November 17, 2014

Want a nice short hike that will exercise your leg muscles and give you a great view? Then check out the slight hill along Warfield Ridge / South Confederate Avenue, home to the Parrott section of Reilly’s Battery (The Rowan Artillery). Not only does the first photo have the distinction of being one of my favorites from my last trip, but it also has plenty of interesting things in the background, including the Michael Bushman farm (top left) and the John Slyder farm (top right). Part of Little Round Top is visible as well.

The second view shows the trees that mark the beginning of Big Round Top, and the small marker in the center of the photo denotes the “Right of the Army of Northern Virginia”. The stone running along the base sheltered Hood’s Texans after the epic struggle of July 2^ND. If you’ve ever visited this section of the battlefield you may have seen deer in the field. With the National Park Service and Gettysburg-loving volunteers helping to clear and maintain these sacred fields, there will likely be more wildlife sightings, whether furred, feathered, or scaled, in the future.

**HONORED TODAY**

PVT. JOHN H. LEWIS

Co. K, 44^TH Georgia Infantry

Died September 15, 1863

Pvt. Lewis’s first brush with fate came in December 1862 when he entered a Richmond hospital to be treated for smallpox. That disease proved to be the lesser of two evils . . . having returned to his unit in April 1863, he was mortally wounded at Gettysburg only 2 ½ months later. Taken prisoner, he died in captivity. 


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