MILITARY HISTORY 102
-copyright 1999 David Shackelford-
You, as a civil war soldier, were not born in a vacuum. You
were born in 18-- and the year is, say 1860. So, what did you
learn about in school or in conversations with your parents or
elders?
1812 - War with the British.
Every British soldier that we fought against was a veteran of the
Napoleonic wars and had faced the French or their Allies in
Spain, northern Europe, Naples or Greece. What prompted us to
declare war against England? Many will tell you it was their
preoccupation with defeating Napoleon. Thus, we found ourselves
as a participant in the Napoleonic wars and fighting against the
same soldiers that had faced Napoleon.
1815 - Waterloo. The end of Napoleon. Now, if it is 1860, that
was 45 years ago. So, Napoleon and his military legacy would be
to you as World War 2 is to me, Vietnam is to the younger set. Do
we have lots of stories in our culture about those wars? Do we
have veteran organizations from that time period? Did we grow up
in a vacuum and not know anything about those wars or are we
quite literate in them because it was so significant to our
parents and their parents?
In the book, Cigars, Whiskey and Winning
- Leadership Lessons From General Ulysses S. Grant, by Al
Kaltman, it is written "while a cadet at west point, he did
not join the popular Napoleon Club, but he nevertheless
recognized his great genius." Ok, all of you junior
historians out there, what does that tell you about every officer
that went to West Point and later served in our Civil War? The
club did not only exist, it was popular. Hmmm. Maybe there is
something to all of this.
Maybe you do not realize that the Napoleonic War was the first
truly World War. It involved every western nation and lasted 17
years. It eliminated two generations of men from Europe and
created scenarios to be played out for the next hundred years.
Did you Catholics know there were two Popes at the same time
during this period? Did you German ancestor types know that
Prussia ceased to exist for all intents and purposes from their
defeat at Jena/Aurstadt in 1806 until they were encouraged by
Napoleon's defeat in Russia and took up arms again in 1813?
Any first person that includes a heritage of European origin
would know all about Napoleon's battles like we know Bunker Hill
and Gettysburg. The military exploits of that period would be as
well known to the Civil War soldier as their latter day equals
are to us in this age. I urge you to remember that you were not
"born yesterday". You were fed a regular diet of
European military history as you grew up and this stuff was as
common to your language and knowledge as it is to us today.
I am reminded by Kurt Loewe that all of the images of Phil
Kearney are with a Hussar jacket with the fur trim. The Hussars
were elite light cavalry with a Hungarian origin. Most countries
copied them and had their own Hussar regiments. Now why would an
American general in the Civil War have his image taken with such
an item of clothing? Why would the official records contain a
report from the colonel of the 35th New Jersey during the Atlanta
Campaign that reads: "I feel as proud of them as Napoleon
did of his 'old guard'"? O.R. series I-Volume xxxviii/3
(s#74).