I am from Poland and absolutly amazed such knowlwdge, passion and engagement of this ranger. Thats the kind of attitude which had made this state global superpower. Another imortant thing is very clear, uderstandable diction and pronunciation, which is important to foreigners to catch the story
I think the park rangers who you see at gettysburg are the best of the best in the whole national battlefield system, only the ones who pass the audits and exams get to serve the public at this most popular battlefield
I think he's the youngest ranger of all the Gettysburg tour guides on this RU-vid channel. It's great! Not every ranger has to be a horse voiced 71-Year-Old or a twangy 52-year-old good to see some young blood in there
My hat is off to the men and women of the NPS, keeping the stories of these soldiers alive across all of our battlefields if a priceless service. Keep the videos coming!
Lee's words, "if practicable", are probably why I am here today. My gg grandfather (one of those beer drinking Germans) defended Cemetery Hill with the 74th Pennsylvania Infantry. From what I can gather, it wouldn't have ended well for the Union that day if Ewell had attacked.
The gentleman's question at the very end, about how Lee might've been considering a different response from one general to another, I think is a good point. I can understand both possibilities of the questioner and the ranger's response.
Excellent retelling of the event, but He's mistake about it being pitch black at 8PM... it's full sunshine on July 2nd till 8:40 PM and early Twilight is another 40 min until full darkness...
Ranger Flook is one hell of a ranger and guide. All the rangers seem pretty good, but Flook is my favorite. Glad he wore a mic too. I hope to visit Gettysburg some day soon and hope he is still there to follow.
My wife and I were there on 9/2/19 and believe the ranger when he says, the video is not the same as being there. It's much larger than it seems in the video. When you look down the hill, it seems impossible that the rebels where able to climb up there, but the night made it possible. Great story telling. Thank you, JN
You really see the skill of this ranger at 27:57 ... not only does he answer the question but offers a metaphorical example that really hits the point home on the fly. Great teacher and my hats off to him.
Love watching these Ranger Talks. Jim Flook is brilliant in his clarity, knowledge and very interesting. He is a credit to the ranger service. GETTYSBURG NP he would make an excellent full time ranger.
Great presentation! Passionate and well- informed. I appreciate that this ranger does not try to crack jokes that fall flat and fail to illuminate the battlefield history. I’ve had to quit watching one of the other ranger’s presentations for this reason. Just my personal preference.
I've watched a lot of these Ranger Talks and so far Mr. Flook is the best. Some of the others are too long winded. Mr. Flook is more precise and deliberate and keeps the story going. Thank you!
Gettysburg is one of my favorite places to visit, these park rangers i mean all of them are very skilled at their profession. the knowledge and dedication of these well trained young men is truly a gift and does relay just what happened, and the dangerous time in their lives and the danger that all faced, both north and south. thank you rangers, thank you to all the brave boys north and south that sacrificed their all to take their causes to the highest level. to both sides, sleep well with the Lord and rest in peace.
Had Jim for the Picketts Charge, Devils Den and Little Round top hikes last week. Very informative, great speaker and paints a great picture of the scene at the time of the battle
This Ranger has the best explanation of the battlefield I have ever seen. It really puts you there for the events of the battle. My favorite part is at 24:00 when he describes the terrain and talks about Stevens battery.
I work for the Dept of the interior but i would LOVE to take job like this. He said its seasonal...wondering if he works for NPS full time. I was never much into 'military history' but i majored in political economy and did my seminar comprehensive on comparative colonial systems. Im sure i could use that expertise at positions all over the east coast and southeast
On that last question If Jackson's presence would have changed things, the answer is a 100% definitive YES! But...how much of a change, and more importantly how would that have changed other things, the actions, reactions of the other key players. For instance, I think the ANV would have remained as just two corps and as such those Confederates who attacked Cemetery Hill...which included two of my ancestors from Louisiana...would have done so under totally different circumstances. In fact, we don't even know and cannot say with any certainty that the 11th Corps and those 30 guns would have even been holding the hill by nightfall on July 2nd. Just my own humble opinion, but I think if Jackson was still around and in command of 2nd Corps as he had been just a couple of months before, at best Gettysburg would have been a one-day battle and not nearly the scope it became on July 1. Maybe Buford's cavalry fights some kind of engagement, but Jackson would have had more troops in the vicinity of Gettysburg and brought superior numbers earlier in the day, such that Reynolds and Howard would have been compelled to take different action than they did. I think there would have been no Battle of Gettysburg at all, history would have shown it as a mere skirmish and the big fight would have developed down the road, maybe close to Taneytown or that Pipe Creek(??) where Meade had already planned to make a stand. I am not saying the Army of the Potomac would not have won the big fight, just that it would have taken place elsewhere. My point is, we cannot simply lift Ewell out of the picture and insert Stonewall Jackson on the ground July 2nd and go from there. Huge differences in events would have already unfolded.
This guy is great it takes an interesting subject and makes it even more interesting if that's possible great speaker I hope he still does this when I go I'd love hear him speak plus the beard is awesome lol
I would have liked to hear more about the evening attack on the NW side of Cemetery Hill. Also, I think its fascinating how perceptions of the importance of different parts of/actions on, the battlefield change over the years. In the 1880's it seems ECH may have been considered a lot more "important" or popular than today, with the first? observation tower, first stop on the trolley, etc.
there was no evening attack on the NW SIDE OF CEMETERY HILL.RHODES WAS VERY LATE GETTING INTO POSITION AND WHEN HE FINALLY WAS EARLY,S ATTACK ON EAST CEMETERY HILL HAD ALREADY FAILED.RHODES WHO FOR REASONS UNKNOWN PUT RAMSUER IN CHARGE DECIDED IT WOULD BE SUICIDE.
This guy is awesome! So many details and aspects of the battle, that I didn’t want to miss a single word that he spoke. On a funnier note... It kinda sounded like he said “They fart as hard as possible” at 19:54. 😂 Anyway, amazing job he is doing bringing the battle to life to those he gives the tour. The memories of the men who fought and died there will live on because of him.
The conferderate commander's name is wriiten Ewell and not Yule if I am not totally mistaken. His decision would become one of the key elements of what later would be called the 'lost cause' of the South. Many have said would Stonewall Jackson still have been alive and in Ewell's position, he would have attacked. And likewise many believe, right here on day 1, not only the battle, but the whole war got lost for the Confederacy. I doubt that, but if Lee ever had had a chance to win the battle, then here on Cemetery Hill. But there were other obstacles, like he acted without having proper intel, his cavalery at large. By the end of the day we today know a lot more than these conmanders did.
Once more I find that the Rebels are out gunned and out numbered but still fought so gallantry up hill bouth ways . My hat is off for the union solders who stood there they're ground so well. However it seems to me that they fought perhaps a better shoulder. Had the union shoulders ever been in battle or are these guy's Green horns.?
It becomes very apparent to anyone listening to some of these lectures that Buford's cavalry and Reynold's Infantry Corps for the Union on the first day shaped the battlefield for the second and third days. Despite getting beaten back by superior Confederate numbers on the first day, Buford's decision to keep the Confederates off of the high ground outside of Gettysburg was the key decision of the entire battle. The time delay caused by the encounter battle with Buford and Reynolds forced the Confederates to be unable to make any attempt to take Culp's Hill, Cemetery Hill and other key terrain until late in the afternoon or almost night time. Union General Hancock came with more reinforcements to the high ground. At this point it was too late for Confederates to have much chance at success. The seeds for Confederate defeat were also planted by the fact Heth's infantry Corps took significant losses fighting Buford and Reynolds on the afternoon of the first day. So the skirmishing and initial battles shaped the rest of the battlefield for the other two days. Once the Union artillery and infantry got entrenched on Cemetery ridge and Culp's Hill the chances for Confederate success in any attack became an extremely low probability event. So if you study Civil War battles, you have to understand the opening skirmishing battles the day before the battle or right before the main battle starts to get a true picture of why events transpired the way they did.
Oliver Otis Howard not only followed the civil war to Its conclusion, but was instrumental in the development of the Freedman's Bureau and founded Howard University so Blacks could become self sustaining and remain free. Slavery was no joke and needed to end once and for all!
He did assume corps command after Reynolds fell on July 1st, but then was replaced by Meade the following day. Some reports hold that Doubleday played a critical role in defending artillery positions on Cemetery Hill on the night of July 2nd by arming his men with baseball bats, but these remain unconfirmed.
July 2: Longstreet attacks the southern end of the Federal line with 14K men. July 3: Longstreet attacks the center of the Federal line with fewer than 12K men.
I'm confused as to where they are facing. Are they facing east? Most of the confederates were west of cemetery hill. It's like they are facing away from main action. Confusing.
I would kindly disagree with, and remind Ranger Jim Flook regarding the fighting on the 1st of July as being Ewell's first bit of fighting with his Corps. At the Battle of 2nd Winchester 2 weeks earlier in North Virginia Ewell demonstrated a level of stealth and cunning every bit on par with Stonewall Jackson's Valley Campaign in 1862 bagging a nice catch of supplies, food, and more than 4,200 Union POWs.
aww cute question 27:09 by the kid "will there be craters in the ground from cannon balls?" His question comes from the inaccurate way cannon fire effects are often shown in civil movies. On screen we often see what look like mortar explosions blooming out of the ground, but that is not how civil war cannon balls acted. they did not blow up on contact
I suspect the explosions from ground level are the only safe option from the standpoint of Hollywood re-enactments. The location of placed charges can be precisely marked.
@@camrillemthose would be mortars used in sieges. Civil War. Cannonballs were made of solid shots, designed to fly through the air and punch through the bodies of men, they did not explode. The case shot and canister which were two different ways of projecting metal balls or fragments through the air. There were no contact fuses in the way that we would see in world War I. But civil war movies show exploding ground effects just because it's easier to do with the pyro charges of the special effects crew
