Addressing Gettysburg

The 54th Massachusetts was immortalized in our popular memory by the movie "Glory", starring Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington and Morgan Freeman. But did you know that over 300 of the 1040 members of the regiment were from South Central PA, including some from Gettysburg? Or that around 30 of them identified themselves as former slaves? Ranger John Hoptak delivers a very interesting interactive lecture about South Central Pa men who fought in the 54th Mass. You don't want to miss this one. We are able to bring this and all Winter Lectures to you thanks to the generosity of our Patrons over at www.Patreon.com/addressinggettysburg Please consider becoming one today and further your education on Gettysburg and the Civil War with the premium content over there that is recorded just for you.

GNMP Ranger Troy Harman explores the question "Is Gettysburg the High Water Mark?" As always, the generous support of our Patrons at www.patreon.com/addressinggettysburg makes it possible for us to record these lectures for you. Please consider becoming a Patron at the link above.

Ranger Angie Atkinson tackles a heavy subject, but the undeniable cause of the Civil War: slavery. This and all of our free content is made possible by the generous support of our Patrons over at Patreon . Please consider supporting our efforts. Patrons receive access to content made especially for them as a thank you for their support. Join the crowd!

Pat Bauer and Dave Geister were the artists in residence at Gettysburg National Military Park last year. While here, they stayed for five weeks in the Klingel Farmhouse and expressed their unique experience on the battlefield through the arts of poetry, music and paintings. They came from their home in Minnesota to share with us some of the work they created during their stay here. This and all of our free content is made possible by the generous support of our Patrons over at our Patreon page where Patrons can further their Gettyscation with our content produced exclusively for them.

Ranger John Heiser talks about the Battle of Gettysburg's neglected heroes: The Army Mules. Free episodes like this are made possible by out Patrons over at www.patreon.com/addressinggettysburg . Please consider supporting these efforts by becoming a Patron. Patrons receive access to premium content produced especially for them.

Everyone is a "phan" of Steve Phan. He visited Gettysburg on January 25 to deliver a lecture about the role the Civil War Defenses of Washington played in the Gettysburg Campaign. Did you know that some of the units that fought here were pulled from the forts to join the Army of the Potomac? Free episodes like this are made possible by out Patrons over at www.patreon.com/addressinggettysburg . Please consider supporting these efforts by becoming a Patron. Patrons receive access to premium content produced especially for them.

Licensed Battlefield Guide and Author Tim Smith presents lectures at the Farnsworth House on Sundays during the Winter. On this episode, Tim sits down with Matt and goes through the topics yet-to-be-covered in his lectures. Just some of the topics we touch on here are: -Jennie Wade (January 26) - Pender's Assault on Seminary Ridge - "25 Hours In Gettysburg" about Lincoln's stay in November, 1863 And more! To see Tim's schedule, follow the Farnsworth House Inn on Facebook, visit their website or call them at 717-334-8838 As always, if you wish to take a tour with Tim or any of the guides you hear on Addressing Gettysburg, drop us an email at [email protected] and we will put you in touch.

Kent Gramm received his PhD in Creative Writing and American Literature at the University of Wisconsin (Milwaukee). He has taught American studies, American literature, and creative writing in Germany as well as in the U.S. He directs the annual Seminary Ridge Symposium in Gettysburg and has published several nonfiction books on Lincoln and the Civil War -- one of which, November: Lincoln's Elegy at Gettysburg, was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. He has also published a novel and a volume of poetry. His play, Lincoln Lives, was performed in Baton Rouge as part of the Lincoln bicentennial inauguration ceremony. The graduate program at LSU awards an annual Kent Gramm Prize in Creative Nonfiction. This free episode is made possible by our Patrons over at www.patreon.com/addressinggettysburg . Please consider becoming a Patreon Patron so we can bring more of Gettysburg to you!

LBG Jim Pangburn (of the Patreon episode "The March North" fame) joins us for his first ask a guide. Some of the topics covered in this episode are: -Are there instances of officers having to kill or maim their soldiers in order to get them to fight? -What are some good ways to study weaponry? -The 24th Michigan vs. the 26th North Carolina and the number of color bearers to go down in that fight - Barksdale's Charge vs Pickett's: which one was more impressive? - Do the guides have a least favorite monument? - Were there Regulars in the Confederate Services? - The assault of Daniel's Brigade - Lyme disease during the Civil War? and more. Questions submitted by Instagrammers: @historywithbrad The Great Tronetti @Darthetzkorn @civil_war_nerd @Quinn2477 @beltonsthebestisyet @Rickyfowler63 Free episodes like this are made possible by our awesome Patrons at www.patreon.com/addressinggettysburg . Be sure to check it out because we have a new $5 tier for students and the unemployed. Also made possible by our sponsors. Please visit them at www.gettysbike.com and www.masondixondistillery.com

Ranger Bert Barnett presents a lecture entitled: "Gettysburg- Recovery, Memorialization, Preservation and Commercialization" as part of Gettysburg National Military Park's Winter Lecture Series. Recorded live on 1/12/2020. This upload was made possible by our awesome Patrons. Want to be awesome too? Become a patron at www.patreon.com/addressinggettysburg

As 1863 began, the Union Army of the Potomac found itself in a general malaise. Its failed attempt at another push towards Richmond, known as the "Mud March," had served as the nail in the coffin of army commander Ambrose E Burnside. When Joseph Hooker took his place as commander of the Army of the Potomac, the changes he implemented helped boost the morale and confidence of his troops. But Hooker squandered that goodwill by bungling the Chancellorsville Campaign, in the early days of May 1863. While many believed that drunkenness or the artillery round that knocked him out for a short time were the probable causes of such bungling, Hooker himself told Major General Abner Doubleday, while on the road to Gettysburg, "I was not hurt by a shell and I was not drunk. For once I lost confidence in Hooker, and that is all there was to it." After Chancellorsville, while Hooker was looking for ways to redeem himself, Robert E. Lee was setting the wheels in motion for his second invasion of the north. Meanwhile, every day citizens in a bustling country town called Gettysburg, were going about their daily business while reading about the war in any or all of the town's three newspapers. War had not left them untouched, however. They had sent their ablest young men off to fight for the Union cause and constant threats of invasion had plagued them since they first sent their local militia, the "Gettysburg Independent Blues", to fight to preserve the Union, in 1861. By the Fourth of July of 1863, this small town of 2400 would be left with the daunting tasking of cleaning up the carnage and healing many times their number in wounded who wore both blue and gray. By mid-June, two great armies, totaling somewhere around 150,000 men, with tens of thousands of horses and mules, miles of wagons and, in one of those armies, human beings that were owned by other human beings, marched north into Pennsylvania. On the last day of June, a Tuesday, the lead elements of these two armies would be poised for the commencement of the greatest, bloodiest battle ever fought in the Western Hemisphere, but very few had any notion of that as they closed their eyes to sleep that night. CREDITS Written, narrated and produced by Matt Callery Narration Directed by Pearle Shannon Historical figures voiced by: Bradley Lee, Keith Harvey, Brayden Border, Bob Steenstra, John Heckman (The Tattooed Historian), Keith Harvey, Dave Wilson and Ray Chancellor. Historical consultation by Licensed Battlefield Guides Bob Steenstra, Tim Smith and Lewis Trott with additional help from John Hoptak, Matt Atkinson, and Ken Rich. Music by Dusty Lee Elmer, Sarah Larsen and Danny Stewart, Cody Tinnin, The California Consolidated Drum Band and the Federal City Brass Band/26th North Carolina Band Addressing Gettysburg's Theme Song, "Bear Waltz" written by Sarah Larsen and Performed by Sarah Larsen and Danny Stewart Sound Effect Recording by Tyler DeWitt Assistant Researcher- Robin Weir SOURCES: The Gettysburg Campaign: A Study in Command, Edwin B. Coddington Gettysburg: A Testing of Courage, Noah Andre Trudeau Lee's Cavalrymen, Edward G. Longacre Chancellorsville and Gettysburg, Abner Doubleday Gettysburg: The Confederate High Tide, Champ Clark/Time-Life Books The Life and Campaigns of Major-General J. E. B. Stuart : Commander … Henry B. McClellan. Days of Uncertainty and Dread by Gerald R Bennet Firestorm at Gettysburg: Civilian Voices by Jim Slade and John Alexander Lincoln by David Herbert Donald "The Devil's to Pay": John Buford at Gettysburg. A History and Walking Tour by Eric J Wittenberg Confederate General William Dorsey Pender: The Hope of Glory By Brian Steel Wills https://www.americanheritage.com/destruction-fighting-joe-hooker-0 https://www.archives.gov/files/publications/prologue/2013/spring/gettysburg.pdf https://www.armywarcollege.edu/history.cfm https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1039&context=ach

This is the first installment of the Gettysburg National Military Park's 2020 Winter Lecture Series. Ranger Matt Atkinson kicks off the season with a lecture entitled "Free Masonry At Gettysburg: Fraternal Bonds Tested by Battle". It was an enthusiastic packed house and a very interesting talk. While I urge you to get to as many of these as possible, I know it's not realistic. Thanks to my Patrons at Patreon.com, I plan to catch AT LEAST one (though I'll be aiming for both) lecture each weekend so that I can record the audio for you. To become a Patron and support free episodes like this, go to www.patreon.com/addressinggettysburg and become a patron. Every little bit helps me bring Gettysburg to you.

Jim Pangburn is a 20-year veteran of the Licensed Battlefield Guide force here in Gettysburg. Some of you may recognize his voice as the narrator during the reenactments over the last dozen-or-so years. Last week he sat down with Matt and Bob to discuss Lee's invasion, or, "The March North". To hear more of this episode while supporting the show, please go to www.patreon.com/addressinggettysburg and become a Patron.

Today we welcomed a new Licensed Battlefield Guide to the list of regulars to the show. His name is Lewis Trott. He's a three-year veteran of the guide force, a US Army veteran of the Desert Storm and the recent Iraq War and currently works as a librarian. Lewis has also been a consultant during the writing of the upcoming narrative episode, "INVASION! June, 1863". In the last few weeks, Lewis has been researching connections between the Battle of Gettysburg and the Lincoln Assassination. Say what? Yes indeed. This is some pretty interesting stuff here. Enjoy this preview and, if you like it and want to learn more, please consider becoming a Patron to help support the show by going clicking here

Licensed Battlefield Guide Lewis Trott joins Matt and Bob for the first time on this Ask A Gettysburg Guide. Some of the topics discussed on this episode are: - Kemper's Brigade during Pickett's Charge -Brooke's advance through the Wheatfield - The U.S. Regulars at Gettysburg - Relatives who fought on opposite sides of the battle - Francis Barlow and his relationship with his "Flying Dutchmen" And more! Questions were sent in by Instagram users: @Darthetzkorn @Gettysburgerrn The Great Tronetti @Kentuckycivilwar @Cwhitt @Quinn2477 @Rickyfowler63 @CentralVirginiaHistorian Follow us on Instagram @AddressingGettysburg to submit questions and support this and other free episodes by becoming a Patron at www.patreon.com/addressinggettysburg If you'd like to book a tour in 2020 with any of the guides you hear on our show, send an email to [email protected] and I will put you in touch with him or her.

Have you ever had the chance to talk with Dr Peter S Carmichael? Well, here's your chance. Matt and Bob discuss The War For The Common Soldier... with Dr Carmichael. If you think this is just another book about eating hardtack and what soldiers carried in their knapsacks, you're gravely mistaken. How did Civil War soldiers endure the brutal and unpredictable existence of army life during the conflict? This question is at the heart of Peter S. Carmichael's sweeping new study of men at war. Based on close examination of the letters and records left behind by individual soldiers from both the North and the South, Carmichael explores the totality of the Civil War experience--the marching, the fighting, the boredom, the idealism, the exhaustion, the punishments, and the frustrations of being away from families who often faced their own dire circumstances. Carmichael focuses not on what soldiers thought but rather how they thought. In doing so, he reveals how, to the shock of most men, well-established notions of duty or disobedience, morality or immorality, loyalty or disloyalty, and bravery or cowardice were blurred by war. Digging deeply into his soldiers' writing, Carmichael resists the idea that there was "a common soldier" but looks into their own words to find common threads in soldiers' experiences and ways of understanding what was happening around them. In the end, he argues that a pragmatic philosophy of soldiering emerged, guiding members of the rank and file as they struggled to live with the contradictory elements of their violent and volatile world. Soldiering in the Civil War, as Carmichael argues, was never a state of being but a process of becoming. "The War For the Common Soldier" is published by UNC Press and can be purchased at www.addressinggettysburg.com/books

Merry Christmas! It's time for the final Ask A Gettysburg Guide of 2019. Bob Steenstra and Tim Smith continue with the questions that we couldn't fit into the previous Ask A Gettysburg Guide. Instagrammers who answered the call for questions in this episode are: @Soldier_Up_ @SJcolmus @Mrsmaestas2 @civil_war_Nerd @Cwhitt @Tylerfashistory Follow us on Facebook and Instagram and if you want to book a tour with any of the guides you hear on our podcast, email [email protected] and I will put you in touch with one.

It's time for another Ask A Gettysburg Guide! This time we received so many questions that we had to make this into two episodes. That means next week there will be another just in time for Christmas! In this episode we take questions from Instagrammers: The Great Tronetti @HistorywithBrad @GrantHarvey15 @NCHistoryNerd @CWhitt @Veronica Brestensky @Civil_War_Footsteps @darthetzkorn If you would like to be put in contact with Bob, Tim or any of the guides we feature on Addressing Gettysburg, let me know! Email [email protected]

Dr Ashley Whitehead Luskey is the assistant director of the Civil War Institute at Gettysburg College and heads up an ambitious project called "Killed at Gettysburg". KAG sets students on a journey back into the lives of the men killed during the battle. After their research is complete, the students create profiles on the project's website . Dr Luskey sat down with Bob and I to discuss the project's history and goals. We think you'll find this fascinating.

Yianni Barakos was told by his doctor that he might as well get on disability because he'll never be able to work again. Yianni said, "Yes, I will", became his own advocate and found a doctor who said "i can help". Now, Yianni is the proud owner of the successfully delicious Mason Dixon Distillery in Gettysburg. What does this have to do with the battle? Only the fact that Mason Dixon grows much of what goes into their liquors right on the battlefield. Did you know that the Park Service allows this? Well, they do. Yianni is a very interesting guy and he and I sat down to talk without any particular direction or subject matter in mind. It kinda gets a little personal at points, but, Addressing Gettysburg is more about human interest than anything else; whether it has to do with the Battle of Gettysburg or the people who help you enjoy learning about it or visiting the battlefield. Enjoy and please check out Mason Dixon Distillery on your next visit to Gettysburg

When thinking about the Civil War or the Gettysburg Campaign in particular, some people might not consider Pittsburgh, Pa to have anything more to do with it than manufacturing for the war effort. But that's not true. Did you know there are fortifications around the city from the Civil War? There are. Did you know that Pittsburgh isn't so far from West Virginia, which was still Virginia for a good portion of the war? Well, Rich Condon from Civil War Pittsburgh sat down with me to let you in on this little secret. Rich Condon is a public historian based out of Pittsburgh, although he began his career as a battlefield guide in Franklin, Tennessee. For nine years he has worked with a multitude of sites and organizations, including The Battle of Franklin Trust, Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall and Museum, Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, and Flight 93 National Memorial. Rich is a contributing writer for the Pennsylvania in the Civil War blog, and director of Civil War Pittsburgh – an organization focused on education and preservation regarding Western Pennsylvania's role in the American Civil War.

What a treat I have for fans of the movie Gettysburg! In October, 2018, the cast of the 1993 movie Gettysburg came to town for a reunion and screening of the director's cut of the film. I arranged to have Patrick Gorman, who played Major General John Bell Hood, and Bo Brinkman, who played Lee's aide, Major Walter Taylor, sit down with me and my buddy Pete at my friend Tami's farm. We set up in her summer kitchen and just talked about their careers and the making of Gettysburg and Gods and Generals. This was great fun for two guys like Pete and I who have seen the film 3000 times. I hope you enjoy it.

One great thing about Ken as a guest is that I, as the interviewer, and hardly needed. He can go on and on and I rarely find myself getting bored. I hope you will enjoy learning about the town in this epic three-parter. Ken Rich is owner of Reluctant Witnesses Historic Tours and was one of the historical consultants on Addressing Gettysburg Episode 2 "INVASION! June 1863"

75 years after the Battle of Gettysburg, just under 2000 Civil War veterans, who wore both blue and gray, gathered together on Gettysburg's hallowed fields one last time before passing on into history. This was also the year that 450,000 Americans descended on the place to see President Franklin Delano Roosevelt dedicate the Eternal Peace Light Memorial on the third day of the reunion. As you will hear, it was quite the undertaking to put on and, in typical American fashion, it was not without its controversies, especially over that Rebel Battle Flag, but perhaps not for the reasons you would assume. Gettysburg National Military Park's Chief of Interpretation and Education Christopher Gwinn joins us to talk about his 2019 Winter Lecture Series lecture entitled "Twilight of the Blue and Gray"

Author Christopher Loperfido sat down with me on July 3, 2018, in the shade of a small grove of trees across Hancock Ave from the monument of the 111th NY and in front of the Brian Farmhouse. We chose this spot because the subject of Christopher's book, Dr James D. Benton, who was the assistant surgeon of the regiment here at Gettysburg. Chris and I discuss Benton and what a wounded soldier might expect to go through when he received treatment. Christopher E. Loperfido, a native of Weedsport, New York, graduated from Oswego State University with a bachelor's degree in history and political science and has a strong passion for American history. He has spent two summers volunteering at the William Seward House in Auburn, New York, and worked for the National Park Service at Gettysburg National Military Park in the summers of 2007 and 2008 as both a park intern and National Park Service Ranger. He is currently employed by the Department of Justice and lives with his wife, son, and pug in Michigan. His hobbies include following his beloved Boston Red Sox, golfing, and spending time with his family. Death, Disease, and Life at War is his first book. You can get your copy of Chris' book and many others at our website www.addressinggettysburg.com/books

Lieutenant General James Longstreet is one of the more controversial figures of the war and, especially, the Battle of Gettysburg. But does the blame for the Confederate defeat at Gettysburg really rest on his shoulders? Author Cory M Pfarr has had enough of Longstreet getting a bad rap, so he set out to set the record straight in his new book "Longstreet at Gettysburg: A Critical Reassessment". In this episode, Cory and I break down some of the points of contention about General Longstreet so that you can decide for yourself if he is the traitor his former cohorts made him out to be in the postwar years. Cory M. Pfarr works for the Department of Defense and is an American History author whose main interests span America's Revolutionary to Civil War years. He is the author of "John Quincy Adams's Republicanism: 'A Thousand Obstacles Apparently Stand Before Us'" (Massachusetts Historical Society, 2014) and Longstreet at Gettysburg: A Critical Reassessment (McFarland Publishers, 2019). He has also written articles for North & South Magazine and Gettysburg Magazine, and has appeared on the Pennsylvania Cable Network and C-SPAN American History TV. He lives in Pikesville, Maryland with his wife and three kids.

Matt and Bob are joined by Licensed Battlefield Guide and author Tim Smith for this edition of Ask A Guide. We asked our social media followers to submit questions for the guides and they came through, once again. This episode's questions come from: Instagram Users @jneale1777 @JDsw20 The Great Tronetti @Anna_storm @quinn2477 @Centralvirginiahistorian @scott_b_5.11.4 @Makeitclique @dannymusclehed @Darthetzkorn @Kentuckycivlwar @wildtrout_riverjunkie and Facebook user Bill Etzkorn III Thank you all for your submissions and, as always, if any of our listeners would like to schedule a tour with any of the guides we feature, please email [email protected] and I will put you in touch with a guide.

Licensed Battlefield Guide Bob Steenstra is back and, this time, he's joined by fellow LBG Jessie Wheedleton for her debut on Addressing Gettysburg. Together, they ask YOUR questions pertaining to the Battle of Gettysburg in this inaugural episode of Ask A Gettysburg Guide. From time-to-time we will solicit questions from out social media followers that we will ask guides to answer. We'd like to thank the following Facebook and Instagram followers for their questions: Bill Etzkorn III, Lanson Morris, 230_grain, gpaint1977, J.D., Dannymusclehed, Anna_Storm, PvtTaylor Bishop and OfficialPearleShannon. If you submitted a question and it didn't make it, don't worry. We will work it into a future episode. Recommended Reading: For a thorough assessment of known numbers and what they mean : "The Gettysburg Campaign: A Study In Command by Edwin B. Coddington. For an assessment of numbers/locations of people in Pickett's charge: "Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg" by James Hessler and Wayne Motts, "Pickett's Charge" by George R. Stewart. For Gettysburg artillery : "Silent sentinels" by George Newton, "Grape and Cannister" by Naisawald to follow AoP artillery through the war and "The Artillery at Gettysburg" by Bradley M. Gottfried, PhD.

Licensed Battlefield Guide Bob Steenstra sits down with Matt to give an overview of the Gettysburg Campaign. This is done with the newbie in mind, but should be just as interesting to the veteran student of the battle. The narrative episodes of Addressing Gettysburg (like "Antietam to Chancellorsville" and the upcoming "June 1863- INVASION!") go into more detail on everything covered in this upload. Our soon-to-be-launched Patreon page will contain micro-histories with only the best and brightest Licensed Battlefield Guides, Park Rangers and authors. Be sure to become a Patron when it launches. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram @addressinggettysburg Recorded at the Destination Gettysburg Studios

This BONUS episode was originally intended to be part of our premium content. But we felt that, due to the subject matter, it would better serve you if we made it available for free. Also, since this was recorded, the scope and style of the premium content has changed. The novel, "The Killer Angels" and the movie based on it, "Gettysburg", are great works of historical fiction. Millions love them and have gained an interest in the Battle of Gettysburg because of them. But where do works of art divert from history? D. Scott Hartwig's book, "A Killer Angels Companion," helps to clear the air between fact and fiction. Scott sat down with us in June of 2018 for what we originally referred to as a "deep dive" to discuss the major characters and plot points of the book and film versus what happened in real life. This is a must-listen for any student of the Battle of Gettysburg. *This episode was recorded in June of 2018 at the GettysBike Tours location at the visitor center of Gettysburg National Military Park. Get the books! A Killer Angels Companion The Killer Angels

Learning about the civil war can be difficult for someone new to the game, especially when it comes to military terminology. While many have casual familiarity with such terms as "regiment", "brigade", "division" and "corps", they often use them interchangeably, seemingly choosing whichever word sounds "cool" to them in the moment, or, to give the novice a little more credit than that, simply confusing them because they are new terms to him or her. But these terms are not interchangeable, as cool as they may sound, and they have very specific meanings. These meanings vary from war to war and between nations, but we're not concerned with those meanings. For our purposes here, the definitions of these terms will focus on the American Civil War-era military usage. This upload is designed to be one of many companion uploads to the main episodes of Addressing Gettysburg. This, is the Gettysburg Glossary. A few things to note before moving on are that, when discussing numbers of soldiers, there are two types of figures given here: the "on paper" figures, meaning what the respective unit sizes should be if recruited and mustered into service at full strength, and the average numbers as they were at Gettysburg. So, when listening to episode 1, Antietam to Chancellorsville, for example, a brigade's stated numerical strength would be somewhere in between the "on paper" numbers and the Gettysburg average. Disease, including infection, was the number one cause of death during the Civil War. These diseases were contracted in various ways. Some were a result of behavior, many more were a result of camp life, and others were the result of medical treatments. Now a word about the Gettysburg average: All one needs to do is read two books on the battle of Gettysburg to find that no one truly agrees on the actual number of men involved. Throughout the fifteen and a half decades since the battle, scholars of the battle have looked at the numbers in an effort to come closer to a more realistic figure of totals. Some historians have the numbers at 95000 Union soldiers against 75000 Confederate soldiers. Some say 80000 to 60000. The minutiae of exactly how many each army had isn't as important as recognizing that most historians seem to agree that there's a difference of about 15000-20000 in favor of the Union. Also, it would be a mistake to assume that the Union victory at Gettysburg was mainly due to its outnumbering the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. If that were the case, the North would have won the war long before April of 1865. So when it comes to the numbers we use in Addressing Gettysburg, they are used more for illustrative purposes than actuarial figures. When our sources are conflicting with each other on these figures, we yield to the numbers used by the National Park Service of each battlefield we discuss, or the American Battlefield Trust. The terms discussed in this upload can be found, along with a multitude of others, on the American Battlefield trust's website. We extrapolate on many of these definitions. And now, the Gettysburg Glossary. Military Units Company: A group of 50 to 100 soldiers led by a captain. 10 companies = 1 regiment. Smaller units within a company are platoons which are made up of squads. Regiment- the building blocks of the army were regiments. On paper, each regiment, was comprised of ten companies of 100 men. Those companies would be recruited in a town or several nearby towns and sent to their respective state capitals to be trained and mustered into service as part of a regiment. Regiments would be numbered in order of appearance, for the most part, for example, the First Pennsylvania Volunteer infantry, the second pennsylvania volunteer infantry, etc. This was also done for cavalry units with the word "cavalry" replacing the word "infantry". So, there would be a first pennsylvania volunteer infantry and a first pennsylvania volunteer cavalry. They were men who answered the call for volunteers at the outbreak of the war and fell under the volunteer service. Regiments who were part of the Federal service, or "regular army", would be numbered as the First United States cavalry or infantry and so on. As the war pressed on, these numbers diminished so that, by Gettysburg, the average size of a Union regiment was around 350 men and a Confederate regiment being slightly larger. This was not a reflection of the populations in the north and south, but, rather, a reflection of the method of integrating raw recruits into the army. Northern recruits were placed into new regiments while southern recruits were mingled into veteran units. A regiment was officially led by a field officer at the rank of colonel. When a colonel was absent due to sickness, wounding, death or being placed in command of the brigade to which the regiment belonged, lower ranking officers such as lieutenant colonels, majors and even captains moved up to command the regiment. Multiple regiments would be organized into b

The Battle of Gettysburg can trace its origins back to September of 1862 when Robert E Lee audaciously lead his Army of Northern Virginia on an invasion of the North. Since taking command in June of 1862, Lee had beaten back Major General George B McClellan's Army of the Potomac and secured the Confederate capital of Richmond during the peninsula campaign. He then moved to Northern Virginia where he thrashed Major General John Pope's Union Army of Virginia in August at the battle of Second Manassas. After this victory, Lee strategically chose to keep his aggressive momentum going rather than settle into a defensive posture around Richmond. So he turned his attention to Northern Territory; specifically, Pennsylvania, probably, Harrisburg. This, Lee knew, would draw the Union Army out of Virginia. By September 16, Harpers Ferry had fallen and Jackson's Corps, save A.P. Hill's Division, which was en route from Harpers Ferry, had been reunited with Longstreet and Lee on the bluffs along the Antietam Creek outside of Sharpsburg, Maryland. Early that misty morning, Confederate guns opened fire from the high ground northwest of town. The bloodiest 12 hour period in American history was underway. When it was all over, 23,000 Americans would be killed, wounded or missing. The battle of Antietam is considered a draw and Lee withdrew his Army back into Virginia. General George McClellan sat on his laurels and failed to pursue and crush Lee's army. Lincoln had had enough. By November, Lincoln fired McClellan. Taking his place was Ambrose E Burnside, a General who is best described as "a modest man with much to be modest about". This description betrays his flamboyant and unique facial hair styling, which may have given birth to the term sideburns. Upon taking command, Burnside planned an aggressive offensive against Richmond, Virginia by way of Fredericksburg. But this boldness was immediately met with troubles crossing the Rappahannock River, mainly because of delayed pontoon bridges. This gave Robert E Lee time to entrench his army on Marye's Heights behind the town of Fredericksburg. On December 13, Burnside ordered the battle begin. Orders from Burnside were to "send a division or more" in an effort to seize the high ground west of Fredericksburg. The approach was fraught with difficulties: fences, gardens, a canal, narrow bridges over the canal and scattered homes, barns and, eventually, the fallen, all promised to break up and slow the Federal advance over the open plain. Longstreet's men were hidden behind a stone wall that ran along a sunken road at the base of the heights, known at that time as the Telegraph Road. Major General Lafayette McLaws had about 2000 men on the front line and an additional 7000 reserves on the crest of and behind Marye's Heights. Batteries pointing in every possible direction had very few target-deficient spots on the Union approaches. As soon as Union troops came out of the city, they came under artillery fire. Next Major General Winfield Scott Hancock's Division's emerged to suffer the same fate as French's. The Irish Brigade, commanded by Brigadier General Thomas Francis Meagher, was first to go up. Before going into battle, Meagher addressed his men, saying, "This may be my last speech to you, but I will be with you when the battle is the fiercest; and, if I fall, I can say I did my duty, and fell fighting in the most glorious of causes." His men gave him three cheers. Meagher remained behind, naming a bum knee as the cause. On the order: "Shoulder arms, right face, forward, double quick, march!" The Irishmen raced toward the enemy. Immediately they came under artillery fire. One well-placed Confederate shell exploded among the 88th NY, taking out 18 men. The Confederate line opened fire with a galling sheet of flame. MULHOLLAND: "Officers and men fell in rapid succession," wrote Lt. Col. St. Clair Mulholland of the 116th Pennsylvania Volunteers. "Lieutenant Garrett Nowlen fell with a ball through the thigh. Major Bardwell fell badly wounded; and a ball whistled through Lieutenant Bob McGuire's lungs. Lieutenant Christian Foltz fell dead, with a ball through the brain. The orderly sergeant of Company H wheeled around, gazed upon Lieutenant Quinlan, and a great stream of blood poured from a hole in his forehead." By day's end, Burnside sent Seven Union divisions against Marye's Heights, one brigade at a time, making a total of fourteen individual charges, each of which failed, costing the United States Army around 7500 casualties. The total Union casualties is the Battle of Fredericksburg were well over 12,000 Confederate losses at Marye's Heights totaled around 1,200 and their total losses in the battle were just over 5000. _______________________________ Major General Joseph Hooker came to command the Army of the Potomac by undermining Ambrose Burnside in any way he could while politicking and forming a band of Hooker-loyalists within the high command of the army. Being fully awa