Before During and After !

Rating: 10/10 (13 December 2008)

This was truly a watershed event in this nations history.The Battle of Gettysburg represents the end of the beginning and as well the beginning of the end for the confederate cause.The debacle was preceded by another first in the civil war which was like Gettysburg.The North was growing in strength,in numbers and in know how.This was illustrated at The Battle of Brandys Station.It is considered the largest cavalry engagement of the Civil War and it occurred late June 1863.It was J.E.B.Stuart Cavalry Corp that had been assigned the task of shielding Lee's army of Northern Virginia as it made its way across Maryland and on into PA.Stuarts Cavalry Corps first duty was to protect Lee's flank and as well it was also to deny the ability to see Lee corps at all.J.E.B.Stuarts Cavalry Corps did that at Brandies station,however it also provided proof that the confederacy was on the move and that Union Cavalry was gaining ground in its ability to go toe to toe with the Rebel and beat him on horseback.It was to prove to be a drawing even as Union forces gained a foothold.Gettysburg did not show that perhaps they should of.J.E.B.Stuart Cavalry Corp was caught of guard at Brandies Station however Gettysburg failed in another Stuart debacle when he lost a critical battle as he attempted to flank the Northern position on Seminary Ridge.There he was defeated with a series of reckless charges attributed to Brevet General George Armstrong Custers Michigan Brigade.Stuarts Corp of some 4500 was turned back by a force less than half the size of Stuarts Corp.It was a story that deserved to be told as here "Long Hair" was brave,courageous even resourceful.Custers conduct was untold in this Motion Picture but it was as much a part of the landscape as it was about the battle of Gettysburg.It was such a critical accomplishment that it protected Meades Rear and did in its own right prove an invaluable part of the Unions ability to hold its ground.J.E.B.Stuarts Cavalary Corp was often thought to be Lee's eyes and ears,when Stuart was no where to be found as Heaths Corp engaged Buford, Lee was groping for intelligence and Stuart was not present.This was done well,even convincingly as the dramatic intent was convincingly portrayed.Lee indeed was playing for keeps and perhaps Gettyburg was it!His admonishment of Stuart was not without sentiment however the North had learned.The Motion Picture Gettysburg did show an historical perception that the north on that day,that day being July 1,1863 came into Gettysburg from the South and in fact the South came into Gettysburg from the North.Buford,s defense has long been held in high account as a superior rebel force was slowed to such a time that the retreat was a calculation to attain higher ground on the other side of Gettysburg.It was to paraphrase, a lesson in how to retreat.It is interesting to note that Lee's confederates when marching into the Gettysburg community as things were to progress,many had no shoes.It is here another belief of history that this battle in Gettysburg grew out of an attempt made by Southern forces to procure from the Gettysburg community,shoes.Worth mentioning is the contribution that General Longstreet provided while all the while arguing for a redeployment.This was excellent story telling ability that jived with history.This film by Ron Maxwell rates higher than merely a motion picture but a motion picture that jives with history.Little Round Top is an inspiring story,General Hancock is an inspiring story,so extreme was the need for hospitals to care for both the wounded and the dead that the hospitals place in Western culture was made permanent.It seems almost an endless task to assess the drama and effect this event and its accompnaying Civil War have provided this Nation and our culture that merely a film like Gettysburg may in fact be more of a Motion Picture than it can be a lesson in history.This is witnessed to the fact that there is much that is not included and as yet the "Last Full Measure" has been permanetly put on the back burner.We have in this battle of Gettysburg the rudiments of a day of Thanksgiving.Please refer to Oct. 1863.I would watch this film again indeed perhaps even again.It was worth the many viewing as history became a dramatic account whereby we were all the while a participant in an event of July 1863.An excellent telling of the Battle of Gettysburg.