Ranger Matt Atkinson leads a talk covering the aftermath of Gettysburg for the Army of Northern Virginia and how Robert E. Lee attempts to recoup his losses.
I had the opportunity to meet Matt this past summer. I find every ranger that presented over those five days to be excellent. Matt does a special job of bringing history to life. Thanks Matt.
His subject matter is war, battles, strategy, and tactics. We fail to see the humor in a war to preserve slavery. However, we do give thanks to God that so many defenders of slavery and treason were killed in that war. We do thank God the South lost. And we do pray that if General Sherman is reincarnated, the Good Lord gives him a lifetime supply of matches.
Ive always been a history buff, but this Matt Atkinson is a gem. The park service is blessed to have this guy. Ive never been one of those hardcore Civil War guys, but Id consider visiting Gettysburg from Massachusetts just to go on one of his tours or attend his lectures. Credit where credits due!!!
So wanna go and do a Battlefield tour in Gettysburg with Ranger Atkinson. His knowledge and the setting of the area itself is awesome. Love watching his presentations here on the YT. Definitely a bucket list item. RIP all those who died for their Nation, no matter what side. Lest We Forget
No sir... Thank you very much! I love every one of Matt Atkinson's speeches, tours and everything! He is a wonderful speaker and shares his vast knowledge in ways that are easy for all of us to learn.
Look at video by Kent Masterson Brown, better than that, read Kent's book that covers the medical care aspects, first. Then he gets into the logistics and military history of (Not Sure Exact Match on Title): "Lee and the Retreat from Gettysburg"
I think it important to remember Lee literally knew almost every important officer on both sides well from his service at West Point, the Mexican War and field service with an elite mounted unit. I also have read that his officer losses at South Mountain and Antietam were very serious. I am always very appreciative of your presentations. You share your scholarship well. Thanks.
Please suggest Ranger Atkinson host a podcast. I'm a big fan of his lectures on youtube but think a conversational or discussion based podcast would be fantastic. I'm certain he could have a strong following. Kudos for your work as well.
Perhaps a private podcast isn’t permitted by park service. Some of the park rangers also teach history courses and lecture different places. Some write books.
If I'm not mistaken. The man who played Gen. William Barksdale in the movie Gettysburg. Is actually a descendant of Barksdale. "General Barksdale. Is Mississippi ready this day?" "Mississippi is ready sir." Quote from the movie Gettysburg.
Watching from Japan. Matt needs his own Facebook page and RU-vid channel. Stuffwriter does a tremendous job but is only one person. The national park service would do well to record and publish everything Ranger Matt puts out.
Awesome as usual....but, why not use wireless mics on the speakers? The camera microphone picks up the crowd and ambient sound which drowns out Mr. Atkinson. Excellent presentation and entertainment value for sure, just need better sound.
Almost every time I hear fireworks going off on the 4th all around my house I wonder if that's what battle sounds like. Minus the sound of men dying of course.
@@Gitarzan66 I have always had the same thought. I must say that I really enjoy fireworks. Were it the real thing and I could move in time, not sure what I'd of done...........just scared!
In most wars, at least up through World War 1, more soldiers died from disease than from battle wounds. Stonewall Jackson, for example, died of pneumonia. I'm not sure if it was a result of his "friendly fire" wounds or not.
Isn't Gen. Vallely the same same son of a bitchin birther who claimed President Obama was not a U.S. citizen resulting in one U.S. military commander refusing to deploy to Afghanistan? The other commander was sentenced to 6 months on prison and kicked out of the U.S. Army.
Instead of replacing all of these colonels, Lee should have done a lot of consolidation of regiments, brigades and divisions. I would wager he could have reduced the bureaucracy and streamlined the army by doing so. Pickett's division before the battle was already barely bigger than a brigade.
You're discounting the fact that the soldiers were volunteer soldiers. The regiments had strong cultures and identities to them. That is what prevented that from happening. The soldiers weren't just going to let themselves be consolidated they would have just gone home. The movie Gettysburg goes over the 2nd Maine mutiny over that very issue.
@@runtoth3abyss In looking at the roster of my wife's great,great grandfather's company, I see neighbors from long traditional families and several future brother-in-laws.
An adamant bisexual? .... being also a Christian Baptist preacher, I highly doubt there's any truth to your blasphemy.... but thanks for playing anyhow 615.....
It is hard for me to understand the mentality of Lee invading Pennsylvania. Did he really think that Lincoln would panic and sue for peace? It seems to me that it would have been better to have lured the UNion Army into a wasting battle in Virginia , that would have worn down the Federals and spared CSA lives.
Grant was sieging Vicksburg and it coincidentally fell to the Union at the same time as the Battle of Gettysburg. The fall of Vicksburg essentially split the Confederacy in two and after that, defeat is theoretically just a function of time. That probably factored into the urgency to press the Union to the table for peace. As Lincoln put it, "See what a lot of land these fellows hold, of which Vicksburg is the key. The war can never be brought to a close until that key is in our pocket."
Perhaps Longstreet's suggested alternative to Pickett's charge might have turned out better, too. As early as Sun Tzu, military strategists recognized the advantage of being on the defense in at least a semi-fortified position.
Lee knew the south could not keep the war going with limited supplies and manpower in comparison to the north, he was time pressed. Lee going north was essentially a giant raid for food & supplies. His goal was to draw the Union army of the Potomac out of Virginia and to resupply his own army and with any luck win a decisive battle in the north crippling Union morale. The Army of the Potomac's morale was low prior to Gettysburg due to numerous defeats and incompetent Generals leading it. Had Lee pulled off another Chancellorsville or Fredericksburg scenario in the north that may have had serious repercussions politically for Lincoln & his administration. Even well after Gettysburg a growing peace movement in the north was happening. Imagine if Lee had won at Gettysburg? That would add to the growing peace movement.
It had a similar purpose to the Vietnam Tet Offensive, - to show the South's continued power and to lessen the support for the war. They were headed for Harrisburg, the capital of Pennsylvania.
Stuff writer make a Dairy Queen bet with ranger Matt....bet him he left out a wounded Confederate general, after all the protesting, remind him of G.T. Anderson at the wheat field, then collect the bet! 🤫
Apparently Lee was not close enough to the scene of battle to see that Pickett did not have a division after the failed charge. Undoubtedly Lee stayed in the rear until the battle was over. Then rides out hollering "it's all my fault"!!
They thought they could win without much of a fight, certainly before attrition became a problem. A rate of attrition which they would have been hard pressed to foresee as nobody in the US Army or CS Army had commanded armies or fought battles to the size of which they faced in 1861-1865.
What changed the course of the battle of Gettysburg was the superior generalship of Union General Meade and his subordinates. Face the fact that no matter how much rebs want to hoot and holler they just were not that good.
Looking forward to a presentation on the confederate prison at Andersonville, Georgia where Union P.O.Ws were murdered and starved to death by the Confederacy.
I think lee should never rise above the rank of private. What I think made lee look good was secretary of war Stanton wanted the war to last longer and Stanton intentionally gave McClellan bogus intelligence long before Gettysburg.
Trying to find a NPS Battlewalk discussing the African Americans, living in Pennsylvania in June and July, 1863 who were kidnapped by Confederate General Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia. These kidnapped African Americans were forcibly taken into Virginia by General Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia.
Instead of a sculpture of Lee on a horse at Gettysburg, it would be more appropriate to use the spot to put up a feral hog in honor of those hogs that consumed Confederate war dead on the battlefield and excreted the remains on that hallowed ground.
What does the Homestead Act of 1862 have to do with the Gettysburg Campaign? Former slaves and their descendants did get homesteads via the Homestead Act of 1862, including a dozen in my part of Florida. The last homestead grant in my area was in the early 1920s.
