In December 2005 I visited the Saratoga battlefield park. One of the last things I saw before leaving was Breymann's redoubt, the scene of fierce fighting at the end of the second battle. What gave me pause there was an original sketch on one of the markers. It shows a burly American, looking like a hybrid of John Bonham and Thurman Munson, bellowing at a German soldier while his comrades shoot the German at pointblank range in the face through an embrasure. It's etched in my memory because it's rare to see such violence and emotion portrayed on these markers, which is strange when you think about it. After all, war IS hell, and should be shown that way. Often markers will have reproductions of paintings of a battle, but no matter how well done they are, they tend to show the action at a distance or in a stilted, Victorian, "censored" fashion. I respect the park service for commissioning the sketch and having the wisdom and courage to display it, and the anonymous artist for doing it that way.
