About Gettysburg's Gettysburg National Military Park

Gettysburg Battlefield Spangler Springs and A.L Coble Rock

This area of the Gettysburg National Military Park was one of the most strategic on the Gettysburg Battlefield. This area on the south slope of Culps Hill was occupied by both Union and Confederate troops during the 3 day Battle of Gettysburg July 1-3, 1863. The spring which is this area is named for was used for many years for watering horses and thirsty men for many years prior to the famous battle. The area saw heavy fighting mostly between the Union Twelfth Corps under General Greene, and the 2nd Maryland, Tenth Virginia, and North Carolina regiments.

Legend has it that during the fighting truces were set to allow the thirsty soldiers to get water from spring as it's position during the fighting was in "no mans land" between the two opposing forces. Historians however dismiss the idea as folk lore, and give the rumor little credence.

What is not disputed is the rock carving of A.L. Coble of the 1st North Carolina that fought in this area. It is not certain when Mr. Coble returned to carve his information in the rock, but it is generally assumed that during the last official Battle of Gettysburg Reunion in 1938, Coble returned to precise place that he stood during the fighting for Spanglers Spring 75 years earlier. As you can see it is still very visible today.

The average age of those veterans attending the 75th reunion was 94, the event was marked by a speech by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and a joint Union/Confederate  unveiling of the memorial light of peace memorial, as well the lighting of it's eternal flame. The monument is built with a mixture of Alabama limestone, and Maine granite, symbolizing the coming together of North and South.

* Please be mindful when visiting the Gettysburg National Military Park, be gentle with the terrain and be mindful to not damage anything so that generations from now can appreciate what happened here.

If you are looking for a Gettysburg Historic home or any other Gettysburg Real Estate be sure and contact Gettysburg Gerry, he'll make sure your transaction doesn't turn into a battle.

Gettysburg Battlefield Little Round Top

Little Round Top Is probably the most strategic geographical area on the entire Gettysburg Battlefield. Luckily for Union forces Col. Strong Vincent saw the strategic value of the hill top and made sure that the ground came into and remained in Union hands. Not that the Confederate forces did not try to take the Little Round Top. Two brigades in Maj. Gen. John Bell Hoods division, one under command of Brig. Gen. E.M. Law and another under command of Brig. Gen. J.B. Robertson attacked the western slope of Little Round Top. It is there that the 20th Maine made it's famous stand against overwhelming Confederate odds and held the ground. The 20th Maine under the command of Col. Joshua Chamberlain.

Col. Vincent positioned approximately 1,350 men of the 20th Maine, 83rd Pa, 44th NY, and the 16th Mi. to hold the ground. Vincents last words were to the 389 men that made up the 20th Maine were, "This is the left end of the Union line. You understand? You are to hold this ground at all costs!" Upon completing the command Vincent was struck by a bullet most probably fired by a Confederate sniper hiding in the rocks at Devils Den and killed.

The 20th Maine were not battle hardened soldiers, they were exhausted having spent most of the last 5 days marching over 100 miles, the final 26 the day before the battle. The Alabamians they faced by contrast were one of the best fighting forces in the Confederate army. However the men of the 20th Maine held the ground, the fighting culminating with a bayonet charge. The story of the 20th Maine on Little Round Top is one of the more famous stories to be remembered at the Battle of Gettysburg.

This is the first in a series of videos that GettysburgGerry will producing showing human interest stories, and famous sections of the Gettysburg Battlefield. Be sure to stop back and follow along as GettysburgGerry shares his home, Gettysburg Pa with you all.

Robert E Lee and George Meade Continue to Faceoff in Gettysburg Pa

Confederate General Robert E Lee and Union General George Meade continue to face each other here in Gettysburg Pa. You will see two different equestrian statues pictured in this post, one of General Robert E Lee, and the other of General George Meade.

First a little background on the two statues. The Meade statue was sculpted by Henry Kirke Bush-Brown, who incidental also did the John Reynolds, and John Sedgewick equestrian statues at the Gettysburg National Military Park. The Meade statue was dedicated on the morning of June 5, 1896. Meade is depicted on his favorite mount "Old Baldy". Despite suffering fourteen bullet wounds during his service in the Civil War, Old Baldy outlived Meade and served as the riderless horse for Meades funeral. Old Baldy died in 1882 at the age of 30.

The statue of General Robert E Lee is atop the Virgina memorial, the memorial was commissioned by the state of Virgina in 1908. It was sculpted by Frederick William Sievers and dedicated on June 8, 1917. Lee is depicted on his favorite mount Traveller, as well as 7 men at the base of the monument. The 7 seven men represent all of the men of Virginia who fought during the 3 day battle of Gettysburg.

What makes these two statues interesting is their placement. The Lee statue atop the Virginia memorial is located at Seminary ridge close the starting point of Picketts charge. Meade is placed at Cemetery ridge close to the ending place of Picketts charge. The two men are placed facing each other atop their mounts. Whether this was done on purpose I do not know, I have read nothing in the history books that mentions whether this was a deliberate placing or not. The Virgina monument was dedicated a full 12 years after the Meade statue, so I don't know that it was purposely placed.

Gen G. Meade View across field to Vir. Mon.

Robert E Lee View to Meade statue

Gettysburg Battlefield - Landscapes and Emotion

In observance of the upcoming Memorial Day holiday, I will be posting a daily feature on the Gettysburg Battlefield. I wanted to start with something that captures the emotion that one feels when touring the battlefield, yes the Gettysburg National Military Park is beautiful, but there is no denying the raw emotion that one feels as well. My goal in this exercise was to capture some of that emotion through the landscapes of the Gettysburg Battlefield, as well as though the faces of the various sculptures that dot that landscape. I have never thought of the Gettysburg National Military Park as a vacation  place, but rather a place of great solemness, sadness, and emotion. A very powerful place for lack of a better word. I hope that comes across and that when viewing you can get a sense of that feel.