re: #778 oaktree

I think it was Coddington that wrote that the main thing with Pickett’s Charge wasn’t that it was repelled, but by how few Union tropps it was repelled by.

And I was always taken by the initiative of the Vermont Brigade commander (Stannard?) in realizing he was on the flank of the assault at that stage and wheeling out in order to fire enfilade on it.

That was a spectacular maneuver, well-executed and under extreme conditions. The discipline that some of these units displayed is astounding. Especially when contrasted with the commonly-noted lack of firing discipline, the psychological causes of which formed the foundation of modern basic training.