When pondering the Civil War, as I often do in my spare time, my mind is drawn to certain events which I think define the war, or at least they do in my mind. Among those topics which my mind seems drawn to are the Irish Brigade assaulting Marye's Heights, Stonewall Jackson standing, well, like a stone wall, Pickett's Charge (of course), George H. Thomas at Chickamauga, and the Peach Orchard at Shiloh.
Those are just a few. The war was made up of moments like these, too numerous to count and too numerous to include in a simple blog post. Since I am a historian of the Western Theater, the single event that sums up the war for me is the Confederate assault at Franklin, Tennessee on November 30, 1864. Most of the men who made the attack were veterans. They knew what happened to infantry who assaulted fixed positions, yet they went anyway. This was a point where the Lost Cause really was, yet they went anyway. Oh to be a witness to that gallant charge as they moved forward, flags flying, bands playing. The Army of Tennessee marched into immortality, yet few but the serious Civil War student even know the truth of what happened on that fateful November afternoon.
That, dear readers, sums up the entire war in my mind, both the gallantry and the carnage. So my question to you is this: What, if any, single event defines the war for you?
My name is Lee Hutch and I am a Civil War Addict who wishes all my readers a Happy Thanksgiving.
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