April 17, 2013

One of my favorite monuments on the Gettysburg battlefield is the North Carolina State Memorial, though sadly I haven’t spent much time studying it in detail. Last time I visited, I did take some shots directly in front of the monument, showing the view that those North Carolinians who participated in the Pickett-Pettigrew-Charge would have had. Save for the buildings and the now-demolished Cyclorama building to the left, and the faraway dots of monuments and a tour bus at center, the view has likely changed very little since July 3^rd, 1863.

Somewhere toward the left was the long-gone William Bliss farm. The two white structures seen at top left, directly to the right of the Cyclorama building, were there at the time of the battle. They are the Abraham Bryan farm. The Copse of Trees is the farthest-right clump of trees in this photo. Just as today, wooden fences provided deadly obstacles to the Confederate soldiers struggling toward the Union line along Cemetery Ridge. I found it a challenge to identify the monuments in this photo. (Most can’t be seen on the smaller view; click for larger). I’ll name only the ones I’m relatively certain about.

The tall monument to the left of the pine tree in the center of the field is the 39th New York Infantry. The monument with the bronze plaque directly to the right of the single tree which marks the Bloody Angle represents Battery A, 4thU.S. Artillery. The bronze statue (visible to the right of the artillery marker) is of Gen. Alexander Webb. The light-colored monument to the left of the large Copse of Trees is the 106th Pennsylvania Infantry. The “pointed” monument to the right is actually a Native American tepee and pays homage to the men of the 42nd New York Infantry. The very tall monument at the far right of the photo is dedicated to the United States Regular Army (though there’s a possibility it’s actually the 1st Minnesota Infantry monument).

**HONORED TODAY**

PVT. PATRICK DUNN

Co. D, 27^th Connecticut Infantry

Died July 02, 1863

Little is known of Pvt. Dunn, whose pre-war residence was Wallingford, Connecticut. His death has also been listed as July 4^th, 1863. He is buried at Gettysburg National Cemetery.


(c) 2013 Skies of Blue and Gray