Notice

Posting will be light throughout the weekend into Monday. I will be visiting two Civil War battlefields, the evidence of which will be heavily documented with photos. Though I find war deplorable on all sorts of levels, I also find it perversely fascinating. On Independence Day weekend, I will be contemplating the senseless slaughter of combat and how it factors in to a huge celebration of the birth of a new nation, one which won its freedom by way of the musket and the sword.

While at both Gettysburg and Antietam, I will be sure to remember that what celebrates victory from defeat is often the side which makes the fewest mistakes, or capitalizes on the enemy's mistake at a crucial time. Human error and pure chance have as much to do with winning and losing as planning and execution. As much as we think we are in control, we are not.