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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Hobo, post: 1296246, member: 11521&quot;]That is absolutely true. It is one thing to read about a battle and study maps of a battle but it is something else entirely when you can stand in the exact spot and envision the events. (Of course, you must first have a fairly good understanding of the events.) For example, when you are standing on top or Little Round Top (at Gettysburg) you can really appreciate how important it was for the Union to hold that position and how difficult it was for the Confederate troops to attack it. Just a couple of hundred yards away it was amazing to stand exactly where Chamberlain held his position at the end of the Union line by mounting a bayonet charge when their ammunition ran out. And standing down below Little Round Top at the Devil&#039;s Den and the Valley of Death one can imagine the sense of futility the Confederate troops must have felt when they were told to attach Little Round Top. </p><p><br /></p><p>Standing at the Peach Orchard one can understand why Gen. Sickles wanted to move his troops out of the low ground and up to the high ground of the Peach Orchard and why that proved to be a nearly disasterous decision. </p><p><br /></p><p>It was also amazing to look out across the open fields where Pickett&#039;s Charge happened. You can stand where Lee surveyed the landscaped, made his battle plans and watched his worst defeat. You can stand at The Angle and envision 12,500 Confederate troops making their way across the open fields while under fire from three sides by Union artillery and understand how the few that made it across the stone walls had no hope of holding that position. </p><p><br /></p><p>At both Gettysburg and Antietam they are trying to restore the landscape to how it was at the time of the battles. They are cutting trees that were not there at the time of the battles and planting trees that have been removed since the battles. That way visitors can better envision the battles.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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