Comments on: Bull Run on Film

By: Harry Smeltzer

Harry Smeltzer — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 04:02:59 +0000

Now that I think of it, it was Brian Epstein who was known as the “Fifth Beatle”. But Sutcliffe was literally a fifth Beatle, faking his way with a bass and his back turned to the audience.

Pete Best was a Beatle, but not the fifth.

By: Mike Peters

Mike Peters — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 22:53:12 +0000

Harry,

I thought the 5th gun was “Pete Best.” :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Mike

By: Harry Smeltzer

Harry Smeltzer — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 21:06:50 +0000

Craig,

That’d be Stewart Sutcliffe, the fifth gun. It could be worse – the new guns could have been named for the Bay City Rollers.

Thinking back on Bee and his exclamation, why would he resolve “to die here”, and then say “rally behind the Virginians”? That would take them away from the action. That bit never made sense to me. I’m going to find and post the original aricle (Charleston Mercury?), which was reprinted in the Richmond papers. I’m thinking the movie combined two different versions of what Bee said.

Ooops…looks like I already posted it:

http://bullrunnings.wordpress.com/2007/02/06/bee-redux/

By: Harry Smeltzer

Harry Smeltzer — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 20:59:41 +0000

Robert, I saw that. I see that our names (yours and mine) are favorites for the spammer to use. I deleted some of the stuff.

By: Craig

Craig — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 20:58:05 +0000

There’s probably enough still buried artillery pieces across Virginia to re-equip the ANV should we need to. My personal favorite would be a gun from Battery F, 1st Penn which burst at the Battle of the Wilderness. It was a 3inch Ord Rifle, and would be the only case I am aware of where such type failed. The piece was buried around Todd’s Tavern.

BTW, I have it on authority that the four 20-pdrs used by RA at Gettysburg were indeed named. They were “John, Paul, George, and Ringo” collectively known as the “Beatles.” Reports of a fifth piece are unconfirmed.

By: cenantua

cenantua — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 19:29:39 +0000

On an unrelated topic… is anyone else noticing that the wiki is under attack? I had Brian block one IP address the other day, but it looks like two more are involved now. Much of the content being put on looks like it is spam-generated.

By: Robert Moore

Robert Moore — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 18:52:47 +0000

Out of the 27 batteries that I covered in the Virginia Regimental Histories Series, I think I ran across maybe a half-dozen instances where unit members recounted burying a gun. Different spots outside Lynchburg were mentione, and I also know that one of Pelham’s pieces used at Hamilton’s Crossing during the Battle of Fredericksburg is buried somewhere near Chancellorsville.

By: Harry Smeltzer

Harry Smeltzer — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 17:51:43 +0000

Still bugging me that I can’t remember the gun burried in the Valley. I think it was in Krick’s book. Guess I could get off my duff and look it up.

Nahhh.

By: cenantua

cenantua — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 17:11:30 +0000

Just looked in Driver’s history of the RA. Before August 1861, the battery was “rearmed with two of the ten-pounder Parrott guns from Rickett’s battery and two other U.S. six-pounders, and turning in the two light six-pounders belonging to VMI.” They later lost one of the captured 6-pounders at Kernstown.

Looking back to the organization of the battery, the governor had given permission for Pendleton to take two of the VMI guns, but the other two he secured elsewhere.

Just a quick scan, but by April 62, the battery had two ten-pounders, two six-pounder brass field pieces, one twelve-pounder brass howitzer, and one iron eight-pounder.

Oh, and I see that at Second Winchester, the battery had two twenty-pound Parrotts and two “new” English Blakeley guns. Not long after the battle, the Blakeley guns were replaced by two captured 20-pounder Parrotts. So, this indeed was what they had to work with by making it to Gettysburg.

By: cenantua

cenantua — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 16:29:47 +0000

Harry, For some reason, I thought I was mispelling Poague last night!

Craig, I could swear I saw something that documented the carriages as being red, even while in use during the war. I just can’t find it. That said, one of the things about the battery at Manassas at First Manassas that can’t be ignored is that nobody, to my knowledge, mentioned a battery with red carriages on the field. Certainly, one would think somebody would mention it somewhere. Speaking of the guns, this site provides some interesting information… http://artillerymanmagazine.com/Archives/2001/vmi_sp01.htm.

Also, I noticed that Bradley Schmehl was careful in his portrayal of the battery in action on June 8, 1862 (http://www.oldgloryprints.com/Jackson%20and%20His%20Disciples.htm). It looks like the carriages are neither olive or red. I’d be curious to know what he discovered in researching the color of the carriages.