Post by stuart on Jan 6, 2008 16:31:45 GMT -5
Glenn, I've absolutely no doubt you're right about it being prepared some time before the assault and being based primarily on information gleaned from Cos and his officers rather than direct observation, which is why to cite but one example he doesn't show that little gun position inside the gate.
Why he didn't correct it afterwards is an open question - but unless he or someone else was commissioned to write it up fair so to speak, why go to the trouble.
Now you will, quite rightly object that it plainly has been improved with the greenery around the creek and so on, and here all I can offer is a quite crucial plan of the battle of Marston Moor in 1644 drawn by a Royalist engineer and staff officer named Bernard de Gomme.
Bear with me.
Working purely from narrative sources we know that in the summer of 1644 the city of York was under siege. Prince Rupert was sent to relieve the city. On the way his army picked up the northern Royalist cavalry who had got out of the city just before the siege lines closed. On his approach the allies withdrew, allowing the garrison itself to come out and join him.
Now without any explanation at all in the way of notes this shows up very clearly on his headquarters plan; Most of the cavalry regiments on the right wing and all of the infantry regiments in the front line belonged to Prince Rupert's own army and are identified by name. The cavalry on the left belonged to the northern horse and are identified only by their brigade commanders, while the infantry coming out of York in the second line are only identified by their general. In other words he sketched out where each unit was going while he still had an incomplete knowledge of the order of battle.
Afterwards, how long afterwards we don't know, he carefully and very prettily coloured up this map and a number of similar ones for other battles, but made no attempt to add in the missing information.
My guess is that the same went for Labastida. He drew his map on the basis of the information available to him, and tidied it up afterwards without making any attempt to alter anything - remember the proportions are wrong anyway so why go to that trouble. Its served its purpose, why mess with it.
Why he didn't correct it afterwards is an open question - but unless he or someone else was commissioned to write it up fair so to speak, why go to the trouble.
Now you will, quite rightly object that it plainly has been improved with the greenery around the creek and so on, and here all I can offer is a quite crucial plan of the battle of Marston Moor in 1644 drawn by a Royalist engineer and staff officer named Bernard de Gomme.
Bear with me.
Working purely from narrative sources we know that in the summer of 1644 the city of York was under siege. Prince Rupert was sent to relieve the city. On the way his army picked up the northern Royalist cavalry who had got out of the city just before the siege lines closed. On his approach the allies withdrew, allowing the garrison itself to come out and join him.
Now without any explanation at all in the way of notes this shows up very clearly on his headquarters plan; Most of the cavalry regiments on the right wing and all of the infantry regiments in the front line belonged to Prince Rupert's own army and are identified by name. The cavalry on the left belonged to the northern horse and are identified only by their brigade commanders, while the infantry coming out of York in the second line are only identified by their general. In other words he sketched out where each unit was going while he still had an incomplete knowledge of the order of battle.
Afterwards, how long afterwards we don't know, he carefully and very prettily coloured up this map and a number of similar ones for other battles, but made no attempt to add in the missing information.
My guess is that the same went for Labastida. He drew his map on the basis of the information available to him, and tidied it up afterwards without making any attempt to alter anything - remember the proportions are wrong anyway so why go to that trouble. Its served its purpose, why mess with it.