Anaxagoras
Banned
The historiography of the Civil War is replete with statements about critical moments in particular battles being decisive. You often read statements like "if so-and-so had done such-and-such, the [insert army's name here] might have been destroyed." And yet decisive victories were extremely rare in the Civil War and I am rather skeptical of most of these purported lost opportunities.
A case in point is Little Round Top at Gettysburg, which was heroically defended by Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain and the 20th Maine Infantry Regiment on July 2 (as well as several other Union regiments whose presence at the spot is often overlooked). Now, it's clear from a glance at the battlefield that Little Round Top is a tactically important location and no one should discount the incredible bravery the Maine soldiers displayed in defending their position.
But can we really take seriously the oft-repeated assertion that if Chamberlain and his men had failed, the Army of the Potomac would have lost the battle? Indeed, some people go so far as to claim that if Chamberlain and his men had failed, the Union might have lost the war! Ken Burns, in his epic miniseries, says that Chamberlain "saved the Union army and possibly the Union itself".
So, seriously, how important was Little Round Top? What would have happened if the Confederates had managed to take it?
A case in point is Little Round Top at Gettysburg, which was heroically defended by Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain and the 20th Maine Infantry Regiment on July 2 (as well as several other Union regiments whose presence at the spot is often overlooked). Now, it's clear from a glance at the battlefield that Little Round Top is a tactically important location and no one should discount the incredible bravery the Maine soldiers displayed in defending their position.
But can we really take seriously the oft-repeated assertion that if Chamberlain and his men had failed, the Army of the Potomac would have lost the battle? Indeed, some people go so far as to claim that if Chamberlain and his men had failed, the Union might have lost the war! Ken Burns, in his epic miniseries, says that Chamberlain "saved the Union army and possibly the Union itself".
So, seriously, how important was Little Round Top? What would have happened if the Confederates had managed to take it?