April 22, 2013

Little Round Top has always been one of my favorite places on the Gettysburg battlefield. It provides such a different perspective . . . the view is incredible, and the sheer weight of history is overwhelming. This photo was taken from Crawford Avenue near Devil’s Den and shows the hill in its entirety. The men of Hood’s Texas Brigade, along with other determined Southerners, would have seen a similar view on July 2^nd. Contemporary photographs show a Little Round Top that looked much like this, explaining why the trees in the distance haven’t been cut down like many trees on other parts of the battlefield.

A quick “monument search” reveals quite a few. At far left center is the monument to Battery L, 1^st Ohio Light Artillery (note the cannonballs on top). The tall statue monument toward the left of the photo is the 155^th Pennsylvania Infantry, while the shorter monument to its right belongs to the 146^th New York Infantry. The next visible monument is the tall shaft in the center of the photo, the 91^st Pennsylvania Infantry. The “castle” monument” dedicated to the 12^th and 44^th New York Infantry can be seen toward the right of the photo, and the 140^th New York Infantry / Colonel O’Rorke memorial is just to the left of that. In the center far right of the photo, not visible on the smaller size, is the 16^th Michigan Infantry.

**HONORED TODAY**

CPT. RICHARD WISTAR DAVIDS

Co. G, 118^th Pennsylvania Infantry

Born 1825 --- Died July 02, 1863 at age 38

It was difficult to glean much information on Cpt. Davids, but I found a genealogical entry that named a “Richard Wistar Davids” born in 1825 and died in 1863, which, judging from his age on his portrait, I believe to be him. He bore a mortal wound in the stomach at the Wheatfield during the late afternoon of July 2^nd and was buried at Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia, leaving behind his wife of thirteen years, Eliza, and a two-year-old son, Richard Wistar Davids Jr. There may have been older children who were not listed in this particular entry. A photo of Cpt. Davids can be found here.


(c) 2013 Skies of Blue and Gray