All language subtitles for Blood and Fury s01e04 Battle of Gettysburg.eng

Narrator: July 1863.

After crushing union
forces in Virginia,

rebel general Robert e. Lee

has led 72,000 troops
north into Pennsylvania.

By striking at the
heart of the union,

he hopes to force the Yankees

in to finally recognizing
southern sovereignty.

They're coming up to win,
and not just to win a battle,

but to win their independence.

Narrator: As almost 100,000
Yankees are thrown into the fight

to stop the invasion... Charge!

A rebel colonel will
descend on a critical mission

that could win the battle
and maybe the war.

Adelman: He's a great soldier.

And he will plow forward
with his men and unleash

one of the most
ferocious attacks.

Narrator: In his way, 50 of the
union's best-trained sharpshooters.

Motts: They were elite.

And these sharpshooters,
being as accurate as they were,

could do a tremendous
amount of damage.

If the confederates
win this victory,

that's checkmate.

Narrator: The fate of the
nation is about to be decided

on a hilltop near a
town called gettysburg.

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[ mortar whistles ]

[ People coughing ]

[ Gunshots in distance ]

[ Groaning ]

John.

I gotcha. [ Groaning ]

[ Coughing ]

John!

Narrator: 29-year-old
William oates

serves as a colonel with
the confederate army.

After enlisting as
a captain in 1861,

he quickly Rose
through the ranks

and now leads the
15th Alabama infantry.

Motts: William Calvin oates is
really a very interesting character.

We know that his early life,
uh, in southeast Alabama,

where he was from,
was pretty rough,

pretty hard scrabble.

Atkinson: He was just a man
that... that resolves issues.

If it can't be resolved, then
he's gonna resolve it with,

you know, thunder
and lightning over here.

Narrator: Oates and his
men are part of the daring plan

confederate
general Robert e. Lee

has created to finally
win the civil war.

The southern people
are outnumbered.

They don't have
as many resources.

They don't have as many men.

They don't have as many cannons.

They don't have as many guns.

The longer the war continues,

the bigger the
advantage to the north.

Robert e. Lee doesn't feel that
the south can win the civil war

by simply defending a
massive amount of territory.

Bold strokes are necessary.

Narrator: Following the stunning
rebel victories in fredericksburg

and then chancellorsville,

Lee strikes and
invades the north.

Alongside a 72,000-man army,

he pushes deep into Maryland,

then Pennsylvania.

Adelman: He wants to win a
major battle up here in the north

and possibly end the civil war
right in the summer of 1863.

Atkinson: From a
political standpoint,

he wants to win a
victory on northern soil

that will put pressure on
the Lincoln administration

to sue for peace.

Narrator: But it's
a dangerous move.

Outnumbered and outgunned
by larger union forces,

Lee hopes something else
will level the playing field.

The ferocious fighting
spirit of men like oates

and his 15th Alabama infantry.

Atkinson: Now, oates felt
that he had the best regiment

in the entire army.

The Alabama boys felt that
they could win any match.

Adelman: This is a tough
lot. They're gamblers.

They're drinkers
when they could.

And, man, on the battlefield,

they were shockingly
good troops.

Narrator: The regiment
is made up of almost

500 battle-tested veterans,

including William
oates' little brother, John.

[ Coughing ]

John, what are
you doin' out here?

I couldn't sleep.

You don't look so good, man.

It's them damn yankee cherries.

I'm fine.

It ain't the cherries.

You've been runnin'
a fever for 2 days.

Tomorrow's gonna
be another hot one.

I think you should ride.

Had that damn dream
again, didn't you?

It don't mean a damn thing.

And I ain't ridin' tomorrow.

I'll walk like every other man.

Remind me how you got
to be so damned stubborn.

I guess it runs in
the family, colonel.

Atkinson: John oates
was in fragile health.

It had been a hard march on him.

And William was constantly
looking out for John.

[ Coughing ]

Narrator: 85 miles away,
in Washington, D.C.,

president Abraham Lincoln faces

one of the most difficult
moments of his presidency.

Adelman: Abraham
Lincoln is basically

trying to keep the country
together at this point.

If things don't start
going better for the union,

it's going to be pretty
clear that Abraham Lincoln

is going to lose
that next election.

It will turn out
that next election

will be against a platform
that wants to sue for peace.

This country will
absolutely split in two

if Abraham Lincoln
loses the election of 1864.

He's got a lot at stake.

I mean, how would you like
to be known as the president

who lost the country?

Narrator: Lincoln still
believes the north can win.

But to do that, they
must first find Lee's army.

Having learned that the
rebels have gone north,

100,000 union troops
have left Virginia

and now scour Maryland
and Pennsylvania,

desperate to catch
Lee's hard-marching men.

Among them is union
soldier Wyman white.

Born in New Hampshire,

he serves with the
berdan sharpshooters.

Formed by hiram berdan,
a champion marksman,

the unit was composed
of the best sharpshooters

in the country.

They are trained over

and above the
average union soldier.

In other words, they are elite.

Narrator: Placed far in
front of the union line,

they were used to
stall rebel attacks

and to gather intelligence.

The men of perdan sharpshooters
wore all-green uniforms.

They also had special
goodyear rubber buttons.

These were buttons that
did not glisten in the sunlight.

Berdan sharpshooters' men
are clothed to conceal them.

And never before, really,
in American military history

had that been done.

Narrator: To
join this elite unit,

men like Wyman white must pass

an incredibly difficult test.

Motts: The rifle test
is pretty significant.

You had to be able to
fire 10 consecutive shots

into a target at 200 yards.

And the distance between
the center of the bull's-eye

to the center of the
bullet that you fired

could not average
more than 5 inches.

So basically what that means

is you had to fire in a target

about the size
of a dinner plate,

two football fields of distance.

Narrator: White's grandfather
fought in the American revolution.

And now he's determined
to defend the nation

his grandfather helped create.

Since joining the sharpshooters,

white's been in several battles.

And now he's in
southern Pennsylvania,

hunting the rebel army.

But finding them isn't easy.

Since entering the north,

the rebels have been almost
constantly on the move.

Elements of both armies

are now just dozens
of miles apart.

As night falls, oates'
men are encamped

just 25 miles west
of Wyman white.

Left to guard the
rear of the rebel force,

they have orders to
catch up with the rest

of the army in the morning,

now just a day's
march to the east.

There it is, boys.
There. That's right.

But despite the
miles of marching,

morale among the
vets remains high.

Next, I want that hat.
It'll look good on me.

Atkinson: The confederate
soldiers came into Pennsylvania,

wholeheartedly
with the expectation

that this would be
the end of the war.

Ha-ha, yeah.

They were lighthearted.

They were glad
to be in the north.

They were eating well.

They had a quarterback
in Robert e. Lee

that they felt, uh,

could guide them to any victory.

And all they needed
was a chance to do that.

Narrator: While much seems to
be going well for Robert e. Lee,

his invasion is facing
one major problem.

He hasn't heard from his
cavalry in several days.

Cavalry are the eyes
and ears of the army.

They are the whiskers
on a cat, if you will.

It leaves Lee blindfolded.

He is groping in the darkness.

And he does not know
where the union army is.

Narrator: Lee doesn't want
to engage enemy troops

until his cavalry returns.

But it's not to be.

On July 1st, elements
of his army bump

into a group of union
cavalry on the outskirts

of a small Pennsylvania
town called gettysburg.

[ Battlefield noises ]

What begins as a minor
scrap quickly spirals

into a massive battle.

As word of the clash spreads,

union scouts watch for
rebel troop movements.

Where you headed?

You see any Johnny
rebels out there?

They as ugly as I remember:

Red eyes, fangs?

How many? A lot?

Run along now, son.

Narrator: Just miles
away, a fight is brewing that

will determine the
fate of the nation.

Hey, kid.

What's the name of
that town up there?

Gettysburg.

Never heard of it.

And Wyman white is about

to play a key role
in its outcome.

Narrator: Confederate
colonel William oates

and the men of his 15th Alabama

have been on the
move for almost 9 hours.

During the night,
they learned that

a fight had broken
out near gettysburg.

And at 4 A.M.,

they began the 25-miles
march to the battlefield.

Adelman: And it's a hot day.

It's the second-hottest
day of the whole summer.

These guys wear wool uniforms.

They had stayed up all night.

And very few of them

had any water left
in their canteens.

Narrator: Despite
the conditions,

the men are in high spirits.

I'll Grant it that the
union has a lot of troops.

But there's one key thing
that they seem to be missin'.

And what's that?

Men.

And besides, it's
clear the good lord

is marchin' with us.

Fourth of July is two days away.

You think that's a coincidence?

Adelman: They're coming
up into Pennsylvania to win,

and not just to win a battle
but to win their independence.

And many of them
think this is possible.

They're in enemy territory.

They had beat a larger
army time and time again.

And at the end of this
march, some of them,

many of them can see
the end of the civil war.

They have no idea that
general Robert e. Lee

has picked them to play
a key role in the battle.

As day two of the
fighting begins,

union forces have been
driven from gettysburg and now

cling to a Ridge south of town.

They have the union
army on the run.

And Robert e. Lee is ready
to end this thing right now.

Narrator: He's come up with a bold
plan to deliver the knockout blow.

Lee's plan is to
flank the union army.

For some reason, the union army

can never guard their flanks.

Adelman: The end of
your line is called your flank.

And if an enemy
arrives on your flank,

it's called being flanked.

Your enemy can shoot
all the way down your line.

They can't miss. If
they don't hit this person,

they'll hit him or him or him.

And if you are being flanked
like these guys are right here,

um, you have two simple choices:

Run away or get shot.

Narrator: With their
backs to the wall,

the union has sent out
some of their best troops

to protect their lines.

Wyman white and the
second us sharpshooters

now control the ground

in front of the
union's left flank.

Motts: The
sharpshooters get orders

to move to the extreme
left of the union army line.

And what's the purpose of that?

To cover the left of that line.

If the enemy appears,

they're gonna be really what you

and I would call the
first line of defense.

You think they'll
come up the road?

No. I wouldn't.

Narrator: Armed with
a revolutionary weapon,

even small numbers
of sharpshooters

can inflict massive damage.

Motts: These weapons that
berdan sharpshooters carried,

the sharps rifle, was a
breech-shielding weapon.

It loads from the rear.

And one of the advantages
of this is you could

fire many rounds a minute
compared to a regular

Springfield rifle musket
or Enfield rifle musket.

Narrator: By mid-afternoon,
rebel colonel William oates

and his men reach the
edge of the battlefield.

Oates soon learns of
the key role his troops

are to play in Lee's
plan to win the battle.

His orders are to find
the end of the union line

and to turn the union left flank

and to do as much
damage as he can.

[ Indistinct chatter ]

Narrator: As the exhausted
men try to catch their breath

before the fight,

a detail is sent
out to find water.

[ Mortar whistles ]

-Rally, rally, rally! Rally!

- Rally, rally!
- Rally, rally, rally!

Narrator: Before it returns,

the position is pounded
by union artillery.

Oates and his men must
flee and begin their mission

to find and destroy the
union army's left flank.

Wyman white and the
second us sharpshooters

have now arrived at slyder farm.

It's a large property
that lies to the southwest

of the union's left flank.

It's also now just 1 mile
to the east of colonel oates

and the men of the 15th Alabama.

It's awful quiet.

Let's go over there.

They have no idea
that colonel oates

and hundreds of the
south's toughest soldiers

are now heading right for them.

Atkinson: The sharpshooters'
presence around the slyder farm

speaks to the fact
that the union army

is not expectin' an
attack in that area.

Otherwise, they would have
had a larger body of men.

But their sharpshooters
are kind of like a thin screen,

if you will.

How many do you
think we could hold off?

Well, we got 60
guys, 50 shots each.

That's about 3,000 rounds.

That's a lot of dead crackas.

If we don't miss.

Now, don't you read the papers?

We're berdan
sharpshooters. We never miss.

Well, what if it's
more, like the kid said?

Then we pull back
to those woods,

and we make 'em pay
for every damn yard.

I hope you're right.

Narrator: William oates
and his brother, John,

are now just 1/2 mile
west of slyder farm.

What do ya think?

They're definitely out there.

There's more than
a few skirmishers.

[ Coughs, clears throat ]

You sure you're up to it?

I ever say different?

All right.

Tell your captain to take
your company and two others.

Hem around from the south
Ridge. Just keep your head down.

All right? Go on.

Alabama, on your feet!

Forward!

[ Gun cocks ]

Narrator: The fight that will
forever change the course

of the civil war
is about to begin.

And Wyman white
will be at the heart of it.

Here they come.

It's the whole damn rebel army.

Narrator: Near the
town of gettysburg,

the battle that will determine
the fate of the nation

has entered its
second day of carnage.

And as 165,000 men
clash just miles to the north,

rebel colonel William
oates leads a mission

to find and flank
the union army.

They're comin'.

Hold on, Edwin.

All that now stands
before the large rebel force

is Wyman white and several
dozen union sharpshooters.

If the rebel attack succeeds,

they may win the battle of
gettysburg and the civil war.

They're comin' fast.

[ Gun cocks ]

I just can't imagine what's goin'
through Wyman white's mind

when he looks
up in front of him,

and thousands of
people are heading to you.

And the only protection you've
got are your friends armed

right there next
to ya. And that's it.

Almost there.

Charge!

[ Men screaming ]

Motts: The confederates
feel that they're facing

the main line of
union resistance here.

Why? Because they're
putting up a lot of firepower.

Not only are they putting
up a lot of firepower,

but once again, it's accurate.

They hung out there,
uh, 'til the last minute.

Fall back.

They were almost
crowded in by bayonets

before they left and decided

to withdraw off
of that position.

So the confederates
were right on top of them.

Narrator: As the rebels
storm the farm, white

and his fellow sharpshooters
have only one chance:

Sprint for the cover
of big round top,

a thickly forested
hill that stands

just behind their position.

[ Gunshots ]

[ Men screaming ]

Ah!

Get up. Get up. What? What?

Get up! They're comin'.

[ Men screaming ]

The fighting that breaks out
in the woods of big round top,

I don't think a lot of
people know about.

[ Gunshots ]

Narrator: Pursued by
hundreds of enraged rebels,

white and the other
sharpshooters scramble up

the steep slopes of the hill.

[ Grunting ]

But despite being outnumbered

almost 10 to 1,

white has no
intention of running.

Motts: When the
sharpshooters decide to retire,

let's remember they're retiring
to the next place of defense.

Then they're firing until the
confederate line advances

to the point where they're at.

Then they go back
to their next point

that they think is
defendable that they can find

and then fire again.

They're putting up a
volume of fire that oates

and the 15th Alabama
can not ignore.

Narrator: As an endless wave
of rebels close in on their position,

white can't hold
them any longer.

Let's go.

As the union's
first line of defense,

white and his
fellow sharpshooters

must now try to
find the federal army

and warn them of
the coming attack.

If oates gets behind
them, the entire yankee line

will be in hell.

Narrator: 72,000 of the
south's toughest troops

have invaded the
north in a bold attempt

to finally end the civil war.

A desperate fight
to drive them back

has now broken out near
the town of gettysburg.

In hopes of winning the battle,

rebel colonel William oates

has been ordered to find
and destroy the left flank

of the union army.

After a bloody clash with
yankee sharpshooters,

he's taken the summit
of big round top,

a large hill that lies to the
south of the union mine.

Once there, he's reunited
with his little brother, John.

William.

Told you I wouldn't
miss the fight.

Glad to see ya.

All right. Come here.

I'll show you what
I'm thinkin', okay?

We got this whole Ridge line

that runs right
across here, okay?

Adelman: William c. Oates, in
command of his own regiment,

gets on top of big round top.

And he can see the...
All the hills below him

and see that he's
on the high point.

He wanted to fortify big
round top and stay there.

And I don't blame him.

He said that he could convert
big round top into a Gibraltar

that he could hold
against 10 times

the number of men he had.

- Colonel oates.
- Made it over on this side.

-Colonel oats, sir.
[ Panting ]

Orders from general law:

You're to abandon
this position immediately

and find the enemy flank.

Sir.

Atkinson: He was
probably very angry.

But once oates sets
his mind to something,

he's going to do it.

That's what he's
done his entire life.

And so he is gonna push
that attack very aggressively.

He will get his men moving.
He will find the enemy.

And he will try to destroy them.

Narrator: Oates will now lead
his men towards little round top,

a smaller hill located
1/2 mile to the north.

There, rebel
generals believe oates

can get behind the left
flank of the union army

and win the battle
of gettysburg.

But oates isn't the only one
looking for the union flank.

A half mile away,

union sharpshooter Wyman white

is struggling up the
face of little round top.

Go.

The sharpshooters
that were at the base

of big round top,
including Wyman white,

when they leave their positions,

they're going to
go back to try to find

where the union line is located.

And they don't know where
the union line is located.

Narrator: White's desperate
to find the union troops.

Come on. Keep
it goin', chaldwig.

Come on. Okay.

He has no idea if
his superiors realize

that 2,000 of the south's
toughest men are racing

toward the union flank.

Around this rock. Go.

White.

Where are they? I
don't see anything.

White! Below them.

[ Gunshots ]

White, where are they?

There.

Hold your fire!

[ Gunshots continue ]

Hold your damn fire!

We're union men.

We're comin' up.

[ Men screaming, gunshots ]

White's found elements
of several union regiments.

After union commanders
finally learned of the rebel clan,

they were rushed to
position just minutes ago.

William oates has finally found

the left flank of
the union army.

If he can beat it and
take the high ground,

the rebels have a good
chance of winning the battle.

Adelman: He is a great soldier.

And he will plow
forward with his men

and unleash one of the most
ferocious attacks at gettysburg.

Narrator: The fight that will
forever change the course

of the civil war
is about to begin.

If the confederates
get possession

of little round top, in my mind,

that's pretty much
a deal breaker.

You're gonna get
control of the road

that's behind,
uh, little round top.

You're gonna be
able to put artillery

and fire up the union line.

Adelman: The
confederates are worn out.

They are hungry, tired, thirsty.

But what confederates
have going for them

is that the 15th Alabama
is a particularly dogged unit.

These guys are experienced.

They've been in more
than 15 battles already.

And they had made the
union flee at most of them.

[ Men screaming ]

Here they come.

The fight for little round top
is a particularly savage fight.

You have the
confederates launching,

depending on who you
listen to, two, three, four,

five charges against the union.

Narrator: But each
time, they are driven back

by Wyman white
and the union troops.

Motts: Wyman white and the
second United States sharpshooters

really have a front-row seat
to that major engagement.

And because they're
specially armed,

because they can
put up a lot of rifle fire

and put it up accurately,
they're gonna make a dent

in this confederate advance.

I want you to take your men
over that Ridge and up there.

Adelman: William c.
Oates, during this fight,

was right where he should be.

He is up with his regimen.

Atkinson: Oates
always led from the front.

In other words, he
would never send his men

where he was unwilling to go.

It becomes like a horror movie.

You can hear the cries

and the screams
of the wounded men.

Narrator: As the ground
is soaked with rebel blood,

the 15th claws
its way up the hill.

The line holds for now.

But it could fall at any moment.

If it does, and oates gets
behind the yankee army,

the battle of gettysburg
is all but over.

[ Battlefield noises ]

Narrator: Gettysburg,
Pennsylvania.

The largest battle
of the civil war

has entered its 35th hour.

The fighting has already
claimed almost 25,000 casualties.

To win the battle,

rebel colonel William oates

has been sent on mission
to flank the union line.

To succeed, he must now
push union sharpshooter

Wyman white and
hundreds of yankee soldiers

off the summit
of little round top.

Atkinson: It really
gets to the point,

after several charges
had taken place,

as to who is going to
have the last man standing.

Both sides are running
out of ammunition.

Both sides are
running out of men.

Uh, and both sides are...

Are at the end of their rope.

Narrator: Further
down the slope,

William oates steels his
men for one last charge.

Forward! [ Men cheer ]

Narrator: He's convinced
the union line is about to crack.

I'm out. You?

As ammunition begins to run low,

Wyman white wonders if the
line can hold back one more attack.

[ Men screaming ]

Here they come.

Look there.

Incredibly, a union regimen

fighting to the left
of Wyman white

has stormed down
little round top

and charged the rebels.

[ Men screaming ]

Adelman: With confederate
soldiers just strewn about everywhere

and seeing the futility
of further attacks,

he was ultimately convinced

that he had to
order that retreat.

And he ordered it with the
greatest amount of reluctance.

- Retreat!
- Let's get out of here.

[ Men screaming ]

Hands up!

[ Indistinct chatter ]

They're runnin'. My
god, they're runnin'.

[ Cheering ]

Narrator: Oates flees
with the shattered remains

of the 15th Alabama.

Almost 40% of his regiment
have been killed or wounded

on the bloody slopes
of little round top.

Among the fallen is his
younger brother, John.

[ Men screaming, gunshots ]

Atkinson: William had
always looked after John.

I think it was one of
the worst experiences

in William oates' life,

the day he had to
leave his brother

behind on that battlefield.

I can't imagine the pain
which that caused him.

Narrator: The next day,
after one more attempt

to break the union line fails,

general Lee calls off
the invasion of the north.

In 3 days of fighting,

almost 25,000 of his men
have been killed or wounded.

Oates and the rest of the army

must limp back to Virginia,

dreaming of what
could have been.

Atkinson: The confederate
army enters Pennsylvania

with the highest morale

probably of any army in history,

expecting victory.

They march out of
Pennsylvania very despondent,

saddened by all the
losses that they've incurred

and the battle
which they had just...

That they have just...

Was that close to
winning that day.

Um...

What if?

[ Telegram whirring ]

Narrator: In Washington, D.C.,
an anxious Abraham Lincoln

finally receives a telegram
from the gettysburg battlefield.

He learns that union forces
have tangled with the best

the rebels could muster and won.

It's proof that
Lee can be beaten

and that maybe
one day, the civil war

can be brought to an end.

Lee's army incurs so many
losses here at gettysburg

that he will never be able
to renew the offensive.

The south's greatest chance

of winning independence is gone.

[ Thunder rumbles ]

[ Lightning crashes ]

Sure beats the fireworks
show I saw in Concord last year.

Happy fourth of July, white.

[ Canteens clank ]

Happy fourth of July.

[ Lightning crashes ]

Adelman: It is unquestionable
that the second United States

sharpshooters forever
changed the battle of gettysburg.

They forced the
confederate attack

to go to a different place.

They slowed the
confederate line down.

I don't know of another unit
on the gettysburg battlefield

that had a bigger impact
for their smaller numbers.

Narrator: In the summer of 1864,

during his 27th battle,

William oates is shot.

He survives and goes on to
become the governor of Alabama.

Wyman white continues to
serve with the us sharpshooters.

At the end of the war, he
returns to New Hampshire

and marries in 1867.

In 1888, oates writes a letter
to one of the commanders

of the union
sharpshooters at gettysburg.

It says,

"you and your command
deserve a monument

for turning the tide in
favor of the union cause.

But for the service
on your part,

I am confident we would
have swept away the union line

and have captured
little round top,

which would have
won the battle for us."

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