Antietam
But oh, did you see all the dead of Manassas
All the bellies and the bones and the bile
--Yankee Bayonet, The Decemberists
And pile them high at Gettysburg. . .
I am the grass
Let me work
--Grass, Carl Sandburg
[Faust] shows how thoroughly the work of mourning
became the business of capitalism,
mechanized throughout a society
--Adam Gopnik, on The Republic of Suffering
All the bellies and the bones and the bile
--Yankee Bayonet, The Decemberists
And pile them high at Gettysburg. . .
I am the grass
Let me work
--Grass, Carl Sandburg
[Faust] shows how thoroughly the work of mourning
became the business of capitalism,
mechanized throughout a society
--Adam Gopnik, on The Republic of Suffering
______________
Today we saw the Antietam Battlefield, the site of the bloodiest one-day battle of the Civil War, with over 22,000 casualties. It is today a beautiful, lush cornfield and rolling green hills, eerily dissonant to the reality of September 17, 1862.
One of our readers sent The Decembrists' lyrics, so it seemed fitting to mention today's visit. An exhibit about the work of photournalist Alexander Gardner, who documented the battlefield two days later, mentioned the importance of his images which were the first photos of war showing dead bodies. Gardner's images of the carnage were met with revulsion -- what else?
I am reminded of our photojournalist friend Zoriah who was recently disembedded from a Marine unit as a result of his photos showing the carnage following the detonation of an IED in Iraq. These are not pretty photos. But perhaps if we saw them, rather than those of immaculate honor guards, Toby Kieth might be less appealing.
Labels: antietam, documenting war, false patriotism, photos of battle, zoriah disembedded
posted by Lisa at 9:56 PM
23 Comments:
24,000 by some accounts, and yet Gettysburg gets all the press!!!
Is Bloody Lane still there??
Historian Jeff Wert and many others consider Antietam the critical point when the Confederates lost the war even though they claimed victory on the Antietam battlefield. Lee regarded it as his Army's finest hour. During the battle it is said that Longstreet's staff officers manned two brass cannon whose gunners had all been killed or wounded by Federal counter-battery fire. His Chief of Staff and Aides "...loaded the pieces and pulled the lanyards. Longstreet sat calmly on his horse, chewing on a cigar, holding the reins of his officers' mounts, and ordering charges of canister."
But a few days afterward, Lee moved the Army of Northern Virginia across the Potomac out of Maryland back into Virginia. From that point on, British and French recognition of the Confederacy was a dead issue. Five days after Antietam, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which did more to reshape the outcome of the war than anything that McClellan, Meade, Hooker, or Grant could do.
So weird Lisa...am currently watching Civil War battles on the History Channel. Thanks for the 'timely' post.
Well, Ranger, from what I've encountered amongst those who have a hard on for war is they like the parades of flesh and technology, the ooh-ahh gadgets of death and destruction, the shiny medals that tell of courageous deeds, but you'll be damned if you explained to them how those bright shinies were earned.
Part of the reason I'm sickened by my fellow countrymen is because of the way they have a hardon for war, and not a concern for the horrors that come with it.
They want to know of heroic deeds, of John Wayne like bravery, of hollywood glamour and how cool it is to blow away so many "bad" guys with their penis...I'm sorry, machine gun.
Pathetic, and yet they have a home in the Republican party.
i love this site
civil war animated. it's great stuff.
Mike,
I personally walked Bloody Lane.
Gettysburg gets more press b/c it lasted days and was an invasion; who cares about Maryland anyway-- they don't even have a hot female governor.
The ground at Gettysburg and Sharpsburg is very similar and gives one a good feel of 1860's military training and thinking.
All accounts have Longstreet holding the horses. I've been to his grave in Gainesville, Ga in one of my pilgrimages.
Hi Turtle,
We were both experiencing Antietam at the same time. Hope all is well with you.
sheerahkhan:
The current democratic contender seems to be what you describe. He favors staying the course in Afghanistan and McCain sam-o in Iraq.
Do we have a fart's chance in a windstorm of ending the PWOT?
As an aside I'm appalled by the roads and poverty and crummy housing I'm seeing on my trip. It's increasing my belief that America must cut and run in order to save our bacon--just like Lee at Antietam.
jim
Thanks, MB -- that's a great site.
"The current democratic contender seems to be what you describe. He favors staying the course in Afghanistan and McCain sam-o in Iraq."
Yeah, I'm not to happy about that either.
I'm wondering what part of "O-U-T N-O-W!" Obama and Biden didn't understand?
Either way, though, I'm still voting against McCain and Pain...Palin...sorry, missed the "l" there.
Mike, I think Antietam holds the one day record for kia's, whereas Gettysburg was a three day affair
Sheerahkahn -- You've let the present obscure the past: WW I - Wilson (Democrat); WW II - Roosevelt (Democrat); Korea - Truman (Democrat); Vietnam - Johnson (Democrat)... I mention these examples NOT to excuse the present administration in the least(!)... just wanted to point out that war lust is not limited to any particular party.
GSJ
Mahalo, Lisa, for the kind remarks at M&C! I'm a Civil War buff, too! I visited Gettysburg myself! Didn't see Antietam... Excellent linkage with the photos then and Zoriah and the Pentagon's war on the media...
Here's an old post I did on Controlling The Message...
Range, I STILL say it--how can you have a war on terror when war IS terror???
Anon,
I really understand what you are saying on a personal level. And I agree in theory, but in actuality war is not terror b/c the use of violence is national and institutional which unfortunately is viewed as legitimate.
Terrorism, on the other hand, lacks that shine and luster of "a just war". And the twain does not meet. jim
Thanks, CT. Your post was exactly right. When thinking of our fellow Americans I am somehow reminded of Granny in the Beverly Hillbillies, who sought succor by watching the tumbler washing machine go round and round.
Nothing would be better than propaganda.
Eddie -
You are correct - Antietam's 22 or 24,000 dead were in a single day. That equates to 1,000 KIA per hour. Quite a record and that was just with bullets and grapeshot.
But I believe that the Brits, French, and Germans greatly exceeded that single day record in 1916 at the Somme. Ironic, since Brit observers 50 odd years earlier had called American generals butchers who presided over bloodbaths. Wonder what they would have thought of Field Marshall Haig????
Good post.
I always thought that Shiloh (Pittsburgh Landing) was the worst for butchery, but I see that, like Gettysburg, it ran multiple days.
Apalling that neither side "got" the effect that rifling had on the accuracy of the musket. Bloody-handed idiots; I'd say they should have been hot, but then, they often were.
What I get out of places like Antietam, Manassas, and Gettysburg is the continuity between then and now. I would defend the terrain and attack the enemy in exactly the same way.
Being an infantryman in 1863 is no different than being one in 2008.
The problem at Antietam is that they did not coordinate their attacks and they did not have proper artillery prep and their reserves could not effect the outcome of the battles.
As for your comment on the rifled musket, I was shocked at the closeness of the combat quarters at Antietam. A Brown Bess would have wreaked equal havoc.
Gettysburg is much more oriented to the rifle. But your point is well taken: neither side abandoned mass assualts to adapt for the new technology of concentrated, accurate, long-range rifle fire.
Hence, Lee's victory at St. Petersburg.
mike,
Concerning the Somme, you must ask why they would not maneuver far and wide in the age of railroads, and with accurate indirect artillery support. It is the same song but with a different singer as the US Civil War.
I believe that maneuver would have been more effective and likely at Antietam than at the Somme. I'm thinking as tactical ground commander might, and not a strategic one. At the Somme, it would have to be a theatre Army manuever.
At Antietam, it would have been a simple matter of employing the reserves to attack Sharpsburg while the coordinated assault would tie down Lee's maneuver ability, and ability to react.
Although McClellan and Haig were in fact attacking, they lacked the initiative, reacting as they did to the pace of operations dictated by the enemy. Sort of like the Phony War on Terror today, huh?
Then, as now, we are reactors vs. actors, a formula for disaster.
As a Marine, Mike, we got a comment yesterday on an older post "Enemies, a Love Story" about Beirut '83. If you have any insights, they'd be welcome there.
http://rangeragainstwar.blogspot.com/
2008/05/enemies-love-story.html
GSJ,
Your points are well-taken, except I take exception with Johnson, and Lisa with FDR. Johnson inherited his war from Eisenhower via Kennedy. FDR may have wanted to enter the war, but did not commit troops until Pearl Harbor.
LIsa -- With regard to FDR and Pearl Harbour --- read Day of Deceit by Robert B. Stinnett. The reviews on Amazon give a good pro and con view on the book -- I think the pros win the contest by knockout... but there's lots of reviews to read and you might get through the book faster!
Ranger -- With regard to Johnson and Vietnam --- the Gulf of Tonkin set-up the passage of the War Powers Act and the entire escalation of the war in 1964. The Gulf of Tonkin incident, as you probably know, was pure public relations theatre (i.e., a lie). FWIW, the 1963 lead-in to the whole affair was the Kennedy assination...I'll leave the issue there. Johnson's still on the hook IMHO.
GSJ
GSJ,
Points well-taken. Jim feels Eisenhower is not off the hook for VN culpability, but the escalation is a Johnson reality.
Tonkin may be a lie, but it may also be an example of Black Ops. MACVSOG PT boast were operating in the area that day; it is possible it was an orchestrated attacks. Again, possible. . .
Antietam is a historically significant battle that gets less attention than other big Civil War battles. I visited Antietam Battlefield this weekend and wrote about it on my blog. Since the battlefield is in a remote area, it has been less impacted by development than many other battlefields like Manassas and remains a great monument to those who died there.
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