten art pieces alone. Stories such as the charge of the 1st Minnesota, the 137th New York's defense of the Union right flank, the fight at East Cavalry Field, and many other stories that happened during those three days were, sadly, not told here. However, it is my hope that this gave some awareness to the battle and the sacrifices made by the soldies who fought that day.

Special thanks to all those who were featured!

@temper-temper

@randomgurustuffs

@askpokeeosin

@whirlwindflux

@flashmod

@a-spoonful-o-generosity

@thedumbguywithaheart43

@bexdrey

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@f0rever-autumn

@hoofclid

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@ama-artistic

@nopony-ask-mclovin

@asktwilighteclipse

@ask-healthy-light

[victusinveritas]

“his hat off, his eyes flashing with the light of battle, with sword drawn…”

Colonel Harrison Jeffords, commander of the 4th Michigan, tries to retrieve the flag he had “pledged himself in decisive terms to be its special defender and guardian.” He will lose his life in the attempt.

During the 2nd day at Gettysburg (2 July 1863) fighting in The Wheatfield, the 4th Michigan’s color-bearer dropped their colors — Jeffords rushed to retrieve them. He is said to have shot a Confederate soldier who had seized the flag and even grasped the banner himself. In the ensuing melee, Jeffords received a gunshot wound to the thigh and was bayonetted by a Confederate soldier in the left abdomen, mortally wounding the 26 year-old officer. Other soldiers of the 4th Michigan rushed to his aid and carried their fallen commander out of The Wheatfield — what happened to the flag is less certain, but it was probably lost, torn to shreds. As his life slowly drained away, his final words were said to be "Mother, mother, mother." He died at 4 AM the next day, 3 July 1863. Jeffords became the highest commissioned officer in the Civil War to die of a bayonet wound.

"Saving the Flag", by artist Don Troiani.

[weallfallfromgrace2]

Know your country's history....

July 1-3rd, 1863 Gettysburg...American Civil War 50,000 Americans lay dead after this 3 day battle.

[rabbitcruiser]

American Civil War: The final day of the Battle of Gettysburg culminated with Pickett's Charge on July 3, 1863.  

[stairnaheireann]

#OTD in 1863 – The Irish Brigade at Gettysburg – Pickett's Charge, Day 3 | Pickett's Charge had begun and the 69th Pennsylvania would suffer dreadful losses.

On 3 July 1863, as the Confederates of George Pickett’s Division closed on the stone wall near the top of Cemetery Ridge at Gettysburg, they saw a green flag rising up from behind it surrounded by 200 men in blue springing to their feet to open fire on the charging Confederates.  The green battle flag was emblazoned with the number “69” but this was not New York’s Fighting 69th, it was the 69th…

[mbrainspaz]

Did anyone else have art teachers who’d periodically go off the rails and give a lecture about Blitzkrieg or the brutality of the Civil War or was that just me?

[dw-flagler]

i'm not either but i think that's how most fights are won actually

[cavalrycommand1876]

Union Cavalry Saber Charge

[sgtgrunt0331-3]

"Give Them the Cold Steel Boys, July 3, 1863"

Confederate General Lewis B. Armistead, with his cap on the tip of his sword, leads his men across the stone wall during Pickett’s Charge on the 3rd and final day of the battle of Gettysburg.

Approximately 12,500 Confederate troops, in nine infantry brigades, advanced over open fields for three-quarters of a mile under heavy Union artillery and rifle fire. Although some Confederate troops were able to breach the low stone wall that shielded many of the Union defenders, they could not maintain their hold and were repelled.

While the Union suffered about 1,500 killed and wounded, during the attack, the Confederate casualty rate was over 50%. Total Confederate losses during Pickett's Charge were 6,555, of which at least 1,123 Confederates were killed on the battlefield, 4,019 were wounded, and a good number of the injured were also captured. Confederate prisoner totals are difficult to estimate from their reports; Union reports indicated that 3,750 men were captured.

(Painting by Don Troiani)