Getttsburg+Photos

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=Gettysburg Photos= = = Some photographs from my recent visit to Gettysburg. Click on the photos for an enlargement. The description for the photographs is below:

[|Army Tent] - This is an example of a tent that enlisted soldiers would use. An officers tent is bigger. [|Army Tent 1] - This is a re-enactor's tent, complete with soldier's gear.

[|Bloody Angle] - a view from behind the area known as the Bloody Angle, where Pickett's Charge failed on the third day.

[|Bryan House] - The home of a free black family on Cemetary Ridge that was damaged by the fighting.

Burns, John: - See John Burns

[|Cashtown Inn] - Currently a bed and breakfast, at the time of the Civil War this was an inn, 8 miles west of Gettysburg, that served as the headquarters of Third Corps General A.P. Hill.

[|Cemetary Hill] - View from Cemetary Hill looking over Cemetary Ridge across to Seminary Ridge.

[|Cemetary Ridge] - Looking down the fence line along Cemetary Ridge.

[|Cemetary Ridge] - Looking up at Cemetary Ridge and the Copse of Trees from the view of PIckett's Charge (aka Pickett/Trimbel/Pettigrew Charge).

[|Calvary] monument - Calvary fighting at the Bloody Angle? Where's his horse? Yes...this monument honors the 1st Pennsylvania Calvary, who occupied the area just behind the crest of Cemetary Ridge. They were being held in reserve. Although they did not see action on the third day, they were prepared to fight dismounted. Notice his gun is shorter than an infantry rifle. It is a Sharps carbine, the rifle used by calvary. On top of his kepi (hat) is the symbol of the calvary corps, the crossed sabers.

[|Cavalry demonstration video] - These photos are from a cavalry demonstration of the [|2nd US Cavalry / 9th Va Cavalry Co. D] at Gettysburg. Lots of photos...I got a bit carried away! [|Dismounted cavalry] / [|Cavalry Charge] / [|Cavalry Charge with sabers] / [|Cavalry Charge - more sabers] / [|Cavalry saber] - this end up / [|Cavalry bugler] / [|Cavalry soldiers] - the soldier with the beard looks like he's from Central Casting / [|Cavalry re-enactor] - the re-enactor behind the grey beard is a woman / [|Cavalry] at ease / [|Cavalry] on parade / [|Hold Your Horses]- When cavalry troopers fight dismounted, one trooper stays behind to hold the horses of three dismounted troopers.

[|Cannon] - Cemetary Ridge cannon

[|Codori Barn] - One of the many barns that were in the middle of the battle. Pickett directed the assault on Cemetary Ridge near the barn. See below: Infantry - 106th Pa.- for more information.

[|Copse of Trees] - This was the target for the soldiers of Pickett's Charge. [|Second view] (wave to Mr. Z sitting on Cemetary Ridge).

Corby, Father William - See: Father William Corby

[|Father William Corby] - Many people think that it looks like Father William Corby has just thrown a pass to a receiver down field. That is not the case. This portrait statue of Father Corby represents the hundreds of chaplains that traveled with both armies. Corby was the chaplain for the Union Army's Irish Brigade (88th New York Infantry), whose troops were ordered into battle on the afternoon of July 2. Before they were sent in to relieve Gen. Sickles troops, Father Corby stepped up on a boulder (many insist it is the same boulder on which the statue is mounted) and raised his right hand, giving absolution to the soldiers who would be going into battle. Following the war, Father Corby served two terms as president of the University of Notre Dame. An exact replica of this statue can be found on Notre Dame's campus.

[|Old Glory] -

[|Gen. James Longstreet], CSA - This is the only monument of Confederate General James Longstreet. When the South lost the Battle of Gettysburg, they looked for reasons. They couldn't (wouldn't) blame Gen. Lee. After the war, Longstreet did some things that angered Southerners: 1) he became a Republican 2) he converted to Catholicism when he married his second wife 3) he suggested that Lee might have made some tactical errors at Gettysburg. Longstreet became a persona non grata in the South and his reputation was shredded. He received his due as a commander in 1998, when this monument was erected. Longstreet is shown on his horse, looking across Seminary Ridge as Pickett's soldiers step off.

[|Gen. John Reynolds] - Second Corps commander who was died in battle. This is the monument in the National Cemetary. The other is in Reynolds Woods. He is also represented on the Pennsylvania Monument, since he is a native Pennsylvanian.

[|Gen. George Meade] and Old Baldy (his horse) - Meade's monument on Cemetary Ridge looks directly across at Gen. Lee's monument on Seminary Ridge. More [|Meade] up close and personal. More [|Meade].

[|High Water] monument - This monument on Cemetary Ridge, behind the Copse of Trees, honors the units that fought on the third day; the Confederate soldiers that made the assault and the Union soldiers who defended the line. It commemorates the "northernmost" incursion by the South into Northern territory. More [|High Water]. A pyramid of cannonballs is holding the book up. (Hmm...I wonder if that would work for some of my library displays??) High Water [|cannon].

[|Infantry] - //72nd Pa. Infantry// monument - This regiment was known as the Philadelphia Fire Zouaves. The [|Zouaves] were the soldiers whose uniforms were based on a French Army unit known as the Zouaves. There were both Union and Confederate Zouaves. Their uniform usually consisted of red baggy pants, a vest, and a fez (a hat with a tassel). This particular unit was involved in a court case over the placement of their monument. The monument association placed their monument at the position the that the 72nd occupied prior to Pickett's Charge. Once the assault began, they were ordered forward, (some dispute that they went willingly) and the 72nd wanted their monument placed at the position nearest the line of battle. Eventually, the courts decided in their favor, so now they have two monuments. Notice the Zouave uniform and how the soldier is using his [|musket].

[|Infantry] - //106th Pa. Infantry//- There are 3 monuments honoring this regiment. This one stands near the High Water Mark. On the second day, July 2, they helped turn back Wright's Confederate brigade, that actually crossed over the stone wall but had to retreat because they had no support. Later in the day, they were moved to East Cemetary Hill to fight there. On July 3, two companies were sent back to this position. This monument shows four knapsacks and blanket rolls that form the base. Atop the base are three stacked drums. The drums, of course, were used for music and relaying orders, but they also serve another purpose on this monument. Together they form a trefoil, or clover. The trefoil was the symbol of the Second Corps, the corps to which this regiment belonged. There are also 40 trefoils carved around the monument, which symbolizes the 40 rounds of ammunition that each soldier carried. The bronze plaque shows the charge the regiment made on the [|Codori] house and barn on July 2, where they recaptured the cannon from a Rhode Island artillery and over 250 soldiers from the 48th Georgia Infantry.

[|Infantry] - //1st Andrews Sharpshooters// (Massachusetts) - Remember Col. Shaw mentioning Governor Andrews in Glory? Sharpshooters were a special unit within the regiments that were used for sniping. You had to qualify to be a sharpshooter. Sharpshooters could place ten shots in a ten inch circle from 200 yards away, firing in any position. This soldier is using a specially designed musket. Although this was an elite group of soldiers, many others in the armies felt that sharpshooters practiced an "unchristian" style of fighting because they were usually fighting under cover and they aimed specifically for high-ranking officers on the field or artillery gun crews. The weapon shown on this monument has a telescopic sight. The sight wasn't good by today's standards but it did help the sharpshooters shoot more accurately. The slogan on the monument reads: "In God We Put Our Trust, But Kept Our Powder Dry." (Gunpowder doesn't fire if it is wet.)

[|Infantry] - //111th New York// - This regiment entered the battle as skirmishers. Skirmishers were the soldiers who went out ahead of the main body of the regiment, to draw fire and to scout out the enemy locations. They were sort of an early warning system. This monument stands at the location of the regimental colors (flags) during the battle. Four color bearers and two officers were killed. The skirmisher in this monument has his cap back so he can see clearly and since he could be shot at any moment, he is shown cocking the trigger, prepared to fire.

[|Infantry] - //10th Mass.// (2nd Brigade / 3rd Div. /6th Corps)- The 10th Mass. regiment was raised during the opening months of the Civil War (1861) and their enlistments were for 3 years. When their enlistments were up, many re-enlisted and joined the 37th Mass. Here's what the regimental history says: "Of its one thousand noble men, more than one third never returned in health or sickness, whole or maimed, but filled heroes graves on southern soil." This monument depicts stacked muskets, a tenor drum, a knapsack, a cartridge box and a canteen. This suggests that the soldiers are no longer here, but have left behind "the tools of the trade."

[|Infantry] - Iron Brigade re-enactor. The Iron Brigade was composed of the Union 2nd, 6th and 7th Wisconsin regiments, the 19th Illinois and the 24th Michigan regiments. The Iron Brigade was the 1st Brigade of the 1st Division of the 1st Corps. They wore distinctive headgear, rather than the kepi that most soldiers wore. They wore tall, black hats with a wide brim turned up on the left and held in place with a plume (feather).. At Gettysburg, they were instrumental in the battle on Day 1, holding their position as long as they could. Of the 500 men who began the battle that day, by day's end on 99 remained. Notice the [|bayonet] on the end of the rifle barrel. Most soldiers did not fight using bayonets, despite what Hollywood movies would have you think. Infantry demonstration [|video].

[|John Burns]- Known as "The Old Hero of Gettysburg", John Burns was a veteran of the War of 1812 and the Mexican American War. He was over 70 years old when the battle came to his town of Gettysburg. He decided to lend a hand to the Union soldiers on the first day's battle. He fought with the Iron Brigade (7th Wisconsin) and the 150th Penna. (The Bucktail Brigade). He was wounded three times, captured and almost hung by the Confederates as a combatant out of uniform. He lived until 1872 and became a local celebrity. Lincoln asked to meet him when he came to Gettysburg to deliver the Gettysburg Address.

[|Leister House]- This house belonged to Lydia Leister, a widow, who lived here with her six children. Because her home was so close to the battlefield, it became the headquarters of Union General George Meade. The house was used by Meade for his Council of War on the night of July 2. Meade and his staff narrowly avoided injury when Confederate artillery overshot the line at Cemetery Ridge and hit the house on July 3. She and her family had left the house for safety. When she returned after the battle, Leister's house was damaged, her crops destroyed and dead horses and bodies littered her yard. She burned the horses and sold their bones to be used as fertilizer. She received no compensation from the government for the damage caused by the battle. After the war, she was able to rebuild her house. She eventually sold it and bought a house in town that became the Dobbins House, where you will be having lunch.

[|Louisiana State Memoria][|l]- The Louisiana State Memorial, which was erected in 1966. Yes, 1966. Most Southern states did not have the money after the war to erect monuments, and most did not want to honor their greatest defeat. The top figure of the statue is a 10 foot tall woman, representing "The Spirit of the Confederacy" soaring above the dead soldiers. She has a dove of peace underneath her. In her right hand she holds the flaming cannonball, a symbol of the artillery. Some people believe that this is the representation of Saint Barbara, the patron saint of artillerymen. The [|reclining figure] underneath the Spirit of the Confederacy is 9 ft. long and represents a member of the Washington Artillery from New Orleans. He has fallen and is perhaps mortally wounded. A friend covered his chest with the Confederate flag, which he is holding to his heart.

[|Philadephia Brigade] - //72nd Pa// regiment was part of this brigade. See above for information about the disagreement over where the monument should be placed. Notice the 72nd Pa. in the background.

[|Pickett's Charge] - the fences that slowed down the advance. [|View 2] - The Confederates started their assault all the way back at the tree line in the distance and marched that distance to reach Cemetary Ridge.

[|Seminary Ridge] at sunset - Looking from Cemetary Ridge towards the Codori Barn.

[|Tammany] monument - Why is there a monument of an American Indian teepee on Cemetary Ridge? This monument honors the 42nd New York Infantry, and no, they were not American Indians. Hint: Check your Social Studies text for "Tammany Hall" politicians.