September 25, 2013

Favorite Close-ups, Part One

Recently I became very interested in taking a good look at Gettysburg monuments featuring people, zooming in to capture their profiles instead of just glancing at the monument as a whole. These are two of my favorite close-ups, and there will be more posts like this in the coming days. The first photo is of the 13^TH Massachusetts Infantry located on Oak Ridge by the road that leads to the Eleventh Corps Line tour. Notice how expressive the soldier’s features are when carved in granite. This monument was placed in 1885.

The second photo shows a head-shot of Gen. William Wells. This portrait statue can be found at the base of Big Round Top near the pull-off for Gen.Elon Farnsworth’s fatal cavalry charge on the 3^RD of July. It seems that local spiders really enjoy Gen. Wells’ hat; they’ve had plenty of time to enjoy it, considering that this statue has stood at this spot since 1913.

**HONORED TODAY**

SGT. WILLIAM WOOD COE

Co. M, 21^ST North Carolina Infantry

Born 1838 --- Died September 17, 1863 at age 25

Sgt. Coe certainly had more than his fair share of agony during the battle of Gettysburg and later at the general hospital at Camp Letterman. Not only did he suffer wounds to both eyes, but he also had a leg amputated and later passed away from persistent illness. His parents were no strangers to suffering either: Less than two years earlier they had lost William’s brother John after the Battle of 1^ST Bull Run / 1^ST Manassas. Sgt. Coe was later buried at Oakwood Cemetery in Raleigh, North Carolina.


(c) 2013 Skies of Blue and Gray