Historicus

In the book I'm read on George Meade, it talks briefly about Historicus. A little background is needed on Historicus before I head off in the direction I want to go. Shortly after the Battle of Gettysburg, when Meade sent off his Official Report, he wasn't very flattering to General Daniel Sickles for moving his men 3/4 mile ahead of the position he was supposed to be in. Shortly after, a letter to the editor appeared in the Herald making sure that the world knew what kind of a hero Dan Sickles was and that Gen. Meade was the bad guy. This letter was signed "Historicus". The letter was really very insulting to General Meade and truly made General Sickles the "Hero of Gettysburg". But the question remained: Who was Historicus? Who wrote this letter. Now, I would love to put it in this blog, but the letter is really long....so instead, here is the link to the letter: www.civilwarhome.com/historicusarticle.htm

Who was Historicus??? The question that has plagued historians for 145 years. Just who was he and why was he writing the things that he did? Whether you like Dan Sickles or not, there is just no way that he can be made the "Hero". But someone had to have written that article and who was it? Well lets narrow down the choices.

In the Freeman Cleaves book that I am reading, it comes right out and says that John Bachelder was Historicus. John Bachelder was the "official" historian of the Gettysburg battlefield. He was responsible for establishing just where the lines that the men took were and the placement of the monuments. He had many, many first hand accounts of the battle from the participants. He was also on the staff of Dan Sickles. Hmmmm....was it him?

But both Generals Meade and Halleck believe that Historicus was Dan Sickles himself. Who else would try to promote Dan Sickles as a hero, but Dan Sickles himself? He did go to Washington to recuperate after his wounding and was able to speak to President Lincoln about what he felt Meade did wrong (and boy did he talk). But would he have written this letter?

There is also the possibility that Dan Butterfield wrote it. Now, Butterfield was Meade's Chief of Staff (only through default) but he was pretty tight with Dan Sickles.

There are others that have been mentioned over the years that might be Historicus. No one knows (despite what Mr. Cleaves states) for sure who he was....but whoever it was, it was someone with a vendetta against Meade and a love for Sickles. Gen. Meade was highly upset about this letter....and he had a right to be....but history has proven that despite what Historicus wrote, Gen. Meade did a good job at Gettysburg considering that he had only been in power for a few days prior to the battle. It was a Northern victory....one that was long overdue....and General Meade can take credit for it....despite what Historicus wrote.

But the question still remains: Who was Historicus?????

The Fog

I found myself standing on Little Round Top the other morning at 6am. It was a very foggy morning and I wasn't sure what I would see from up there, but I figured that it was worth the effort to get there. As it turns out, the fog was very dense on the ground, but there was no fog in the higher elevations. This proved to be an extraordinary trip due to this.

I stood above the fog looking down on the Wheatfield Road, which was not visible from where I was. The fog had completely engulfed the wooded field to the right of the road....except for the few trees that were tall enough to peek out from the very tip of the fog. It was an interesting way of seeing the trees.

I was able to see the Codori barn (which is a good mile away) but was unable to see the Pennsylvania Monument which is closer. Fog leaves us with an interesting perspective of the battlefield. I've seen the fog in patches, over creeks and runs, rolling over the fields, and just plain covering everything. Each time I go out in the fog and look around the battlefield, I notice new things that I had never discovered before. It may be just how a tree looks or where a creek lies, but I notice something new every time. This was no exception.

I had no idea how the ground rose and sunk as you look out over it. I've been on Little Round Top a million times but I had never noticed just how the ground undulates. The fog brought this out. As I looked over the Valley of Death, I saw the fog laying very thickly in the area of Plum Run but as it got closer to Devil's Den, it thinned out and you could see the rising of the ground. Looking out over the fields of Pickett's Charge, I noticed the same thing, but I also noticed that that ground was so much higher than the ground in front of me.

Sometimes we need to see things from a different perspective in order to understand what we are really seeing. The fog has a way of bringing out the minor things that we don't normally notice. This can sometimes play a significant role in how we interpret what took place. Its not just Gettysburg (although I am most familiar with the battlefield) but any of the battlefields. We can look and look and never see what is right in front of our eyes. Then something happens (like fog) to cause us to see things differently and suddenly everything makes sense. This was what was happening to me that morning a few days ago.

Crazies on the battlefield

I met this guy a while back who claimed to be an "expert" on the Battle of Gettysburg. Ok....I know quite a bit (although I would NEVER call myself an expert) so I started to talk to him. I always figure that once you start talking to someone, you can figure out just what they really know. So we got to talking about the battle. That was when I realized that this guy had a few screws loose. Why am I writing about him? Because for some reason these conversations that I had with him (which took place over the course of a couple of months) truly were starting to get more and more bizarre and these people truly exist out there. So whatever you do, whether you are at Gettysburg or another battlefield, if you run into someone who wants to "educate" you on the battle, listen, but then go with your instincts. If something just doesn't sound right, then something ISN'T right. Go investigate.

This guy happened to be a security guard at my place of employment. And with me working the overnight shift, we had plenty of time to talk. And talk he did. This guy didn't shut up for hours. First thing he told me was that the Park Service forced the park rangers and the Licensed Battlefield Guides to lie to all the visitors about what really happened on that battlefield. He stated that if you read the O.R.'s (which I've been tackling for a few years now) you would understand the whole picture of what really took place. Ok....give me some examples. Well....did you know that there is NOT ONE monument or marker letting the visitors know that the Confederates were on the west side of the Emmitsburg Road? Really????? I just drove down West Confederate Avenue (which runs parallel to Emmitsburg Road) and saw MANY monuments and markers to the Confederates. Oh....but that's not the point. The Confederates CROSSED Emmitsburg Road....so the monuments should be there. Huh????? If we put monuments and markers at every spot someone walked across, there would be NO open space. When the monuments were being put up, there were rules which needed to be followed in order to keep things fair for everyone and not have a ton of arguing (which didn't prevent any of that). One of the things that they had to do was place their regimental or state or whatever monuments at the place where they were originally placed (the men, that is), not where they might have gone later. So placing the monuments on West Confederate Avenue was the appropriate place because that is where Pickett's Charge took off from.

He also had many problems with the gun laws on the battlefield. Why can't he camp out on the field with his guns? What is wrong with him placing a tent in the middle of Pickett's Charge and shooting animals that come near him? Well, my only thoughts are this: who wants to look out over the fields of Pickett's Charge and see a thousand campsites? And what if you are walking around out there at some point during the evening or night and he gets a little "nervous" and shoots you? And those poor wild animals....we are invading THEIR home. This is all stuff that could and probably would happen. Besides, camping out in the middle of the battlefield can't be allowed because the battlefield closes at 10pm. Then what???? But he really had issues with the gun laws. Who is to stop him from carrying HIS gun on that field? If I want to shoot, I will shoot, he told me. Well, I worry about children and dogs and innocent bystanders when they get in the way of his shooting.

He couldn't understand how people could mistake his gray pants and blue coat. Why would people come up to him as he was dressed in period clothes and ask which side he was on? I'm no expert on the soldiers uniforms, but when I saw pictures, I was confused. Gray/blue....North/South???? I just wasn't sure. It wasn't until a few weeks later that he told me that he reenacts a Virginia Regiment. Ok....so now we know he was a Confederate.

The conversations I had with him just got more and more bizarre....but he was the kind of guy who would talk and talk and talk and not let you answer him. I tried to have a conversation with him, but it was impossible. I still think this guy was a lunatic. He also tried to convince me that he was the spitting image of Winfield Scott Hancock. Now....if there is one area that I AM an expert on, its Hancock. I just didn't see any resemblance. He had dark hair....that was it.

My point in all this is that we need to be careful who we listen to. At Gettysburg (and I know Antietam has them, too but I'm not sure if other battlefields have them) the Licensed Battlefield Guides cannot say anything that they cannot back up. Meaning, if they say something that seems a bit controversial, then they need to be able to state exactly where they got the information from. And they can. These guys and girls are extremely knowledgeable about the battle and what took place here. If you can't believe what they say, then you can't believe anything anyone says. The Park Rangers are usually very good at giving the correct information (although I was on a tour with one ranger that I had to leave because it was obvious she had no clue what she was talking about and I was extremely embarrassed). If we have questions about what people tell us, we need to investigate it for ourselves. Look into the books that experts have written (but don't just take them at their word.....check their references). Look at letters, journals, official reports, anything that the actual participants have written....they were here, they experienced the fight, they should know. Crazy people are the hardest people to believe and then to get away from. Although this guy no longer works for the security company, I do run into him from time to time (oh the joys of living in a small town) and he just can't forget me. Just be warned they are out there. Do your homework and you will be fine!

Thomas Clinton Lovett Hatcher

Thomas Clinton Lovett Hatcher was a 21 year old color sergeant for the 8th Virginia Infantry (the Blue Ridge Boys). He was killed at the Battle of Ball's Bluff on October 21, 1861.





This young man stodd 6'7" tall and had a full red beard along with red hair. As anyone who understands the war will know, the color bearer more or less had a bulls eye on him. The flag bearer was the one person that you wanted to get rid of....if no one was carrying the flag, how will the remainder of the soldiers know where to go or what to do. With the average height of a Civil War soldier being around 5'8", Clinton stood heads above the rest. This didn't help him as being a target. And the red hair also made him a target for the Union army.

Clinton Hatcher came from a Quaker family who resided in Leesburg, Virginia (the place where the Battle of Ball's Bluff took place). Although the Quaker's generally were pacifists, Clinton was a strong supporter of secession and had very deep patriotic feelings, so off to war he went...joining right before the !st Battle of Bull Run (exactly 3 months prior to the battle at Ball's Bluff). He quit his studies at Columbian College (now George Washington University) in Washington, D.C. to enlist.

There's a story that Clinton Hatcher had visited the White House one time while a student at Columbian College. Abraham Lincoln saw him from across the room and said, "I always make it a point to shake the hands of someone who is taller than I am." There was never any proof that President Lincoln ever shook Clinton's hand, but it does make a rather compelling story.

Today, Clinton rests at the Ketoctin Baptist Church cemetery near Purcellville in Virginia. Here is a young man who literally gave all that he had so that he could help his country in the pursuit of what they thought was right. This is one of our TRUE heros!

Was Meade right?

I've been slowly working my way through George Meade's biography by Freeman Cleaves. I love to read the biographies of the men who fought here at Gettysburg and this is no exception. So far, its a really good read....but because of all the information contained, I can only read 7 or 8 pages at a time, let that sink in, then read some more. Anyway, I found that Mr. Cleaves does make a statement about Meade's decision to NOT chase after Lee after their retreat from Gettysburg.

I used to be one of those people who would condemn Meade for not going after Lee. "If he had," I would say, "the war wouldn't have lasted as long." In my finite mind, I believed that Meade's going after Lee would have forced Lee to surrender and the war would have been over at that point. But Mr. Cleaves has changed my mind on that point. He quoted letters from Meade that said that he couldn't go after the Confederates. His men needed shoes (the ever present problem) and food. Not to mention the fact that most of his men had marched 30+ miles in the previous days at double-quick speed, then proceeded to fight for 3 days, and now they wanted them to go after these guys. I'm the first person to admit that these men were not machines. I don't know how they were able to do as much marching as they were doing to begin with, but how do you push men to do more than they are capable of?

Mr. Cleaves points out several times that if the Army of the Potomac had pursued Lee immediately after the battle, there was a good chance that the victory that had taken place at Gettysburg would have been overturned. This would not have been a good thing for neither the civilians of the North who were enjoying a major victory on their own home turf nor the soldiers who had placed everything they had on the line in order to be victorious in Pennsylvania. The morale factor would have to be taken into account.

I believe that General Meade made the correct call in slowly pursuing the retreating Army of Northern Virginia. The last thing that the North needed was another loss....something that seemed to be happening all too often. The North was victorious at Gettysburg and needed to bask in the limelight of this.....to help them realize that the Southern armies were not immune to defeat. The South was capable of being destroyed and unlike what General Lee thought, they were NOT invincible.

For anyone who has any interest at all in the soldiers who fought, whether it is the common soldier or the officers, this is a book that I would recommend....it tells the story of the life of a normal man placed in abnormal circumstances and how he made the best of it and came out victorious (and not just at Gettysburg but throughout his life).

Catherine Furnace

The last time I was in Chancellorsville, I took the driving tour. I had taken this tour before but I believe that it was a new tour that I was on because I was seeing things I hadn't seen before. One of the things that I got to see that I swear I hadn't seen before was the Catherine Furnace.

From where I was (and this was a whirlwind tour so I couldn't really get out to explore) I saw a large round, stone chimney of sorts. This was the only thing visible but the pictures that I have seen of the furnace shows how large of a complex it really was. It appears to have taken up quite a few acres of ground. There had to have been at least 10 buildings on the property all making up the grounds of the Furnace.

I've been reading up on the Furnace and the one thing that I haven't been able to locate is how the Furnace got its name. At the time of the Battle of Chancellorsville, it was owned by a gentleman by the name of Charles Wellford. Was Catherine his wife? I don't know.

I did find a rather interesting blurb in the memoirs of Bradford Ripley Alden Scott, a nine year old who wrote down what he did and saw in the Civil War. In this part, he explains why he was at Chancellorsville to begin with:
"I was on a visit to friends down in Hanover County towards Richmond early in May 1863 when the news came of Chancellorsville and the fatal wounding of General Stonewall Jackson that offest all rejoicing over that victory. It was felt all over the country to be an irretrievable loss to the Southern case, as it certainly proved immediately afterward at Gettysburg, where General Lee is said to have felt this loss most severely. He has been quoted as saying that if he had had Jackson at Gettysburg he would have won that battle and no one doubts it.

About ten days after the battle of Chancellorsville my father and I went with my brother Alfred over the route of the Florida Brigade (with which Alfred served on the staff) in that battle in the direct assault of Anderson's Division on the works in front of Chancellorsville house, in concert with Jackson's Corps on the flank under Jeb Stuart the second day, May 3, all under the eye and personal direction of General Lee himself."
Later, he goes on to discribe just what he saw at Catherine Furnace:
"The first signs of fighting I noticed were dark greasy bloodstains in the grass all over the plateau at the Catherine Furnace, where Jackson's flanking column the first day had come in sight of the Federal front, and the road turned away at right angles a short distance as if in retreat. Whence Hooker's report to Washington that the enemy were on the run and he pushed out a brigade or so to hurry them up. jackson simply threw a segment of Georgia infantry back at them as a tub to the whale and hurried on for Hooker's right flank and rear, while this gallant Georgia regiment covered his movement singlehanded with the loss of most of their number. It was the good red blood of these game Georgians killed and wounded there, as my brother explained to me, that showed this plain marking of the field even after the usual rain following a battle."

When I stop and look at or think about those ruins, I don't realize just what really took place there (or anywhere for that matter). We hear about the death and destruction but to hear the words from someone who either saw the death and destruction or the aftermath of it, I never really understand just what these men did, saw, and experienced. I like to read civilian accounts...for any battle or just what they experienced AWAY from the war itself. Reading this has been and will continue to be a large part of my education of the war.

General John Gibbon

Here is some biographical information on one of my heroes of the Civil War, Gen. John Gibbon.

• Born John Oliver Gibbon on April 20, 1827 in Philadelphia, PA
• Fourth of Seven Children
• Father: Dr. John Heysham Gibbon Mother: Catherine Lardner Gibbon
• Grew up in North Carolina
• Attended West Point Military Academy and was graduated in 1847
• Fought in the Mexican War
• Married Frances North Moale of Baltimore on October 16, 1855
• wrote a definitive artillery textbook
• Prior to the Civil War, he was captain of an Artillery Battery
• Part of the peacekeeping force in Mormon Country
• When the Civil War broke out, he was forced to decided between the United States or his family beliefs in North Carolina.
• Forced to sever relations with his family in Charlotte, NC
• 3 of his brothers fought for the Confederacy
• Chief of Artillery for McDowell's Division
• Promoted to Brigadier General
• Assigned to command an infantry Brigade: 2nd, 6th, 7th Wis, and 19th Ind....became known as the "Iron Brigade"
• Fought at Brawner Farm, Bull Run, South Mountain, Antietam
• Promoted to Division commander in Nov 1862
• Wounded in wrist at Fredericksburg
• Wounded in left shoulder at Gettysburg
• Description on Gibbon by Frank Haskell:
• "He is compactly made, neither spare nor corpulent, with ruddy complexion, chestnut brown hair, with a clean-shaved face, except his moustache, which is decidedly reddish in color, medium-sized, well-shaped head, sharp, moderately-jutting brows, deep-blue, calm eyes, sharp, slightly aquiline nose, compressed mouth, full jaws and chin, with an air of calm firmness in his manner."
• After convalescing, he went on to fight at Richmond, Wilderness, Spotsylvania, North Anna, Totopotomoy, Cold Harbor, and Petersburg
• June, 1864 - promoted to major general
• rescued the survivors and buried the dead of Custer's Little Bighorn
• fought against the Nez Perce Indians in 1877
• Died February 6, 1896 at the age of 69 from pneumonia
• Buried at Arlington National Cemetery

Descendants of the soldiers

I went for my normal morning walk on the battlefield this morning. I hit a different part of the field each day....just to change my scenery so that I don't get bored. This morning I walked the area around where the Iron Brigade fought on July 1. Now, normally I wouldn't write about this walk, but today was different. I parked my car at the Abner Doubleday statue, put my headphones on, and took off down Meredith Avenue. I like to walk the wrong way on one way roads because you can see things differently than when you drive the same road day after day going only in one direction. While I was walking I noticed that I never saw a car on the road. I like the solitude. As I approached the cow pasture, I stopped to talk to the cows (anyone who knows me knows that I love those cows. I talk to them all the time). They were right up at the fence this morning and I was able to pet them (the younger ones love it). While doing this, I noticed a car parked near the entrance to Stone Avenue. They were pretty far away and I couldn't tell what these people were doing. I stood at the cows for a good 15 minutes and that car was still down the road a ways. So I took off on my walk again and noticed that it was an elderly couple. They were taking all sorts of pictures of the monument to the 150th PA. No big deal....everyone takes pictures of the monuments and I've been known to stand and snap pictures of the minutest details on the monuments. As I got right up to them, they said something...but I still had my earphones in....so I pulled them out and asked them to repeat what they had said. They wanted to know if I would take a picture of them next to the monument. Of course I would! So I asked them if they had any ancestors with the 150th PA. The woman very proudly stated that her great uncle fought with them. She was so proud of him. I snapped the picture and told them to have a great time here in Gettysburg. They had already been here for 3 days and were just ready to leave for home (in Ohio) but really wanted a picture of the two of them in front of the monument. I was glad I was able to help them. Then we both took off. For the remainder of my walk I thought about this couple. How exciting is it for them to drive 8 hours to see a monument dedicated to an ancestor? I don't know how old this couple was, but I'm assuming that they probably won't be making the trip too many more times....here is something that they can leave with their descendants: a picture of them honoring the memory of an ancestor. I started to get goose bumps as I thought about this. So often I drive around and look at the monuments and I guess because I live here and see them every single day, I forget that each monument represents a regiment who fought here.....and in each regiment were men...real men with real families....and those families make a pilgrimage to Gettysburg (or any other battlefield) to honor their ancestors. This has been going on for 146 years and will continue for centuries to come. I'm just glad that for one moment I was able to take a small part in helping a family honor their deceased loved one who fought here so many years ago.

Lower Marsh Creek Civil War Burials

Here is a list of the Civil War Burials that I found at Lower Marsh Creek Presbyterian Church Cemetery. I'd love to find out who these guys were. More research to do (I don't have time to do all this research!).

John Watson

Dr. A.O. Scott

1825-1903

Isaiah Stultz

Co. G
98th PA Inf

Kinsey Gullis II
Co F
188th PA Inf

John Ogden
died Jan 2, 1884

Simon Haldeman
Co C 165 & Co K 87th Regts
Pa Vols
Died April 3, 1887
Aged 80 Years

Lieut. Henry Haldeman
Co. (?) 166 Reg PV
Died Aug 21, 1863
Aged 32 Years 6 months

George W. Irwin
Nov 9, 1838
April 19, 1918

Capt. E. McGinley
Co G
165 PA Inf

Hugh Paxton Bigham
Dec 12, 1840 - Sept 23, 1926

Oliver S. H. Hartzell
Son of
F & J Hartzell
Co. B 2nd Reg PV Cav
died Dec 9, 1864 of disease
contracted while in the service
of his country aged 20 years
1 mon 28 days

George W. Scott
Born July 26, 1831
Died June 11, 1895
Aged 68 years

Rush Mc. Bigham
Born December 23, 1842
Died june 26, 1874

William W. McCollough
Son of
W. & H McCollough
Co C 209 Reg PV
died July 22, 1865 of disease
contracted while in the service
of his country Aged 22 years

Joseph Hamilton
Died Nov 11, 1906
Aged 66 years 22 days
Co K 30 PV (1 Res)

Robert E. Rodes

I'm checking out some biographical information on Robert E. Rodes and thought I would share what I can find. He was one of Lee's best generals and yet at Gettysburg, he seemed to have just fallen apart. I guess everyone can have an off day....but he was "off" three days in a row. Hmmmm. Anyway, here is some of the information that I have found out about him:

*He was born in Lynchburg, Virginia on March 30, 1829.

*Father: General David Rodes Mother: Martha Yancey

*Graduated from Virginia Military Institute in 1848

*Was an assistant professor of Physical Science, Chemistry and Tactics at VMI for two years

*In September, 1857 he married Virginia Hortense Woodruff

*He had two children: Robert Emmet Rodes, Jr and Bell Yancey Rodes

*Prior to the Civil War, he was a Civil Engineer.

*Commissioned the Colonel of the 5th Alabama Infantry

*made a Brigadier General in October 1861

*Led his command at Fair Oaks, Gaines's Mill, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville

*wounded at Seven Pines

*Fought in the Antietam Campaign

*Wounded at Antietam

*Promoted Major General in May 1863

*Led his division at Gettysburg, Wilderness, Spotsylvania

*Served under Jubal Early in the Shenandoah Valley and fought at Kernstown

*Killed at Winchester on September 19, 1864

*Buried in Lynchburg, Virginia

Route 3 and other stuff

I was thinking about some of the most significant roads in the quest for our country as we know it. Journey Through Hallowed Ground (a most important organization) is working to save the Route 15 corridor. The area that they are preserving runs from Gettysburg all the way down to Monticello (Thomas Jefferson's mountain home). But I thought about some other roads that played a very important part in the history of our country. The one road that came to mind was Route 3 in Virginia.

Route 3 runs all the way from Fredericksburg to the area around Brandy Station. There are around 5 battlefields along the way: Fredericksburg, Spotsylvania, Chancellorsville, Wilderness, and Culpeper. From there, you can easily get to Cedar Mountain, Brandy Station, The Jackson Shrine, and Richmond and all that that encompasses. Not to mention the fact that Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, and George Washington all had homes within a short distance of this road.

I've been down in that area twice now and I can't seem to pull myself away from Chancellorsville. I'm not really sure why, but that is the one place down in that area that intrigues me the most. So, because of being drawn to Chancellorsville, I don't really get to see all the other sites that I really need to get to. One day I'm going to hit Richmond and all that Richmond has to offer.....Hollywood Cemetery, Yellow Tavern, Petersburg, and on and on the list goes. One day.....

Until I reach that "one day", I will take pleasure in reading and learning all I can. It only makes sense that if you are going to visit a battlefield, you should know as much as you possibly can about that battle so that you can maximize your visit. I've learned this the hard way. I showed up at Chancellorsville about three years ago with absolutely NO knowledge of the battle and it took me forever to get around and understand. I've since read up on it and then when I showed up in March, I was able to move from spot to spot in a more fluid movement....understanding what I was seeing, who did what, and what the significance of each spot was. It made my visit much more pleasant.

Route 3 is on my list of destinations. I have yet to see Spotsylvania or Fredericksburg. So when I do head down that way again, that is where I will be heading. I got fairly close to Fredericksburg when I went to see Salem Church (which is where my Great Great Grandfather fought) but I haven't gone past that point.

Oh the places I would go, if I only had the time! My dream vacation would be to hit every single battlefield in the United States (and I realize that it would take me 5+ years to do it) but someday....when I'm rich, and don't have to work....well....I'm not planning that vacation just yet.

Who was the real "Hero of Little Round Top"?

I am probably going to be tarred and feathered for this, but I am not a huge fan of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain. Its not that I don't like him, but I think he has been placed on a pedestal that he doesn't belong on and for that, I'm not a fan. So, let's think about the important people who fought on Little Round Top and I'll let you decide who the "Hero" was.

1) Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain - Chamberlain led a bayonet charge down the southern slopes of Little Round Top and it forced the Confederates to retreat...but is that the real story? By the time the 20th Maine realized that they were out of ammunition, they were forced to do something, anything to push the Confederates back...which led to the bayonet charge. But the Alabamians (under William C. Oates) were facing a similar situation. They, too, were running out of ammo and they didn't know how much more they could take. Also, the Confederates had been forced to climb UP Big Round Top and then come DOWN Big Round Top in order to face the men ON Little Round Top....but they did this without any water. Their canteens had been taken from them earlier to get refilled and by the time they made their march, the canteens hadn't returned. So these men were tired and thirsty. How much more they could have taken is up for question...but the bayonet charge finished it for them.

2) Gouverneur K. Warren - General Warren was up on the summit of Little Round Top (LRT)watching the Confederates march across the fields quickly approaching LRT. At that point, the only people on LRT were General Warren and a few men from the Signal Corps. They could not hold that hill by themselves. So, Warren sent his aide (Washington Roebling....the builder of the Brooklyn Bridge) to tell General Barnes that he needed help. Roebling wasn't able to locate General Barnes but he ran into Col. Strong Vincent (that story later). Gen. Warren was singly responsible for making sure that there were troops ON LRT before the Confederates arrived.

3) Strong Vincent - Col. Vincent was found by Roebling and told of the need for help on the hill. Vincent had been told to hold his men and a certain area near LRT and NOT to move. But seeing how frantic Roebling was, he grabbed his brigade and placed them on LRT. Less than 10 minutes later, the Confederates arrived and the battle ensued. Had Vincent listened to his superiors, he never would have placed his men on that hill. So, by going against orders, he was able to help save it. Unfortunately, his going against orders, led to his death when he was mortally wounded during the fight.

4) Patrick O'Rourke - Paddy O'Rourke was commander of the 140th NY. Just as the 16th Michigan was starting to fade from all the attacks they were receiving, O'Rourke arrived with his men. O'Rourke's men were fresh and when they got there, they charged the tiring Confederates and were able to push them all the way back to Devil's Den. O'Rourke's thanks for helping out in a dire situation was a bullet to the head and he died instantly.

There are quite a few other men that I could mention as "Hero's": Hazlett, Weed, the commanders of the 83rd PA, 16th MI, and 44th NY, as well as each and every man who stood on that hill and fought. Who was the actual "Hero of Little Round Top"? I'm not sure that one particular person can be chosen. Without each and every man up there on that fateful day, who knows what would have happened? But what I can say, is that making Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain the "Hero" is downplaying what each and every man did that day. I don't have a problem with Chamberlain as a leader or a man, I have a problem with the "hero worship" of ONE man when so many others played pivotal roles in the same fighting. Let's make them ALL hero's!

Why the civilian accounts are important

Quite often I hear people say that they don't understand why we read the civilian accounts of the war. Why read an account by someone who doesn't know or understand military strategy? Whay read an account by someone who wasn't actually involved in the fighting? What do these people know??? I'm here to tell you that it IS important and they know a whole lot more than most people give them credit for.

Without the civilian accounts, we wouldn't know which roads the soldiers were on or whose property they crossed. The soldiers didn't know the names of the folks who owned the property that they crossed....they just knew that they crossed a field with rocks, or whatever....but they didn't know it was Mr. Jones' field. They didn't know that when they ran down a street that it happened to be Main Street....all they knew is that they ran down a dirt road. Now, it doesn't seem like much, but today, we need to know the names in order to understand the movements of the troops. We need to have an idea of their starting points and their ending points to understand why events took place. Would we understand that the soldiers were slowed down because of mud from a previous rain if the soldiers never actually mentioned it, but the civilians talked about how they destroyed their road systems? Its the details that make the story.

Gettysburg has so many civilian accounts that its almost overwhelming. It seems like just about everybody who was in town (or out of town) during the battle left some sort of an account. Last I heard, the Adams County Historical Society in Gettysburg had 15 binders of civilian accounts. Some accounts were published in book form, some as a newspaper column, some were just diaries that wound their way into someones attic. No matter how we get their account, it plays an important role in our understanding of the battle.

I picked up a little gem of a book at a local bookstore a couple of months ago that I have found to be invaluable. This little book only cost $3.00 and I have never spent a better $3.00. Its called "We Never Expected a Battle, The Civilians at Gettysburg, 1863" by Robert L. Bloom. I highly recommend this as a good source of the civilians here in Gettysburg. What he did was take the accounts of about 20 or more citizens and merge them into an account of the battle of Gettysburg. I think he did a great job. The civilians may not have been 100% accurate in what they said, but they KNEW this ground unlike anyone in either army. Due to this, I found what they had to say about the battle very interesting. The book is only about 30 pages long....but well worth the 1/2-hour to read it.

When reading the OR's and all the other postwar correspondance and accounts from the soldiers, its always a good idea to integrate some of the civilian accounts....to get a better feel for what was taking place in the homes and the land on and around the battlefield. There are so many good civilian accounts (not just Gettysburg....but any battle) that to not read their accounts is just destroying the true story for all.

Who get drawn here????

I was just thinking about all the people I have seen here in Gettysburg. It amazes me how this little town with the big battle attracts people from all over. This is the time of year when families are traveling....so its people from all over the country bringing their children. In a few months, the kids will be back in school and that's when the retired folks start to travel. These retired folks not only come from all over the country but from all over the world. I've met people from France, Italy, England, Australia, Netherlands, Germany, Japan, China and the list goes on and on. What makes people from other countries so interested in the AMERICAN Civil War? I have no answers. I'm not interested in the civil wars that took place in their countries.

But its not just the average tourist that intrigues me, but I think about the famous (and not so famous) people who I've seen out and about. Just last October (I think it was October...it could have been November) I was given a heads up that Alan Alda was going to be getting a tour of the battlefield. So I watched and waited and finally got to see "Hawkeye Pierce" for myself. I've also had the honor to see Ken Burns, Stephen Lang, Neil Armstrong, Jesse Jackson, Jr., and several others. I know that George W. Bush, the president of Jordan, Cal Ripken, Jr, Ty Pennington, Thomas Kinkaid, and many others have been here....and I missed them. What other small town in the U.S.A. can name these names as people who have been out and about the streets of their fair town? I will never approach these people (well, except for Stephen Lang who was standing next to me) to get their autographs. They deserve some time to themselves and they don't need some crazy fan going up to them. What could I possibly say to them that they hadn't already heard a thousand times that day?

I was just thinking about what a special town this is. My town back home is a bit bigger than this one....we have more businesses than this one....more people drive through.....yet I can't ever recall a famous person in my town. If one had arrived, it would have been on the front page of the local paper. Yet, here in Gettysburg, although some make the front page, most don't.

When the movie Gettysburg was being filmed here (unfortunately I didn't live here then), I've heard stories from friends about how they were constantly running into Tom Berenger, Martin Sheen, Jeff Daniels. A daughter of a friend of mine actually went jogging with Martin Sheen one morning (well, he joined her). Another person told me how they sat in a restaurant and in came Sam Elliot. I've heard stories like this from so many people. Some people are still trying to tell me that a few of the people who were in "Gettysburg" have actually bought houses here in the area and are around every now and again. I've yet to see any of them....but they may just blend into the crowd.

Gettysburg is just one of those places that draws people here....its the Mecca of the Civil War world. "You haven't experienced Utopia until you've come to Gettysburg" kind of a thing. There is something that is drawing the average and not so average person here. One of the park rangers calls it the Gettysburg Addictive Disorder....anyone can catch it....and when you do, its incurable. The only thing that cures this Disorder is the annual or semiannual, or weekly trip to the 'Burg. I have a fatal case of it. This disease dragged me away from my family, friends, and all that was familiar to me and left me sitting on a doorstep in downtown Gettysburg, saying to myself "now what???". The "now what" is what I'm doing now....moving on and trying to get to know the Civil War inside and out, trying to learn the movements of the armies here at Gettysburg, and trying to make a life for myself. So far....so good!

It's 6am.....My Private Time on the Field

I took a little stroll down through the Triangular Field Monday morning. It was 6 am. I made sure that I was out of the house....had time to run to the post office and still get on the field at exactly 6. There is something about being on the field right when it opens that I particularly enjoy. No one is on the field (or very few) and the sun just came up.

As I walked down the Triangular Field, I was listening to the birds and noticing how the sunlight changes the looks of everything. The early morning sun has an orange look to it and it makes everything look like it has an orange tint to it. The Slyder house and barn are off to the south (or as you walk down the field to your left) and it just looks so peaceful...despite all the horrible fighting that took place in and around that area.

The trees that were there just a few short years ago are gone but the brush is easily to my head. As I walked along the path, I noticed that it would be easy to get lost in the brush (should you go off the trail....which I wouldn't recommend due to the ticks). But standing up on top of the hill, you can still see how clear it was at the time of the battle.

The Triangular Field was the field where the Orange Blossoms fought the Texans. One of my favorite stories of the battle is about the Orange Blossoms. Now, I don't particularly enjoy this story because of the deaths involved, but it has been one that has stayed in my head for many years. Col. A. Van Horne Ellis was the commander of the 124th New York. The 124th was from Orange County, NY....thus the name the "Orange Blossoms". During the fighting on Day two, Ellis sent his men down the Tri Field to fend off the 1st Texas regiment. James Cromwell....his Lieutenant and Ellis both went down that field on horseback. They were shot one by one during this fighting....and both died. Both bodies were then brought back up the field and placed on the rock where the monument to the 124th NY is located. Everytime I drive past that monument, I have to laugh at Col. Ellis. He looked like a mean, son of a gun....and they claim that that was what he really looked like. Even funnier, is when I find a woodpecker sitting on his head and the expression on his face. Its priceless.

As I got down to the bottom of the hill, the sun was just starting to come up over the top of Little Round Top and while watching the sun rise above the hill, I started thinking about Laws men trying to force their way up that hill. Its not a big hill but it can be a bit steep. Those poor guys trying to rush that hill, while being fired at, and having the men of the 124th rushing down at them must have been overwhelming....yet they pushed on and were able to push the men off the hill. With the help of other regiments, they were able to clear the ground around Devil's Den and Houck's Ridge. How the did this is beyond me. But I admire them for being able to do that.

On my return trip up the hill, I noticed a rock about 2 feet off the path that had a bouquet of flowers laid on it. I wondered about whom those flowers were left for: was it the 124th? or the Texas boys? Who left them? What was their motivation? Were these hometown boys? Or an ancestor who fought here? I guess I'll never know....but it was kind of cool to see it.

By the time I reached the top of the hill, things were starting to pick up in the park. Two cars had already passed by on the road and I started to notice people up on Little Round Top. So, it was time to move on. I then headed over to Oak Hill. But my early morning time spent in the Triangular Field was an experience that I shall treasure forever. Now, I just need to look for another place to spend an early morning.

Bike Week at Gettysburg

I've never been a big fan of Bike Week here in Gettysburg. Its not the Bikers themselves that bother me, its the noise. Now, I work third shift and I also live on one of the main "roads" that the Bikers use. The noise in my house can be deafening. But I also understand that the people who attend this event are also "people".....normal people, with normal lives, doing normal things.

A few years ago I was working as a volunteer at the park and my job that day had me working in the National Cemetery. My job was to make sure that no one drove into the cemetery without special permission (and those were few and far between), to answer questions, hand out brochures, and just be there....just in case. Well, these two scary looking bikers drove up and tried to park their bikes at the entrance to the cemetery where there is clearly a sign that says "No Vehicles". So I redirected these two men to the parking lots on either side of the Visitors Center (this was before the old Visitors Center was knocked down). Now both of these guys were pretty scary looking. They both had the leather chaps, dew rags, leather vests, helmets, and the rest of the "biker uniform". My initial reaction was "Ewwww". But I was nice and sent them on their way.

A few minutes later, these same two bikers came back into the National Cemetery. The helmets were off and in their hands. Suddenly they didn't seem so scary. They both took their dew rags off and lo and behold they had well trimmed, short hair. They had some questions about the place and I tried to answer their questions as best I could. We ended up talking for 45 minutes or longer. It was one of the best conversations I had ever had while volunteering. They didn't ask the usual questions like: Where did Lincoln give the Gettysburg Address? Where are the Confederates buried? Can I be buried here? They asked more thoughtful questions. It was obvious that they had done their homework and they knew the cemetery....but not everything. The one guy even wanted to discuss Edward Everett's address! I was impressed. Bikers who were smart! Little did I know.

After talking to my two friends (yes, I now considered them my friends), I found out that they were lawyers in Virginia and had come to town for Bike Week....but they also were very interested in the history here at Gettysburg....not just the battle, but everything associated with it. They wanted to discuss the civilians, the dedication ceremony at the National Cemetery, the placing of monuments, one of them even knew who John Bachelder was.

They left me and started to wander around the cemetery. They took their time. I watched them for about 10 minutes and they stopped and looked at the graves. They didn't just give them a fleeting glance, but they stopped and read the headstones. They took in the Civil War burials and I saw them walking around each of the states. After awhile, I lost track of them.

Over an hour later, these two men came back and had some more questions about some of the burials. They wanted to know why William Miller's grave was engraved in gold. Great question (BTW he was the only Gettysburg Medal of Honor recipient buried here)! We talked for at least another 1/2 hour. I was greatly impressed with these two men. They thanked me for talking to them and answering their questions and then they left. I never saw them again.

My point to this whole thing is that beneath the rough exterior of the bikers are real people. Most of these people are smart, have "real" jobs, live regular lives, and have the same worries that you or I have. Just because they look and act tough while here in Gettysburg during Bike Week doesn't mean that that's who they really are. Yes, I still get really annoyed at the noise, but my tolerance for the men and women who ride those noise machines has greatly improved. I don't look forward to Bike Week, but I know that its just another way to bring people from all over the country here to our fair town to help them see what it means to truly be an American

Counties of Pennsylvania

I've been doing some research on some Pennsylvania Civil War Veterans. In the process, there is only ONE place to find any information on these guys and that is in Samuel Bates "History of Pennsylvania Volunteers"....THE place to find information on PA regiments. I found the information that I was looking for on my soldiers. But in the process, I found that it also tells you exactly what county in Pennsylvania each company was raised in.

I started making a list of these regiments and exactly what county they were raised in so that I have a master list....just in case I should need it. One thing I found interesting was that some regiments were raised in just one county (or city) but other regiments were different. Each company might have been raised in a different county....meaning that there were upwards of ten counties represented in the regiment. Then something else I noticed, some of the companies were from 2 or 3 different counties....meaning that a regiment could have 12 or 15 counties represented.

I know that when I drive around the battlefield, be it here in Gettysburg, or any other battlefield that I have visited in my life, I often wonder where these Pennsylvanians hailed from. Was it my town? Was it my county? Was I related to any of these guys? Bates' History is probably the best place to find out that information.

Now, if I could only remember exactly where on the web I found that book. I know that one of the major Universities has it on their website....and a few other places have it, but I can never find it. Although I have found another source for it, I need to find the actual book. The information that Bates' has is unparalleled in any other source that I have found and everyone that I talk to always tells me if I have any questions...go straight to Bates.

One of these days, I will have my master list going. Its going to take quite awhile because there are well over 200 PA regiments and at least 10 companies per regiment (I've found a few that had upwards of 15 companies). With over 2000 companies to go through, this may take QUITE a while but I'm plugging away at it. You never know what you might discover while doing something of this magnitude and that's what makes it fun....the unexpected.

George Gordon Meade and his Lighthouses

I've been reading Freeman Cleaves biography of G.G. Meade. I love reading biographies and this one is no different, although its taking me longer to read it than other books. I'm not sure why, except that the war part of the book is a little on the dry side so I only read 6 or 7 pages at a time.

Anyway, in the beginning of George Meade's career, he was an engineer who actually built lighthouses. I knew this before, but I didn't realize what building a lighthouse entailed. He started off by building a lighthouse in the Delaware Bay. He then moved on to Florida where he built quite a few lighthouses that still stand today. In New Jersey, one of his more famous lighthouses is the Barnegat Light on Long Beach Island....which you can actually climb (I've gone up it a bit...but being afraid of heights, I didn't do too well). And he eventually moved to the Great Lake region. Most of these structures still stand today.

What he did, was take a notebook and fill it with all sorts of data. He would study the tides, the flow of the water, the shoals, and anything else that would effect shipping. He also studied the ground and then he designed the lighthouse accordingly. Mr. Cleaves states in his book that there are still some of those notebooks on display throughout the eastern United States.

Not only did he build the lighthouses, but he also invented a lamp that would be easier to use than the lamps that the French had developed and as of the time that Meade started building them, the only one in use.

Here is a list of lighthouses that I know that he built. I'm sure there are more, but these are the ones I could find:
*Barnegat Light (New Jersey)
*Absecon Light (New Jersey)
*Cape May Light (New Jersey)
*Juniper Inlet Light (Florida)
*Sombrero Key Light (Florida)
*Sand Key Light (Florida)
*Rebecca Shoal Light (Florida)

My mom loved lighthouses and this was a way that the two of us could put our interests together and enjoy them. She just liked the lighthouses and I loved the history.

Many people remember George Meade as the victorious commander at Gettysburg but he had a whole other life in his lighthouses. Today those monuments tower over the sea as a silent memorial to a great man who many don't even realize was instrumental in getting these towers built: General George Gordon Meade.

General Early's Demands on Gettysburg

Last summer, I had the opportunity to attend a reenactment of General Early making demands on the town of Gettysburg. It was a very difficult thing to see and even harder to hear due to the large crowds that had gathered at the doorway to the Courthouse. I hadn't heard anything about it occurring again this year, so I never got to see it again. But upon thinking back on it, I got to wondering exactly what were General Early's demands?

A little background information first. On June 26, 1863, General Early approached Gettysburg looking for supplies. This was one of the main reasons that the Confederates had even entered the north to begin with (there were other reasons also, but this was just one of them). General Lee needed to resupply his army. General Early was going through different towns and threatening to burn them down if they didn't give him what he demanded. Well, on June 26, he did just that to Gettysburg.

The list wasn't long, but the amounts were large. Here is the list that I have been able to find:
1) 1000 pairs of shoes
2) 500 hats
3) 1200 pounds of salt
4) 7000 pounds of bacon
5) 10 barrels of onions
6) 10 barrels of whiskey
OR
$10,000 cash

Most of the demands are things I would expect an army to want....but the one that kind of surprised me was the demand for onions. Onions??? I could see wanting fresh vegetables or demanding carrots or beans or things of that nature, but onions just seem a little odd. But that could just be me.

Gettysburg couldn't meet these demands. Most of the stores in town had heard that the Confederates were in Pennsylvania and heading their way, so they packed up and shipped their goods to Lancaster and points east. When the demands couldn't be met, the town council opened the town up to General Early and his men to look for whatever they could find. They found very little. So, instead of burning the town, they moved on. One thing they did locate, was some boxcars on the railroad on the east side of town loaded with supplies for the local militia unit. They took the supplies and then burned the cars.

Eventually, they wound their way to York, where the people did what they could to fill the demands. I believe they wanted $100,000 from the people of York and were able to actually get their hands on $28,000.

I guess the people of Gettysburg could be really happy that they had heeded the warnings. By listening to the tales of those passing through town, they were able to ship their goods off and thus able to save themselves the heartache of losing everything. The town needed those goods in the days following the battle, as everything had been stolen or destroyed. They had rough days ahead of them.

Great Conewago Presbyterian Church Cemetery

I spent some time the other day at the Historic Great Conewago Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Hunterstown, PA. This church was used as a Civil War hospital during (what I assumed) during the battle at Hunterstown which was a Cavalry battle. In the course of wandering around this cemetery, I located a plaque that had a list of the Civil War burials on it. I wrote down all the names (9 in all) and went off in search of each of these men. I located 6 of them. I'm not sure where the other 3 are but that's not surprising. It's very easy to miss portions of the cemetery because its not laid out in straight lines. Here is what I learned about each of these guys:

Robert Bell: Here is what his headstone says:

Robert Bell

Major 21 PA Cavalry

Died June 25, 1904

Aged 74 years

At Rest

Major with the 21st PA Cavalry. Mustered in: June 23, 1863, mustered out: February 20, 1864.

Boreas Deatrick: Here is what his headstone says:

Boreas Deatrick

1864 1865

Corp Co. K 184th PA Inf

Mustered in: September 5, 1864, Mustered out: June 2, 1865

Peter Decker: His headstone:

Peter Decker

Died Dec 10, 1905

Aged 72 years and 24 days

Private. Co. F 165th PA. Mustered in: November 8, 1862, Mustered out: July 28, 1863

George Ford: His headstone:

George Ford

Priv Co F 87 Reg PA Vol

1840-1915

Mustered in: September 25, 1861, Mustered out: October 13, 1864

George T. Hudson: I was unable to locate his grave

Private Co. K 184th PA Mustered in: September 5, 1864, Mustered out: June 2, 1865

Abraham King: I was unable to locate his grave

Private, Co. F 87th PA Mustered in: September 25, 1861, Discharged: September 24, 1862 on a Surgeon's Certificate

Robert McIlhenny: I was unable to locate his grave

Sergeant, Co B, 21st PA Cavalry Mustered in: June 23, 1863, Mustered out: February 20, 1864

John H. Sherman, MD: His headstone:

John H. Sherman, MD

Died July 29, 1906

In his 87th Year

Co A 136 Regt

PA Vols

Private, Mustered in: August 14, 1862, Mustered out: May 29, 1863

Jesse Wolford: His headstone:

Jesse Wolford

Private Co A 165 Regiment

Private Co C 202 Penna Vol

Infantry

Discharged Aug 3, 1865

Mustered in: September 3, 1864

After reading this list of men, I really began to realize that these guys weren't just names on a headstone....they were REAL men. Some of them fought here at Gettysburg, some didn't but it didn't matter. They fought because they were doing what they thought was right. I salute each one of these men!

*Additional information on the military service of these men was found in Samuel Bates History of Pennsylvania Volunteers.

Little Known, Yet Greatly Missed Hotel

Every once in a while I pull out my David Martin book on the First Day....not so much to read, but to look for information on a certain event or place or thing. Yesterday I did that....only I wanted information on the Eagle Hotel.


The Eagle Hotel was located at the corner of Washington and Chambersburg Streets....right where the 7-11 is today. That hotel stood until recent years (I've tried to find just what year the hotel burned but have not been able to locate a date....but I've seen pictures of the fire and want to say that it burned in either the late 50's or early 60's....but I could be wrong). And it had significant history assigned to it during the battle.


Initially on June 30-July1, 1863 it was used by General John Buford as his headquarters. There is quite a bit written about this hotel and John Buford. But the one thing that I found interesting was that before the battle actually started, Buford was seen standing outside the hotel surrounded by his staff. The person who saw him (it was a Lt. Col. who was in town looking for some shoes....always the shoes!) approached and Buford told him to get out of town. When asked why, the sounds of artillery were heard and as Buford jumped on his horse, he said, "That's why."

Then on the first day Francis Irsch and the 45th NY came through town and holed up in the Eagle Hotel. Or did they? I've read two accounts which differ greatly in their telling of this tale. The first one says that Irsch and his men holed up in the hotel and then after realizing that there was nothing they could do (and desperately fighting for their freedom) they finally gave up. I've also read where they were in the area around the hotel (most notably in the alley behind the hotel) but were surrounded and after desperate fighting, finally had to give up. Which is the right story? I'm not sure....but either way, Francis Irsch and his men fought valiantly for their freedom.

The hotel gained fame throughout the history of the town, becoming the meeting place of so many reunions and even one of the first battlefield guides worked out of the hotel. But in recent years, it has become forgotten. The main reason is because its no longer here. As I said earlier the hotel burned to the ground a few years back...but the property is still there and any students of the battle will look at that ground and know the significance of that little piece of ground. Oh I wish we could go back in time and see what this ground looked like and see how magnificent the Eagle Hotel once was.

July 3, 1863

Yesterday was the final day of the Battle of Gettysburg. The culmination of all that these men fought for, the day to decide who would win and who would lose, the day that many men laid down their lives for. Of course, this wasn't the end of the war....only the middle, but this battle (and quite possibly this day) put the rest of the Civil War on the course that led right to the end.

Pickett's Charge is considered THE action that took place on July 3, 1863. And it was an important part of the battle. This was the action that led Robert E. Lee to realize that they were overwhelmed and that they needed to leave. But this wasn't the only action to take place on July 3. There was fighting at Culp's Hill and there was a big Cavalry battle that took place on the Rummel Farm at East Cavalry Field.

The fighting at East Cavalry Field is something that I don't think I will ever fully understand. I've read books, gone on Battle Walks, talked to people who fully understand the fight and still I don't get it. But, as I've said before, I am not a Cavalry person. It just confuses me to no end. But I love that field. I love going over there and seeing the area and knowing just who fought there....I just can't grasp the action. One day...I hope I will....but who knows. I have some sort of mental block.

Pickett's Charge is an interest of mine. Many people were killed and wounded during that charge (including my hero, Gen. Hancock). What intrigues me the most is the cannonade that preceded the charge. All the many cannons shooting off at the same time, just how deafening was it? I know that it could be heard as far away as Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, but what were the civilians in Gettysburg experiencing as the huddled in their basements? How many people who lived in the area or were in the battle lost their hearing due to this cannonade? The charge itself (which has so many different names: Longstreet's Assault, the Pickett-Pettigrew-Trimble Charge, Pickett's Charge, etc) was 12,500 men picking up their guns and walking 1 mile over open ground to face the Federal army at a stone wall on Cemetery Ridge. Until you have actually walked that field, you don't realize how that field actually goes up and down...from little ridges to swales. What these soldiers faced in 1863 is so different from today due to so many things that have changed the face of the field, but to go out and see for yourself....it changes all thoughts about that date. It wasn't as crazy as it seemed. Go and try it and you will be amazed at how little of Cemetery Ridge you can see from that field.

But the part of the battle that I am most fascinated by is the fighting on Culp's Hill. How "Pap" Greene was able to hold that hill with his little brigade on July 2 and then continue to hold after his reinforcements arrived is beyond me. One of the least talked about and yet most important fighting on that hill was by the 137th NY led by David Ireland. What Ireland did was almost identical to what Chamberlain did on Little Round Top...at almost the exact same time. Yet Chamberlain gets all the glory and David Ireland's name and the 137th NY are not remembered except by the most serious of students of the battle.

So much occurred out there....and I have very little time to write about it all....but its important to remember the major occurrences just as much as it is to remember the minor occurrences. Could this battle have been won if just one of the people involved had done something different? We won't ever know. But if we think of it in those terms, we realize just how important each and every participant was in what occured here those three days in July in 1863.

July 2, 1863

Here it is....the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg. 146 years ago to the day, the fighting in The Wheatfield, Devil's Den, Culp's Hill, Little Round Top, and Cemetery Ridge was raging. There is just so much to say about this day and yet the words just don't come to me.

Two of my favorites places on the battle (the Wheatfield and Culp's Hill) fought on this day. Neither one was an overwhelming victory for either side. On Culp's Hill, the Union (despite being outnumbered by a great amount) was able to hold their position until reinforcements arrived and the fighting there continued the next day...starting at 4am. The Wheatfield wasn't a win for either side. Despite the horrendous fighting and the back and forth taking of it, neither side ended up with the Wheatfield in the end and it remained no-mans land for the rest of the battle.

Devil's Den is a different story. The Union had Infantry and Artillery placed on this hill and around the rocks but they were unable to hold this ground. Eventually, the Confederates used the boulders in and around the Devil's Den as a sharpshooter's nest....constantly sniping at the soldiers on Little Round Top.

Little Round Top is probably is most famous fighting of July 2 thanks to the movie "Gettysburg" and Michael Shaara's novel "The Killer Angels". Oh the things I could say about this fighting, but I have to leave that to another post. Despite the celebrity around Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain (who I do not have a problem with, but do not like how he has overshadowed some of the other key figures in this fighting) there were at least 3 others who deserve the glory also. These others include Strong Vincent, Gouverneur K. Warren, Patrick O'Rourke and others. In the end, Little Round Top was held on to by the Union army and they continued to hold it until the end of the battle.

The most confusing part of the 2nd Days fighting (for me, at least) is the fighting that took place on Cemetery Ridge. There was a lot of artillery fighting. And we know that at least a few brigades made it across the fields that we have come to know as the Pickett's Charge field. The brigade of Ambrose Wright even claims to have pushed through the lines and made it almost as far as the Taneytown Road. There is quite a bit of controversy behind this statement. Many people do not believe that they made it that far. And even some who claim that they never even broke the Union line. Who do we believe? I'm not sure. Like I said, this part of the battle confuses me (and this is coming from a person who understands the fighting in the Wheatfield).

At the end of all the hostilities, the Union army got together and had a Council of War (see my post on that) to determine their next move. And tomorrow we shall see just what came of their next move.

July 2, 1863. This was a day of intense fighting and more deaths and woundings than I would like to imagine. The wastefulness of these lives is frightening. I've been re-reading a wonderful book by the late Greg Coco called "A Vast Sea of Misery"...a book about the hospitals that were in use during and after the battle. The more I read about these men and what they went through, the more horrific this battle becomes for me. Another book that really should be read by anyone who has an interest in the men who fought here is also written by Greg Coco and its called "Strange and Blighted Land". This one goes beyond the hospitals and centers more on the wounded, dead, and dying. It sounds awful but it is a very enlightening book and needs to be read by anyone who thinks that war is glorious. Greg shows you just what the fighting is capable of doing. Greg passed away this past February after a long fight with cancer and he will be missed....but on top of that, we won't get any more of his books that come from his deep and personal mission to tell about the dead and dying.

July 2, 1863. 146 years ago today. There is still one more day left to the fighting here in Gettysburg and tomorrow shall be one of the loudest and most horrible days in the history of North America. Tomorrow we shall see who wins.

July 1, 1863

Here it is July 1, 2009....146 years after the Battle of Gettysburg. So much has changed in the world and so much has stayed the same. Here it is 146 years later and there is still so much killing and war going on throughout the world. You would think that we would have learned, but we haven't. The only changes are the technology. We now have bigger and better killing machines as opposed to the muskets, rifles, and cannons of the 19th century. But I digress.

In the early morning hours of July1, 1863, Union Cavalry General John Buford met Confederate General Henry Heth on the fields west of town. This initial clash led to what would become the biggest battle on American soil. 170,000 men met and did their best to try to push the other off the fields. What a waste!

I often wonder why I am drawn to the Civil War. I hate war and anything to do with war, yet I find myself fascinated with this war. Why? I think what it boils down to is that I find myself fascinated with the men who fought and not so much the fight itself. What would cause these men to leave their families to go out and fight their brothers? Did they really have a "cause" or was it peer pressure? Were they looking for adventure? Did they realize what would happen to them or their family members when they actually took part in a fight? So many questions, so little answers.

The men (and some women) who fought are the real heroes. After their first battle, it would be easy to understand someone just up and walking away from the war. After seeing their first dead and wounded, why didn't they up and walk away? Some did. Most did not. It amazes me that these men were able to keep going. I'm not sure that I would have been able to keep going...this is why I find each one a hero. These guys were able to do something that I would not be able to do.

Until all was said and done, July 1st would rank up there with some of the bloodiest days of the Civil War. I believe that there were 16,000 dead and wounded by the time the sun set on that fateful Wednesday. One of the more famous dead was Lancaster, Pa native John Reynolds. Reynolds was one of the best generals that the North had and yet was shot dead before the fighting really even started.

Confederate General James Archer was wounded and captured during this melee. Supposedly, after he was captured, he was taken to General Abner Doubleday (yes, THE Abner Doubleday of baseball fame....who never invented the game...but that's a WHOLE other story) who claimed to be glad to see him old friend and former West Point classmate. As you can imagine, Archer was NOT glad to see Doubleday. I've heard that this story is true and I've also heard that this story is not true. Will we ever know the truth? I don't know but it makes an interesting story.

And then there is the whole Howard/Hancock dispute. Was Hancock in charge of the field when he arrived, or was Howard, the ranking officer, in charge? We know that Meade placed Hancock in charge, but did he take charge when he arrived? Another mystery that we may never have a real answer for. Both sides of the story have strong evidence. Of course, as a HUGE fan of Hancock, I tend to go with his side of the story....but I am definitely biased (and I will admit it)!!!

So much happened that fateful day in 1863. Can we ever really know and understand why they did what they did? Will we ever be able to say this is definitively what occurred? I doubt it...but the quest is fun. For us "Battle geeks" (as I like to call myself), the quest is the best part. I like to understand who the men were and why they did what they did...it makes for a better understanding of who we are and where we are going.