September 06, 2013

I made it a priority during this last Gettysburg sojourn to leave flags and flowers at monuments that struck me as interesting somehow . . . I wanted to be random instead of having a cookie-cutter list of this and that. Mostly I chose monuments that were out-of-way, seldom visited, and largely forgotten. One of these was the 9^TH Pennsylvania Reserves (also known as the 38^TH Pennsylvania Infantry) on Warren Avenue, which we reached by turning left on the bridge at the base of Little Round Top instead of going straight to Devil’s Den as we usually do. I don’t remember ever being on Warren Avenue more than a handful of times.

The 9^TH Pennsylvania Reserves monument is one of the most touching memorials. It shows a weary battle survivor gazing down mournfully at a simple headboard that marks the resting place of a friend who wasn’t so lucky. Despite its fresh and new-looking appearance, this monument has been on the field for 123 years. I particularly like the close-up photo which shows the soldier’s face in great detail and lends further life to the monument.

**HONORED TODAY**

CPL. JESSE BRANCH

Co. E, 61^ST Georgia Infantry

Born April 04, 1842 --- July 01, 1861 at age 21

Cpl. Branch enlisted in the Confederate Army at the age of 19 and became a hardened veteran by way of Second Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville, as well as other famous battles. Despite the anxiety that such warfare must have caused, he found time for joy, marrying wife Martha Ann in 1862 either before he enlisted or perhaps while home on furlough. Cpl. Branch died on the first day of battle at Gettysburg and was later buried at Laurel Grove Cemetery in Savannah.


(c) 2013 Skies of Blue and Gray