U.S. History

[ameridaddy]

I was born in Maryland, have lived in central Virginia for ~50 years, so I've visited many battlefields, Civil War battlefields especially, some with family connections -
Revolutionary War - Lexington, Concord, Bunker Hill, Yorktown - my gggg-grandfather was a Captain of Virginia marines there.

War of 1812 - Fort McHenry & North Point, USF Constitution

Civil War - Both Bull Run sites, Harper’s Ferry, South Mountain, Antietam, Perryville KY where Confederate infantry advanced over, Confederate artillery set up on my ggg grandfather's farm, Gettysburg, Chancellorsville, the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, 1st & 2nd Cold Harbor, Gaines Mill, Malvern Hill, Fredericksburg, Trevilians Station, New Market (field of Lost Shoes), Yellow Tavern, Petersburg and Appomattox, Ford's theater and the house across the street where Lincoln died, Stonewall Jackson's house and grave, R.E. Lee's grave at Lexington VA.

My ggg-grandfather's brother enlisted in Aug 1862, was at Antietam, Rapidan, Wilderness, Spotsylvania where he made a charge on the salient (Bloody Angle), 2nd Cold Harbor, Siege of Petersburg, Boydton Plank Road, Five Forks, Appomattox, Grand Review in DC, mustered out. He survived all that and died of his wound in 1912, when some shrapnel in his leg worked out and became infected. I haven't yet visited the Boydton Plank Road or Five Forks yet. Maybe this summer.

 

[Bullet Bob]

I've been to a few, here and overseas when I was in the service.

My thoughts are mainly that I'm very glad I don't live in a time and place of all out war.

Peace.

 

[billwill]

You guys better hurry up and talk about this before it is erased from (ha ha) history and disappears. Crying shame for sure

Manassas National Battlefield right after the park closed was a very moving experience. Beautiful sun heading west and a stillness that was eerie. Strange indeed. Such a pretty place that hid all the horrors of conflict

 

[Absalom]

....
Manassas National Battlefield right after the park closed was a very moving experience. Beautiful sun heading west and a stillness that was eerie. Strange indeed. Such a pretty place that hid all the horrors of conflict

Quiet battlefield are usually the most haunting, without the colorful markers, tours, and chatty tourist groups.

Below an example from WW I: Hartmannsweilerkopf in Alsace. No Americans fought here, the battles for this mountain were in 1914/15 before the AEF arrived. The Germans called it the “Man Eater Mountain”.

Less known than the famous sites like Verdun and the Somme. In the off-season you can amble around the old trenches and encounter nothing but ghosts.

(Not my photo)

 

[Tom Kent]

I have been to Gettysburg a few times and I always get this strange feeling when I am there. I believe that all the men who fought there, on both sides, knew that this battle was the ultimate Civil War battle. The winner at Gettysburg would win the war. I think that they all put their hearts and souls into it. Perhaps that is what I feel when I am there.

 

[Injunbro]

I might be the only one here who visited the site of the battle @ Dragoon Pass (about 5 miles from here) where Apaches led by Cochise killed more Confederate soldiers in AZ than Union troops did. Confederate graveyard w/ flags still maintained. Also been to Gettysburg, Battle of Picacho Peak & Stanwix Station (furthest west battle sites in Civil War). Indian War sites: Apache Pass, South Pass, Camp Rucker, Turret Peak (Great Grandpa was an Apache Scout there), Beecher Island & a few unmarked/unknown ones. I have a couple rifles from the Indian Wars (one shootable).

 

[coltle6920]

Went to Gettysburg on a class trip (7th grade?). Visited Valley Forge in my early twenties. Saw Brandywine Battlefield once and worked with my Father who had helped restore a homestead from that period. Couldn't help but imagine how these people lived in those days.

What put it all in perspective was watching shows on the History Channel.

 

[soFlaNative]

Guilford Courthouse, Greensboro NC where Cornwallis's outnumbered troops technically defeated Nathaniel Greene's mostly militia army. A short battle the militia retreated basically intact after inflicting such heavy losses esp. among the officer corp that Cornwallis bailed on the southern campaign, headed for the coast then north where he surrendered ending the war some months later.


The Nat'l Military Park is just a portion of the battlefield easily walked in an afternoon. One spot that struck me was a gentle slope where Dragoons came around a flank of a hill upon militia who were retreating from their lines after firing upon the advancing British. In the compact area it was easy for me to picture the events during the desperate dash for the woods in addition to a history lesson.

 

[hoosierone]

Been to too many to recall. Valley Forge was moving to me, Antietam was well worth a look. I actually climbed up the rise overlooking the bridge. Funny how close they were, the guys crossing the bridge must have been sitting ducks.

Really impressive is Little Big Horn. Sad for both sides.