March 06, 2013

Missing Battery B

Photo taken Jun 2003

Years past, I would always stay at Larson’s Quality Inn along Buford Avenue in Gettysburg, and my favorite “perk” was that guests could go behind the motel and walk down to the beautiful Napoleons representing Battery B, 4^th U.S. Artillery. I’ve always loved cannon. It was easy to see how these guns (these were not the originals) assisted Wisconsin and New York troops at the nearby Railroad Cut and otherwise lent a hand to the embattled units of the Iron Brigade. Years later when I became very interested in this particular brigade, I was thrilled to learn that the artillery battery I had enjoyed so well and had considered a perk of every trip was actually considered an “honorary member” of that famed organization.

Only the marker remains- photo taken Nov 2012

Unfortunately, I noticed in recent years that the cannons of Battery B, 4^th U. S. Artillery are no longer located at Larson’s Quality Inn. The large marker remains but the artillery pieces are gone. I think this happened around 2010. Considering that there are many other cannon on the battlefield, it might be odd that this had such an effect on me, yet I found it very sad for two reasons. The most important reason was that if there were artillery pieces here during the battle of Gettysburg, some ought to be here now. The second reason is that they were a part of my love affair with Gettysburg, one more episode throughout my many visits that helped me connect with the power and stark beauty of artillery and brought me closer to the battle as a whole.

The remaining marker was dedicated in the early 1900s and is made of bronze and granite, as is its sister marker across from Evergreen Cemetery at East Cemetery Hill. The battery at Cemetery Hill is still flanked by brooding cannon that characterize the Gettysburg battlefield so well.

**HONORED TODAY**

PVT. JOHN LAUGHLIN

Co. K, 15^th Georgia Infantry

Born 1832 --- Died July 03, 1863 at age 31

Pvt. Laughlin owned land in Sparta, Georgia before the war. He was buried at Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia, and there is unfortunately very little information concerning his war service.


(c) 2013 Skies of Blue and Gray