Civil War
Oates joined the Confederate States Army in 1861 and eventually became the commander of the 15th Alabama infantry regiment in the spring of 1863. He fought in the Battle of Gettysburg, leading his troops in a series of charges on Little Round Top, where his brother John perished. This became one of Oates's significant memory of the war, as he believed that if his regiment had been able to take Little Round Top, the Army of Northern Virginia might have won the battle, and possibly marched on to take Washington, D.C. Oates later stated that if even a single additional Confederate regiment had joined the assault, the attack could have succeeded, turning the Union's flank and threatening the entire Army of the Potomac.
Oates stated:
His skill and persistency and the great bravery of his men saved Little Round Top and the Army of the Potomac from defeat. "...we would have completely turned the flank and have won Little Round Top, which would have forced Meade's whole left wing to retire." He concluded, philosophically, that "great events sometimes turn on comparatively small affairs."Oates participated in the battles of Chickamauga, the Wilderness, and Spotsylvania Court House. After transferring to the 48th Alabama, he was wounded near Petersburg, Virginia, losing his right arm, which ended his active service.
Read more about this topic: William C. Oates
Famous quotes related to civil war:
“We have heard all of our lives how, after the Civil War was over, the South went back to straighten itself out and make a living again. It was for many years a voiceless part of the government. The balance of power moved away from it—to the north and the east. The problems of the north and the east became the big problem of the country and nobody paid much attention to the economic unbalance the South had left as its only choice.”
—Lyndon Baines Johnson (1908–1973)
“Colonel Shaw
and his bell-cheeked Negro infantry
on St. Gaudens shaking Civil War relief,
propped by a plank splint against the garage’s earthquake.”
—Robert Lowell (1917–1977)