Gettysburg

we're here for almost a holy purpose and that's to honor those guys that are just down that road and they can't talk to us but they do speak to us and we do hear them and we help them let others remember and that is what this is all about [Music] they had been pushed back two days ago their flanks had been hit the day before their lines had held but they'd fought lee many times they know he isn't finished but this was different they believe this to be the decisive battle of the war they are on their own soil many are from pennsylvania they must win they are on enemy soil but they believe their army to be invincible many have been lost in the numerous attacks over the past two days but they have general lee he is more than their leader he is their strength they will attack again today they're not used to losing it is the third of july 1863. [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] general joseph hooker was eating crow he'd been placed in command of the union army of the potomac earlier that year and had done much to improve morale so much that when he left cap at the rappahannock that spring he touted may god have mercy on general lee for i will have none however in may 1863 lee's army of 60 000 handily defeated hooker's 115 000 at the battle of chancellorsville lee's legendary ability was furthered there when he defied military theory by splitting his weaker command twice during the battle hooker was befuddled lincoln was fuming my god my god what will the country say exclaimed the president after hearing of the union defeat lee had won a brilliant victory but there had been costs he'd lost 13 000 irreplaceable veterans and his right-hand man stonewall jackson his talented corps commander was mistakenly shot one night while riding by a confederate picket [Music] it was a tragic blow for the confederacy the confederacy had other problems in the west union general ulysses s grant had stirred up trouble in mississippi by defeating rebel forces in five straight battles in a push for vicksburg the key to control of the mississippi river the lifeline of the confederacy grant's forces currently had the town under siege the situation at vicksburg had lee and president jefferson davis administration in richmond understandably edgy but lee had a plan if it worked it would be a brilliant plan with hooker defeated and in camps around fredericksburg virginia lee quickly began preparing it was really quite simple lee would take the war into the north he tried not a year earlier only to be repelled at antietam maryland but now with the army of the potomac again licking its wounds the time was ripe the army of northern virginia would march to pennsylvania threaten harrisburg baltimore philadelphia and possibly washington the invasion would ease war-burdened virginia allowing farmers in the fertile shenandoah valley to have an uninterrupted harvest it would also improve southern morale while at the same time fanned the fire of the growing peace democrats in the north it might draw grant away from vicksburg and finally a successful invasion could bring on the european recognition of the confederate states of america and possible intervention into the war to be sure it was a very risky venture lee's 70 000 troops would face their largest challenge isolated deep in enemy soil living off of the countryside and heavily outnumbered but jefferson davis thought these were risks worth taking and by june 13 1863 lee's army was on the move north the confederates were moving fast one rebel boasted that in a single day he tasted breakfast in virginia whiskey in maryland and supper in pennsylvania lincoln was furious upon learning of lee's departure hooker had intended to attack richmond old abe shot back that the objective is not the confederate capital it is lee's army though outnumbering lee by roughly 40 000 troops hooker followed the avenue chosen by so many of his predecessors as commander of the largest union army in the country he hesitated and overestimated the rebel strength pestering washington for reinforcements and finally stripping the capital of its defenders on june 13th hooker finally moved from his camps at fredericksburg marching north through the old battlefields at manassas toward frederick maryland he was shadowing lee's army which was moving through the shenandoah valley across the potomac into pennsylvania's rich cumberland valley farmland hooker moved cautiously keeping his army between lee and washington at times the union army of the potomac was closer to richmond than lee's army of northern virginia lincoln had pressed hooker to hit lee as he was strung out in the shenandoah valley hooker unsure of himself and lee's strength never pursued the matter lee's army moved in three recently organized cores the lead element was the second core stonewall jackson's former troops under the command of richard s ewell he had lost a leg at second bull run and had been absent from the army for nine months they were followed by the third corps led by newly appointed corps commander ambrose powell hill a tenacious fighter who at times tended to attack without orders lee's old war horse pete longstreet led the first corps a brilliant defensive tactician ahead of his time long street agreed to the invasion if it was kept defensive in nature forcing the union army to fight only when the confederates were in a strong position a situation that would never arise lease confederates moved boldly north swatting union forces along the route yule captured a federal garrison at winchester and stevenson's depot their sites were set on the rich dutch farmland of pennsylvania of course the farmers would be paid in full confederate script for their crops assured the rebels right after the smashing victory in pennsylvania free blacks were gathered to be sent back to slavery lee made no objections yet the troops were on strict orders not to pillage or burn the pennsylvania civilians were at once fascinated and appalled one man wrote of the rebels crowding his town's streets most of the men were exceedingly dirty some ragged some without shoes the air was filled with the filthy exhalations from their bodies but we do not intend to reproach them for not presenting a better appearance they doubtless did the best they could and had come a long journey for the express purpose of supplying their pressing wants one rebel from texas when confronted with a young northern lady boldly displaying the american flag on her chest sausali commented madam you're doing a very dangerous thing we rebels never see that flag flying over breastworks without charging them confederate morale was definitely at a high mark the victories of 1862 and the great battle of chancellorsville this year had led us to believe scarcely anything impossible to lee's army we were veterans thoroughly experienced in all that relates to march or the battlefield lee and himself was a tower of strength wrote one confederate their union foe also on the march north were equally inspired the rebels were invading northern soil the men knew no limit to their enthusiasm we can whip them on our own soil said they there is no man who cannot fight the better when it is for his own home such expressions passed from lip to lip as the dark column pushed on lee was moving like a blind man his eyes and ears the renowned confederate cavalry under general jeb stewart had been gone for days lee had heard nothing from them instead of reporting on the position and movement of the army of the potomac stewart was joyriding he'd had his reputation tarnished at brandy station virginia a few weeks back when union cavalry had surprised him bringing about the largest mounted engagement this continent had ever known with 21 000 federal and confederate troopers involved though stewart's forces finally drove the attackers the union cavalry had fought well stewart felt he must redeem himself interpreting his own designs into lee's orders he would ride entirely around the union army causing panic wrecking supply lines and getting newspaper headlines but never would he contact lee stewart would be gone for eight days and lee would be forced to act on the information of his spy on june 28th lee was headquartered with generals hill and long street at chambersburg pennsylvania the spy found them there his name was harrison and longstreet had used him with success before he didn't let them down yes the army of the potomac was on the move harrison had been to frederick maryland only a day or so before they were there in force and by the way harrison added nonchalantly before departing hooker is no longer in command some new fellow needs the name it was true fighting joe hooker had been relieved and lincoln had named his seventh commander of the army of the potomac major general george gordon me the pennsylvanian got the nod he will fight well on his own dunghill lincoln commented mead had been an able corps commander in the army of the potomac the sour often irritable general was finally referred to by an aide as a damned old goggle-eyed snapping turtle general lee respected the choice mead will commit no blunder in front and if i make one he will make haste to take advantage of it mead didn't wait around on june 29th one day after receiving command of the army of the potomac he had it moving north behind a large screen of cavalry the tough union veterans were pushed to the limits of their endurance one soldier remembered regiments became like companies companies lost their identity men were dying with sunstroke and still the march continued with information of a union army within a couple of days march lee began recalling his troops elements of ewell's core had reached the outskirts of harrisburg pennsylvania the northernmost point ever reached by a rebel force but lee's army was dangerously spread over an arc of roughly 70 miles it must be concentrated and gettysburg with roads fanning in every direction like the spokes of a wheel was the perfect place to do it lee had intended upon fighting at cashtown his troops were currently on the road for a rendezvous there gettysburg would act as the hub of this concentration for many of the same reasons mead was also attracted to the town he had one-third of his army enroute there leading the contingent was a division of troopers under the command of an old indian fighter his name was john buford at gettysburg fate would have the role in determining matters at times it would control things more than any general on the field and inevitably it would draw thousands to an unknown crossroads town that would forever after hold the nations and for a time the world's attention there was a shoe factory in gettysburg on june 30th a brigade of confederates many shoeless went into town for a well-needed visit a column of federal cavalrymen buford's men on a distant road convinced them to turn around lee had issued strict orders not to bring upon a major conflict only hill's core was on the field ewell and long streets troops were still miles away on the roads but the ever confident hill shrugged the blue coats off as mere militia when one of his division commanders general henry heath asked if there were any objections to taking the division into town on the morning of july 1st to get those shoes hill responded none in the world but buford's division of troopers weren't militia and an entire corps of federal infantry was a few hours away that night a federal brigadier boasted that they could easily beat any force the rebels threw at them buford silenced the man with this prediction they will attack you in the morning and they will come booming skirmishers three deep you will have to fight like the devil until supports arrive beaufort had called it correctly by first light on the morning of july first pickets were streaming back to the federal lines west of gettysburg before a confederate skirmish line a mile and a half long the federal troopers numbered about 2400 with every fourth man holding the reins of four horses heath's attacking confederates were roughly 7 400 view guilford sent an urgent appeal to john reynolds first corps the lead infantry element of meade's army to hurry meanwhile heath's lean infantrymen advanced shoes were their prize and a few banned box cavalry men weren't going to stop them but they did stop them the troopers would keep the rebels in check for roughly 60 minutes it would be just enough time the first corps had been on the taneytown road since before dawn it was led by major general john reynolds not only a well-respected west point professional but a pennsylvanian he had ridden ahead of his troops conferred with buford and sent a courier with a message to meade at taneytown the enemy is advancing in force i will fight him inch by inch and if driven into the town i will barricade the streets and hold him there as long as possible reynolds would never get the chance he would be dead before noon at the head of reynolds column marched brigadier general james wadworth's first division and in it contained solomon meredith's iron brigade so called because of its excellent reputation under fire buford's weary troopers had bought the time they needed ahead one of heath's confederate brigades that of james archer hurried unknowingly right in the iron brigade's direction they marched recklessly into farmer mcpherson's woods thinking they only faced a handful of cavalry but a withering return fire and the distinctive black hats of the iron brigade to their front proved otherwise the rebels cried there are those damned black-headed fellows again taint no militia it's the army of the potomac [Applause] wow [Applause] reynolds was in the midst of the iron brigade charge directing regiments personally when a confederate sniper found him the mini ball killed him instantly whose death would be mourned throughout the army meanwhile the iron brigade had turned archer's flank and the confederates were reeling brigadier general archer himself was captured the situation was reversed on the union right cutler's federals had been flanked themselves wadsworth had ordered these troops positioned north of the chambersburg pike to pull out most units heard the order a new york regiment didn't and were left alone in the face of an entire rebel brigade to their fellow new yorkers aid came the red trousered 95th new york and the 14th brooklyn they began to pound the flank of davis's charging butternuts [Music] hey wow [Music] don't hit the wounded he's confederates could take no more many would retreat into the cover of a nearby railroad cut where they would be trapped one brigade lost over half its men most as prisoners heath glumly wrote later that the enemy had now been felt and found to be in heavy force in and around gettysburg around noon advance elements of major general oliver howard's 11th corps arrived a gettysburg civilian described the site as a splendid vision of high courage and eager hope howard also found that with reynolds dead he was now the senior commander on the field confederate reinforcements were choking the hot dusty roads as well ap hill had dorsey pender's division moving up to support heath from the west and soon the federals would face a new threat from the north you will had the divisions of jubal early and robert rhodes heading south toward gettysburg lee warned yule that a full engagement must not be brought on until the entire army of northern virginia was on the field long street's 21 thousand veterans were still a long way off but ewell was no stonewall jackson and lee used to his former daring and ingenious corps commander continued to make suggestions rather than give orders it was a habit that would cost him dearly over the next few days whether lee liked it or not by mid-afternoon this little search for shoes was snowballing by two o'clock two full federal corps were on the field roughly twenty thousand men about the same time eul's lead division roses entered the field north of gettysburg and launched an incredibly reckless attack without bothering to post skirmishers into elements of howard's 11th corps the rebels ran into a wall of musket fire a new york captain wrote that the confederate line staggered halted and was swept back as by an irresistible current [Music] [Music] one of rhodes brigades daniels hit a federal brigade known as the bucktails due to the deer tales they wore on their caps in a see-saw fight the confederates were held in check the cost nearly two-thirds of the bucktails lay killed and wounded by four o'clock the union line was being driven by the confederates along its entire front early's division had arrived and helped roads attack from the north and heath and pender attacked from the west lee had also arrived on the battlefield though he'd hesitated against a full engagement without long street the opportunity here was too sweet two entire federal corps at a right angle to each other rebel pressure from all sides could pinch their lines like the closing of a jackknife it was only the first day neither side was at full strength but the carnage already rivaled past battles union general karl schers described it regiment stood against regiment in the open fields near enough to almost see the white in another's eyes firing literally into one another's faces the slaughter on both sides was awful [Music] so [Music] the pressure was too great the federal boys began streaming back through gettysburg almost 5 000 would be taken prisoner but the confederates failed to as lee would later put it gather the fruits of victory even a town local noticed while the rebels were halting resting and rejoicing the first and 11th corps fell back upon cemetery and copes hills undisturbed in obtaining these strong positions the enemy did not go on the flood tide that leads to fortune but the boys in blue had paid dearly a northern newspaper correspondent lamented reynolds the beloved and the brave was dead the men of the first corps alone could in few instances turn to speak to the ones who stood beside them in the morning without meeting with a vacant space the havoc in that core was so frightful as to decimate it fully one half and that in the 11th core was scarcely less great the retreating federals were met on the heights outside gettysburg with a new kind of inspiration a man who people felt safe around winfield scott hancock mead had thoughtfully rushed him to the battlefield upon hearing of reynolds death he was in command and helped restore order and security amidst the dazed federals lee had wanted the attack renewed but hill's troops were tired and lacked ammunition and yule simply waited and the chance to push and possibly beat the federals died away as two fresh corps began flooding the union lines by dawn mead had arrived and had some 85 000 troops in a line that ran in a fish hook along cemetery ridge lee's 65 000 confederates lined seminary ridge and wrapped around gettysburg for about five miles the federal line was bookended between two rises cemetery and colts hills on their right and the round tops on their left today lee would attack them both meads was a good position his lines were short reinforcements from his right could make it to his left within half an hour an asset that would come in very handy this afternoon the day began quietly most of long street's first corps began arriving early that morning and were still streaming in they would go to work immediately lee wanted them to attack meade's left flank pickett's division wouldn't arrive until late in the afternoon long street with only two of his three divisions on the field grump i never like to go into battle with one boot off despite this and other strategic disagreements with general lee long street ever a good soldier began to move into position lee's plan was a confederate trademark an echelon attack one brigade after another moving right to left would pound the federal line amidst the round tops yule was to keep the federal right occupied and possibly launch a full-scale attack at his discretion if successful long street would roll up the entire federal line but successful echelon attacks require good timing and thorough coordination two things the confederates wouldn't have much of today they would have help that could get them very close to their goal and ironically it would come from a general on the other side of the field anchoring the federal left was the third corps commanded by major general dan sickles a former politician known for killing his wife's lover and getting away with it that afternoon without orders he'd advanced his entire ten thousand man corps a half mile forward of the federal line they were now deployed in an inverted v no contact was made with the second core on his right and the left flank of the army of the potomac hung literally in the air it would almost cost the federals the battle meanwhile lee had problems of his own it took long street three and a half hours to get his troops into position and general stewart and his troopers had finally arrived after a brief tongue lashing lee gently told him we'll discuss this matter no further now help me fight these people yet stewart would prove no help in the coming battle mead had been strengthening his lines all night he didn't expect an attack on his left and he couldn't have expected sickle's amateur deployment mead personally wrote to confer with sickles who offered to pull back but he was too late the rebel attack had begun in earnest it was late in the afternoon but the confederates made up for lost daylight with fierce initial assaults john hood's division of texans alabamans and georgians quickly began to envelop the federal left but general warren mead's chief engineer had vinson's brigade enroute to secure the roundtops this fight would create a legend out of one small federal regiment the 20th maine they would keep the entire left flank of the army of the potomac from destruction by 5 30 hood's assault was winding down and longstreet continued the echelon attack with the brigades of mcclaw's division the fighting in sickle's front soon reached a frenzied pitch one confederate wrote the balls were whizzing so thick that it looked like a man could hold out a hat and catch it full do [Music] the federal situation had gotten desperate hood had turned the left of sickle's third core and mcclause was beginning to break its center sickles had been carried from the field coolly smoking a cigar his right leg shattered it would later be amputated mead was again forced to call upon hancock giving him command of the entire federal left flank in what soldiers would simply refer to as the wheat field the federals were hit by a strong confederate assault a union officer wrote of his troops it seemed to me that nearly half were struck down it remained to be seen how long the other half would hold out kershaw's south carolinians and sems georgians put up a ruthless fight the federal line began to give way but the oncoming rebels hit the fresh federal brigades of brigadier general john caldwell's division who were trying to secure the union line from devil's den to the wheat field one after another the blue brigades marched piecemeal into the deadly fray caldwell's division contained colonel patrick kelly's irish brigade they attacked with the words of their brigade chaplain ringing in their ears the catholic church refuses christian burial to the soldier who turns his back upon the foe [Music] [Music] the wheat field would change hands six times before a fresh federal division of pennsylvanians would finally secure it you ewell hadn't launched his attack so mead had used a time bought by able field commanders to move reinforcements from the quiet federal right flank all afternoon long the confederates would strike portions of the federal line reinforced only minutes before being hit meanwhile anderson's division of ap hills corps continued the echelon attack an alabama brigade headed for a gap created by union troops reinforcing the wheat field hancock had supporting federals on the way but he needed five minutes he got the time from one undersized regiment hancock ordered the first minnesota to attack an entire confederate brigade a minnesota officer recalled every man realized in an instant what that order meant death or wounds to us all the sacrifice of the regiment to gain a few minutes time and save the position so [Music] the reinforcements were able to fill the gap the first minnesota had given hancock his five minutes but at a huge expense of the 262 men who went in only 47 walked away 82 percent were killed or wounded the highest percentage of any union regiment in the war by 8 pm the confederate attacks on the union left had died out ewell had been inactive all day allowing need to pull troops from his right to bolster his left you will would launch an uncoordinated attack later that night only to be repulsed from federals heavily entrenched late that afternoon 4 500 men of major general george pickett's division arrived four miles west of gettysburg they hadn't seen much action in the past year and had most recently been guarding lee's supply trains as night fell pickett worried that his boys wouldn't be in the coming fight he needn't have general lee had large plans for pickett's division they bivouac that night amidst the sounds of thousands of wounded lying in sights of ghastly destruction the peach orchard devil's den and the wheat field they had survived but the battle was far from over tomorrow the names of new horrible battle sites would forever be etched in their memory and for thousands more these places would be their last the day began early for the boys in gray along the confederate left flank by dawn a full-scale fight had evolved upon culp's hill and the federals had brought it on the union 12th corps had attacked trenches lost in the rebel assaults the night before but johnson's rebels had been reinforced and a close quarters battle raged for most of the morning [Music] the battle ended as a federal counter charge forced a confederate retreat this fight amidst farmer culps forest would be ewell's last at gettysburg despite the ferocity and loss of life it would be overshadowed by the afternoon's pending events mead had predicted it the night before he forewarned general john gibbon whose division was placed in the federal center if lee attacks tomorrow it will be on your front he has made attacks on both our flanks and failed and if he concludes to try it again it will be on our center exactly what lee had in mind after artillery softened the federal line pickett's division four brigades from penders and anderson's divisions and heath's battle scarred division roughly 15 000 men would aim for a cluster of trees on cemetery ridge near the center of the union line long street disagreed with lee's plan general i have been a soldier all my life it is my opinion that no fifteen thousand men ever arrayed for battle can take that position lee who was suffering from the heart disease that would eventually kill him ignored the warning by 11 a.m a lull had settled over the battlefield the temperature was a humid 90 degrees the soldiers created shade and struggled to keep the pending battle off of their minds but these were veterans and amidst the song and joke was the knowledge that many wouldn't survive the day around 1pm it began first a single gun then a roar the confederate bombardment was supervised by colonel e porter alexander the same artillerymen who'd effectively pounded sickle's retreating federals the day before his 170 guns had started one of the largest cannonades ever frank haskell an aid to union general gibbon wrote of the terrible shelling to say that it was like a summer storm with a crash of thunder the glare of lightning the shrieking of the wind and the clutter of hailstones would be weak many of the shots passed over the federal lines causing havoc amidst the supply trains meets headquarters and amongst the union batteries the federals responded with accuracy pounding the infantry waiting in woods behind the confederate lines the federal return fire began to ebb some federal guns were pulled off of the ridge and colonel alexander fell into a trap the union artillery chief henry hunt had ordered a ceasefire to conserve ammunition and to lure the confederates out early for the attack everyone knew was coming alexander took the bait and penned a note to pick it the 18 guns have been driven off for god's sake come quick or we cannot support you ammunition nearly out picket took the note to long street who glumly bowed his head in affirmation a few minutes later longstreet told alexander i do not see how it can succeed i would not make it now but the general lee has ordered it and expects it around 3 p.m confederates came out of the woods with pickets cry don't forget today that you are from old virginia they advanced with orders not to yell nor fire one northern officer described it as the most beautiful thing i ever saw the union guns began firing again ripping huge gaps in the butternut lines we could not help from hitting them at every shot a union witness recalled but the confederates pressed on redressing their lines as if on parade they advanced amidst the union chance of fredericksburg fredericksburg where last december the rolls had been reversed as union boys made an unsuccessful bloody assault against a well-defended line of lee's troops the rebels were aiming for a group of trees roughly in the center of hancock's second core federal brigades who'd waited patiently for the rebels to get into effective musket range began horrendous volleys a federal officer remembered arms heads blankets guns and knapsacks were tossed into the clear air a roar went up from the field distinctly to be heard amid the storm of battle quick thinking field commanders on both of the rebel flanks wheeled their federals to infillate the oncoming horde the rebel brigades began to push to the center intermingling to avoid the fire on their flanks the federal line formed a crook just to the right of the group of trees troops would call it the angle it was lined with pennsylvania troops steadily firing as if each of their homes lay just to the other side of the wall one of pickett's brigadiers richard garnett unable to walk was the only field commander allowed to ride he had something to prove and he did it with his life he died at the head of his brigade refuting once and for all the charges of cowardice brought upon him by stonewall jackson brigadier general lou armistead using his hat as a guide on marched against one of his best friends in the world winfield scott hancock before the war the two had parted with armistead saying that if he ever raised a hand against his friend may god strike him down his omen would be granted as he led his north carolinians inside the angle in places the union line began to break officers tried to rally their men the 71st pennsylvania had begun to give way when a volley from the 72nd pennsylvania withered the rebel advance the 19th massachusetts and 42nd new york entered the fight charging directly for the rebels in the angle foot to foot body to body and man-to-man they struggled pushed and strived and killed a massachusetts soldier recounted [Music] the rebels wisely began to fall back union officers tried to rally their men to pursue but the boys in blue were too weary and disorganized the rebels limped back to the cover of their lines the greatest assault of the war was over it had costly over 6 500 men and it had gained him nothing he took the blame completely and would later offer his resignation to jefferson davis davis would decline it gettysburg was the bloodiest three days of the war almost a third of all engaged 51 000 were lost the north could refill their ranks but lee's 28 000 casualties would never be replaced the army of northern virginia pulled out that afternoon amidst a summer downpour mead chose not to follow word came that vicksburg had fallen the mississippi river was in union hands and lee's army was shattered and limping home independence day was celebrated in the north there were no celebrations ahead of lee's troops this day instead would mark the beginning of the end of southern independence [Music] [Music] so how long have you been reenacting uh 32 years reenacted and your name is i'm ripley robertson from midland virginia and it's important that we teach all of us reenactors teach the coming generations what really went on the schools are not doing it it's up to us to do it i like the overnight camping and i like to spend the night with other people because they're my friends and you meet a lot of new people and you get a dress up and that's fun and i especially like to dance she's saving me a waltz there's lots of other people who like to be my actors because they look at us and they're like mom can i be a reenactor when i get older or something like that my name is robert c moats and i live in chesterfield county virginia run a sporting goods store well actually i've been doing it for over 30 years it's become more and more authentic i think that's the main thing so i think it's improved do you think that's important of course the authenticity is one of the basic reasons why we're here i think is to create the uh impression for other people you know are not familiar with the war between the states the impression that they were there perhaps or you know got a sense of being there and authenticity certainly helps in creating that impression it's good to see that you know people our age are interested in other things besides mtv and things yeah but mtv is cool i was never a history buff until i s until i started reenacting and it's it's encouraged me to read more and to learn more about it if i had a great great grandfather who's a captain of the ninth tennessee and uh you know i just thought i'd i have the heritage and the blood in me so he did he did this for four years i could come out at least do it for a weekend i'm originally from gettysburg my family's been here for 13 generations and uh i'm a descendant of the kedores whose farm was in the middle of pickett's charge and when i i met the unit when i during 125th and for my family for me to put on a gray coat was probably one of the hardest things for them to ever understand but for me it was kind of doing the flip side of history and trying to learn another side and just as jerry said you know i was born here and i always anything i ever knew was really yankee and so i finally had a chance to learn another side then learn about the southern heritage and for me it kind of turned full circle because it wasn't until after i got into this i found out that the unit that i joined was a unit that fought out of the back of the kaduri farm last year both of us had an opportunity to work on the keller angels production he was out here from pre-production time to the last film day and i work with craft services for four weeks also so we had a good time made a lot of wonderful friends and that was basically what we came out here to see every all the friends we made over here and i live in baltimore now in scotland originally so what are you doing here um that's a very good question i've been asking myself that for about 24 hours well you see just over three years ago i went down to my girlfriend and i went down to the 125th anniversary of mathematics just for something to do for a long weekend and it was her idea it wasn't even my idea and um and we took one look i guess we're all just boys trapped in men's bodies this is the 21st of ohio doing the bagpipes boys are you ready [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] i just don't think i understand and if you shoot a colonel a north carolina colonel will have to bury him in dixie land [Music] he leads us in the battle i must start the rattle [Music] [Music] don't shoot my sergeant my big ol fat for sergeant i just don't think i'll understand and if you shoot my sergeant my big old fat first sergeant will have to bury him in dixieland [Music] yeah so what do you think you guys ready oh it's gonna be great incredible it's gonna be incredible i got out of the hospital to do this what's it been like all day it's been crazy it's what it's been like but it's been fun how did you get uh into this duty sergeant asked me to do it sergeant asked you to do it you just go and do it you don't ask twice so uh but you know glad to help out a lot of men are coming in right now getting out of work and you just want them to be a part of it and have a good time so you just got to come in get their gear out and get ready to have some fun [Music] we started doing this because marching out there was too much like work and stuff but the most important thing i noticed when i was reenacting was there's nothing on food nobody they brought the cans of beef stew or they might go off for pizza or something like that but they never ate like they should have in the field so i started doing some research and i figured it was very easy to cook outside we started gathering plots together and we just do it company mess of 1863 64. and we feed units from new jersey to uh maine greet anybody who want to eat with us up to 300. now for marine expo what's costing like for five meals we're charging 11 bucks 11 bucks a meal and 11 bucks for the weekend really anything try one shame monetarily oh lots we've got thousands of dollars because there's three of us in the hobby my husband my son and i so we all got our own clothes his equipment that he uses because he does sometimes both sides his confederate and union federals just like thursday you know just went around an actual battlefield and stuff check that out so we can you know get out here and actually have a sense of what we're doing rather than be like cowboys running around with guns and stuff gives you more of a purpose you know whatever we do we can't really you know be completely accurate but if you can get like one sense of smell or something like might have been back then it's all worth it when you first get into this hobby it's fun and you want to blow the powder and you know that kind of things after a while you begin to want to talk to people keep the history going and explain things that they're not aware of so i'd rather do that and i would go out on the battlefield what i would like to see them get out of it is impossible to do and that's recreate the battle because we can only give them a small speck of what a battle would actually look like you know the bodies are not tow all the pieces the horse is an idea laying on the ground the wagons are not blown up and accoutrements and guns and everything laying all over the place so we can't give them that but what we can give them is a small idea of what it looked like and then a lot of explanation afterwards um no telephones yeah there's no telephones there's no nothing around the house saying you know i've got this to do or do this or do that it gives me the opportunity to just sit back and relax and and to maybe do some reading and research on the um the hobby and and sewing i love to sew so i get a chance to sew and just sitting around talking to people you know you don't always get a chance to do that in your jobs and your everyday life just and and with this hobby your you're you're forced to do it and and it's very relaxing i can't think of anything else i'd rather do sit here in the rain trying to keep dry and be with my friends i think these are the best friends i've ever made anywhere in any form of business or pleasure atmosphere these people stick by you they're just needed when you need them you know they're there for you you got to move or something they're there uh they're they're good folks yeah what do you think about all these guys in this group do you love with caroline why do you love them step in everybody round to the back make that bridge nice and tall everybody through [Music] left hand around [Music] here you go [Music] come on [Applause] [Music] always [Music] is [Music] my father and my grandmother raised me up on stores of the wall told me about so much about the veterans what this one said and that one said and the other one said and showed me what happened locally while yeah where i live and all it made it seem so real to me that uh as i got older i began to admire those people and began to realize i could never do what they did i that's why i'm bothered i'm here trying to pay honor to them once you go to a cemetery and lay flowers i'm here to pay honor to those people i can't do anything real i'm just paying honor to those people that so richly deserve it it's the best thing we come out here and live history and i don't think there's i love history since i was a kid and they come out and live it there's nothing better i mean we try to get as close as the men that fought this war as we can and it's like we get moments and i you know have talked to confederate veterans really i was in the last confederate reunion in 1951. i don't know whether i really should relate this story you know for public uh consumption or not but i walked up to the most coherent one of the four or five that were there and i was kind of afraid of him because i was just 15 years old i was in the national guard and i said sir what advice could you give a young fellow like me and i was expecting some great wisdom you know and he said son i tell you go out with all the women you can while you're young because when you get my age you can't [Music] i want the spectators that showed up by the thousands here to go home so that the kids that are really just wet cement which kids are before they form what they want to do and how they want to learn i want them to go to libraries i want them to ask questions i want them to ask their teacher about reading lists and i want them to have seen the first chapter of a book and i want them to go out and read the rest of the book and that's what living history is all about and that's why we hi the committee people put this on every guy that's now trying to get to his car what we do it's what we do best what's what we love the best and words at this point in time kind of feel me and i'm really tired and thanks for really coming so everybody's gonna they watch this thank you [Music] you

Channel: Wide Awake Films

Views: 130,580

Keywords: Battle of Gettysburg, 1863, American Civil War, Battle, Battles, Military, Pennsylvania, Robert E. Lee, George Meade, Little Round Top, Pickett's Charge, Reenactment, Gettysburg

Id: GD3oxDDt29Q

Length: 66min 38sec (3998 seconds)

Published: Wed Jun 02 2021