The American Civil War Diaries (6 Viewers)

[kilted vampire]

Re: Antietam: Carnage in the Corn-field

The Rebs are pouring fire into the heavily supported Union center. Marse Lee had mistakenly believed this area to be thinly manned. To his dismay he found this to be incorrect.




The Union return fire into the devasted and ragged ranks of Rebels.

 

[kilted vampire]

Re: Antietam: Carnage in the Corn-field

The Rebs disappear in the blazing fire and smoke of an organised, motivated Union defense.

 

[UKReb]

Re: Gettysburg The Third Day

The Rebs rushed forward- now with no regard for formation, taking punishing fire on both flanks the fast thinning gray ranks reached the wall following their beloved General

Standing on top of the stone wall Armistead yelled back at his men
"Come on boys! Give them the cold steel!"

The 71st Pennsylvania-part of Webb's brigade facing the furious Reb onslaught began to break. Some of their officers screamed
"Halt! Turn about face and fire you cowards"
On some unpatriotic backs fell the flat of the officers sabres, but men were never made who will stand against levelled bayonets coming at them with such momentum and determination accompanied by blood curdling Rebel yells, the break became a rout

The wall was now thick with the red banners of the Confederacy and the blue flags of Virginia as the Rebs continued to encroach into the Federal position at the Angle

With Armistead still leading from the front Colonel Martin yelled to his men
"The day is ours! Look to your General! Follow him to victory!"

The fighting now on both of the Confederate flanks became bloody bayonet thrusts and furious hand to hand combat as the Rebs held back the blue-lines to enable their colleagues a clear central advance

And as those few brief minutes passed with Armistead and his men over the wall and the 71st falling back in a fear stricken flock of confusion-quite literally in front of Armistead- the road lay open all the way to Washington.

The fate of Gettysburg hung by a spider's single thread

 

[The Lt.]

Re: Antietam: Carnage in the Corn-field

Welcome back UKReb seems like you've had a well earn break and hope you enjoy your R & R and what a great way to make a return. Nice seeing you back Bob....The Lt.

 

[Captain]

Re: Antietam: Carnage in the Corn-field

Outstanding UKReb. Truly Outstanding Sir!!!!

 

[UKReb]

Re: Antietam: Carnage in the Corn-field

Bob,
Superlatives simply aren't enough.
Thanks...REALLY THANKS for this thread. I honestly don't know what more I can add to the appreciative comments already made by other fans of this thread.
Except, don't stop. We need our regular fix....
Cheers
H

Thanks Harry

However had no intention in making you an addict, but now you are I'd better keep the thread going.

That's a great strap line again H and appropriate

Reb

 

[eborris]

Re: Antietam: Carnage in the Corn-field

Do my eyes deceive me or does Private Willie have two stripes?

 

[desk11desk12]

Re: Antietam: Carnage in the Corn-field

Wow, that's great!

Carlos

 

[UKReb]

Re: Antietam: Carnage in the Corn-field

Do my eyes deceive me or does Private Willie have two stripes?

Don't quite recall depicting a Private Willie?
But then again you're the guy who spotted Rebs wearing Mario Bros hats and Krauts carrying Yankee carbines so what the hell do I know?
I just post the pictures you do the scrutiny!!!!!!!

 

[eborris]

Re: Antietam: Carnage in the Corn-field

You didn't post the picture and I don't know what the hell you know anyway.

 

[kilted vampire]

Re: Antietam: Carnage in the Corn-field

Do my eyes deceive me or does Private Willie have two stripes?

Oh man! Totally busted! I screwed that up. Your eyes did not decieve you!

Reb he is referring to a post of mine about Pvt. Mills in Hoods' Corps.

 

[eborris]

Re: Antietam: Carnage in the Corn-field

No worries, sorry for noticing.

 

[Harrytheheid]

Re: Antietam: Carnage in the Corn-field

Reb,
When I get the opportunity, I'm going to go though this thread from the beginning and copy&paste all your commentry and photos into a WORD document. It'll be something I can return to time after time and enjoy tremendously whenever I feel like it.
Thanks
H

 

[UKReb]

Re: Gettysburg The Third Day

Armistead yelled
"Turn the cannons men, enfilade their flanks"

But just as Lo Armistead seemingly grasped the barrel of one of Cushing's cannons, which had so effectively devastated the Confederate assault
Tragedy struck!
Suffering multiple wounds to his chest and arm Armistead, his face suddenly drained of blood, reeled against the gun carriage and fell

A cry went up from the ranks of gray & butternut
"The General is hit!"
Colonel Martin quickly rallied his men around their stricken commander in an attempt to further protect him from the intense rifle fire pouring in from both flanks

But at that precise moment of Armistead being shot the Federal brigades of Hall and Harrow were charging from their position north of the copse of trees to repair the breach caused by the fleeing 71st Pennsylvania.
A mounted Harrow yelled at his men
"Prepare to meet that assault. Face it, breast it, break it or be broken by it. We will not retreat"

The mass of blue hit the gray line like some unstoppable sledgehammer causing the Rebs to reel back to absorb the shock assault

With their general down and everyone of their senior officers either dead or mortally wounded the brave men in gray were now virtually leaderless.
Pandemonium was everywhere

As more Federal reinforcements poured in the Rebs were systematically forced back towards the wall where only a few brief moments ago they had successfully breached

There was no room to reload rifles so it became bayonet thrusts, sabre strokes, pistol shots, cool deliberate killing on the part of some-hot passionate desperate efforts from others.
Hand to hand contests, men fired their pistols into each others faces a bare five feet apart
Yells and curses, men going down on their hands and knees, spinning like tops, throwing out their arms, gulping blood, falling amongst the ever growing heaps of dead blue and gray.

Individuals fought to the death over ownership of their regimental and battle flags desperately tearing at each others colors
The Rebs now with their backs literally to the wall looked behind them in desperation


Where was their promised support? Why don't they come?

 

[wadepat]

Re: Antietam: Carnage in the Corn-field

Hi Reb,

Your dioramas continue to be both stunning and magnificent! All I can say is "Bravo! More! More!"

Thank you for devoting your time and energy to displaying to us these wonderfully constructed scenes and to providing for us such outstanding narrative. Your work is very, very special.

Warmest personal regards,

Pat

 

[aujj65]

Re: Antietam: Carnage in the Corn-field

Hi Reb,

Your dioramas continue to be both stunning and magnificent! All I can say is "Bravo! More! More!"

Thank you for devoting your time and energy to displaying to us these wonderfully constructed scenes and to providing for us such outstanding narrative. Your work is very, very special.

Warmest personal regards,

Pat

I echo your sentiments Pat, Bob's work here is an inspiration to us all!

Regards

Jeff

 

[kilted vampire]

Re: Antietam: Carnage in the Corn-field

Reb even without the cannon blasts and explosions(which you still have not told me how to do) it gets more and more intense!

 

[Robert E. Lee]

Re: Antietam: Carnage in the Corn-field

wasn't Armistead shot in the arm and leg

 

[UKReb]

Re: Antietam: Carnage in the Corn-field

wasn't Armistead shot in the arm and leg

There are various accounts of Armisteads wounds. Very few field surgeons kept accurate accounts due of course to having to work fast to save lives. All we have are diaries or letters primarily from Federal officers written after the event.
Yes he was shot in the leg which from most accounts was no more than a nick in the fleshy part of the calf and one account states this very superficial wound was received after he fell. We know it was not serious due to the leg not being amputated.

The accounts of the bullet wounds that felled him are also conflicting some state he was riddled with bullets others state either the upper arm or the pectoral area of the chest (if you watch Maxwell's film "Gettysburg" he shows Armistead's receiving one wound at the top right side of the chest which fells him-no arm or leg wound) In my dio/text I covered both "recorded" areas of the wound that felled him because nobody really knows. However, his wounds were not considered serious and the field surgeon who treated him was astonished that he died two days later.

Vamp stated quite correctly on one of these threads that some wrote that he died of a broken heart having to attack his friend Hancock but I believe that is just a romantic Southern myth and my evidence is in a letter from a surgeons orderly who was watching the surgeon redress Armistead's wounds. "........the General remained defiant to the end, he reached into his pants and retrieved some kernels of raw corn stating "These are Confederate rations and men who can subsist on raw corn can never be whipped".
Doesn't sound much like a man who was dying from a broken heart, from all the accounts I've read I surmise he died of either sceptic wounds or from stress brought on by sheer exhaustion.

Reb

 

[Rob]

Re: Antietam: Carnage in the Corn-field

Reb,once again i take off my bullet ridden hat to you!.These pictures are stunning,i just don't know how you do it.The feeling of mayhem and horror of hand to hand just explodes across the screen,absolutely superb work.I'm sure i'm not the only one whose interest in this preriod has been reignited by your wonderful dio's.Congratulations.

Rob