Wednesday, October 8, 2014
A Noble Battle, and an Execution Block.
On Monday, we talked about two great battles of the American Civil war, the Battle of Gettysburg and the Battle of Cold Harbor. These two battles contrasted greatly. The battle of Gettysburg was a good battle between generals that were evenly matched. The battle of Cold Harbor was a complete butchery of Union troops led by General Grant in a rather impressive defensive victory for General Robert Lee. My opinion here is that General Grant waited far too long to pull back his troops and accept defeat. For example, at one point there were over 100 casualties per minute. On top of that, there was no part in the battle where they stopped to retrieve the dead from the battlefield, they simply continued, dead bodies lay there for several years! I believe that as a general, you have responsibility of your troops, and this includes being sympathetic towards those who have died for the cause and keeping your men out of situations that cause an unnecessary loss of life. Ulysses Grant fails to do either one of these things in the Battle of Cold Harbor.
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Sameer, I just commented on your contribution to Aisha's blog, and now I see the answer to my question. I'm glad that our conversation gave you pause and caused you to reflect on the possibility that HOW we fight a war might be as meaningful as WHY we fight a war.
ReplyDeleteThe battle of Gettysburg, although it was the bloodiest, shaped the America we see today. Without this battle, I can't say what the outcome of the civil war could have been.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your statement that a military general should have a responsibility over the well fair of their troops. For a long time, I have had a negative view on how the civil war was fought as it promoted taking heavy losses.
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