Spurred by the question posed by Dr. George Forgie while I was working with him at the University of Texas, I began to research the role Gettybsurg actually played in the War Between the States. As I looked into the topic, I began to realize that there was quite a difference between the way people viewed that great battle during the war and in the decades after the conflict.
So much of Gettysburg's fame is wrapped up in the creation of the National Battlefield Park, its status as one of the few clear cut victories ever won by the Army of the Potomac, the great debate among Confederate veterans over who "lost" the battle and the fame of Lincoln's Gettysburg address. There is little doubt that Gettysburg has become the symbolic battle of the war... which is just fine. Anything that gets people to visit the battlefield, read about the conflict, connect with the men and women who lived through that crucible in our nation's history, be inspired by the valor of the soldiers or the leadership of the generals, is a good thing.
But does Gettysburg deserve the title of TURNING POINT?
The answer, in part, depends on how you define turning point. Is it the moment that the goals for which a nation is waging war dramatically change? If so, isn't Antietam the turning point for the Union? Is it the moment that the struggle morphs from a limited conflict into total war? If so aren't Shiloh or Sherman's March the turning point? Is the turning point economic? polictical? diplomatic? You can take your pick or subscribe to the idea that there were multiple turning points of varying importance.
Most people, however, would tend to define turning point as the moment it became certain that one side would lose the war and the other would win it. When Gettysburg is referenced as a turning point this is the typical context -- the claim that is made or at least strongly implied; certainly the claim that is often inferred.
So if we accept that definition, does Gettysburg meet the standard. Increasingly, more and more historians have been saying "probably not" or "not at all."
Wanting to make up my own mind, I decided that the best place to look for an answer to the Gettysburg = Turning Point question was in the months immediately after the great battle. How did Northerners and Southerners (especially those in the rival armies and governments) view the battle at the time? What impact did the battle have on the actual -- rather than counterfactual -- course of the war?
This led me to examine the period after the battle of Gettysburg and before the arrival of Grant as commander of all the Union armies. Remarkably, the actions of the Army of Northern Virginia and the Army of the Potomac during the five months between the Pennsylvania battle and the onset of Winter Quarters in December 1863 have recieved little more than passing mention in most larger histories or biographies. What has been published on them generally contains little or no originial reserach beyond the use of the Official Records. As Virginia-centric as Civil War military history tends to be, I was astonished to discover that there was scant attention paid to such a long period concerning the war's most famous armies and one of its most famous -- if not most famous -- generals: Robert E. Lee.
My project began as a Master Thesis and 20 some odd years later it has morphed into a book, After Gettysburg, Before Grant that will published by Savas & Beatie this fall. It has been a fascinating subject to research and a delight to write about. The two major campaigns that occurred between August and December 1863 -- Bristoe Station and Mine Run -- are fascinating operations, full of compelling stories, lots of combat and much to tell us about the relative impact of Gettysburg on the course of the conflict. I hope that my work will stand as the definitive study of the period and those campaigns.
Many of my blog posts will concern these events... but I hope that this blog also becomes a forum where those with a serious and deep interest in the war can discuss, exchange ideas and debate. I have always enjoyed the intellectual back and forth of studying history and look forward to engaging in that favorite past time with my readers.
No comments:
Post a Comment