Innkeeper! Another Flagon Of Meade!
The United States was founded on principles of democracy that can be traced back to the early Greeks and Romans. So the democratic concept was not new. But in 1776, the United States was the only country in the world to institute a form of government that did not depend on hereditary bloodlines, military force, or religious control. To Abraham Lincoln, this unique "proposition" and others that were set forth in the Declaration of Independence were at the heart of why the oldest existing democracy in the world needed to be preserved.
I remember my dad when he was in school had to recite the Gettysburg Address. And I've read a report he wrote on the life of Abraham Lincoln when he was in middle school, I think in the mid to late 1930s. And I've got to admit the Gettysburg 150th Anniversary Special Edition published by The Media Source (so this would have been two years ago) was fun to read and I learned quite a few things! Some of it made me snicker, some of it made me think, some of it caught me at really teachable moments.
Together, Grant and Meade pursued Lee and eventually forced an end to the war. Yet Meade was rarely mentioned in news stories of the day. Why? The short-tempered general had angered a reporter. The rest of the war correspondents agreed to mention Meade only when the news was unflattering. All credit was given to Grant.
I knew George Meade who commanded the Union forces at Gettysburg was a naturalized citizen of the USA -- he was born in Spain -- and that he didn't follow up with smashing the Confederate army under Robert E. Lee's command after the three days of the battle (July 1-3, 1863; in fact, Lincoln wrote but never sent a letter rebuking Meade for it -- you can read it in How to Win Friends and Influence People) but man ... giving credit to another general who was in Vicksburg a few states away at the time conducting the battle that ultimately split the Confederacy in two? That's harsh.
The man known to his friends as "Cump" and his men as "Uncle Billy" hated newspaper reporters, secessionists, and politics. He was ruthless in battle but lenient once his enemies surrendered. Sherman, together with Ulysses Grant, brought the South to its knees and forced a Confederate surrender.
Sherman, though, still gets decent press in historical accounts (well, maybe not in the South that he hacked and pillaged through) but Meade you barely hear of! It's a small thing, but with the last few weeks seeming to be a Civil War battle in a Skittles factory, I wanted to post something a little ... um, lighter, than I have been seeing here lately. Blueberry Bull Run, Strawberry Shiloh, and Grape Gettysburg ... anyway, I really liked the book because unlike this post (if I gave you every reference you'd be reading for a few hours) it delves into causes, and for the Civil War there are many.
GETTYSBURG TOTALS
Army Strength: 93,921 (USA) 71,699 (CSA)
Casualties (approximate): 23,049 (3,155 DEAD) (USA) 28,063 (3,903 DEAD) (CSA)
Result: UNION VICTORY
Slavery, states' rights, and preservation of the Union all get a fair hearing. And I'm sure there are causes or three we just haven't thought of yet. Any more than in a century and a half, assuming humankind still exists, we will be able to parse and sift through every cause and effect leading up to ... now. The faithful WANT to believe they have a grip on this, but they don't. WE don't. This kept me up for two hours this morning, and I doubt that I was awake in someone else's dream, a reason I often hear that you cannot sleep. But it is possible.
You can see that at any rate it is possible, David
I remember my dad when he was in school had to recite the Gettysburg Address. And I've read a report he wrote on the life of Abraham Lincoln when he was in middle school, I think in the mid to late 1930s. And I've got to admit the Gettysburg 150th Anniversary Special Edition published by The Media Source (so this would have been two years ago) was fun to read and I learned quite a few things! Some of it made me snicker, some of it made me think, some of it caught me at really teachable moments.
Together, Grant and Meade pursued Lee and eventually forced an end to the war. Yet Meade was rarely mentioned in news stories of the day. Why? The short-tempered general had angered a reporter. The rest of the war correspondents agreed to mention Meade only when the news was unflattering. All credit was given to Grant.
I knew George Meade who commanded the Union forces at Gettysburg was a naturalized citizen of the USA -- he was born in Spain -- and that he didn't follow up with smashing the Confederate army under Robert E. Lee's command after the three days of the battle (July 1-3, 1863; in fact, Lincoln wrote but never sent a letter rebuking Meade for it -- you can read it in How to Win Friends and Influence People) but man ... giving credit to another general who was in Vicksburg a few states away at the time conducting the battle that ultimately split the Confederacy in two? That's harsh.
The man known to his friends as "Cump" and his men as "Uncle Billy" hated newspaper reporters, secessionists, and politics. He was ruthless in battle but lenient once his enemies surrendered. Sherman, together with Ulysses Grant, brought the South to its knees and forced a Confederate surrender.
Sherman, though, still gets decent press in historical accounts (well, maybe not in the South that he hacked and pillaged through) but Meade you barely hear of! It's a small thing, but with the last few weeks seeming to be a Civil War battle in a Skittles factory, I wanted to post something a little ... um, lighter, than I have been seeing here lately. Blueberry Bull Run, Strawberry Shiloh, and Grape Gettysburg ... anyway, I really liked the book because unlike this post (if I gave you every reference you'd be reading for a few hours) it delves into causes, and for the Civil War there are many.
GETTYSBURG TOTALS
Army Strength: 93,921 (USA) 71,699 (CSA)
Casualties (approximate): 23,049 (3,155 DEAD) (USA) 28,063 (3,903 DEAD) (CSA)
Result: UNION VICTORY
Slavery, states' rights, and preservation of the Union all get a fair hearing. And I'm sure there are causes or three we just haven't thought of yet. Any more than in a century and a half, assuming humankind still exists, we will be able to parse and sift through every cause and effect leading up to ... now. The faithful WANT to believe they have a grip on this, but they don't. WE don't. This kept me up for two hours this morning, and I doubt that I was awake in someone else's dream, a reason I often hear that you cannot sleep. But it is possible.
You can see that at any rate it is possible, David
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