An Obscure Question or Two

I recently received an e-mail from a gracious reader. She mentioned that she had recently visited Evergreen Cemetery in New Haven, Connecticut. While touring the cemetery, a re-enactor mentioned that several of the Civil War veterans were buried standing upright as if at attention. An e-mail to the cemetery elicited a denial that this was the case. However, my question is whether or not this practice ever existed. Research on my part only revealed the occasional practice of vertical burials to save space.

My second question involves a piece of information I heard several years ago during one of my first tours of the Battlefield at Gettysburg. The guide mentioned while we toured Oak Ridge that there had once been an airstrip in the fields just south of Oak Hill. Since that time, I have not found any information concerning a runway at Gettysburg. Of course, the battlefield had once been the site of Camp Colt, a US Army tank training camp during World War I but I have not heard of an airstrip associated with that camp.


One point of interest. The single pine tree (above) along the Emmitsburg Road just west of the Angle at Gettysburg was planted by the soldiers of Camp Colt in honor of their Captain, Dwight D. Eisenhower. They planted the tree with soil from each of the then 48 states.


I would very much appreciate any clarification or information concerning either of the above.

Sincerely,

Randy

Please visit my primary site at www.brotherswar.com

All original material Copyright © 2005-2007. All Rights Reserved

An Incident in 1913

While reading a very interesting book, "The Gettysburg Gospel", I came upon a brief unexpected passage. The author, Gabor Boritt, parenthetically mentions an incident which occurred at the 50th Anniversary Veterans' Reunion at the Gettysburg Battlefield.

"As the thousands of Yankee and rebel soldiers celebrated together on the old battlefield, at the local hotel a nasty altercation took place. A man claiming to be the son of a Confederate general applied a "vile epithet" to Lincoln. A Union veteran, hearing it, struck the unrepentant rebel, who then went on a rampage, stabbing eight. The war was not over for all of the people."

Although I have not yet finished the book, I have enjoyed it a great deal. It offers multiple perspectives on the Gettysburg Address and how the American public has changed how it views this now sacred document over the decades since 1863. The book begins with a description of the condition of the battlefield and town that by itself is worth the read.

Sincerely,

Randy

Please visit my primary site at www.brotherswar.com

All original material Copyright © 2005-2007. All Rights Reserved

Development Still Threatens Battlefield

An editorial from The Hanover Evening Sun

---

"We suspect a bunch of the no-casino folks have declared victory and marched home.

But we hope they stick around a bit longer - the fight to keep the battlefield safe is far from over.

One group that insists it's in the fight for the duration is the Civil War Preservation Trust, which spearheaded the national fight against the erstwhile slots parlor in Straban Township.

"The casino proposal itself was merely a symptom of a larger development problem plaguing Gettysburg," trust President Jim Lighthizer said after state gaming authorities denied the license application for local slots. "The ... trust is committed to working with other preservation groups to protect the Gettysburg battleground."

The CWPT is reportedly interested in helping to save Hunterstown, the village north of Gettysburg near the site of a ferocious cavalry battle July 2, 1863, the second day of the three-day battle.

Hunterstown activists say they've been trying to get the trust's attention for years. Maybe the casino controversy, together with the recent inclusion of Hunterstown within the American Battlefield Protection Program, are what put Hunterstown on the national preservation radar.

But it's probably too late for Hunterstown. The historic village is certainly worth preserving, but the battlefield itself will disappear in the next few years. A local developer has already received Straban Township approval for a development of about 2,000 homes, some of which will sit on the fields once fought over by blue- and gray-clad horsemen.

But on the other side of Gettysburg, it's not too late to save the Baltimore Pike, which will no doubt feel development pressure when the new visitors center opens near there in 2008.

The restaurants and trinket shops along Steinwehr Avenue that followed the current visitors center have forever obliterated a key portion of the Gettysburg battlefield. No amount of tree removal or historic fence installation can ever recapture the center of the Union line as it appeared in 1863.

Those who truly care about hallowed ground should work to ensure the same thing doesn't happen along the Baltimore Pike.

During the late great casino fight, a common rejoinder on the part of pro-casino folks was to ask the opponents where they were when the Wal-Mart was built, or Gateway Gettysburg, or any of the other projects that bring traffic and asphalt to this national shrine.

This is their chance to show their opposition was more about saving the battlefield than it was about the morality of gambling.

There will be those who insist such development is necessary, that it brings needed jobs and tax revenues. But the recent battle over the casino suggests there are some things more important in the minds of many. And they still have a real fight on their hands."

Sincerely,

Randy

Please visit my primary site at www.brotherswar.com

All original material Copyright © 2005-2007. All Rights Reserved

Source: Hanover Evening Sun

Our Army is Generally Badly Cut Up

After the Battle of Gettysburg, Captain J. J. Young of the 26th North Carolina wrote this grim assessment of the fighting to Governor Zebulon Vance.

The 26th North Carolina Marker
noting the point of the regiment's advance
just feet from the Union line on Cemtery Ridge.
"Near Gettysburg, PA., July 4, 1863.

My Dear Governor:

I will trespass a few minutes upon your indulgence to communicate the sad fate that has befallen the old Twenty-sixth. The heaviest conflict of the war has taken place in this vicinity. It commenced July 1, and raged furiously until late last night. Heth's division, of A. P. Hill's corps, opened the ball, and Pettigrew's brigade was the advance. We went in with over 800 men in the regiment. There came out but 216, all told, unhurt. Yesterday they were again engaged, and now have only about 80 men for duty. To give you an idea of the frightful loss in officers: Heth being wounded, Pettigrew commands the division and Major J. Jones our brigade. Eleven men were shot down the first day with our colors; yesterday they were lost. Poor Colonel Burgwyn, jr., was shot through both lungs, and died shortly afterward. His loss is great, for he had but few equals of his age. Captain McCreery, of General Pettigrew's staff, was shot through the heart and instantly killed' with them Lieutenant-Colonel Lane through the neck, jaw, and mouth, I fear mortally; Adjutant James B. Jordan in the hip, severely; Captain J. T. Adams, shoulder, seriously; Stokes McRae's thigh broken; Captain William Wilson was killed; Lieutenants John W. Richardson and J. B. Holloway have died of their wounds. It is thought Lieutenant M. McLeod and Captain N. G. Bradford will die. Nearly all the rest of the officers were slightly wounded. I. A. Jarratt I had forgotten to mention-in the face and hand. Yesterday, Captain S. P. Wagg was shot through by grape and instantly killed; Lieutenant G. Broughton in the head, and instantly killed, Alexander Saunders was wounded and J. R. Emerson left on the field for dead. Captain H. C. Albright is the only captain left in the regiment unhurt, and commands the regiment. Lieutenants J. A. Lowe, M. B. Blair, T. J. Cureton, and C. M. Sudderth are all of the subalterns. Colonel Faribault, of the Forty-seventh, is severely wounded. Lieutenant-Colonel J. A. Graves and Major A. D. Crudup supposed killed. Colonel Marshall and Major J. Q. Richardson, of the Fifty-second, supposed to be killed. Lieutenant-Colonel Parks dangerously wounded; Colonel Leventhorpe badly wounded; Major Ross killed. Our whole division numbers but only 1,500 or 1,600 effective men, as officially reported, but, of course, a good many will still come in. The division at the beginning numbered about 8,000 effective men. I hear our army is generally badly cut up. We will fall back about 5 miles, to draw the enemy, if possible, from his impregnable position. It was a second Fredericksburg affair, only the wrong way. We had to charge over a mile a stone wall in an elevated position. I learn the loss of the enemy is terrible. We have taken 10,000 or 15,000 prisoners in all. Yesterday, in falling back, we had to leave the wounded; hence the uncertainty of a good many being killed late yesterday evening. I must close.

Yours truly,

J. J. Young, Captain, and Assistant Quartermaster.

His Excellency Gov. Zebulon B. Vance."

Sincerely,

Randy

Please visit my primary site at www.brotherswar.com

All original material Copyright © 2006. All Rights Reserved

Source: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies
The text appears as it does in the record minus 21 sets of brackets "[ ]" which made the reading difficult. The brackets were around the initials of the names noted above.

A Surprise Guest at Pickett's Charge

When discussing the conspicuous feats of courageous gallantry during Longstreet's Assault on the final day of the Battle of Gettysburg, we often describe with rhetorical flourishes the actions of the countless men who faced death without flinching. Some ten thousand would die on those fields while three times that number would suffer non-mortal wounds. Two weeks after the battle, Union Brigadier General Alexander Hays, who commanded the portion of Cemetery Ridge just above The Angle, would submit a report on those dead that his command buried in the wake of the slaughter. On July 3, 1863, General Hays' men resolutely held their ground, withstanding the potentially crushing wave of Generals Pettigrew and Trimble's portion of Pickett's Charge. General Hays’ report served as a simple yet grim statement of the work death had done on that day. It would include one unexpected casualty.

"HEADQUARTERS SECOND ARMY CORPS,

Sandy Hook, Md., July 17, 1863.

Brigadier General S. WILLIAMS, Assistant Adjutant-General, army of the Potomac:

SIR: I have the honor to report the following number of dead buried at Gettysburg, Pa., by my command, from July 2 to 5, inclusive:

Forces.	Officers.	Enlisted men.	Total.
Union	18	369	387
Rebel	60	1,182	1,242
Total.	78	1,551	1,629

Remarks. - One female (private), in rebel uniform.

I am, general, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

WILLIAM HAYS,

Brigadier-General, Commanding Corps."

General Hays' uncomplicated summary gently reminds us all that, along with those who suffered on the home front, some women faced the horrors of battle, bled, and died as our country fought itself to determine the kind of nation it would become.

Respectfully,

Randy

Please visit my primary site at www.brotherswar.com

All original material Copyright © 2006. All Rights Reserved

Not Shot But Bayoneted

While the American Civil War offers endless examples of inspirational gallantry and heroism, we must not fall prey to the ever lurking temptation to romanticize this fascinating yet dreadful conflict. In a letter written to General John L. Hodsdon of Augusta Maine, Captain James Hall of the 2nd Maine Artillery speaks of the many facets of war. In this instance, he writes of the Battle of Gettysburg.


"We again bore the brunt of the battle at Gettysburg on the 1st day of July (and the first of the fight). I was the advance Artillery of the Army of the Potomac and was engaged for more than an hour before any battery came to our assistance. And you may well know we got badly hurt. 36 horses & 22 men in about one hour and a half - My loss in men was many of them slightly wounded and several taken prisoner so close was the action. We were so reduced in horses that we were obliged to drag two guns off by hand. The boys fought like the D-, never better. You may judge when I tell you that many of our horses were not shot but bayoneted that it was a close and desperate struggle for our guns, two of which they actually had hold of at one time. I have seen hard fighting before. And been badly smashed up, but I never saw a battery taken from the field and its guns saved in so bad a state as the Old Second came of that day. On Thursday and Friday we were engaged on Cemetery Hill and suffered only slightly. - The victory on our part on Friday the 3d was most glorious.

We are in line of battle and momentarily expecting a battle although I think at times Lee has escaped. - As soon as we get into camp, the monthly return for June will be forth coming.

I have the honor
to be very Respectfuly
Your Obt. Servt.
James A. Hall"

Respectfully,

Randy

Please visit my primary site at www.brotherswar.com

All original material Copyright © 2006. All Rights Reserved

Source: Maine State Archives

Review: Horses of Gettysburg

Over Memorial Day weekend, I viewed with pleasure a rather uncommon documentary film on DVD concerning the Battle of Gettysburg and the American Civil War. Narrated by Ronald F. Maxwell, director of the epic films Gettysburg and Gods and Generals, the documentary film Horses of Gettysburg held my attention from beginning to end.


With eager anticipation, I placed the first DVD in the tray, sitting back comfortably in my chair, ready for whatever would come. Producer/Director Mark Bussler's beautiful cinematography immediately captured my attention as spectacular high- definition battlefield panoramas gracefully advanced in succession across the screen. Noble equestrian statues rose silhouetted against tranquil, kaleidoscopic sunrises while waves of early morning mists caressed the familiar, sacred landscapes. Gentle breezes subtly intensified the imagery as the fog shrouded grounds eerily mimicked the once ominous smoke covered fields of battle.


While relishing the pristine landscapes, magnificent horses came galloping, trotting, charging, and grazing. Cavalrymen guided their agile, powerful mounts through a trickling brook as the late morning sun slipped through the swaying leaves. Squadrons of mounted re-enactors charged their foes in chaotic cavalry clashes or attacks on stubbornly entrenched infantry. Beautiful horses of common and noble lineage surveyed their surroundings, endured examinations, or gratefully accepted a handful of oats. Although the photography proved the initial source of captivation, the perspectives on the animals and their contributions soon made this production complete.


After the initial majestic vistas set the stage, the production progressed, offering intriguing perspectives on the war. The film amply met the challenge of presenting unique viewpoints with which to consider this crucial yet so familiar battle. According to the narrative, an estimated 72,000 horses and mules brought the Southern and Northern forces to battle on these now consecrated grounds. About 5,000 lay dead when the conflagration receded at day’s end on July 3, 1863. This battle, this war, could not have progressed as it did without the horses.


The documentary guides you through a brief summary of how horses and their kin impacted society and warfare throughout human history. Progressing to the 19th Century, Horses of Gettysburg adeptly addresses how soldiers on both sides acquired, examined, cared for and trained their horses to adjust to the thunder of artillery, the firing of musketry, the beating of the regimental drums, and the overall pandemonium of deadly battle. A wonderful variety of old photographs, sketches, and paintings cascade across the screen to illustrate the various points made. Interwoven among these vintage photos, the scenes of re-enactors and their animals easily transport you to another time some 140 years past.


Continuing on, you enjoy discussions of how the armies employed the animals, horses and mules alike, to satisfy the many military necessities of the day. Given this film’s title, you also witness lively re-enactments of the roles these animals played, depicting the accomplishments of individuals on horseback, battalions, brigades, or the contributions of mule teams and their drivers. The efforts of Buford’s men on Day 1, J.E.B. Stuart’s and Custer’s cavalry brawl on July 3, 1863, a mule team’s rush of ammunition to desperate troops, Captain Bigelow’s heroism on Day 2, General Farnsworth’s fatal charge, Frank Haskell’s view from the saddle and many other stories make the time immersed in this DVD pass all too quickly. The occasional stubborn mule and their eccentric handlers add a touch of levity and balance to the occasionally somber tales.

As your journey with Disc 1 winds down and the credits roll by, still more awaits the fortunate viewer. During the next several minutes, Mark Bussler adds a wonderful collection of old shots of the battlefield, postcards, photographs and other scenes which keep you glued until the final slide. Then comes Disc 2 which contains over 3 hours of additional special features including 3 personal interviews, 3 documentaries on horses in American history and several Inecom trailers.


Producer/Director Mark Bussler's depictions of fog shrouded fields, frenzied cavalry charges, magnificent horses, compelling stories of sacrifice, playful moments and somber depictions of devastation and tragedy impact on all levels. Along with Ronald F. Maxwell's respectful, authoritative narration, each segment clearly manifests a sense of reverence for the animals, the men and events which so dramatically shaped the country that we call home. The beautiful cinematography inspires. The unique perspective informs. Combined as they are here, I suspect you will do as I did and watch Horses of Gettysburg again.

For more information about "Horses of Gettysburg", please visit www.inecom.com

Sincerely,

Randy

Please visit my primary site at www.brotherswar.com

All original material Copyright © 2006. All Rights Reserved

Such is War

20th Connecticut Monument on Culp's Hill
Gettysburg National Military Park
After the fighting ended on July 3, 1863, the grim task of caring for the wounded and of burying the dead occupied the time of the soldiers until ordered to move from the battlefield. Corporal Horatio Chapman, 20th Connecticut, described it thus.

"We built fires all over the battle field and the dead of the blue and gray were being buried all night, and the wounded carried to the hospital. We made no distinction between our own and the confederate wounded, but treated them both alike, and although we had been engaged in fierce and deadly combat all day and weary and all begrimed with smoke and powder and dust, many of us went around among the wounded and gave cooling water or hot coffee to drink. The confederates were surprised and so expressed themselves that they received such kind treatment at our hands, and some of the slightly wounded were glad they were wounded and our prisoners. But in front of our breastworks, where the confederates were massed in large numbers, the sight was truly awful and appalling. The shells from our batteries had told with fearful and terrible effect upon them and the dead in some places were piled upon each other, and the groans and moans of the wounded were truly saddening to hear. Some were just alive and gasping, but unconscious. Others were mortally wounded and were conscious of the f act that they could not live long; and there were others wounded, how bad they could not tell, whether mortal or otherwise, and so it was they would linger on some longer and some for a shorter time-without the sight or consolation of wife, mother, sister or friend.

I saw a letter sticking out of the breast pocket of one of the confederate dead, a young man apparently about twenty-four. Curiosity prompted me to read it. It was from his young wife away down in the state of Louisiana. She was hoping and longing that this cruel war would end and he could come home, and she says, "Our little boy gets into my lap and says, `Now, Mama, I will give you a kiss for Papa.' But oh how I wish you could come home and kiss me for yourself." But this is only one in a thousand. But such is war and we are getting used to it and can look on scenes of war, carnage and suffering with but very little feeling and without a shudder."

Respectfully,

Randy

Please visit my primary site at www.brotherswar.com

All original material Copyright © 2006. All Rights Reserved

More of this quote and further information on the 20th Connecticut can be found at 20th Connecticut Infantry Volunteers

History's Familiar Ring

Occasionally, I receive a strange look or awkward glance when I mention my passion for the American Civil War. The inevitable question soon follows concerning the relevance of events some 140 years past. That history forgotten repeats itself may appear too trite a response. Yet, consider this comment by Frank Haskell, an Army of the Potomac veteran and soldier at the Battle of Gettysburg. His sentiments possess a very familiar ring.



Cemetery Ridge south of the Copse of Trees,
part of the ground Lt. Frank Haskell helped to defend.
"But men there are who think that nothing was gained or done well in this battle, because some other general did not have the command, or because any portion of the army of the enemy was permitted to escape capture or destruction. As if one army of a hundred thousand men could encounter another of the same number of as good troops and annihilate it! Military men do not claim or expect this; but the McClellan destroyers do, the doughty knights of purchasable newspaper quills; the formidable warriors from the brothels of politics, men of much warlike experience against honesty and honor, of profound attainments in ignorance, who have the maxims of Napoleon, whose spirit they as little understand as they most things, to quote, to prove all things; but who, unfortunately, have much influence in the country and with the Government, and so over the army. It is very pleasant for these people, no doubt, at safe distances from guns, in the enjoyment of a lucrative office, or of a fraudulently obtained government contract, surrounded by the luxuries of their own firesides, where mud and flooding storms, and utter weariness never penetrate, to discourse of battles and how campaigns should be conducted and armies of the enemy destroyed. But it should be enough, perhaps, to say that men here, or elsewhere, who have knowledge enough of military affairs to entitle them to express an opinion on such matters, and accurate information enough to realize the nature and the means of this desired destruction of Lee's army before it crossed the Potomac into Virginia, will be most likely to vindicate the Pennsylvania campaign of Gen. Meade, and to see that he accomplished all that could have been reasonably expected of any general of any army."

Sincerely,

Randy

Please visit my primary site at www.brotherswar.com

All original material Copyright © 2006. All Rights Reserved

Commentary: A Southern Victory at Gettysburg

A gentleman from England who had a short time ago toured the Battlefields at Gettysburg sent me a question. It read in part, “Our guide on the tour gave us a talk on the build up to the civil war and talked about what might have happened. Simply put he pointed out that if the confederates had won at Gettysburg they might have forced Lincoln to sue for peace and there would have been two Americas, USA AND CSA. Supposing that had happened. How do the think these two countries would have developed. I have heard the point of view that they would have inevitably drifted back together again. Others say that in a way the war is still going on and therefore they would have stayed apart.”

Honestly, I find the answering of "what if" questions difficult primarily because I do not believe anyone can provide an adequate answer. To attempt such, one must decide which of the infinite number of factors which had contributed to the original outcome would remain constant and which would change in an expected or defined manner. Millennia of efforts have failed to develop a reliable strategy for predicting the actions of one person over short periods of time in somewhat controlled situations. How much more complicated then would we find the task of predicting the outcome of events with an entire country at war?

The danger with choosing the factors on which to focus stems in part from the temptation to selectively emphasize those that, even subtly, support preconceived views and biases. Even when assuming some measure of objectivity, too many questions vie for priority on the list of considerations to permit accurate forecasting. First, if you accept the necessity of a Southern victory at the Battle of Gettysburg to winning Southern independence, a point debatable on its own, the question remains whether or not it would have proven sufficient. Yet even with this somewhat basic question, the pitfalls emerge. I find unrealistic the assumption that casualty figures would have remained the same if the outcome of the Battle of Gettysburg differed. After General Robert E. Lee took command of the Army of Northern Virginia, he had several major strategic victories where he took the offensive. However, the Southern casualty figures tended to be higher in either number or percentage than the Federals with each costly success. The Sevens Days and Chancellorsville, where he repeatedly assumed the aggressive, serve as prime examples.

More questions emerge. Would a victory at Gettysburg then have allowed for a sufficient number of Southern commanders remaining to permit the Confederate government to successfully prosecute the war? Such hypotheticals proposed prior to the Battle of Chancellorsville would doubtfully have included the possibility of General Thomas J. Jackson's death. Likewise, when considering similar questions for Gettysburg, how many would include in the discussion the possible death of James Longstreet, JEB Stuart, or even General Lee as they followed up their success?

If Lee had won at Gettysburg, would Longstreet's detachment have gone on to support General Braxton Bragg and contribute to the Confederate victory at Chickamauga or would Lee have decided that he needed Old Pete to follow up his recent success? If Longstreet remained with the Army of Northern Virginia and Union General William S. Rosecranz at least did not suffer defeat at Chickamauga, would the following siege at Chattanooga have occurred? If not, would the lack of an opportunity for Ulysses S. Grant to raze the siege have meant that President Lincoln would not have opted to elevated him to General in Chief? Would Lincoln have moved Grant north to confront Lee without this promotion? Would William T. Sherman still have waged his lethal March to the Sea if instead General Rosecranz moved into Georgia after a Union victory or even a stalemate at Chickamauga?

If the Confederates had won at Gettysburg, would European powers have intervened or had the Union’s narrow victory at Antietam significantly diminished that likelihood? Would the Union victory at Vicksburg, and perhaps Chickamauga if Longstreet was not with Braxton Bragg, have held England and France at bay?

With a Union loss at Gettysburg, would the possible cries for General George B. McClellan have returned him again to the Eastern Theater and if so, would he have then still run for president in 1864? If not, would the Democratic party have chosen another candidate who could have more clearly defined a unified Democratic platform? If so, could that person have defeated Lincoln especially given the potential decline in Northern morale with a loss at Gettysburg?

If the south appeared on the verge of winning, would other northern states have seceded and formed their own Union as some had threatened? With a Southern victory, would foreign powers have invested in a devastated Confederacy allowing the necessary degree of reconstruction for an expeditious re-birth? Would the Northern businesses have again eagerly imported Southern cotton, reviving the devastated economy while rekindling the need for slave labor? Would the south have moved on to conquer or purchase Cuba and other land south of the existing borders in order to perpetuate slavery? Would they have then clashed again with the North for the remaining territories to continue to acquire land with a cotton friendly climate?

If Lincoln won re-election despite the hypothesized Southern successes, would John Wilkes Booth have played the role of assassin? If not, what would the impact of a still determined Lincoln have had on the war effort?

Then we consider the question of black Americans, both freed and still in bondage. They certainly would not have become passive actors in this postulated play. Even if the Confederates emerged from the conflict victorious, would enough white men have survived the war to sustain the institution of slavery? University of Virginia Professor Dr. Gary Gallagher has argued that the relationship between slave and master changed significantly as the war progressed due to the absence of white men to manage the plantations. Would those slaves who remained in bondage but assumed greater degrees of authority have acquiesced to the loss of their new found power, limited as it was? What actions would the veteran United States Colored Troops, over 100,000 strong, have taken after their mustering out of the Army should the South have won?

Obviously, this could continue indefinitely but would serve no useful purpose except to perhaps continue to evade drawing hypothetical conclusions. Those offered would draw critical responses based on those factors on which the critic chose to focus. Debate still rages about the impact of specific tactical decisions made or not made during the battle itself. Given the lack of agreement on events of a much smaller scale, the potential results of a Confederate victory during the Battle of Gettysburg will likely continue to elude us all.

Sincerely,

Randy

Please visit my primary site at www.brotherswar.com

All original material Copyright © 2006. All Rights Reserved

About the Trees

This last Wednesday, I found myself once again happily tramping across the fields of the Gettysburg Battlefield, eager to see the National Park Service’s most recent restorative efforts. Their unrelenting determination continuously moves the park’s sacred grounds towards their 1863 appearance. Having read of the most recent works, I enthusiastically moved from Seminary Ridge towards a particular point of interest. The Peach Orchard, for years reliably home to a small collection of fruit trees, revealed the most dramatic changes. The fields, meticulously plowed and tilled, now housed not one tree.


Monument to the 68th Pennsylvania Infantry
framed by the now empty Peach Orchard
Captivated by the vegetative vacuum, I walked slowly around the edges of the barren field, careful to avoid stepping on what seemed a still tender portion of the now wounded battlefield. With anticipatory delight, each step inspired visions of how these same grounds would appear just two years hence when fresh, healthy trees reached again towards the sun. Strong, healthy peach trees would soon proudly take the place of those which had so steadily adorned these fields for decades. Camera in hand, I snapped as many pictures from as many angles as the evasive, cloud shrouded sunlight would allow. After collecting a sufficient number of photos, I walked back towards my car expecting no further surprises.

Then I walked out onto the Emmitsburg Road. Stopping to investigate an old isolated marble obelisk, I took the time to read the fading inscription worn by a century of snow, wind, and rain. The sounds of the highway behind me, the bite of the still chilling spring winds, and the visions of the surrounding fields melted away. The marble carved words held my complete attention.

ERECTED BY THE SURVIVORS
OF THE 68TH REGT. P. V.
SCOTT LEGION
COL. A. H. TIPPIN COMMANDING
1ST BRIGADE 1ST DIVISION
3RD ARMY CORPS
IN MEMORY OF
183 OF OUR COMRADES
WHO FELL ON THIS FIELD
JULY 2ND AND 3RD 1863.
This silent stone sentry spoke clearly of what I should have known all along. I came here to see the restorations as the grounds steadily regressed to their condition 142 years past. But neither the stark changes to the landscape nor the crisp, nurtured beauty of the battlefield could ease the gut wrenching feeling produced by a few small words. The inscription said, “183 of our Comrades”. The men of this battle still spoke. They say to those who would pause to listen, “It never was about the trees“.

Sincerely,

Randy

Please visit my primary site at www.brotherswar.com

All original material Copyright © 2006. All Rights Reserved

The Remaining Damage

The pictures included below show some of the remaining damage left to the two as yet unrestored monuments. Although the US National Park Service can likely replace the destroyed sections of each monument, the original pieces are now lost forever.

Above each picture of the damage, I have reposted pictures of each of the monuments prior to their desecration. These sad pictures tell the story all too well.


The 4th New York Artillery Monument and cannons.
Summer of 2005


Closer view of the 4th New York Artillery Monument.
Summer of 2005


The 4th New York monument's pedestal minus the damaged statue.
Notice the hole in the pavement where
the monument landed when toppled by vandals.
Courtesy of the Philadelphia Inquirer


National Park Staff examining the headless 4th NY Artillery statue.
Notice also the missing rammer from the statue's right hand.
Courtesy of the Gettysburg National Military Park


The 11th Massachusetts Monument.
Summer of 2005


The 11th MA monument immediately after the vandalism.
Notice the shattered pieces at its base.
Courtesy of the Gettysburg National Military Park


Close up of one destroyed segment of the monument.
Courtesy of the Philadelphia Inquirer

Sincerely:

Randy

Please visit my primary site at www.brotherswar.com

All original material Copyright © 2006. All Rights Reserved

Pictures courtesy of the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Gettysburg National Military Park

The Triumphant Return of the 114th Pennsylvania

The remounting of restored 114th PA Monument
Courtesy of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

The least damaged of the recently vandalized monuments once again stands proudly back where it belongs. The United States National Park Service, showing their commitment to a quick but thorough restoration, has remounted the bronze statue of a 114th Pennsylvania Infantry Zouave Soldier on its pedestal where it once again will watch over the fields its men helped to defend on July 2, 1863. The 114th Pennsylvania fought with the Union Army's 3rd Corps under the command of Major General Daniel Sickles on the 2nd day of the Battle of Gettysburg. During this struggle, 9 men of the 114th lost their lives with 86 wounded and 60 captured.

The damaged 114th PA monument just 1 month ago.
Courtesy of the Gettysburg National Military Park.

As reported last month, vandals severely damaged three of the parks priceless monuments during a spree of pointless seemingly random destruction. The two other monuments, those to the 11th Massachusetts Infantry and the 4th New York Artillery, may take years to restore. The thoughtless thieves stole the arm and sword from the 11th Massachusetts and the head and rammer from the bronze statue atop the 4th New York. They also dragged artilleryman's statue behind their car some 160 feet causing severe damage.

During the battle's bloodiest day, the 11th Massachusetts lost 23 men killed and 96 men wounded. The 4th New York Artillery suffered 2 men killed and 10 wounded in their defense of the Devil's Den.

A recent article in the Philadelphia Inquirer noted that, since the monuments were each over 100 years old, the Archeological Resources Protection Act dictates that the criminals, when caught, will face felony charges and possible 10 year prison sentence.

Sincerely:

Randy

Please visit my primary site at www.brotherswar.com

All original material Copyright © 2006. All Rights Reserved

Pictures courtesy of the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Gettysburg National Military Park

Vandalism Update Information

The Civil War Interactive, an outstanding on-line Civil War newspaper, has posted a page dedicated to the recent outrageous vandalism suffered by several of the parks revered monuments on the Gettysburg Battlefield. This page includes a variety of information including a video of park service personnel discussing the damage and some very sad views of the monuments themselves.

Civil War Interactive

Sincerely;

Randy

Please visit my primary site at www.brotherswar.com

All original material Copyright © 2006. All Rights Reserved

The Sad Damage & Needed Assistance

The Gettysburg National Military Park kindly provided these tragic pictures of two of the three recently vandalized, damaged monuments. (Additional information about these terrible acts of desecration can be found in the previous posts below.)


Gettysburg National Military Park Rangers Laurie Gantz and
Brion FitzGerald examine the damaged
114th Pennsylvania Infantry Monument.


The damaged 11th Massachusetts Monument.
Note the shattered pieces at the monument's
base. This is all that remains of the saber
wielding arm which had graced this unique treasure.

When asked, NPS staff said that those wishing to donate to help restore these monuments can write checks payable to "DOI/NPS" (without the quotation marks) and send them to:

Gettysburg National Military Park
97 Taneytown Road
Gettysburg, PA 17325

If you wish to designate the money for a specific monument, please note the name of the monument on the check. According to NPS staff, contributing donations to the "General Maintenance for Monuments" fund allows greater flexibility to address all repairs or replacements. And certainly, all donations are greatly appreciated. Having seen first hand the NPS' previous efforts at restoring other damaged monuments, I can say that they do excellent work.

Respectfully submitted,

Randy

Former Glory

I thought I would include a few pictures of the recently vandalized monuments at the Gettysburg Battlefield (more information is below). Unfortunately, I'm still searching through my collection for a good picture of the 114th Pennsylvania Monument. However, included below are two of the beautiful monuments now permanently damaged. A very sad day indeed.



The 11th Massachusetts Infantry Monument
along the Emmitsburg Road.



The 4th New York Artillery, Smith's Battery
on Houck's Ridge.

Respectfully Submitted,

Randy

A Pattern of Senseless Destruction

Over the years, a combination of careless inattention, vandalism, and outright criminal activity have caused irreparable damage to the sacred monuments and markers at the Gettysburg Battlefield. These monuments, erected and dedicated mostly by the battle’s veterans, cannot be replaced. Despite the exceptional efforts of the National Park Service to restore any damage inflicted, the original monuments, or portions of them, are often forever lost.

Here is a brief chronology and listing of only some of the damaged treasures.

February 16, 2006:

The 114th Pennsylvania Monument (Dedicated in 1886): Torn from its pedestal and thrown to the ground damaging the monument and a wrought iron fence.

The 11th Massachusetts Monument (Dedicated in 1885): The upper granite portion of the monument was thrown from it’s base, the arm irreparably shattered and the sword stolen.

The 4th New York Battery Monument (Dedicated in 1888): Torn from its pedestal and dragged more than 160 feet causing extensive damage. The perpetrators severed and stole the monument’s head.

Total damages estimated at about $75,000.

January 18, 2005:

8th Pennsylvania Cavalry Monument (Dedicated in 1890): Bronze sword stolen.

Total damage estimated at $3,000

September 15, 2004:

Alexander Hays Monument (Dedicated in 1915): Bronze sword stolen.

Total damage estimated at $1,200

May 2004:

58th New York Monument (Dedicated in 1888): Hit by car. The driver hit the monument so hard that she broke her ankle.

Total damage estimated at $20,000

May 2004:

Granite marker on Reynolds Avenue: Backed over by a school bus.

Total damage estimate unknown

March 3, 2004:

4th Ohio Right Flank Marker (Dedicated in 1887) and two granite fence posts: Destroyed by a driver who lost control of a pick-up truck. The marker was damaged beyond repair.

Total damages estimated at between $5,000 and $10,000

November 12, 2003:

74th Pennsylvania Infantry Monument (Dedicated in 1888): Driver hit the monument after losing control of her SUV. The monument was broken it into several pieces large and small.

Total damages estimated at between $15,000 and $20,000

October 21, 2003:

Battery E, 1st Rhode Island Light Artillery Cannon Carriage (Dedicated in 1896): Shattered by a hit and run driver after he plowed down 80 feet of fencing. Unknown persons stole parts of the broken cannon carriage, which was slightly over 100 years old, before National Park Service staff could collect them all.

Total damages estimated at between $10,000 and $13,000

November 1999

17 Monuments Vandalized: Vandals poured oil over 17 monuments threatening permanent discoloration.

Total damages estimated at over $4,000

July 1999

90th Pennsylvania Monument (Dedicated in 1888): Thieves stole several pieces of bronze ornamentation from the monument including a knapsack and a rifle.

Total damages estimated at over $12,900

Respectfully submitted,

Randy

Vandalized Monuments - A Plea for Help

National Park Service Asks Public for Information.

Gettysburg National Military Park is looking for information related to the vandalism of Civil War monuments on the Gettysburg Battlefield damaged during the night of February 15, 2006 or the early morning hours of February 16, 2006. Vandals pulled the top stone and sculpture off of the 11th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Monument, dedicated on October 8, 1885. The 11th Massachusetts monument is located on Emmitsburg Road at the intersection of Sickles Avenue. Vandals pulled down the bronze sculpture of a Zouave infantryman from the pedestal of the 114th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Monument, dedicated on July 2, 1886, located at the Sherfy house on Emmitsburg Road. The figure landed on a decorative iron fence that was also damaged.


The 114th PA Monument
thrown to the ground
Vandals also pulled the bronze sculpture of a Civil War Artilleryman from the monument to Smith's battery, also known as the 4th New York battery, located on Devil's Den. The Smith's battery monument was dedicated July 2, 1888.

Anyone with any information is asked to call the National Park Service at 717/ 334-0909. Anyone with any information is asked to call the National Park Service at 717/ 334-0909.

Contact Information
Katie Lawhon | (717) 334-1124
Laurie Gantz | (717) 334-0909

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For more information, please see the related article below.

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Respectfully Submitted,

Randy

Desecration

If you have any information concerning these despicable, unconscionable crimes, please notify the National Park Service. And please, if you have a blog or web site, post a link to this article or post one of your own with the NPS contact information. The more widespread the search, the more likely the apprehension of these pathetic, thoughtless, idiots.

From The Boston Globe

Three Gettysburg battlefield monuments vandalized

February 16, 2006

GETTYSBURG, Pa. --Monuments honoring Civil War soldiers from Pennsylvania, New York and Massachusetts were damaged late Wednesday or early Thursday morning, Gettysburg National Military Park officials said.

The head of a sculpture was stolen on Devil's Den, a rocky part of the battlefield, and a sword was taken from a second memorial. A third marker's sculpture landed on a decorative iron fence, which also was damaged.

"It's terribly sad, and the monuments were put there by the veterans and survivors of this battle. So what's happened is, it's their memory that is vandalized," said park spokeswoman Katie Lawhon.

The bronze sculpture of an artilleryman from the monument to Smith's Battery, also known as the 4th New York Battery, was dragged from its place and its head was removed and is missing, Lawhon said.

The top stone and sculpture from the 11th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Monument were toppled, and a sword was stolen from it.

Also, the vandals pulled down a bronze sculpture of a Zouave infantryman from the 114th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Monument, and a fence was damaged when it fell.

Thieves have damaged park monuments three times in the last year-and-a-half. They also stole a bronze sword from a Pennsylvania cavalry marker in January 2005 and a sword from the monument to Alexander Hays in September 2004. Those crimes have not been solved.

Bronze markers, including state seals, also are occasionally stolen from the park.

Motorists also have taken a toll on the park's historical objects in recent years. Drivers crashed into the 4th Ohio Volunteer Infantry right flank marker in 2004, and destroyed a cast-iron cannon carriage and damaged the 74th Pennsylvania Infantry Monument in separate 2003 incidents.

The 6,000-acre park houses some 1,300 monuments to the tide-changing July 1863 battle between the Union and Confederate armies.

Respectfully submitted,

Randy

A Mangled Heap of Carnage

With his 35th birthday a few weeks away, Frank Aretas Haskell marched north with the Army of the Potomac. The blue-clad men picked up the gauntlet General Robert E. Lee had thrown down and now covered 20 to 30 miles a day in search of their familiar adversaries. The Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, somewhere in the vast mountainous countryside, had broken away from their lines near Fredericksburg, Virginia. The oft victorious Rebels pushed forward onto northern soil, their aims and goals entirely unknown. As the Union Army fanned out in pursuit, Frank Haskell noted, "The people of the country, I suppose, shared the anxieties of the army, somewhat in common with us, but they could not have felt them as keenly as we did. We were upon the immediate theatre of events, as they occurred from day to day, and were of them. We were the army whose province it should be to meet this invasion and repel it; on us was the immediate responsibility for results, most momentous for good or ill, as yet in the future. And so in addition to the solicitude of all good patriots, we felt that our own honor as men and as an army, as well as the safety of the Capitol and the country, were at stake."

He could not know that in a few short days, after colliding with their elusive foe, thousands would lay dead aside the tens of thousands wounded like so many ashes born of this sanguinary, windswept conflagration. In a description of events that Haskell penned for his brother, he conveyed the grim visage presented in the aftermath of the bloodshed of July 2, 1863, the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg.

"The fight done, the sudden revulsions of sense and feeling follow, which more or less characterize all similar occasions. How strange the stillness seems! The whole air roared with the conflict but a moment since-now all is silent; not a gunshot sound is heard, and the silence comes distinctly, almost painfully to the senses. And the sun purples the clouds in the West, and the sultry evening steals on as if there had been no battle, and the furious shout and the cannon’s roar had never shaken the earth. And how look these fields? We may see them before dark-the ripening grain, the luxuriant corn, the orchards, the grassy meadows, and in their midst the rural cottage of brick or wood. They were beautiful this morning. They are desolate now-trampled by the countless feet of the combatants, plowed and scored by the shot and shell, the orchards splinted, the fences prostrate, the harvest trodden in the mud. And more dreadful than the sight of all this, thickly strewn over all their length and breadth, are the habiliments of the soldiers, the knapsacks cast aside in the stress of the fight, or after the fatal lead had struck; haversacks yawning with the rations the owner will never call for; canteens of cedar of the Rebel men of Jackson, and of cloth-covered tin of the men of the Union; blankets and trowsers, and coats, and caps, and some are blue and some are gray; muskets and ramrods, and bayonets, and swords, and scabbards and belts, some bent and cut by the shot or shell; broken wheels, exploded caissons, and limber-boxes, and dismantled guns, and all these are sprinkled with blood; horses, some dead, a mangled heap of carnage, some alive, with a leg shot clear off, or other frightful wounds, appealing to you with almost more than brute gaze as you pass; and last, but not least numerous, many thousands of men-and there was no rebellion here now-the men of South Carolina were quiet by the side of those of Massachusetts, some composed, with upturned faces, sleeping the last sleep, some mutilated and frightful, some wretched fallen, bathed in blood, survivors still and unwilling witnesses of the rage of Gettysburg."

Respectfully,

Randy

Please visit my primary site at www.brotherswar.com.

All original material Copyright © 2006. All Rights Reserved

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References for this article:

The Harvard Classics, American Historical Documents, P. F. Collier & Son Corporation, New York 1969