For those of you that know me you know the Civil War, especially Gettysburg, carries great weight and interest for me. Having blood relatives on that field in 1863 is probably the main ignition point for my incessant interest via my great grandfather and his two brothers. They were in the 47th Alabama that attacked Little Round Top on July 2, 1863. With the 150th anniversary of the great battle just completed, I recorded several hours of authors and historians speaking on CSPAN and watched each of them seeking to find more nuggets of understanding of that battle. Since that one month ago, I have read KILLER ANGELS, watched the movie, Gettysburg, read another book, Storming Little Round Top, and have begun a rereading of a phenomenal book entitled, The Gettysburg Campaign, written by a Mr Coddington. The Coddington book has the best maps I have seen showing clearly the movements of Lee's army out of Virginia and Hooker's Union Army tracking them in a northwesterly direction toward the Blue Ridge Mountians and ultimately the South Mountain that allowed Lee to stay screened leading to the Gettysburg battlefield. Now I am sure that is much more than you wished to know today but as studying the movement maps, this powerful reality of the maps of the movements formed a tremendous metaphor for our lives in my mind.
I believe I am like many that have grown up with a hunger for history for I believe anything can be better understood if the economics, history and geography of the issue can be brought to confluence leading to wisdom on the matter. Moving an Army of over 100,000 men, horses, supply trains, headquarters, ammunition, staff a distance of over 150 miles on back roads, mountain passes, numerous fording crossings with very rudimentary communication systems is staggering to my mind as viewed through today's GPS-world of technology. But the Armies of Lee and Hooker poked, parried, jabbed, hid, ran from, dodged their way from Virginia north to what turned out to be Gettysburg. Then Lee, not wanting to fight the battle that had to be fought thus the invasion of the North for many strategic reasons, at Gettysburg, had to then turn two full corps of marching troops with horses, artillery and supplies south quickly to reach the small town of Gettysburg to engage the Federal army where they were. He did not want to but knew he must and the had to wrestle with all the naysayers in his command, readjust logistics on a grand scale, scout the noe battle positions, issueed hundreds of orders via couriers to far flung commanders across a thirty mile gaggle of troop concentrations, etc. etc. Absolutely amazing to me!
But then, the power of the metaphor of our lives hit me like a cannon shot for what I described above exactly parallels our lives does it not? We know we are headed some where for some reason. We do not know the obstacles, the enemy positions or capabilities, we do not want to minimize our own strengths and capabilities but we maintain a clear sense of destination for we MUST get there. Each of us has a different "there" but getting "there" is vital. See the power of the metaphor now?
In working these maps and movements and great volumes of letters, dispatches and telegrams from 150 years into a mosaic that not only shows a story but tells a clear story of strategic direction, clarity of mission, understanding of the pathways to the vision, the destination, called strategies, are vital to each of us regardless of who we are and what we do I am learning all over again via this research. True, my wife thinks I am nuts for investing so much time in this but I find myself starving to feel the flow of the battles for there is another reality I have learned.
Many, for example, hear or think about the Battle of Gettysburg or the Normandy Invasion or the Battle of the Bulge. Most of us think that really not much happened until July, 1863 or June, 1944 or December, 1944; stuff just all of a sudden went into hyper drive. Ah, NOPE! So here is my second metaphor that has hit me hard ... the Battle of Gettysburg did not begin July 1, 1863 but actually began June 1, 1863. For the next thirty days as two armies moved northward, there were myriad skirmishes, cavalry charges, artillery duels and smaller unit battles such as at Brandy Station, Virginia. My point is that the huge battle culminating as the Battle of Gettysburg was the final peg in a dart board of movements, changes, rights and wrongs, ups and downs, miscues, accidents, in-fighting, politics, etc, etc. In other words, things do not just happen for things that do happen are a culmination of many smaller, seemingly less important events that come to confluence in one's life, right?
So in closing, I think my assessment and recommendation for each of you reading this is to realize my words have nothing to do with battles or war but has everything to do with the battles and scars of life that lead to a point of major contention. That contention can come in many forms such as death, suicide, divorce, graduations, career advancements, etc, etc. I think the greater point is that each of us have direct control over the battles, regardless of size and regardless of degree of importance. However, keeping ever in mind that these ebbs and flows, river crossings, miscues, positives and negatives all have a cumulative Cause and Effect reality, let my words sink in for I believe some of you reading this really have a need in your life this very moment to wash the brain and the heart toward making right decisions in your life as the river of life meanders ever forward.
Can I get a witness?
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