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costabius t1_j46ddeo wrote

"last desperate push" my ass. It was a bayonet charge, downhill, into a bunch of guys exhausted from running uphill. It was the correct tactical decision, and the one most likely to succeed even if they weren't almost out of ammunition.

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Bunkerhillbilly t1_j46ljlm wrote

Crazy to see the bars and stars in Maine these days knowing that Chamberlain and the 20th played such a big role in the winning of that war. It’s so disrespectful to the land.

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FITM-K t1_j46pfxu wrote

Goddamn the soundtrack of this movie never gets the credit it deserves in movie soundtrack conversations.

(For anyone who's unaware, this is from Gettysburg (1993). Great movie. It's long but absolutely worth your time if you've never seen it before. Just be sure you watch the theatrical version and not the extended cut, which is even longer and contains a bunch of deleted scenes that were deleted for very good reasons.)

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KingKababa t1_j46rnz3 wrote

Replying to costabius (#1,350,108)

Bayonet charges usually were terrible ideas. Melee is chaotic, and usually a disaster for the charging force in the era of rifles onwards. Something something Pickett's Charge. They were relying on scaring the rebels off which was a huge gamble. Charges get a lot of clout in movies, but in reality they are usually just as bad if not worse for the attacker.

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ecco-domenica t1_j46t9cm wrote

"Chahge" is doing a lot of work accentwise. Possibly carrying the whole load even.

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mymaineaccount46 t1_j46tzp5 wrote

There's some debate about how much Chamberlain actually mattered. Caveat he's certainly a state hero and I love the guy.

But there is debate that he gets so much attention because he was really good at publishing and advocating his successes whereas other, perhaps more impactful, individuals weren't.

If anyone makes it down to PA check out Gettysburg. You can walk the area where Chamberlain and the Maine boys were positioned and it's amazing to see and feel the history.

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costabius t1_j46vlcv wrote

Replying to KingKababa (#1,351,036)

That is mostly incorrect. Assaulting into fire is still an extremely effective tactic in a lot of circumstances, even in the era of automatic weapons. The trick is knowing when to do it.

General Pickett decided trotting half a mile up a hill to assault the entrenched enemy center, which had artillery support on the flanks was a good idea. It wasn't. However, he almost pulled it off, if it hadn't been for some reinforcements that had been relocated to the safety of the center after their heroic actions the previous day. That's right, Picketts men, made it to the union line, broke through, and ran right into the 20th Maine interrupting their rest. Right place, right time two days in a row.

The charge down little round top on the other hand, the 20th was almost out of ammunition, 1 - 2 reloads per man and they were outnumbered. The confederates assaulting up the hill were better supplied, but they were tired, and were scattered out of formation. Had the 20th stayed in place the Confederates would have had an opportunity to get organized and overwhelm them. Charging the disorganized enemy before they could consolidate was exactly the right decision.

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FITM-K t1_j46wejk wrote

Replying to mymaineaccount46 (#1,351,165)

I get the impulse, but in this case the cut scenes were mostly cut because they're fucking awful. The one that jumps to mind in particular is a scene with some kids (I assume the children of the producers) talking to Buford and the acting is just fucking terrible. The scene is also pretty pointless.

I've seen both versions, and it's not like LOTR or other films with extended cuts. The extended stuff adds nothing of value imo.

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ptowndavid t1_j46xcm3 wrote

Sadly seeing the stars and bars in too many places- some folks forget these grand sacrifices of patriots.

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vsanna t1_j46yywt wrote

The Civil War began and ended in Brunswick, at least that's what the local school system taught us.

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mister_zook t1_j470v8y wrote

Made it a point to visit his monument when I took a trip up to Maine!

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Artimesia t1_j471uyv wrote

And 150 years later he gets a conference room named after him in an Augusta courthouse.

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MainelyKahnt t1_j47dl0i wrote

Replying to The_Tacomeister (#1,352,036)

The even more hilarious thing is that they are historically wrong when they (even southerners) claim the "heritage" bullshit. The stars and bars was never the flag of the CSA. It was a little used naval jack towards the end of the war that was co-opted by the racist dixie-crats during the jim crow era. So that flag has literally ONLY been used to represent racism in this country (save for being on a ship or two for like a few months before it was replaced with the white flag of surrender)

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geneticswag t1_j47frz8 wrote

Replying to Bunkerhillbilly (#1,352,327)

Granparents aren’t here to slap them around for it. Same reason Trump convinced so many boomers to link up alongside literal Nazi’s - their dad’s who fought in the war couldn’t call them out on it. Or at least that’s how I feel.

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doctorbimbu t1_j47p24i wrote

Also FYI his house in Brunswick has a lot of old civil war artifacts and does tours, definitely worth a visit if your into history or old houses or whatever.

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jkuhl t1_j47xadc wrote

I always imagine Joshua Chamberlain yelling BAYONETS! every time I see a confederate flag in this state.

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infinite_zero t1_j48b7h1 wrote

“Ballad of the 20th Maine” by the Ghost of Paul Revere is a great song about these events. Plus it’s the official state ballad!

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planningcalendar t1_j48ce0d wrote

A trip to Gettysburg is very sobering. We took the bus tour then drove back to the Maine monument. It's a good view of the battlefield and the details are well documented.

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RiverDragon64 t1_j48lk6p wrote

It makes me laugh when I see idiots with "Stars & Bars" flags up here. I'm from Georgia & all I can think is -The confederacy lost. Why are you waving the loser's flag?

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Invisible00101001 t1_j48pq5e wrote

Who failed to recognize that this was a regiment from Maine? The film?

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kildar13x t1_j4959qe wrote

Go straight to hell with your Rebel yell

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Squidworth89 t1_j49k55q wrote

Replying to MainelyKahnt (#1,352,528)

Stars and bars was their first flag and was flown in battle at the start. Not just a couple boats.

It was found to be too close to Union flags, which birthed the southern cross battle flag everyone recognizes today.

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BraskysAnSOB t1_j49nuu7 wrote

He’s also considered to be the last soldier of the civil war to die of his wounds. He was 85, but I guess those old wounds got him in the end. He was shot through the hip which was considered fatal at the time, but not for that tough ol’ bird.

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TristanDuboisOLG t1_j4a9qff wrote

A history teacher of mine that was an avid civil war reenactor was in this scene. For many years his classroom was a literal museum in the school. Safely he passed away shortly after retiring. Rest in piece, Paul Smith.

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Mjc792 t1_j4b097j wrote

The Bangor Historical Society has the sword he carried at Little Roundtop. There’s a repair to the scabbard where it took a blow. Also the Maine Military museum in Augusta at Camp Keyes has his revolver.

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KermitThrush t1_j4oyuhi wrote

Dear racists, traitors, fascists, and far right conservatives,

Maine’s still got a bayonet with your name on it and always will

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