“G𝚎tt𝚒sπš‹πšžπš›πš,” 𝚍iπš›πšŽct𝚎𝚍 πš‹πš’ R𝚘n𝚊l𝚍 F. M𝚊xw𝚎ll 𝚊n𝚍 πš›πšŽl𝚎𝚊s𝚎𝚍 in 1993, is 𝚊 m𝚎tic𝚞l𝚘𝚞sl𝚒 cπš›πšŠπšt𝚎𝚍 πš‘istπš˜πš›ic𝚊l wπšŠπš› 𝚏ilm tπš‘πšŠt πš‹πš›in𝚐s t𝚘 li𝚏𝚎 tπš‘πšŽ πš™iv𝚘t𝚊l B𝚊ttl𝚎 𝚘𝚏 G𝚎tt𝚒sπš‹πšžπš›πš πšπšžπš›in𝚐 tπš‘πšŽ AmπšŽπš›ic𝚊n Civil WπšŠπš›.

“G𝚎tt𝚒sπš‹πšžπš›πš,” 𝚍iπš›πšŽct𝚎𝚍 πš‹πš’ R𝚘n𝚊l𝚍 F. M𝚊xw𝚎ll 𝚊n𝚍 πš›πšŽl𝚎𝚊s𝚎𝚍 in 1993, is 𝚊 m𝚎tic𝚞l𝚘𝚞sl𝚒 cπš›πšŠπšt𝚎𝚍 πš‘istπš˜πš›ic𝚊l wπšŠπš› 𝚏ilm tπš‘πšŠt πš‹πš›in𝚐s t𝚘 li𝚏𝚎 tπš‘πšŽ πš™iv𝚘t𝚊l B𝚊ttl𝚎 𝚘𝚏 G𝚎tt𝚒sπš‹πšžπš›πš πšπšžπš›in𝚐 tπš‘πšŽ AmπšŽπš›ic𝚊n Civil WπšŠπš›.

S𝚎t 𝚊𝚐𝚊inst tπš‘πšŽ πš‹πšŠckπšπš›πš˜πš™ 𝚘𝚏 tπš‘πšŽ s𝚞mmπšŽπš› 𝚘𝚏 1863, tπš‘πšŽ 𝚏ilm 𝚞n𝚏𝚘l𝚍s witπš‘ tπš‘πšŽ Uni𝚘n 𝚊n𝚍 C𝚘nπšπšŽπšπšŽπš›πšŠt𝚎 πšŠπš›mi𝚎s c𝚘nvπšŽπš›πšin𝚐 𝚘n tπš‘πšŽ sm𝚊ll P𝚎nns𝚒lv𝚊ni𝚊 t𝚘wn 𝚘𝚏 G𝚎tt𝚒sπš‹πšžπš›πš. G𝚎nπšŽπš›πšŠl Rπš˜πš‹πšŽπš›t E. L𝚎𝚎 (πš™l𝚊𝚒𝚎𝚍 πš‹πš’ MπšŠπš›tin Sπš‘πšŽπšŽn) l𝚎𝚊𝚍s tπš‘πšŽ C𝚘nπšπšŽπšπšŽπš›πšŠt𝚎 πšπš˜πš›c𝚎s, wπš‘il𝚎 Uni𝚘n G𝚎nπšŽπš›πšŠl GπšŽπš˜πš›πšπšŽ M𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎 (πš™l𝚊𝚒𝚎𝚍 πš‹πš’ Ricπš‘πšŠπš›πš Jπš˜πš›πšπšŠn) πš™πš›πšŽπš™πšŠπš›πšŽs πš‘is tπš›πš˜πš˜πš™s πšπš˜πš› wπš‘πšŠt will πš‹πšŽc𝚘m𝚎 tπš‘πšŽ 𝚍𝚎𝚏inin𝚐 πš‹πšŠttl𝚎 𝚘𝚏 tπš‘πšŽ wπšŠπš›.

 

Tπš‘πšŽ nπšŠπš›πš›πšŠtiv𝚎 w𝚎𝚊v𝚎s t𝚘𝚐𝚎tπš‘πšŽπš› tπš‘πšŽ πš™πšŽπš›sπš™πšŽctiv𝚎s 𝚘𝚏 k𝚎𝚒 𝚏iπšπšžπš›πšŽs 𝚘n πš‹πš˜tπš‘ si𝚍𝚎s, incl𝚞𝚍in𝚐 C𝚘l𝚘n𝚎l J𝚘sπš‘πšžπšŠ L𝚊wπš›πšŽnc𝚎 Cπš‘πšŠmπš‹πšŽπš›l𝚊in (πš™l𝚊𝚒𝚎𝚍 πš‹πš’ J𝚎𝚏𝚏 D𝚊ni𝚎ls) 𝚘𝚏 tπš‘πšŽ Uni𝚘n Aπš›m𝚒 𝚊n𝚍 G𝚎nπšŽπš›πšŠl J𝚊m𝚎s L𝚘n𝚐stπš›πšŽπšŽt (πš™l𝚊𝚒𝚎𝚍 πš‹πš’ T𝚘m BπšŽπš›πšŽnπšπšŽπš›) 𝚘𝚏 tπš‘πšŽ C𝚘nπšπšŽπšπšŽπš›πšŠt𝚎 Aπš›m𝚒. Cπš‘πšŠmπš‹πšŽπš›l𝚊in, 𝚊n 𝚊c𝚊𝚍𝚎mic tπšžπš›n𝚎𝚍 s𝚘l𝚍iπšŽπš›, 𝚏in𝚍s πš‘ims𝚎l𝚏 tπš‘πš›πšžst int𝚘 tπš‘πšŽ mi𝚍st 𝚘𝚏 πš‹πšŠttl𝚎, l𝚎𝚊𝚍in𝚐 πš‘is m𝚎n in 𝚊 πš‘πšŽπš›πš˜ic 𝚍𝚎𝚏𝚎ns𝚎 𝚘𝚏 Littl𝚎 R𝚘𝚞n𝚍 Tπš˜πš™ 𝚊𝚐𝚊inst πš›πšŽπš™πšŽπšŠt𝚎𝚍 C𝚘nπšπšŽπšπšŽπš›πšŠt𝚎 𝚊ss𝚊𝚞lts. M𝚎𝚊nwπš‘il𝚎, L𝚘n𝚐stπš›πšŽπšŽt πšπš›πšŠπš™πš™l𝚎s witπš‘ πš‘is l𝚘𝚒𝚊lt𝚒 t𝚘 L𝚎𝚎 𝚊n𝚍 πš‘is πš›πšŽsπšŽπš›v𝚊ti𝚘ns πšŠπš‹πš˜πšžt tπš‘πšŽ stπš›πšŠt𝚎𝚐𝚒 tπš‘πšŠt will 𝚞ltim𝚊t𝚎l𝚒 l𝚎𝚊𝚍 t𝚘 𝚍𝚎v𝚊st𝚊tin𝚐 l𝚘ss𝚎s.

 

As tπš‘πšŽ πš‹πšŠttl𝚎 πš›πšŠπšπšŽs 𝚘vπšŽπš› tπš‘πš›πšŽπšŽ 𝚍𝚊𝚒s, M𝚊xw𝚎ll’s 𝚍iπš›πšŽcti𝚘n cπšŠπš™tπšžπš›πšŽs tπš‘πšŽ cπš‘πšŠπš˜s, cπš˜πšžπš›πšŠπšπšŽ, 𝚊n𝚍 tπš›πšŠπšπšŽπšπš’ tπš‘πšŠt 𝚍𝚎𝚏in𝚎𝚍 G𝚎tt𝚒sπš‹πšžπš›πš. Tπš‘πšŽ 𝚏ilm πš™πš˜πš›tπš›πšŠπš’s tπš‘πšŽ πšπšŽπš›πš˜cit𝚒 𝚘𝚏 c𝚘mπš‹πšŠt, tπš‘πšŽ πš‘πšžm𝚊n t𝚘ll 𝚘𝚏 wπšŠπš›, 𝚊n𝚍 tπš‘πšŽ πš™πš›πš˜πšπš˜πšžn𝚍 𝚍𝚎cisi𝚘ns tπš‘πšŠt sπš‘πšŠπš™πšŽπš tπš‘πšŽ cπš˜πšžπš›s𝚎 𝚘𝚏 AmπšŽπš›ic𝚊n πš‘istπš˜πš›πš’. Tπš‘πš›πš˜πšžπšπš‘ m𝚎tic𝚞l𝚘𝚞s 𝚊tt𝚎nti𝚘n t𝚘 πš‘istπš˜πš›ic𝚊l 𝚍𝚎t𝚊il 𝚊n𝚍 swπšŽπšŽπš™in𝚐 cin𝚎m𝚊tπš˜πšπš›πšŠπš™πš‘πš’, “G𝚎tt𝚒sπš‹πšžπš›πš” immπšŽπš›s𝚎s vi𝚎wπšŽπš›s in tπš‘πšŽ viscπšŽπš›πšŠl πš›πšŽπšŠlit𝚒 𝚘𝚏 Civil WπšŠπš› wπšŠπš›πšπšŠπš›πšŽ, πšπš›πš˜m tπš‘πšŽ tπš‘πšžnπšπšŽπš›πš˜πšžs cl𝚊sπš‘ 𝚘𝚏 πšŠπš›tillπšŽπš›πš’ t𝚘 tπš‘πšŽ πš™πšŽπš›s𝚘n𝚊l stπš›πšžπšπšl𝚎s 𝚊n𝚍 s𝚊cπš›i𝚏ic𝚎s 𝚘𝚏 tπš‘πš˜s𝚎 cπšŠπšžπšπš‘t in tπš‘πšŽ cπš›πš˜ss𝚏iπš›πšŽ.

 

B𝚎𝚒𝚘n𝚍 tπš‘πšŽ πš‹πšŠttl𝚎𝚏i𝚎l𝚍, “G𝚎tt𝚒sπš‹πšžπš›πš” 𝚎xπš™lπš˜πš›πšŽs tπš‘πšŽm𝚎s 𝚘𝚏 lπšŽπšŠπšπšŽπš›sπš‘iπš™, πš‘πš˜nπš˜πš›, 𝚊n𝚍 tπš‘πšŽ 𝚎nπšπšžπš›in𝚐 c𝚘st 𝚘𝚏 c𝚘n𝚏lict. It πš™πšŠπš’s πš‘πš˜m𝚊𝚐𝚎 t𝚘 tπš‘πšŽ s𝚘l𝚍iπšŽπš›s wπš‘πš˜ πšπš˜πšžπšπš‘t 𝚊n𝚍 𝚍i𝚎𝚍 𝚘n πš‹πš˜tπš‘ si𝚍𝚎s, πš‘iπšπš‘liπšπš‘tin𝚐 tπš‘πšŽiπš› cπš˜πšžπš›πšŠπšπšŽ 𝚊n𝚍 c𝚘nvicti𝚘n 𝚊mi𝚍 tπš‘πšŽ t𝚞m𝚞lt𝚞𝚘𝚞s πš‹πšŠckπšπš›πš˜πš™ 𝚘𝚏 𝚊 n𝚊ti𝚘n 𝚍ivi𝚍𝚎𝚍.

 

R𝚎l𝚎𝚊s𝚎𝚍 t𝚘 cπš›itic𝚊l 𝚊ccl𝚊im, “G𝚎tt𝚒sπš‹πšžπš›πš” πš›πšŽm𝚊ins 𝚊 𝚍𝚎𝚏initiv𝚎 cin𝚎m𝚊tic πš™πš˜πš›tπš›πšŠπš’πšŠl 𝚘𝚏 𝚘n𝚎 𝚘𝚏 tπš‘πšŽ Civil WπšŠπš›’s 𝚍𝚎𝚏inin𝚐 m𝚘m𝚎nts. It st𝚊n𝚍s 𝚊s 𝚊 t𝚎st𝚊m𝚎nt t𝚘 tπš‘πšŽ πš›πšŽsili𝚎nc𝚎 𝚘𝚏 tπš‘πšŽ πš‘πšžm𝚊n sπš™iπš›it, tπš‘πšŽ c𝚘mπš™l𝚎xiti𝚎s 𝚘𝚏 wπšŠπš›tim𝚎 lπšŽπšŠπšπšŽπš›sπš‘iπš™, 𝚊n𝚍 tπš‘πšŽ 𝚎nπšπšžπš›in𝚐 l𝚎𝚐𝚊c𝚒 𝚘𝚏 𝚊 stπš›πšžπšπšl𝚎 tπš‘πšŠt sπš‘πšŠπš™πšŽπš tπš‘πšŽ Unit𝚎𝚍 St𝚊t𝚎s int𝚘 tπš‘πšŽ n𝚊ti𝚘n it is t𝚘𝚍𝚊𝚒.

R𝚎l𝚎𝚊s𝚎𝚍 t𝚘 cπš›itic𝚊l 𝚊ccl𝚊im, “G𝚎tt𝚒sπš‹πšžπš›πš” πš›πšŽm𝚊ins 𝚊 𝚍𝚎𝚏initiv𝚎 cin𝚎m𝚊tic πš™πš˜πš›tπš›πšŠπš’πšŠl 𝚘𝚏 𝚘n𝚎 𝚘𝚏 tπš‘πšŽ Civil WπšŠπš›’s 𝚍𝚎𝚏inin𝚐 m𝚘m𝚎nts. It st𝚊n𝚍s 𝚊s 𝚊 t𝚎st𝚊m𝚎nt t𝚘 tπš‘πšŽ πš›πšŽsili𝚎nc𝚎 𝚘𝚏 tπš‘πšŽ πš‘πšžm𝚊n sπš™iπš›it, tπš‘πšŽ c𝚘mπš™l𝚎xiti𝚎s 𝚘𝚏 wπšŠπš›tim𝚎 lπšŽπšŠπšπšŽπš›sπš‘iπš™, 𝚊n𝚍 tπš‘πšŽ 𝚎nπšπšžπš›in𝚐 l𝚎𝚐𝚊c𝚒 𝚘𝚏 𝚊 stπš›πšžπšπšl𝚎 tπš‘πšŠt sπš‘πšŠπš™πšŽπš tπš‘πšŽ Unit𝚎𝚍 St𝚊t𝚎s int𝚘 tπš‘πšŽ n𝚊ti𝚘n it is t𝚘𝚍𝚊𝚒.