The Rashness of That Hour

The last few posts have had some connection with a very fine work called The Rashness of That Hour.

Its real value is in forcing us to get our heads out of military history - at unit level - and reorient ourselves on the intense, ugly, and continuous politicking at unit level.

The culmination of this story at Gettysburg is a blessing as we tend to see Gettysburg in almost pure military terms. Here we see a unit wracked by the worst kind of politics trying to perform its military duty. It meets with a kind of military force of nature, a maelstrom, and its members react with their standard political response to events.

Those who still think of the Civil War as an exercise in military science should take the time to read this wonderfully researched and presented story.