On Sep 21, 8:37*am, Ken Fortenberry
wrote:
I fished the Kadunce River yesterday. The Kadunce dumps into
Lake Superior at Colvill just up the North Shore from Grand
Marais where we vacation. There is a plaque there explaining
that Colvill is named for Colonel William Colvill of the 1st
Minnesota Regiment.

There is a plaque at the airport in Milwaukee explaining that it is
named for General Billy Mitchell. There is a plaque somewhere in
Sparta explaining that the stretch of Wi. hwy. 27 leading into town is
the Deke Slayton memorial hwy. There is a plaque somewhere in
Waukesha explaining that a portion of Wi. hwy 18 (or 164 or 59 or some
goddamn road or another) is the Les Paul memorial hwy. Like Colvill,
none of the above died in battle. Coincidence is the great
fundamental organizing principle of the universe.

On July 2, 1863 the 1st Minnesota was ordered to charge into
two brigades of enemy advancing toward Cemetery Ridge. The
charge led by Col Colvill bought enough time for reinforcements
to arrive and Cemetery Ridge remained in Union control. Of the
262 men in the charge 215 were killed or wounded, "47 men were
still in line & no man missing." The 83% casualty rate is the
largest ever suffered by a surviving American military unit in
a single engagement.

Well, it was pretty much inevitable that someone or other would
eventually win that dubious distinction.
But it does raise the question of which "Americans" we're talking
about here.

And then, there's also the question of which military (or civilian)
unit has suffered the highest casualty rate INFLICTED by an American
military unit in a single engagement.

The 47 remaining men were placed by happenstance on the Union
line the next day at the point of Picket's charge.

Just pure random luck, eh? Could as well have been assigned to
Dresden.

During the
melee the 1st Minnesota captured the flag of the 28th Virginia
Infantry.

Well, golly.

The Virginian flag now resides at the Minnesota
Historical Society.

Heck, oh gee!

A few years ago Virginia demanded that
Minnesota return its flag. Minnesota responded, in the nicest
way possible, **** You.

Every landfill in the world is chock full of rags......and everybody
wants THAT one, huh?

Ken Fortenberry

Nice try, doughboy.

g.
BOO!