8/26/2004

Apologies to Hartwig

A reader who knows Scott Hartwig noted that in my 8/25/04 entry I unjustly linked his views as an historian with the copy someone else wrote to describe a speech he is to give on 9/13/2004. I painted him as closed to the idea that Crampton's Gap was a battle apart from South Mountain and said, I said "For Hartwig, it's not even an open question." Apologies for conclusions unfairly jumped to.

As a personal disclosure, I should say I don't view this matter (of a single Battle of South Mountain) as an historical question at all. I think it entirely within the competency of U.S. military doctrine to decide what is a battle - and my reading of current doctrine answers clearly and smartly that CG was a battle, not an action within a battle.

I plan to attend Steve Stotelmyer's talk to try to better understand the alternative viewpoints.