Ambrose P. Hill

timeline

I think the most important thing for me to establish right now is the timeline of the battle and Hill's involvement. Was he bedridden for the first day? He was most certainly ill on the first day of the battle, but did he push through the pain and did this affect his leadership and his judgement?

opening lines.

possible opening lines for my episode:

1. The Battle of Gettysburg was to be a decisive battle in the career of General Ambrose Powell Hill.

2. Day one of the Battle of Gettysburg and General Ambrose Powell Hill is confined to bed, struck down by yet another outbreak of his nineteen year battle with gonorrhea.

3. Eager to live up to his lingering rival "Stonewall" Jackson, General Ambrose Powell had a lot riding on his shoulders in the days leading up to the decisive Battle of Gettysburg.

edit:

My research has led me to understand that General Hill most certainly contracted the sexually transmitted disease gonorrhea, and this was to be the main source of his erratic bouts of ill health during his tenure in during the Civil War.

Robertson, James I. General A.P. Hill: The Story of a Confederate General. New

York: Random House, 1987. p. 11

first draft

I realized it might be prudent to post my first draft of my episode so that I can easily refer to it in conjunction with my peer reviews and previous musings and comments.

Christian Wash

History Engine Rough Draft

General Ambrose Powell Hill, division leader of the fabled "Light Brigade" and eventual commander of the Third Corps under Robert E. Lee had a lot to live up to at the Battle of Gettysburg. The general was the former roommate of George B. McClellan, now Union foe, at West Point military academy and received much criticism for his tendency towards tardiness and subsequent high volume of stragglers during his marches when he raced to compensate. [1] Hill also clashed with several of his fellow Confederate generals, most notably the ever-praised Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson who had once arrested Hill in response to a quarrel between the two men. [2] These factors directly affect his account of the Battle of Gettysburg.

The Battle of Gettysburg came mere months after the devastating death of Jackson and there had been much argument over who would succeed the general. Robert E. Lee decided to split up Jackson's troops into three rather than two corps and he placed Hill in charge of the Third Corps, a position Hill would be eager to live up to. On the first day of battle Hill led his men in a march towards the town of Gettysburg, along the way they encountered Federal troops assumed to be cavalry. Not until it was too late did they realize that had in fact encountered a veteran Union force that was able to "dispute the further advance" of the Confederates. [3]Hill notes in his report "the want of cavalry had been and was again seriously felt" but the troops under him were able to push the enemy back through the town. At this point, Hill felt it prudent to cease fighting for the day and allow his men to rest. As he had long been criticized for not allowing his men mandatory rest breaks, this was a deliberate gesture on Hill's part. The next day fighting resumed and Hill describes the incredible resistance of the Union forces and the inability of his troops, guided by many able subordinates, to breach the line and he remarks they started day three in the same position they had started day two. Day three of the battle brought the famous Pickett's Charge, although Hill's report suggests this might be an ill-fitting moniker for the assault. Hill lists the troops engaged, putting no particular emphasis on Pickett's men and in conclusion of the charge, merely remarked "the assault failed and our troops fell back in disorder." This was a rather abrupt conclusion to the report on one of the Civil War's most important engagements.

[1] Robertson, James I. General A.P. Hill: The Story of a Confederate General. New

York: Random House, 1987.

[2] Bradley, Paul F. 1997. "Bad blood between confederate commanders." America's Civil War 10, no. 5: 46.Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed March 1, 2011).

[3] Hill, Ambrose P. "Report of Lieut. Gen. Ambrose P. Hill, C.S. Army, commanding Third Army Corps."In War of the Rebellion Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Part of Series I,Volume XXVII, Operations in- North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Department of the East, June 8 - August 3, 1863 Gettysburg Campaign. Washington Government Printing Office 1889. 606-608

tweaks

In rereading my episode after taking some time off from it and comparing my two peer reviews I think I have a better grasp on where I would like to take the episode.

The two things I think I need to work on the most are including more personal narrative and re-writing my first sentence to make it more lucrative and catchy. I think one of the main necessities of the history engine article is a first sentence that will make the reader stop and click on my episode. Will also suggested that I use more military jargon in my episode, so that might be another area that bears researching.

I think the Shaara book "Killer Angels" is definitely worth perusing again in thinking about my episode; both for more insight and information but also as a guide to interesting as well as informative history writing.

peer review number two

received march 4, 2011

Christian Wash

Will McNutt

1. The Episode meets the required goals

2. The organization is well outlined.

3. Insight is acceptable, but it would be nice to delve into personal journals.

4. The analysis and conclusion appear sound. They do not simply repeat primary documents.

5. It would be nice to use better military terminology.

6. The first sentence is fine.

7. Grammar could be refined in places.

8. Citations appear appropriate.

9. Wash puts great emphasis on responsibility and repercussion. It reads well...

peer review number one

received on march 4, 2011

Hey Christian,
Here's my peer review for you. Good job!
Christian Wash
Kelly Greene
1. Your Episode definitely meets the History Engine's goals. It is an interesting story!
2. The organization of your episode is good, but I would suggest tweaking the first sentence a bit, just so that you have something really attention getting at the beginning.
3. I think your episode is complex enough, but I would add a little more background on Hill to make his motivations a little clearer. It would be interesting to explore who he is as a person and how that affected his role as general.
4. In your conclusion, tie Hill's motivations to why his account was so brief. Contextualize it a bit more by discussing his past and maybe delving deeper into his relationship to other generals. Did you find anything in his personal writings that explicitly said he felt that he needed to live up to McClellan and Jackson? (I'm sure he did feel he needed to live up to them, but does he say anything about it that is particularly striking?)
5. Your sentence structure is very clear and well written.
6. Your first sentence isn't bad, but like I said, maybe say something that has more of a "bang"
7. Your paper had good grammar, and I could tell that you proofread it.
8. Good job with citations!
9. I really enjoyed the language that you used; it was both attention getting and fun to read!