Gettysburg and the American Pysche

Nathan Wise who is a fellow Aussie (with a real aussie accent) and I met about a year ago to play via email Stalingrad Pocket II. After crushing me in 2 turns we never played again….Sigh. I suck. BUT we hold chats and a common interest in MMP and in particular The Gamers titles.

Right now however he is experiencing the learning hurdles with 3 Days of Gettysburg. Since I cannot clear room for a ACW title at the moment but I do want to honor this day in regards to its 150th Anniversary;

He made an interesting video and has posted detailed After Action reports on this momentous battle in American history.

Why then does it not register on the American radar of things historical? I am genuinely puzzled by this and do not have answers. So this is not a post to poke or prod. But a post to ask American readers what is the significance of Gettysburg to you? Second, why is it that the general populace pays this battle, the Gettysburg address and the ramifications no or little heed?

7 thoughts on “Gettysburg and the American Pysche”

  1. You lasted a whole two turns at Stalingrad Pocket II. I also played that via email and pretty much messed it up by the end of the first turn, playing the Soviets on one of the big campaigns. It’s really unforgiving especially when you’re not familiar with the NATO symbols, the turn procedure, and the tactics. Just scrolling across the map made me feel anxious.

  2. I’d imagine a large percentage of the US population couldn’t even tell you what state Gettysburg is in, let alone what the significance of the battle was. Hell, there’s probably a non-insignificant portion of the US population that’s still bitter that “they” lost…

  3. Gettysburg broke the South’s ability to take the war to the North from then on the Lee and the CSA were fighting a defensive war. This one battle saved our nation from splitting in two. The Gettysburg Address is one the greatest Presidential speeches given and Lincoln was one of our greatest Presidents.

  4. Gettysburg is the most Civil War battlefield site in the United States. It had a very popular movie made about it, and I still see it (in North Carolina) mentioned from time to time in subject of interest newspaper stories.

    The U.S. may not be full of history geniuses, but to the extent that the general population pays any attention to battlefield sites, Gettysburg would be it.

  5. I think many Americans simply aren’t interested in history at all. Our education system is partly to blame for this. Most people are more interested in TMZ news than civil war history. It’s the low information voter syndrome.

    We who are war gamers are a rare breed.

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