Terrific research by PFRA member Brian Marshall

          A tip of the blogger’s cap to Brian Marshall, a fellow member of the Pro Football Researchers Association, for his outstanding research into the career yardage of legendary running back Jim Brown.

          While researching Jim Brown’s career statistics as a whole, Marshall went through the official play-by-play sheets from the Cleveland Browns’ 1962 season. He detected that Jim Brown’s totals were slightly inaccurate in five games that year.

          Marshall’s research shows that Jim Brown actually rushed for 1,016 yards that season. He is officially credited with 996.

          The matter is covered in the current edition of The Coffin Corner, the official publication of the PFRA. Marshall’s article is titled, Rushing to Judgment: Recovering Jim Brown’s Lost Yardage.

          If you follow sports history, this is a must read.

          Interestingly, 10 years later, the Miami Dolphins asked the NFL to review halfback Mercury Morris’ rushing yardage for the 1972 season. The league discovered a play in which Morris was credited with a loss when the yardage should properly have been subtracted from someone else’s total. The result was that Morris was officially credited with exactly 1,000 yards gained rushing that year, giving the Dolphins two rushers with at least that many yards. The other 1,000-yard Dolphin rusher was Larry Czonka.

          Correcting Brown’s official totals for the 1962 season should be something the league can do, assuming the league looks into the question and agrees with Marshall.

          More information on the PFRA, including how to join and become a subscriber to The Coffin Corner is available at www.profootballresearchers.org.

          Thanks for reading.

Gettysburg historians should be more Culpable

          Culp’s Hill remains an enigma for your loyal blogger. A location on the Gettysburg battlefield that had the attention of Robert E. Lee for three days, the Hill has almost no one else’s attention in the modern day.

Culp's Hill in the late afternoon sun.

          Think about it: When was the last time you attended a conference about Gettysburg and spent more than a few minutes talking about the fighting on Culp’s Hill? The betting here is that you haven’t.

          Books? You can read endlessly about the fighting on Little Round Top or Pickett’s Charge. Our bookshelves here have several offerings on those topics and Carole Reardon’s brilliant Pickett’s Charge in History & Memory is currently under study here.



Most books about the battle as a whole cover the fighting on Culp’s Hill but when was the last time you read a book devoted just to the savage fighting on that hill? Noah Andre Trudeau’s Gettysburg a Testing of Courage is your loyal blogger’s favorite treatment of the battle as a whole and it covers the Culp’s Hill struggle. But there are very few literary efforts by professional historians that specifically study Culp’s Hill.

Culp's Hill has beautiful, tree-lined roads and it studded by monuments.

One of the soldiers fighting on that Hill was a member of the family that owned some of the land. You would think that one soldier and his story would be a popular subject for Gettysburg historians. You’d be wrong.

          There are reasons for all this apathy, of course. The first is the fictional book Killer Angels which tells the story of J.L. Chamberlain and the 20^th Maine at Little Round Top. The book does a wonderful job of stirring interest in the story of that area of the battlefield and in Gettysburg in general. In the popular mindset, Little Round Top is the most important hill on the Gettysburg battlefield.

          Then there are the personalities involved. Confederate General James Longstreet’s name looms large in the story of the Civil War and the attack on Little Round Top was his. Chamberlain was not shy about championing his status as the hero

The rocky hillside today can not hide the difficulty of the fighting during
the battle of Gettysburg. This was a deadly place to be during the
time frame of July 2-3, 1863.

of Gettysburg. And you’ve all heard of Pickett’s Charge.

          Quick, tell me who led the attacks on Culp’s Hill. Had to think for a moment, didn’t you?

          The odd part of the Culp’s Hill story is that so much of it involves an attack that was never made and a general who was not there.

          On July 1, late in the afternoon, the overall Confederate commander, Robert E. Lee, was in position to see where the Federals had been pushed back to what we know today as Cemetery Hill and Cemetery Ridge. Lee could see the hills that dominated the battlefield, Round Top and Little Round Top to the south and Culp’s Hill, much closer and to the north.

          Lee wanted an attack made on Cemetery Hill, which is sort of an extension from Culp’s Hill, that afternoon but the attack did not happen. Instead, the Confederates attacked Culp’s Hill a day later. Failing to take the summit, the Confeds stayed on a lower portion of the Hill over night before they were chased off the Hill on July 3^rd.

          It can be argued that, on July 2 and 3, no Confederate unit penetrated so deeply

into Union defenses at a crucial location as did those who attacked Culp’s Hill on the night of July 2.

          Much has been made of the non-attack on July 1^st. Lee gave General Richard Ewell the orders to attack Cemetery Hill that afternoon, “if practicable.” Ewell decided the attack was not practicable although he apparently considered an attack on Culp’s Hill rather than Cemetery Hill. Historians can squabble today whether either attack was, in fact, practicable.

          History devotees play the What If game with the same enthusiasm sports fans do and one of the great what ifs about Gettysburg is about how Thomas ‘Stonewall’ Jackson might have dealt with the, “if practicable,” order regarding either Cemetery Hill or Culp’s Hill.

          The reader will recall that Jackson was killed earlier in 1863.

          Jackson, the what-iffers say, probably would have found the idea practicable enough to attack. Given Jackson’s historic import, his presence probably would have been enough to attract more attention to the Culp’s Hill area over the last 150 years. But Jackson wasn’t there.



This is the marker for Company I of the 60th New York Regiment. This marker is not as easy to reach as most others
at Gettysburg. The visitor needs to walk down one of the rocky paths that dot the area. Wear solid hiking shoes or boots to get there. But it is worth the effort once you understand the history of what happened near this point.

          Finally, there is a geographic piece to consider in this puzzle. Culp’s Hill is slightly apart from the largest portion of the battlefield. It sits across the Baltimore Pike from the Gettysburg National Battlefield Park Visitors Center and is sort of disconnected from the fields that include the Devil’s Den, the Peach Orchard and the Round Tops.

          It isn’t easy to get to Culp’s Hill from the locations listed above and for that reason the Hill attracts less attention from visitors.

          So your loyal blogger suggests that Gettysburg aficionados do the following: Drive up Culp’s Hill. If you are in very sound physical condition, climb the observation tower at the top and survey the surroundings. Then drive back down the hill and when you reach the area where the Baltimore Pike and the Gettysburg cemetery are both visible, stop the car and try to envision what a few batteries of Confederate artillery might have accomplished from that spot or higher up Culp’s Hill on July 2, 1863.

          Then ask yourself why more study is not done of the Culp’s Hill story.

          Thanks for reading.

 

Should there be or should there be not? That is the question

Edits with goof repair!

          This one is left up to you, the readers, because it is a question of philosophy. It is a matter of opinion, which means there is no right or wrong.

          Unless you disagree with your loyal blogger. If you want to be right, you’ll have to write your own blog.

          Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, July 2, 1863. It is late afternoon on a warm day, made hotter by all the cannon balls and heavy, little bullets flying around. A titanic struggle is underway between two large armies and the fighting is killing men by the thousands in the areas outside the town.

          You all probably know the story of the fighting on the far left end of the Army

The memorial for the men of the 20th Maine on Little Round Top. Look
at the notes and small flags left by visitors. This happens every day.

of the Potomac: The Union’s 20^th Maine holds off the repeated advances of the 15^th Alabama on one side of a hill named Little Round Top. The 20^th eventually drives off the ‘Bama boys with an impromptu charge, securing the flank.

          If you know your history well, you know that a group of Texans very nearly crumbled a different point along the Federal line atop Little Round Top that day. The difference between winning and losing on that hill was razor-thin.

          Which brings us to the present time. On June 27 of this year, your loyal blogger was walking along the line held so valiantly by the boys from Maine between the right flank marker and the memorial to the Maine men. There were two notes left by visitors to the location. One was a computer-printed list of a group of men from Alabama who were with the 15^th Alabama that day. The other note was hand-scribbled on a small piece of paper and said the 15^th deserves a marker on Little Round Top.

          The question: Do you agree?

          First, we must remember Elder’s Rule: Winners get to place and determine what is written on plaques, markers and memorials in National Military Parks. Losers are allowed to visit National Military Parks.

          Next, we should concede that more than 150 years after the battle and with all the veterans gone there is no way we could accurately mark how far some Confederate units reached during the fighting on the second and third days at Gettysburg.

          But the question remains: Should there be markers commemorating the desperate nature of the fighting on the Confederate side? Should there be a marker for the Alabamians who battered themselves against the Mainers or the Texans who succeeded in driving back the 16^th Michigan but narrowly failed to take advantage of that opportunity?

          It is an interesting question.

You have to take into account that fact that the Confederates were fighting to preserve slavery. Their cause was unacceptable. So would regimental markers estimating the positions of advancement for Confederates be a tacit acceptance of the unacceptable? Your call, reader.

The Point Reached marker for the 1st Maryland regiment of Confederates.
This marker is on Culp's Hill, as are two flank markers for a regimental
memorial for the same unit. The regimental monument directs visitors
to this stone marker.

There are such markers on the battlefield at Gettysburg now. The Point Reached maker for the 1^st Maryland Confederate regiment on Culp’s Hill is the classic example. Would a similar marker for the 15^th be in keeping with the effort to present an important day in American history? Your call, again.

Then there is the matter of all the other Confederate regiments. If a marker is erected for the 15^th Alabama, shouldn’t there be one for the other Confederate regiments that rushed at the Federals on the second and third days of the battle? Those regiments also fought very bravely and a few men from some of those Confederate units even pierced the Union defenses on both the second and third days of the battle. Up to you, reader.

The most obvious question, that of financial obligation for these would-be markers, is easily answered. Should you, the reader, decide the 15^th Alabama ought to have either a position-reached or commemorative marker on Little Round Top, then you can pay for it.

Your loyal blogger feels history would have been better served more than a century ago when the park was under development if the Southern side of the fighting was better represented. Further representation of the Confederate attacks should have been completed while the veterans of the fighting were still alive to give input. There should be a notice of the furthest point of advancement by the 15th.

However, there is no way to accurately place such a marker now. If we can’t be accurate, it says here, we shouldn’t bother with the markers.

 

Thanks for reading.

 

The Devil(s Den) made me do it

                Yesterday’s blog contained some images of the area around an area within the Gettysburg Battlefield Park known as the Devil’s Den. More of the same today, but this time we’ll see more of the approaching areas trod by the Confederates as they attacked the Den and Little Round Top on July 3, 1863.

          First, a bit of further advice to go with our recommendation yesterday about sun screen and a hat: Be sure to smear yourself with plenty of insect repellant, particularly anti-tic stuff, as well as the sun screen. If you know a hunter, ask what brand the hunter prefers. There are plenty of varieties of insects on the battlefield, so be sure to use something with a wide range of applications.

          Your loyal blogger usually bathes in sun screen in the hotel room before heading out, giving the grease time to soak in before arriving at the battlefield. Upon arrival, the anti-bug stuff gets applied. Lots of it.

          The images here were collected during a 2010 hike in the fields in front of the Devil’s Den. The captions with the images will explain them.

The Devil's Den.

          The first image is included to give the first-time viewer a feel for the size of the boulders in the Den. This particular view looks sort of east to west from the modern day parking lot.

The large tree is generally the left-most edge of the Devils Den. Look just to the right of the tree to see a plaque
for modern visitors. That gives the viewer a feel for the location of the larger boulders in the image above this one.
Look to the left side of the image and see the castle-like monument. That structure sits on Little Round Top.

          Generally, the rocky terrain is approximately as it was in 1863. There are a few unit markers, depending upon which path you follow, but generally the walkways in these areas are unimproved dirt walking paths.

          Some of the boulders are easily climbed for a better view, others are not. There is a lot of vegetation in today’s Park that was kept to a minimum by farm animals and wild critters 150 years ago. The vegetation is tall enough that it is difficult to see, at times, the areas of interest. The captions with the images detail where the best-known locations are.

          To reach the area where two of the images were captured, find the rock fence that borders the Triangular Field and follow the path that continues along that fence downhill and, in general, toward Seminary Ridge. Turn left at the path at the bottom of the hill and walk back toward the Devil’s Den. In approximate terms, Round Top (aka Big Round Top) will be to your front and Seminary Ridge way off to your right. When you reach a point in front of the Den, turn to face it. Little Round Top will be behind the Den and off to the right.



From the pathway described in the text above, looking toward Seminary Ridge. Notice the changes in elevation. The
sharp-eyed viewer will see a car in the right center of the upper area of the photograph. Also, see the
farmhouse on the far left border of the image. Those items should give a feel for the distances involved.

          Keep in mind that, especially in early July, the heat and humidity can be significant in this area. You’ll want to have water with you, something the Confederates did not have.

          The goal here is to give you a feel for the ground that the two sides fought over when the sides met at the Devils Den. Walking in these locations made a profound impression on your loyal blogger.

Reading about the fighting there is one thing, but walking the ground is something else.

 

Thanks for reading. Now go for a walk.

The Devil's Den

          One of the most interesting areas during the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg is the Devil’s Den. The intention here is not to recount the history of that fighting. You can read all of that elsewhere on line or in one of the many excellent books on the subject.

          The intent here is to give the reader a chance to see approximately what some of the combatants might have seen on July 2, 1863.

The view of the Devil's Den from Little Round Top.

          The first image is of the Den itself from Little Round Top, something like what General Warren might have seen when he famously stood on a boulder and correctly determined what the Confederate plans were. The huge boulders are the Den.

An image from a few days after the battle, This is a dead
Confederate soldier next to Plum Run.

The bushy area to the left of the modern day parking lot is also strewn with boulders but the big rocks are hidden by trees and other plant life today that was not there in 1863. There is also a minor stream that sometimes is more evident than other times named Plum Run. It meanders through the same location to the left of the parking lot.

Near the area in the image above, the marshy water of Plum Run
in the rocky area of the Devil"s Den.

Thus the defenders and attackers had to deal with changes in elevation, boulders, some surrounded by water, plus all the firepower available to the opposing soldiers.

To the far right of the first image is part of a ridge that extends a distance north of the Den. Just a few yards along that ridge is the approximate location where the 4^th New York Independent Battery located four canons for the federals. The next two views show something like what the Fourth might have seen (minus the paved road and directional sides from the modern day). The farm buildings in the distance are representative of a farm that stood in the same location at the time of the battle.

When you walk in the areas pictured here, it looks different than it did at the time the battle because there was less plant life. The topography was an important part of the challenge troops faced that day but there is no way you can understand how much of an impact the grounds made on the difficulties the fighters faced until you walk the areas pictured here.

A union sharpshooting unit sniped at the Confederates from the moment the southerners began their advance, which means that Federal group covered almost the entire area pictured here and continued to fall back even beyond the Devil’s Den. When we discuss the second day of the fighting, we frequently forget to talk about the physical effort the Union sharpshooters made that afternoon.

Walk the grounds sometime. There are plenty of easily found pathways starting from the Confederate staging areas on Seminary Ridge. Little Round Top is easy to aim for, but another challenge might be to aim for the Devil’s Den.

Be sure you stop at the Visitors Center and talk to the Rangers about your plan to walk this part of the battlefield. They’ll have plenty of advice that will make it a more enjoyable experience for you.

Be sure you carry sunscreen and water before you start. Wear a shady hat.

 

And thanks for reading.

 

I have the foggiest idea...

                You hear and read military historians talk about the so-called fog of war. If I understand the concept properly, the term refers to the confusion that develops on the battlefield when many dynamic actions take place at the same time. It is difficult for any individual to really know everything that has happened without talking to comrades.

          I found some war fog during a morning visit to the Gettysburg National Battlefield Park and I have two images here from that visit.



The Foggy Fence.

          The images were both produced from a position a few hundred yards east of the position along Seminary Ridge where the Virginia Memorial stands. I was looking in the direction of Cemetery Ridge. You can walk out to the position along a paved path, something visitors do every day.

          The fog dissipated while I was there, thinning from something like the soupy, thick gray stuff you sometimes see along Southern California’s coastline to nearly normal conditions in about 25 minutes. Of course, the action of the sun burning off the fog cranked the temperature higher and did nothing to lower the humidity. I got my images and got myself back in the air-conditioned car.

          You can see the fence drifting off into the fog in the first image. The fence gives you a bit of a feel for the size of the field it covers. I was happy when the bird landed on the fence because it gives the scene a bit of personality.

        

Foggy thoughts at Gettysburg.

  The canon has a personality of its own and it gives a different feel in the next shot. This shot was earlier in the series, so the fog is thicker than in the fence shot, but I like the idea of distance you get from the big gun.

          Few areas in America’s landscape have the important history of these fields. The Confederates attacked the Federal army across this ground on July 3, 1863. That was the third day of the battle, 150 years ago today.

          You can sit along either Ridge and stare across the span between the points of attack and repulse. Somehow, in the morning fog, I imagined things more clearly. I have looked across that distance many times, in both directions, but on this particular occasion it was easier to picture the attack. Something about fog does that, I guess.

          Thanks for reading.

This is it: A Package Deal

          Through the years that I have been photographing the Civil War battlefields at Gettysburg and Chickamauga, I have been more interested in the history of the locations than I have been in finding what I call the pretty pictures.

          I still enjoy the history aspect more than I do the artsy opportunities most battlefields offer, even with my camera in my hand. But this year, in the days following the 2013 Civil War Institute at Gettysburg College, the atmospheric conditions were so good that I abandoned my conceit for an evening and chased after this image.

          I will not lie to you; I am satisfied with this image.

          I am so satisfied with this image that I feel the world deserves to see it. Indeed, if the world really wants it, I am willing to part with this image for a price.

Sunset on Cemetery Ridge.

          I am open to negotiation, but the asking price will be $47 million. At that price, I only need one sale.

The complete offer can include the camera and lens I used to capture the scene, the backpack I carried them in, a guided tour of the location where I captured this shot with me as the tour guide, the car I drove to Gettysburg on the trip to capture the photograph and a house in which to hang the picture.

Oh, and I’ll throw in an autograph at no extra charge.

In sales talk, we call this a Package Deal. You’ll not find another offer like this anywhere.

Interested?

         
          Thanks for reading.