Tag Archives: history

Looking at topography is often where I start. The land with its accidents of terrain often influences what happens as individuals or armies move across it. For instance, the open plains found below Marye’s Heights outside Fredericksburg or in front of Prospect Hill appear to be simple level agricultural fields. Nothing could be further from the truth. To the infantry man ordered to cross those fields, any little dips, hollows, swales, ditches, depressions, etc., often meant the difference between life and death. Continue reading →