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I'm of the Czech tribe.[;)]

ORIGINAL: adsoul64

Your "editorial" makes me understand much better - or I hope so - what does it mean to feel himself "proud Southerner". Summarizing, it looks to me it's a matter of several things, roots, ancestors, habits, self-awareness and maybe joking as well. Thanks CR.

How does someone from Napoli feel about you Milanos?[:D]

ORIGINAL: janh

Nice, since my childhood I have a fascination with Chickamauga that cannot be explained. You wouldn't happen to have so more photos of the battlefield? Brock Field perhaps?

How much of the battlefield is protected today? When in the US, I noticed that quite a few of these historic sites are not protected at all, some are already destroyed by settlements. The issue with the supermarket at Chancellorsville comes to mind... Really bad, they should honor those sites a lot more.

Like I said, I live right outside the battlefield and would be glad to get you photographs of anything there you are interested in. I know virtually every inch of it. Just give me a couple days and I'll hook you up. If you haven't read it yet, IMHO, the best book on the battle is "This Terrible Sound" The Battle of Chickamauga by Peter Cozzens, you should check it out.

There are approximately 5,500 acres protected in the battlefield, as I said it is the oldest and largest of the National Battlefield Parks. All the artillery tubes in the park are original tubes from the Civil War. Some of the battlefields that were formed later had to have tubes modified to resemble the correct types or had to use reproduction pieces. The tablets, markers and artillery positions were laid out by the actual veterans. Some parks have had to reconstruct the battle positions from contemporary accounts. Virtually all the placements at Chickamauga have been determined to be correct. It's a great park.

Canoerebel:
I know the general area where Lieutenant (I believe that was his rank at Chickamauga, though he was a sergeant at Fredricksburg) fell, but not the precise location. I don't think there's a monument marking the spot, but I could be wrong.

There's not a monument, he is mentioned on a plaque and on another monument, ala "near this spot....". When my older son was attending VMI we visited the Fredericksburg Battlefield and I told him about Sgt. Kirkland and how he was with Kershaw's South Carolinian's at Chickamauga and was killed there. I knew the general area, but not the exact location. My sons and I spent most of one summer, reading all the accounts we could find of his death and walking the battlefield, using them as guides. Some of the descriptions of the spot were quite detailed and the terrain was very distinctive. We finally decided upon the most likely spot. We then followed the description as to distance direction and terrain as they advanced towards Horseshoe Ridge, it was only a hundred yards or so and ran smack dab into a unit marker for his unit sitting in the woods. I'm virtually certain we've located the correct spot within just a couple of feet.

I'm not sure "gruff' is the right word to describe New Yorkers.


I think it starts with an "a".[:'(]

ORIGINAL: geofflambert
How does someone from Napoli feel about you Milanos?[:D]

Nice question [:D] Generally speaking Naples (and South Italy) people is thinked of as always-kidding-enjoying-life-sole-mare-pizza (sun-sea-pizza) and they feel Milan people as too serious-always working people. But IMHO is all b******t I know alot of Italian Southerners who are really hard worker and as far as I'm concerned I'm from Milan but I'm not a hard worker... especially since I have discovered (again) wargaming [;)]

I grew up there and have climbed Wilder Tower many times. There's a museum there loaded w/ Civil War weaponry. It's quite interesting. The entire area is a playground for any Civil War buff. Lookout Mt, Missionary Ridge, etc. Besides that, the area is beautiful country.

Looking over the area it's amazing the yankees managed to take it, IIRC the area had been undermined elsewhere to make confederate troops retreat. I'm not a Civil War buff obviously. It's rugged terrain and should have been easily defensible.

Regarding the flag hanged atop, I'm glad you couldn't get to it. Not that I care about it but it was prolly placed there by park personnel. It's not your bidness to be up there trying to take it down anyway [8|][:-]

proud southerners like to kid northerners

We from the North do not have a sense of humour that we are aware of.

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel
Just wanted you folks to know that we southerners aren't all unreconstructed.

Canoe "Rebel, but not that rebellious" Rebel

Bushrod Johnson.

ORIGINAL: Cap Mandrake

I'm not sure "gruff' is the right word to describe New Yorkers.


I think it starts with an "a".[:'(]

Aruff?

Ive been to some of the battlefields but never have been to Chickamauga or Sharpsburg.  Plan to see one day.

interesting

It seems to me that the South has a strong military tradition too. Canoerebel mentioned several prominent men. I served in the Marines and noticed that many of the best Marines were from the south. And why is it that the Drill Instructors all seem to come from the South? Nothing strikes fear in the heart like that gravelly southern drawl from the pits of hell.

Amazing lack of elevation change at Chickamauga....and lots of trees.

Can you imagine being on the flank of a brigade advancing through the woods not really knowing if the enemy is going to pop up behind you. I doubt either side really had decent maps.

I've only been to Gettysburg. What are the best preserved sites?

I'm a huge fan of the Shiloh battlefield.

Gettysburg, Sharpsburg, Chckamauga, Shiloh, Bull Run and Appomattox Courthouse are peaceful and spectacular.

This has been a fascinating thread to read for someone 'over the pond'.
I particularly enjoyed reading Canoerebels 'There are regional differences....' thread.

Thanks for sharing the photos.

slightly OT, sorry...those interested in the regional differences in the U.S. might consider Joel Garreau's 1981 book The Nine Nations of North America...i know it was written a while back, but the theory he puts forward still resonate for me...he names the southeast quarter of the U.S., centered on Atlanta, GA (excluding the very southern section of Florida) as "Dixie"...IIRC, he attributes the South's propensity to be quick to fight (e.g., American Revolution, Mexican American War, War of 1812, etc) to the preponderance of Irish and Scottish immigrants to the region (mostly along the Appalachians)...we Americans sometimes refer to them as "Scotch-Irish"...i know my grandmother (born and raised in West Tennessee) often referred to her heritage as "Scotch-Irish"...

alot of that is based on the industry. The southern area of the country was more about agriculture and looked "inward" continentally whereas the NorthEast was more trade based and manufacturing. Hence during the War of 1812, there was a near succession of NE because the naval blockade was hurting business bad. So the NE area of the young country was Sea-focused not continental focused.

ORIGINAL: Nikademus

alot of that is based on the industry. The southern area of the country was more about agriculture and looked "inward" continentally whereas the NorthEast was more trade based and manufacturing. Hence during the War of 1812, there was a near succession of NE because the naval blockade was hurting business bad. So the NE area of the young country was Sea-focused not continental focused.

...industry, resources, climate...all factors in shaping regional characteristics...