I am halfway through watching the excellent Ken Burns documentary on the US Civil War

We are up to the middle of 1863 and the Confederacy are winning :)

I think I am going to have to stop watching it here as it is about to get quite sad..... :(

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Originally Posted by Peter

We are up to the middle of 1863 and the Confederacy are winning :)

I think I am going to have to stop watching it here as it is about to get quite sad..... :(

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Apparently the second one is about to start. #IndictMeToo

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Originally Posted by Peter

We are up to the middle of 1863 and the Confederacy are winning :)

I think I am going to have to stop watching it here as it is about to get quite sad..... :(

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Yes, I'm forever watching that. One always forgets that the Union barely won a battle up to Gettysburg, but once they won that, it was basically all over bar the shouting.

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Originally Posted by Burney

Yes, I'm forever watching that. One always forgets that the Union barely won a battle up to Gettysburg, but once they won that, it was basically all over bar the shouting.

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There is much to suggest that had Stonewall Jackson not been killed in a freak accident the month before then the South would have stood a far better chance at Gettysburg. THe hill they were five minutes too slow in taking because Lee's orders were misunderstood; had they taken the hill then the fateful charge the following day wouldn't have happened.

I stopped at the part where Shelby Foote says that every Southern boy is able to put himself in that field at 1pm, just before the charge and drink in the last moment where victory was still possible.....I had to turn it off and weep like a baby.. :cry:

That said, the situation at Vicksburg was dire and even victory at Gettysburg wasnt enough. He needed to draw Grant and his resources northwards to ensure that Vicksburg held and Gettysburg came too late- Vicksburg surrendered the following day.

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Originally Posted by Peter

There is much to suggest that had Stonewall Jackson not been killed in a freak accident the month before then the South would have stood a far better chance at Gettysburg. THe hill they were five minutes too slow in taking because Lee's orders were misunderstood; had they taken the hill then the fateful charge the following day wouldn't have happened.

I stopped at the part where Shelby Foote says that every Southern boy is able to put himself in that field at 1pm, just before the charge and drink in the last moment where victory was still possible.....I had to turn it off and weep like a baby.. :cry:

That said, the situation at Vicksburg was dire and even victory at Gettysburg wasnt enough. He needed to draw Grant and his resources northwards to ensure that Vicksburg held and Gettysburg came too late- Vicksburg surrendered the following day.

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Yes. Friendly fire wasn't it for old Stonewall? Mind you, he struck one as less than amusing company, so no great loss.

I do love Shelby Foote's voice. Someone should have got him to do audiobooks of William Faulkner novels. He'd have been perfect.

To be honest, I don't think the south could ever have actually won militarily. However many battles they'd won, the sheer weight of industry, resources and men would have told eventually.

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Originally Posted by Burney

Yes. Friendly fire wasn't it for old Stonewall? Mind you, he struck one as less than amusing company, so no great loss.

I do love Shelby Foote's voice. Someone should have got him to do audiobooks of William Faulkner novels. He'd have been perfect.

To be honest, I don't think the south could ever have actually won militarily. However many battles they'd won, the sheer weight of industry, resources and men would have told eventually.

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The North always come out on top b

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Originally Posted by Burney

Yes. Friendly fire wasn't it for old Stonewall? Mind you, he struck one as less than amusing company, so no great loss.

I do love Shelby Foote's voice. Someone should have got him to do audiobooks of William Faulkner novels. He'd have been perfect.

To be honest, I don't think the south could ever have actually won militarily. However many battles they'd won, the sheer weight of industry, resources and men would have told eventually.

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Stonewall was shot in the arm by his own troops while inspecting the battlefield after the battle. Ridiculous accident....

They could never have won the war completely on the battlefield and I think Lee knew this. His hope was to wage an aggressive war against the Union troops in the East and drive as far Northward as possible. If he could have destroyed that army then the picture would have changed drastically.

The greater issue of the Southern Cause was a loser from the start. The 'way of life' was doomed in the long term, as all backward, static social and economic systems are.

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Originally Posted by Burney

Yes. Friendly fire wasn't it for old Stonewall? Mind you, he struck one as less than amusing company, so no great loss.

I do love Shelby Foote's voice. Someone should have got him to do audiobooks of William Faulkner novels. He'd have been perfect.

To be honest, I don't think the south could ever have actually won militarily. However many battles they'd won, the sheer weight of industry, resources and men would have told eventually.

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They didn't have to win militarily. They just had to cause the north to get bogged down indefinitely, persuading the northerners of the folly of pursuing their ends. Kind of a Vietnam-type deal, Tet Offensive.

I personally like William Tecumseh Sherman. Scorched earth, faggits.

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Originally Posted by eastgermanautos

They didn't have to win militarily. They just had to cause the north to get bogged down indefinitely, persuading the northerners of the folly of pursuing their ends. Kind of a Vietnam-type deal, Tet Offensive.

I personally like William Tecumseh Sherman. Scorched earth, faggits.

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I like the Burns documentary, although I feel he over-relies on the Battle Hymn of the Republic. He plugs that song more than does a local radio station Taylor Swift.

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Originally Posted by Peter

Stonewall was shot in the arm by his own troops while inspecting the battlefield after the battle. Ridiculous accident....

They could never have won the war completely on the battlefield and I think Lee knew this. His hope was to wage an aggressive war against the Union troops in the East and drive as far Northward as possible. If he could have destroyed that army then the picture would have changed drastically.

The greater issue of the Southern Cause was a loser from the start. The 'way of life' was doomed in the long term, as all backward, static social and economic systems are.

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Yes. In fact, there's also a strong argument that slavery retarded technological, economic and industrial development, since it meant that, rather than develop more efficient technology, they could just chuck manpower at the problem.