Eligible population, dont even meet the basic requirements to get into todays army. 99 of todays recruits have a High School Diploma or equivalent. An era where 79 of High School Students graduate. Thats 21 times lower rate of dropouts than the national average. Overall, todays recruits are healthier, more physically fit than the vast majority of peers and must adhere to zero tolerance policy on drugs and criminal issues. It is actually statistically easy tosh gier to get into coll enlist, not become an officer, but enlist in the army. Life of a soldiers no secret to them. They join knowing they will endure hard times then will endure sacrifice. They will be charged to keep us safe. The few that make the cut to get in, are willing to make that sacrifice, they are not always easy to find. If it was easy to find, we one need an entire command to recruiting. Those that get in, those that make the cut to get in and make the next cut, to get through training and into a unit, they become par
Burning of washington during the war of 1812 this thursday from author and historian anthony pitch at an event hosted by the smithsonian associated. Our live coverage starts at 6 45 p. M. Eastern. And more next saturday, august 23rd as we take you live for a Panel Discussion on the events of 200 years ago. Thats live at 1 00 p. M. Eastern here on American History tv on cspan3. Next on the civil war, author cethen levin discussed the role of the u. S. Colored troops in the civil wars battle of the crater and the way their contributions were remembered in the years following the civil war. Organized by Petersburg National battlefield, this is an hour and ten minutes. Im chris bryce, chief of interpretation with Petersburg National battlefield. For those of you who have been with us for the last couple com 150th anniversary of the battle of the crater, thank you, and welcome to those who have not attended the program this evening. I want to, before we get started, thank yous, specifically
Not particularly. Of course, as meade calls the court of inquiry, hes decided whos going to be on the court, and theyre all people who dont like burnside, from the battle of fredericksburg in 1862 and the mud march in 1863, so they already have a negative opinion of burnside. Hes the civil wars worst general. And meades recorder is one of his own Inspector General from his staff. So none of them are going to say, meade, youre to blame, or grant, youre to blame. They heap the blame on burnside and rightfully with ledlie and ferrero. Yes, sir . In the film version of the battle, in the movie they made of cold mountain, its depicted of all the troops black and white kind of pouring into the crater, being trapped there. Thats been told in other stories, too. Is there any truth to that or is that really a problem that people went into the crater and couldnt get out, or is that just a legend . In case people didnt hear, question is did troops, white and black, rush through the crater into th
Cohesion of a battlefront is lost on both sides, north and south. And so its unclear how many people are stuck in the crater. Theyre stuck in there well enough for one survivor to say that the men who were dead couldnt fall and the living were squirming beneath their feet and blood is running into the tops of their shoes. So i dont know how many that is, but most people on the outside trying to move forward but the problem is they didnt know that these honeycombed bombproofs were behind the battery or a whole other line of confederate earthworks there or that the confederates have just right positioned their artillery to have this enfilading fire, crossfire directly into what had been elliots salient. They thought they knew were all cannon were. Disclaimer. This may be a controversial question. Yes. When the black soldiers were captured and they were going to be sent to prison camps, how come confederates didnt reslave them since they were considered property and there was a proclamati
Runaway slaves and, of course, people come and look for them and take them back into their ownership. Some people dont come looking because they dont live in virginia. Theyre maryland runaways or delaware slaves. Of course, there are free blacks from the north who have enlisted. So theyll be kept in these slave pens right down here in shockoe bottom. And theyll be there if they survive until the war ends. Some of these people rejoin their regiments and they go from missing in action to, you know, what happened to you . So we get the details of what happened to them. Not very great details but at least, you know, which slave pen they may have been held in. And as far as why the confederates dont actually implement their may 1863 law, its the law, i think people forget this. White officers had to be executed if theyre found leading black men to combat, and blacks when captured, which already suggests you dont really need to take them prisoner, are going to be turned over to the state aut