Tuesday Tidbits...And More...

If it's more RAIN you're looking for, well, we got it here in the Heartland. Wouldn't mind sending some out to AZ to battle those wildfires.
The rest of the weather today...kinda reversed from recent days - We're going to have off and on again showers most of the day with temps reaching into the mid-70s. Later this afternoon is expected to see the rain taper off and little chance of seeing "Father Sol" today.
You might have to run the A/C briefly just to rid yourselves of the humidity...that's about it.
In the meantime, we've a few things to chat about concerning the American Legion, some street pharms, an old war horse, peaches, some missing horses, and a college professor...now, if that doesn't peak your interest, you ain't paying attention...LOL!
So, let's get started and take this show on the road...
*** First up today, an arrest was made in the Legion post 148 shooting (Fort Wayne's latest homicide) and here's the link:
http://www.wane.com/dpp/news/crime/arrest-made-in-connection-with-american-legion-parking-lot-homicide
Now if THIS toad doesn't look like a real "Mr Smart-Ass", I don't know WHO does.

Can't be THAT smart though, because he apparently NEVER learned about the whole "sticks and stones" nursery rhyme.
And now, he's facing a murder rap...laugh THAT one off, you f$ckhead.
Eric Jermaine Smith, 35 who lives at 6022 Oakmont Rd in Ft. Wayne is in custody, charged with shooting and killing Jabron Quantrel Totton back on 9 June around 0300 hrs.
Naturally, HE is also no stranger to the Allen County penal system, with various infractions for DUI, speeding, revoked license, possession of pot, and a possession and dealing cocaine/meth back in 1997...Gee, maybe THIS time he'll STAY the hell off the streets for a bit LONGER?
We can but hope.
*** And this drug bust netted a veritable supermarket of street pharms.
Here's the story link:
http://www.wane.com/dpp/news/crime/Drug-bust-nets-pot-cookies-mushrooms-meth-coke-LSD

This took place in Peru, Indiana over a two day period (26-27 June), and included BAKED GOODS with the drugs being part of the "recipe".
How novel.
FORTY FIVE were arrested on criminal charges, TWELVE on felony charges, and TWO OWI arrests.
The drugs included MJ, "magic mushrooms", meth, cocaine, and LSD.
(what, no vitamin "E" or Special "K" ?)
Thirty nine pounds of pot were seized, with the majority of it made into baked goods like cookies, bread and the like.
(Obviously intended for glaucoma patients in Colorado...right?)
Stupid STILL comes in ALL sizes, shapes and colors...doesn't it?
Let us press forward...
*** And now, for the continuance of the Battle of Gettysburg.

It was a rough DAY ONE for both sides, but Buford's cavalry managed to delay Lee's forces enough to allow the Union FIRST CORPS to get on the battle line, after a 20+ mile march.

And yes, they were also forced back through the town of Gettysburg proper, finally regrouping upon a small ridge with an ominous name - Cemetery Hill.

Eventually, the union forces would resemble a fish hook along that ridge line, with Lee's forces damn near surrounding them on three sides.

Lee realized that the HIGH ground was not going to be the best way to attack the yanks, and sought to wrest a part of that from them, by attacking the union RIGHT flank on Culp's Hill.

That lasted into the first night, and was a stalemate.
Here is the link to the entire SECOND DAY of the battle:
http://civilwarwiki.net/wiki/Battle_of_Gettysburg_(second_day)
The second day found a renewed attack on BOTH flanks of the union forces...again on Culp's Hill and to the far left on what was known as Little Round Top.

The adjacent hill, Big Round Top was already occupied by Confederate forces, but they could not bring ANY cannon up the slope to pour fire upon the union left.

Neither could they clear the summit of the hill off enough for cannon to even be deployed.

Lee was unable to get a feel for the number of union soldiers, thanks to Stuart's cavalry being occupied elsewhere, but from what he WAS able to ascertain, both flanks were vulnerable. He damn near called that one RIGHT, too.
But, there was one thing Lee could not have planned for, and that was a professor from Bowdoin College (Maine) who taught RHETORIC, eventually teaching every subject at the college, with the exception of science and mathematics.

His name was Joshua L. Chamberlain.
Here is HIS WIKI:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joshua_Chamberlain
He was recently placed in command of the 20th Maine regiment and given the monumental task of staving off the confederate advance of General Longstreet's troops (Lee's "war horse" as he called him) upon the union left flank. having had his depleted force of less than half strength stationed at "the end" of the line...the extreme left.
Late in the day, after been assaulted several times by Longstreet's forces, AND successfully repelling them (at a cost to Chamberlains dwindling numbers), the 20th Maine was running out of men, ammunition AND time.

Chamberlain decided to chance an obscure textbook tactic - to fix bayonets, and as the Confederates were coming UP the hill, HE would charge DOWN with his men, swinging like a door, sweeping the rebs aside.
The chance paid off, as the confederates were battling exhaustion and the lack of water. They surrendered to Chamberlain's men, some of whom were guarding them with EMPTY rifles.
The union LEFT was safe, and was reinforced as more units arrived from south of the town.
If you get the chance take time to read Chamberlain's personal account of the battle "Blood and Fire at Gettysburg". It's a small pamphlet style booklet and yet you get a real feeling of all that went through this professor's mind during the fight.

On the RIGHT flank, General Greene, the oldest commander on the union side (at 62 years of age) was keeping A.P. Hill's men at bay...STILL.
The union left had HELD.
While the Confederates had captured Devil's Den - a rocky area to the south and west of the round tops, it didn't amount to much. They could not fully exploit this advance into the union lines.

Near the union middle, General Dan Sickles thought he saw an opportunity to exploit in the battle, and moved HIS forces far forward of the union line.
That was in a location called the Peach Orchard, owned by a local resident along the Emmittsburg Rd.
Union artillery held off rebel troops until near 1830 hrs, when Confederate General Barksdale's force rammed through the union lines flanking the soldiers
Eventually, Barksdale's troops were repelled by newly arriving union soldiers who took back the cannon that the rebels has captured, and ambushed Barksdale's soldiers trying to advance further into the union salient that was created. The confederates were forced to give up the field and regroup to their own lines.

The peach orchard also became a costly stalemate.

As the sun set on the second day, Lee was under the impression that the union forces had been dealt severe blows on BOTH flanks, and that would lead him to make a decision he would later regret...

The union troops continued to shore up their own lines as more infantry corps arrived throughout the evening. Meade proved to be a worthy commander, along with his subordinates.
There was still no CLEAR victory to be found on either side.
In some cases, luck and courage held the day better than tactics or strategy.
But, how would all that fare on the THIRD DAY?
Tomorrow, we will find out...
*** Lastly today, I am always amazed at the stories of valor and honor and courage represented by the Civil War.
Here we had men who had been brothers under the same roof, pitted against one another purely for the BELIEFS they held.

The odd thing, is that the SOUTH was fighting to retain slavery, while the NORTH was fighting to preserve the union.
The confederate troops fought under a false sense of right...they fought for the rich slave and plantation OWNERS who wanted to keep slavery.
Yet, they were led to believe that the North was evil in it's intent to allow slaves to be free men and women, and that they (those Yankees) wanted to punish all southerners.
The North allowed freedom from slavery, but was not interested in what the South preferred to have in the form of slaves...the North wanted to maintain the "great experiment" called America, and it could not pursue that with TWO divided "nations" within itself.

It was because of this that President Lincoln enacted the Emancipation Proclamation.
It was HIS intent to keep America as ONE NATION (under God), and you could not do that with slavery being allowed in one region and not in another.
(...A house divided against itself cannot stand...)
So, you can see that in the final analysis, what ALL those soldiers fought and died for...wasn't necessarily about slavery, or even about the union.
They fought, as do soldiers today...FOR EACH OTHER.
And that is something I'm sure some college professor teaching rhetoric could agree on.

Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay SAFE out there, America.