A digital reimagining of Gettysburg - Anne Knowles

翻译人员: Tianshu Wang 校对人员: Jenny Yang

I'm a geographer at Middlebury College,

我是米德尔伯里学院的地理学家，

and I use digital technologies

我用数码技术

to reimagine the past.

重现过去。

I want to take you to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania,

我想带你去1863年7月1日的

July 1, 1863,

美国宾夕法尼亚州的葛底斯堡，

we're right in the middle of the Civil War.

那正是内战的中期。

From the northwest,

西北方是罗伯特·李将军的南军

the Confederate forces

under Robert E. Lee,

and from the southeast,

而乔治·米德带领下的北军

the Union forces under George Meade,

也正好从东南方向过来，

converge at this place

在这里相遇，

more or less by chance.

多少是个巧合。

They didn't plan to fight here.

他们并没有计划在那里战斗。

But the Battle of Gettysburg turns out

但葛底斯堡之战

to be the turning point of the Civil War.

却成了内战的转折点。

Now, Robert E. Lee is probably

如今，罗伯特·李可能是

the most famous American general,

美国最著名的将军，

widely respected.

受到广泛地尊敬。

But at Gettysburg,

但是在葛底斯堡，

he made some crucial mistakes,

他犯了一些严重的错误，

probably the most important

其中最严重的错误那个

was in ordering Pickett's Charge.

很可能就是发动皮克特冲锋的命令。

I'm going to show you

我将给大家展示

how I took a new look at Pickett's Charge

我是怎么通过历史地图和GIS

with historical maps and GIS.

重新审视了皮克特冲锋。

My key map was this extraordinary thing,

我的主地图就是这个非同寻常的事物，

12 feet by 13 feet,

长13英尺，宽12英尺，

in the vault of treasures at the National Archives.

收藏在国家档案管的珍宝库。

Here are some of my students at Middlebury

这是我的一些在米德尔伯里的学生，

to give you a sense of that scale.

可以让你们直观感受地图的比例尺。

It was recompiled into a finished map

它被重新编译成一张完整的地图，

the size of a large poster.

有大海报那么大。

You can see the layout of the town of Gettysburg,

你能够看到葛底斯堡镇的布局，

you see the undulating shape of the terrain.

和波状起伏的地形。

If you look at other details,

如果你留意其他细节，

you can see forests and orchards and streams and roads.

你能看到森林、果园、溪流和公路。

I want you to look at those very fine black lines.

我希望你能注意那些相当细小的黑线。

Those are called contour lines,

它们叫轮廓线，

and they show the elevation at 4-foot intervals,

显示了间距4英尺的等高线，

the most detailed elevation I have ever seen.

这是我见过记录最详细的海拔数据。

Now, before I explain this image,

现在，在我解释这个图像前，

I need to tell you a little about GIS.

我要给你们讲一讲GIS。

It stands for Geographic Information Systems.

这是“地理信息系统”的缩写。

It's a kind of software

它是一种软件，

that allows you to map almost anything.

几乎能够让你绘制任何地图。

You can also use it to do terrain analysis.

你还能用它来做地形分析。

For example, if you're building a ski resort,

举个例子，如果你正在建一个滑雪场，

and you want people to get off the lift

并想让人们在滑下的过程中

and have the most spectacular view possible,

能尽可能的看到最壮观的景象，

you use viewshed analysis

你可以通过视域分析

that shows you what you can see

显示你在地形中某一点上

from a certain point on the terrain.

能看到什么。

I used that to place myself digitally

我用它来模拟

in the footsteps of Robert E. Lee,

罗伯特·李的位置，

to ask, 'What could he see?'

并问自己： "他可以看到什么？"

and 'What could he not see?'

"他不能看到什么？"

that might have influenced his command decisions.

这些可能影响了他的指挥决策。

Now, back to these contour lines.

现在，回到那些等高线。

This is the best elevation data that I could find.

这是我能找到最好的海拔数据。

I traced all of the lines,

我追踪了所有的线条，

you see in the black and white drawings,

你可以看到黑白图示，

some of those lines,

其中的一些线，

stitched them together,

相互粘合在了一起，

gave them elevation values,

我赋予它们海拔高度值，

and then transformed it, within the GIS program,

然后在GIS程序里

into a continuous terrain.

转换成连绵不断的地形。

This is a simulation of the ground of the battlefield.

这是模拟出来的战场地面。

Now, I'm ready to place myself in Lee's boots

现在，我可以将自己放在李所站的地方

and ask what he could see.

并且问自己他看到了什么。

The particular moment I want to look at

我想到看到的时刻

is that battle I mentioned, Pickett's Charge.

就是我提到的那战役争，皮克特冲锋。

Lee makes a crucial decision

李在第三天早上，

on the morning of the third day,

也就是1863年7月3日，

this is July 3rd, 1863,

做了一个重大决定，

the fighting on the previous two days has been fierce.

之前两天的战斗异常激烈。

It's gone back and forth,

战斗反反复复，

neither side has a clear advantage.

双方都没有明显优势。

Lee goes down to the bottom of the field,

李深入战场，

we know this,

我们都知道这个，

here's my gorgeous source map again

再来看我绚丽的源图，

and watch the red circle appear.

注意红色圆圈的出现。

He goes to the southern end of the battlefield

他在早晨8点左右

at about 8:00 in the morning

去了战场的最南端,

with his binoculars

带着他的双筒望远镜

and looks through them

并通过它

to figure out where to attack the Union line,

寻找袭击北军的位置，

where are they most vulnerable.

就是他们最脆弱的地方。

Now, in this next image,

现在来看下一个图像，

I'm going to show you the GIS process

我将给你展示一个GIS操作

called viewshed analysis,

也就是视域分析，

along with Lee's line of sight

沿着那个微红的圆锥内

in that sort of reddish cone

李的视线

is the direction we think he was looking.

就是我们认为他看的方向。

Viewshed analysis, remember, tells me what I can see

别忘了，视域分析能告诉我，在某个特定的点，

and what I can't see

哪些是我能看见的，

from a certain point,

哪些是我看不见的。

so in this map,

所以在这张地图里，

the grey area is what Lee couldn't see.

灰色区域是李看不见的。

The clear area, where you see that historic map coming through,

那张历史地图上，你能够看到的清晰区域，

is what he could've definitely seen.

是他肯定不能看到的。

Notice how much of the right side of the map is in grey.

请注意地图右边，灰色的区域的大小。

Now, we add another crucial piece of information.

现在让我们再加一条重要的信息。

Someone named John Bachelder,

一个叫约翰·巴舍尔德的人，

a landscape painter from New Hampshire,

他是来自新罕布什尔的风景画家，

went down to the battlefield

一听到战讯

as soon as he heard about the fight,

就去了战场，

in order to document where troops had been

以便记录军队去过的地方，

and to try to paint the battle.

并描绘战场。

He ended up getting $10,000 from Congress

最终他从国会拿到了一万美金

in order to document troop positions

用于每隔半小时

down to the half hour.

记录一次军队的位置。

He produced 24 maps

他一共画了24张地图，

that we also digitized

我们将这些也数字化

and brought into the GIS.

并且输入了GIS。

And this next map shows that troop position information;

下一张地图显示了部队的位置信息

it's crucial for understanding

要明白李能看到什么，不能看到什么

what Lee could and what he couldn't see.

这些信息至关重要。

Now, if you look closely at this map,

现在，如果你细看这张地图，

you might be able to see

你也许能看见

kind of the middle

差不多正中间

is a black oval around an area that's relatively clear.

有一个黑色椭圆，椭圆里的区域比较清晰。

The blue markings in that black oval

黑色椭圆里那些蓝色的标记

are Union troops that I'm definitely sure that Lee could see.

表示北军，我很肯定李能看到这些军队。

But if you look to the right of that,

但它们的右边，

you'll see an awful lot of blue markings.

有很多很多蓝色标记。

Those are Union troops in the shadows.

那些是暗处的北军。

Now, we know that on the night before Lee's reconnaissance

现在我们知道，在李侦查前的晚上，

so, the night of July 2nd, he sent out scouts.

也就是7月2日的晚上，他派出了侦查员。

Of course, he wanted to know where the federal troops were.

毫无疑问，他想要知道北军在哪里。

But quite astonishingly,

但是有一点特别令人惊讶，

we have no explanation for this.

我们对此也无法解释。

The scouts came back saying,

侦查员们回来后说

'Don't worry, General Lee.

“李将军，不用担心，

We didn't see any troops to the east,'

我们没有看到任何东边的军队

in your map to the right,

（也就是你们地图的右边）

'of the Roundtops, some really big hills.'

（那儿）是一些很高的丘陵。”

We don't know if they got drunk or fell asleep,

我们不知道他们是否喝醉或睡着了，

but they didn't see almost a third of the Union army.

但他们几乎少看了三分之一的北军。

So Lee is blind from his scouts,

所以李盲从了他的侦探们，

and from his viewpoint, he's also blind.

而且在他的位置上，也确实看不到什么。

He decides to attack

他决定进攻

what he thinks is the weak middle of the Union line,

他认为薄弱的北军中部，

not knowing about where the rest of the troops are.

但他并不知道其余的敌军在哪里。

So if you look in the middle of this image,

所以你看画面的中间，

there's a gap in the Union line

在北军那有一条间隙

from where the blue soldiers

通过蓝军所在的

are at the north of the battlefield and at the south.

战场北部和南部。

So let me now play out,

现在我可以说完了，

using these troop positions,

通过皮克特冲锋时

Pickett's Charge.

这些军队的位置。

The Confederate soldiers are lined up

南军在战场西部

on the west side of the battlefield,

布好了阵地，

standing under the trees.

站在树下。

18,000 men who first begin to walk and then trot

首先18000人开始行军，然后小跑

and then run across open farm fields

跑过开放的农场

with their rifles leveled at the federal line.

并用步枪瞄准北军。

Now, the Union army has about 15-20 minutes to organize itself.

现在，北军有约15-20分钟时间集合。

They see that the Confederates are converging

他们看到南军

on the middle of their line,

向他们的防线中部汇聚，

and what do they do?

他们干什么？

The blue arrow here, representing movement of the Union troops,

这的蓝色剪头代表者南军的行动，

they pull their troops toward that weak center,

他们把军队开到薄弱的中部，

and let me show you how they were able

让我展示一下他们怎么

to concentrate those men in a remarkably short period of time.

在如此短的时间内集中这些人。

Lee didn't know that the Union could've done this.

李没料到北军能有这本事。

You see now, they're standing like a wall,

你看，他们站得像一面墙，

ready to receive the Confederate assault,

准备好迎接南军的攻击，

which happens between 1:30 and about 2:00, 2:30 in the afternoon.

这是下午1:30到2:00或2:30左右的事。

There is tremendously fierce fighting,

这场战斗极其惨烈，

hand-to-hand combat.

就是肉搏战。

Now these blue lines,

现在这些蓝线，

coming in between 2-2:30 in the afternoon,

在下午2:00到2:30之间出现，

are pulling more reserves, more reinforcements,

向北军防线薄弱的中部，

to that weak center of the Union line.

拉来了更多的后备军，更多的援军.

What happens?

发生什么了？

The Union soliders drive the Confederates off.

北军击退了南军。

Lee rides out, among his men, at 3:00 in the afternoon,

下午三点，李在部下的掩护下安全撤离，

saying, 'I'm sorry. It's my fault. It's my fault.'

他说：“对不起。这是我的错，全是我的错。”

This story of sight has been a missing part

此景此情一直是盖茨堡之战中

of the Battle of Gettysburg.

缺失的一部分。

Here's their retreat.

这里是他们的撤退。

Historians have not been previously able

历史学家还没能弄清

to figure out what he could and couldn't see.

当时他能看到什么，看不到什么。

I think it helps explain his decision.

我想这有助于解释他的决定。

Why? Because from his point of view,

为何？因为从他的角度来看，

the federals were very weak.

北军是非常弱的。

He was attacking at the logical place,

他攻击的位置很符合逻辑，

but without full knowledge,

但是缺乏全面的了解，

he set his men out for a dreadful defeat.

他的命令以糟糕的失败告终。

Now, there's one more piece to this story.

现在，这个故事有了一个新片段。

Last summer was the 150th anniversary

去年夏天是盖茨堡之战的

of the Battle of Gettysburg.

150周年纪念日。

And I was able to work with a 3D animator,

我能与一个3D动画师合作，

so we were able to use the GIS information

所以我们能用GIS信息

to render the terrain issue as you see it here.

展示你在这里看到的地形问题。

And my closing story is about how sight helped the other side.

我故事的结尾，是关于视线怎么帮助了对方。

A federal general named GK Warren

北军的一位沃伦将军

stood in the spot that this panoramic view is showing you,

站在能看到全景的地方

looking out over the battlefield.

观察战场。

And at a key moment on day two,

并且在第二天的一个关键时刻，

he was able to see on the far horizon

他看到遥远的地平线上

Confederate soldiers emerging out of the trees

南军正从树林里涌出，

who were about to attack Little Roundtop.

准备攻击小圆顶。

He called in reinforcements just in time

他刚好及时请来了援军，

and saved the day for the Union,

得以挽救北军，

setting the stage for the Union almost-victory on day three.

给第三天的险胜铺路。

So, I hope that all of you who are so gifted

因此，我希望你们中

with digital technologies

有数码设备的所有人

will begin to think about how you can use them for history.

都能开始思考，你能怎么用它们来审视历史。

It can be amazing.

会很有意思的。

Thank you.

谢谢。