But Ewell missed the signal to commence activity. He claimed later he could not hear the barrage of Confederate artillery, and failed to move his troops in time, allowing Union commanders to shift troops to blunt Longstreet’s assault.
Longstreet's July 2 assault at Gettysburg (Library of Congress) |
“The hot temperatures near the ground probably caused a dramatic upward refraction of sound waves,” Charles D. Ross wrote in 1999 newsletter of the Acoustical Society of America.
Union
commander George G. Meade also claimed not to hear the sound of fighting at one
point during Gettysburg, while people in Pittsburgh, 150 miles, heard the din
of battle.
The
phenomenon, known as “acoustic shadows,” is among the topics being covered
Saturday (Feb. 16) at a daylong free seminar at Longwood University in
Farmville, Va.
The 14th
Annual Civil War Seminar is sponsored by the university and Appomattox
Court House National Historic Park, which is 30 miles from Farmville.
Unusual
acoustics due to atmospheric conditions sometimes make it difficult for
commanders to hear sounds of battle that can help them deploy trees or react.
Temperature inversions, terrain, absorption and wind can factor in, creating an
auditory dead zone.
Professor Ross |
Patrick
Schroeder, park historian at Appomattox Court House NHP, told the Picket that
organizers are hoping for a crowd of about 300.
“They are
topnotch speakers for free,” he said. “We are going to get people from Civil
War roundtable groups, Sons of Confederate Veterans groups. We will get a fair
amount of Longwood students and local people.”
The 8:45 a.m.-4 p.m. program is being held at the
800-seat Jarman
Auditorium on campus.
Other
speakers are:
n
T.J. Duckett of S.C. at 1913 reunion |
n --- Troy Harman of the NPS will discuss the fighting
at Gettysburg. “He is probably going to cover how the federal troops would use
the terrain to their advantage,” said Schroeder.
n -- John Heiser will talk about Gettysburg and the
“Great Reunion of 1913.” That meeting was the largest combined reunion of Civil
War Veterans ever held.
Registration
to attend the seminar is not required. “If you want
to come in just the afternoon or morning you can just do that,” said Schroeder.
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