August 07, 2013

My favorite Gettysburg photos are the ones in which there are multiple points of interest. In this photo I took a few years ago, the main focus is on Iverson’s Pits, in the foreground, where Gen. Iverson’s North Carolinians were ambushed after having been sent on a botched mission to seek out hidden Union troops. (The exact spot is not known, but this is the general area). However, in the distance, there are other interesting features.

The road that intersects horizontally is Mummasburg Road, while the road running away from the camera, where monuments can be seen, is Buford Avenue. Two monuments are visible: the closest is the 9^TH New York Cavalry. The more distant, elaborate and decorated with granite horses’ heads, represents the 6^TH New York Cavalry. The barn in the center distance is the iconic McPherson Barn. The woods just behind it are McPherson’s (Herbst) Woods, where the 24^TH Michigan Infantry and the 26^TH North Carolina Infantry, among others, were engaged in a deadly contest for several hours.

To the left, when zooming in, a green light can be seen. This is the intersection of Reynolds Avenue and Chambersburg Pike / Route 30. Just to the left of the light is the bridge that crosses the infamous Railroad Cut. South Mountain looms in the distance. Of interest, many of Gen. Lee’s Confederate soldiers were forced to cross South Mountain on their way to Gettysburg.

**HONORED TODAY**

PVT. NEVERSON CONE

Co. A, 47^TH North Carolina Infantry

Born 1841 --- Died August 1863 at age 22

Pvt. Cone’s childhood home was Nash County, North Carolina, and in February of 1862 at the age of twenty-one, he enlisted in the Confederate Army. His duties took him to a little place called Gettysburg where he was mortally wounded. His death records state that he was “admitted to Camp Letterman after compound fracture of femur.”  Pvt. Cone was later buried at Oakwood Cemetery in Raleigh. Left behind were his parents, five brothers, and a sister.


(c) 2013 Skies of Blue and Gray