Many years ago, I was NCOIC of 30 enlisted Marines who were attending the Army Bulk Fuel School at Fort Lee Virginia, (right next to the Petersburg National Battlefield). One afternoon my troops were on the regular "policing the area" detail, picking up everything that wasn't growing or mineral, and one Private picked something he thought was a cigarette butt. He brought it over to me, and asked, "What is this Gunny?" It was an old .58 cal Minie Ball. It had rifling marks on it, so it had been fired from a Civil War rifle. Even after over 100 years, there are still Minie Balls from the Siege of Petersburg being discovered in that part of Virginia. You're forbidden from picking up that kind of object in the Petersburg National Battlefield, but this was on Fort Lee property, so I told him to keep it.
Guess I'm from an unusual family: at least I used to think so, since we're white, from Alabama and have always been glad for the Union victory. Our maternal grandparents witnessed and resisted racism long before 'woke' was an insult. Without their morals and influence, who knows? Would I be one of the people who worships Confederate memorabilia and uses racial epithets? Looking to history for lessons can help, but only if all of the truth is told: now there are those fighting hard to deny that. For all her flaws, America had a light once. May we survive the scary days ahead. God bless.
What a great Civil War series! Major kudos to Virginia Tech and all parties involved in its creation. It warms my heart to see people so dedicated to documenting and preserving our shared national heritage. In these troubled times the importance of doing so has never been higher.
@@italadamwest As American citizens it’s our duty to be informed on issues and not be distracted by sensationalist media showing Tommy Tuberville tumbling down some steps. There are reasons to dislike the man’s policies, in particular his obstruction of the operation of our military in times such as these - but falling down a flight of stairs has no relevance to his qualifications as a Senator.
Grant in the White House? He's already had 2 terms but he pre-dates the 22 amendment by only a 130 years, so no problems there I think. But good grief man! Your problem with the current crop of cadavers is that they're not old enough? 😜
You every see the video the old CW vets dancing and shaking hands. It was in the 1940.s reunion.. Sad That slavery happened. What led to the civil war.. It was nice to see union and confederate soliders. Shaking hands at ther old age...
I am not who wants to favor traitors. Confederate leaders were lucky as President Johnson & General Grant were not interested in prosecuting traitors as most of Confederate leaders had sworn allegiance to the USA. I am a veteran and know what it is to support our USA.
Thank you, Generals Meade, Grant, Sherman, Sheridan, and all the Union soldiers who fought to save the USA. Thanks to the 200,000 United States Colored Troops who fought to end African American slavery. Thank you, Frederick Douglass and President Abraham Lincoln. Thanks also to all of the abolitionists who labored to end slavery in the USA.
The current administration doesn't understand the importance of those men and are finishing the job radical anti American leftist started. Just wait until Shermam, Grant, and Lincoln statues are removed.
There's nothing great about the United States, it has stolen everything it has from the Native Americans and murdered and lied to them to get it. Go to a Lakota reservation and see what they think about your precious United States, you won't get the attitude you want.
the James ? It was thought to be impossible, before Grant did it. Laid a pontoon bridge nearly a half mile long across in 8 hours His entire army took four days to cross. But as soon as he crossed the James, it was a matter of time before the war was over
USA is a Constitutional REPUBLIC! The Constitution Protocol REQUIRES that ALL Elected State Representatives to PARTICIPATE, in the LAW making PROCESS! And for the Congress to make a LAW : 63% of that 100% States Elected Representatives have to VOTE the SAME WAY. At NO TIME in Abraham Lincolns' Presidency, did he have all 100% of the States Representatives participation. So how was Abraham Lincoln able ever to ever MAKE LAW? Since the USA is a Constitutional REPUBLIC: There is 3 branches of Government: The executive Branch/ President has NO POWER, Only the Congress does! And the President is the LAST to read a Bill and approve it, if he signs the BILL... Abraham Lincoln was a Dictator! Trying to change the USA from a "Constitutional REPUBLIC" to a "Democracy" for only the MAJORITY to Rule. Fully knowing that the The North Eastern States would always hold the MAJORITY, due to population... "States Rights!" The omission, of Factual History that is NOT being presented, to give the current narrative, is overwhelmingly SAD! Lest Americans forget they were Americans in a Constitutional REPUBLIC! That the disagreements are to be addressed in the Congress and RESOLVED..By the Congress. For the GOOD of ALL AMERICANS! ONCE AGAIN WHAT DID THEY WIN! Economic collapse and Starvation? For all it's people. Some American Families lived it.
Well, Longstreet did warn Lee and his fellow Generals after The Wilderness, that unlike the other Union Commanders, Grant would not retreat back to Washington, and would fight every day if he had to.
After considering the great battle of the beards that they called the American civil war I would have to say that after much consideration I think the best facial hair belongs to JEB Stuart. There are longer beards and bushier beards but no beard is as biblically epic as Stuart's.
I hate to say it but lee failed when Grant crossed the James River in 1864 if the crossing of the James was stopped who knows what could have happened the crossing of the James should be remembered along with Washington crossing the Delaware
@@grindle1857 Like everyone had a slave back then. It was always a rich thing and they were democrat. The the rest of the people fought for their homeland . They didn’t have the convenience of internet like they do today.
As I understand it, what happened at the crater was even worse than what you described. Ferarro's division WAS specifically trained in post-detonation maneuvers; at least as well-trained as anyone could be for those circumstances. But the Union was hesitant to use their black troops in active combat of any kind. Credit actually goes to General Burnside, as he was the only general among the Union command who supported its use. Even General Grant caved in to the pressure placed upon him not to use it. Worse than that, I believe the real reason why the Union didn't want to use black troops for combat purposes is NOT it was afraid they would fail, but just the opposite; it was afraid they would succeed. There were plenty of racists in the north as well as the south. If the black troops actually performed well in combat, they'd be forced to rethink their entire racial philosophy and God forbid that should happen. I believe one Confederate politician said it best about blacks in combat, "If they should make good soldiers, then our entire theory of slavery is wrong."
Dream on. The war of attrition took its toll on the south. Lack is what caused the defeat of the Confederacy-lack of soldiers, lack of food, lack of money....
Lee did not learn the lesson from George Washington: Keep your army intact to fight another day even if it means giving up a certain place, despite Lee`s successes he allowed his army to become bottled up to protect Richmond, where as Washington allowed the British to take towns and cities, he kept his army intact and not with the dogma that Lee had to protect a City, the British took New York City and Philidelphia, the seat of Congress, but the American army abandoned these areas to fight another day.
Robert E Lee was almost 60 years old, had broken both his hands and had a heart attack at Gettysburg. And Robert E Lee fought through some of the most brutal Warfare seen in the Western Hemisphere. Don't even compare wooden teeth musket firing George Washington to the Civil War. What are you even talking about ?
Not to mention Lee had no men, because the Civil War had killed every able-bodied male in the south. These men fought through some of the most vicious Warfare ever seen up until that time. And the South had no more men to give
I agree. Lee needed to buy time and hope the north got tired of the bloodshed and the costs of the war. I think he should have tried harder to keep his army in tact. Just my humble opinion.
@@rayward3630 George Washington lost more battles than he won, but he held out long enough for France and Spain to see his potential and so joined his cause, Lee should of avoided major engagements with the Union, keep his army intact long enough for Britain and France to see his potential to fight off the Union, one mistake he made was Gettysburg, he went in when Longstreet told him to redeploy in a better position more closer to Washington DC but Lee I think felt invincible after Chancellorsville.
Which is why I think s.w. Jackson was so successful. He kept his army always moving. If he were to lose a city, then he was willing to let them have it after inflicting as manu casualties as he could before leaving it, but always keeping his army intact. Much in how the n. Vietnamese peoples fought the u.s. the Americans would arrive to take a hill, the nva would inflict as many casualties as possible, then slip away in the night. If the south ever wanted a chance at victory, they should have adopted guerilla tactics or kept to the defensive. The march into Pennsylvania imo was Lee's largest blunder followed by an even worse one...going on the attack while at Gettysburg.
Sooner or later, anyone starts believing their own press clippings. Lee had gotten away with so much for so long, a mistake of this sort was inevitable. After all, Grant is still living down Cold Harbor, where similar considerations apply. The only difference was, Grant could afford such losses. Lee could not. Gettysburg was incredibly costly. It turned out that the South could not afford even one mistake like this and even after it, there was a lot more war to come. But the south lost the initiative forever on that day. But, it was desperate times for the south. Grant, not even on the field at Gettysburg, was already arguably dictating policy and strategy to Lee. Lee only went north because he convinced his peers that he couldn't help Vicksburg. Many of his most sincere admirers always say that Lee had no choice. I disagree with that -- part of being a general is knowing when not to throw good men away. But Lee's failings here are human and predictable. I'm sure he did feel pressure to do something -- anything -- to make up for the losses in the West (which he probably suspected would only get worse). Look at a map. Sometimes, we forget just how far south Vicksburg is. That's where Grant was when Gettysburg happened.
Sherman told the Blacks that he was not there to fight for them nor to free them, on his march to Alanta. They started following him and he didn't like it one bit.
That's true. And, it wasn't just a problem for Sherman. To an extent too often unappreciated, black slaves freed themselves, taking advantage of the war to escape. The problem is, the union wasn't really organized to deal with it. Early in the war, they even returned slaves to their masters at least sometimes. Later, they were treated a contraband of war. After the Emancipation Proclamation, they were allowed to enlist. Union armies were there to fight a war, not manage a huge stream of freed slaves. But they got it anyway and the response in and out of the army was slow and halting.
If anyone cares this video is from 2002. James I Robertson, with that beautiful southern accent, passed in 2019. Robertson was considered a very distinguished historian. This video was produced by a Virginia Public TV station. Public TV has been attacked so much by the republican party that they hardly produce programs like this anymore. Lee should have surrendered after the battle of Five Forks. The next Confederate terrible defeat was at Sailor's Creek. Lee was prepared to fight at Appomattox when he finally surrendered.
I suspect you don't appreciate how important railroads were to the economy or even to troop movement in those days. You could not locate a city or a government any old place. The alternative to Richmond would have been places like Mobile, Alabama, New Orleans, or Charleston. Not whatever makeshift places Jeff Davis ran to after Richmond fell. The truth is, New Orleans or Charleston were vulnerable to the US Navy (New Orleans was outright captured after all). There weren't really that many places to have it. Richmond then was the equivalent of New York City in the north. It wasn't a place you just just let go of. For one thing, it had a lot of industrial production in a "country" that had nowhere near enough. Richmond was actually a great choice in the end. The Virginia countryside was not an easy place to conquer as Grant could inform one (not to mention his predecessors). That places like New Orleans, Atlanta, and Charleston all fell first suggests that Richmond was the best available option, despite its apparent proximity to the north.
Lee was also called Granny Lee and The King of Spades. Realistically known as the Confederate General, who was soundly defeated at Gettysburg in 1863 and finally surrendered his army to the victorious Union General Ulysses S. Grant in 1865.
I've always wondered if Hancock hadn't been wounded, and Reynolds not have been killed, would Lee's army have successfully been able to retreat to Virginia. Hancock and Reynolds were two of Meade's best and most agressive Generals. I think they might have sucessfully urged Meade to quickly follow Lee and destroy the Army of Northern Va before they could get across the Rappahanok River to Virginia. I'm not faulting Meade, he was just new in command, and had conflicting orders from DC. He saw his job was to keep his army together and keep it between Lee and Washington.
@@phildicks4721 It is an interesting "what if". My personal opinion was that Meade was correct, especially as he was new to his command. Grant did not relieve him and he would have if he thought Meade was badly wrong. It also seems to be the case that just about every general in the war, on either side, needed time to regroup after major battles. One reason Petersburg lasted as long as it did was that the Union forces that got there first were just too tired to follow up. Grant, to me, had an underrated ability to get his army moving faster. That was more than just sitting in some farmhouse issuing orders. He had to get food, ammunition, and men organized and on the go. On both sides, I don't know of anyone that did that more consistently. It is not at all flashy and escapes most analysis. But when I read accounts of Vicksburg, especially, his ability to reform his army, quickly, on the fly shows up in account after account. Lincoln was looking for a guy that could do that. He found him in Grant. I don't really see anyone else that did that as often and with nearly the same success. So, I don't fault Meade for doing a great job at Gettysburg and not doing what only one guy seemed capable of doing.
The story I have heard on this varies. One was that he was afraid of getting the nickname HUG. The other was that it was some clerical error made during his admission to West Point that Grant decided was better to leave alone to get in. In any case "Unconditional Surrender" Grant was a hell of a nickname.
Unlike what happened at Vicksburg, Lee was never isolated at Petersburg & Richmond. There were rail lines open for logistical support. Confederates could load supplies into wagons, and bypass blocked rail lines. In September, 1864, a raiding party lassoed 2,500 Cattle which helped too.
Perhaps I made a mistake, but I only lasted 6 minutes into this program until I could no longer stomach the underlying bias. The Confederacy was presented as glorious and the Union as incompetent . I expected better than this.
In this overland campaign grant's need not to step over meade slowed down the campaign and lost initiatives he could have taken if he had singular and direct field command like he had at shiloh and chattanooga where he was at the front commanding his brigadier generals.
@@jacksons1010 : Not before we put so many of yours in red Virginia dirt….for four years. Cute pic of a racist, antisemitism, genocidal maniac, though.
The Army of the Potomac returned to Washington for a grand parade and it’s survivors returned home to great glory. The ANV was soundly defeated with its soldiers straggling home in disgrace. The AoTP dead rest in Virginia I’m honored glory under the flag of the victorious United States. If Virginia is the graveyard of anything. It’s that of the Confederate dream of independence.
They debated it. Mostly, the response was "are you crazy? Arming slaves we beat and oppressed and who are escaping at every opportunity the war allows? You expect those guys to save us?" Ideologically, many didn't think that the slave army would reliably fight. Beyond the racism in such a thought, I think they were correct. They could get slaves to do things like dig ditches. But, face down Sherman? Not likely at all. Handing someone a gun is different from having them face down an attack.
The Revolutionary War would have been lost except for the intervention of France; so the Confederate States of America lost the war without that foreign aid the colonies had received
in 1864 the greatest country in the history of the world died. it was started by thirteen colonies and those colonies especially those of the south loved freedom and self determination. but it was a country that lived by the sword and thus died by the sword.
I see by the thumbs, there are two very ignorant people that watched the video. Perhaps they were expecting the s.j.w. version of events since the video bares the name of the liberal snot rag PBS. The best strategist, is a general who can win against overwhelming numbers and arms, as did Lee, Jackson, A P Hill, A S Johnston, Beauregard, Longstreet and Nathan Bedford Forrest. Which explains why they have been studied by military scholars worldwide. Good honest objective video Sir.
Really, genius?? Because Lee ordering Pickett to charge was pretty stupid. Or Malvern Hill where he ordered repeated attacks on the Federal Lines that cost him 5600 men? And the Union 3000?? Or maybe the way he lost at Spotsylvania, when he thought that Grant had no more stomach for fighting and was retreating. She he pulled his artillery out. Instead Grant attacked the next morning, slaughtering the Confederates , and completely overran the Muleshoe??
Grant was the superior strategist as he understood the importance of the western theater and moving all the armies against the Confederates at once. He further understood that Richmond was not the target but the Confederate armies. He and his other Generals were ultimately successful not through just attrition but through brilliant strategies
I mean with forces at equal strength or slightly larger Grant halted Albert Sidney Johnstons/Beauregards attack at Shiloh. And then with reinforcements counterattacked and routed Beauregards army. Another fact is war isn’t meant to be fair the south was out manned, outgunned, and had a economy and industry that was dwarfed by the northern economy. The only reason the Confederacy lasted as long as it did was because Lincoln had to find the right commanders for the various armies and because England basically floated the southern army with arms and equipment. Lee was a good commander and did the best he could but ultimately he failed at his task as did the other southern generals.
All of those generals that you mentioned fought to continue an evil. That is a black mark against all of them and reduces their accomplishments. They were traders to our nation and many of them owned men women and children. Your ideas of fallacy and PBS has been providing families and children superior content for decades.
