Gettysburg: Death of Our Fathers

Silas Reynolds
Daily Stormer
July 6, 2016

Thankfully, the abomination that is the Free State of Jones has crashed and burned at the box office. I’ll admit, I was pleasantly surprised that the normie movie-goers rejected the film, as it is garbage propaganda. I’ve enjoyed Matthew McConaughey’s career resurgence, particularly, his role in HBO’s excellent first season of True Detective and the Southern Gothic drama Mud, but was extremely disappointed that he took on the role of Newton Knight – a real-life miscegenist, traitor, coward and no-account trash in Free State of Jones. Unfortunately, (((Hollywood))) will continue to pump out more anti-South and anti-Confederate propaganda (disguised as entertainment and, even more brazenly, as factual history) unabated.

But, as many of us know, this wasn’t always the case. Hollywood used to make films that painted the Confederacy in a positive light, at times even praising the last remnant of the true American Republic (you can tell I’m biased). We can thank Ted Turner, of all people, in pushing for the creation and distribution of the epic film Gettysburg. It is a haunting, authentic and exhausting (especially the second half for neo-Confederates, like myself) telling of the pivotal 1863 battle in Pennsylvania. The script is excellent, the actors’ accents are accurate, from Texan to Virginian to New Englander, the battle scenes are extremely well done and the (((Randy Edelman))) score is outstanding. The lengthy film, as a whole and running at 271 minutes, does what all great films do – it resonates, connects and elicits an emotional response from the viewer – particularly for an Alt Right viewer.

Unsurprisingly, the late (((Gene Siskel))), son of Russian Jewish immigrants, gave it a “thumbs-down,” saying that the film was “bloated Southern propaganda” – as if he or is parasitic family would have any connection to the historic American experience.

I used to view Yankees with disdain and, for loud mouth transplants (think New Jersey and New York), a vengeful contempt. For the most part, I still do. But, I’ve meet some truly extraordinary Alt Right northerners (perhaps, modern day Copperheads) and consider them honorary Sons of the South – folks that recognize that if their forefathers had foreseen the current decayed husk that is the United States, they would have turned their muskets around and joined their southern cousins in burning Washington to the ground. I believe if the Union Army, which suppressed a pro-Confederate riot in 1861 and eventually occupied Baltimore until the end of the war, marched through the “vibrant” city today, they would cheerfully level Charm City to dust.

We weren’t supposed to live this way – in no way, shape or form – would a typical Union Army draftee (or volunteer) have ever envisioned Negro and female suffrage, much less the degeneracy we currently see every day. Which is why I view Gettysburg in a different light today than I would have even a year ago. The film doesn’t just chronicle the heartbreaking mortal wounding of the esteemed Army of Northern Virginia, but viewing from an Alt Right perspective, it records the painful fratricide of men, who if they only knew, accelerated the demise of the Founders’ Republic and the rise of the corrupt and unscrupulous United (by force) States – a government who now has open contempt for the White race, rule of law and Western Civilization.

One of the biggest lies that, unfortunately, still suffocates our culture and history is that the North fought to “free the slaves” and the South fought to maintain slavery. Some of that historical revisionism is forced in the film, but it is generally balanced and refuted by a southern perspective. For instance, Lieutenant Thomas Chamberlain (a nice role for “Pony Boy” C. Thomas Howell) asks a Confederate prisoner early in the film, “I don’t mean no disrespect to you fighting men, but sometimes I can’t help but figure… why you fightin’ this war?” The southerner, utilizing an excellent and likely Tennessee accent replies with, “I don’t know about other folk, but I ain’t fighting for no darkies one way or the other. I’m fightin’ for my rights [pronounced ‘rats’]. All of us here, that’s what we’re fighting for…The right to live my life like I see fit. Why can’t you just live the way you want to live, and let us live the way we do? Live and let live, I hear some folks say. Be lot less fuss and bother if more folks took it to heart.”

In July 1863, more than 100,000 Union soldiers and approximately 70,000 Confederate soldiers (including my own ancestors) fought for three days over the rolling hills of Pennsylvania at the small town of Gettysburg. The 53,000 casualties suffered there by both sides made the battle the bloodiest fought on American soil. Many historians and armchair generals argue that the battle marked the turning point of the Civil War (I agree) and it was the high water mark for the Confederacy in the eastern theater, since it was the last time that the Army of the Potomac’s nemesis, the Army of Northern Virginia was on the offensive. Afterwards, with General Robert E. Lee’s army severely weakened, the Union Army, eventually led by General Ulysses S. Grant, would use Soviet-like human wave tactics (i.e., Cold Harbor and Spotsylvania Courthouse) to wear Lee’s army down to such a degree that surrender was the only option. As an aside, I consider Grant a butcher and poor president, but give him credit for his General Order No. 11 – an attempt to expel Jews from Tennessee, Mississippi and Kentucky.

The first half of the film weighs more on the northern perspective of the battle and the latter half on the southern. The film has a great and very deep bench with respect to the cast, with notable standout performances by Sam Elliott as the fatigued Brigadier General John Buford, Tom Berenger as the dutiful, but reluctant Lt. General James Longstreet, Martin Sheen as the noble and fatherly General Robert E. Lee and Richard Jordan as the tragic and heroic Brigadier General Lewis Armistead. And, those are just the standouts in my opinion, one could reasonably argue that other cast members outshine those – such as, Stephen Lang’s cavalier and flippant George Pickett and Jeff Daniels’ proto-SJW crusader, Colonel Joshua Chamberlain.

The battle scenes are well done – grand combat scenes notwithstanding, the dramatic story is what holds the viewer’s consideration. The drama surrounding the 20th Maine’s defense of Little Round Top on the second day of the battle is a crucial example. After watching the rag-tag Confederates assault Little Round Top repetitively, each attack nearly breaking Chamberlain’s thin line, his daring command of “Bayonets!” comes across as a powerfully dramatic portrayal of brave men in fraught combat. Additionally, seeing Confederate General Lewis “Lo” Armistead (the late Richard Jordan’s final role) lead Pickett’s men from the front and hearing Longstreet’s farsighted depiction of the event about to unfold helps viewers fully appreciate the senselessness, valor and remarkable devotion epitomized by Pickett’s Charge. In the film, Armistead dies in glory, stabbing his hat through with his sword and raising it above his head, shouting and rallying, “Virginians! Who will go with me?” and mounting the last desperate attempt to break the Union center. Unfortunately, the center did hold.

As far as current (((Hollywood))) is concerned, this film could never be made in today’s environment. The film was released in 1993, but it may have well been 1923 – since today’s filmmakers would have certainly shoehorned the repetitive “brave-strong-woman” spy trope and the wise, reflective and intelligent Magic Negro to provide fallacious commentary on the evils of slavery. In addition and by browsing contemporary reviews of the film and, since the film provides an honest image of the Army of Northern Virginia, the Confederate warfighters are reduced to ignorant (an SJW favorite term) “slavers” – a millennial hipster wink to the vastly overrated and feminist fantasy Game of Thrones.

I give this grandiose and tragic film five stars. The cast, dialogue and battle scenes are excellent. For any Alt Right Civil War (or War of Northern Aggression) buff, this movie has got to be in your collection.

PS. The only colored in the film is an illiterate runaway slave.

Ranking System:

0 Stars – Glory
1 Stars – Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
2 Stars – Sommersby
3 Stars – Gods and Generals
4 Stars – Shenandoah
5 Stars – The Outlaw Josey Wales