December 02, 2013

I’ve got a thing for Little Round Top at sunset. And Devil’s Den. And the Wheatfield. And . . . well, pretty much the whole field. (I’m not such a fan of driving lonely battlefield roads when it’s pitch dark, but that’s another story . . .) We were driving above Devil’s Den and I saw a cannon. Well, of course I had to stop. And the fact that the sunset light was shining upon it, and I could see the storied heights of Little Round Top in the background, made it even better. As most artillery-lovers will know, this is a 10-pound Parrott Rifle, possibly a reproduction. It represents Smith’s 4^TH New York Battery.

So, what’s in the background? At far left is the 155^TH Pennsylvania Infantry . . . that Zouave soldier really seems to enjoy being by himself. Just the top of the monument to the 146^TH New York Infantry can be seen to the right of the left cannon wheel. I dare you to find Gouverneur K. Warren. :-) I knew he was there, but it took me some time to spot him. He’s standing in front of the pine tree at center left (click for larger view). Sunset’s glow turned his bronze body the exact same color as the rocks! At the highest point of the slope, the white monument is the 91^ST Pennsylvania Infantry. A memorial marker to Gen. Weed and Lt. Hazlett can be seen directly to the right. And further right is a stone marker detailing the deeds of Hazlett’s Battery D, 5^TH U.S. Artillery.

 

**HONORED TODAY**

PVT. MARSHALL PRUE or PURE

Co. F, 5^TH Texas Infantry

Died July 02, 1863

If you’ve ever walked across the small bridge at Devil’s Den to explore the Slaughter Pen and Plum Run, chances are that you’ve come very close to Pvt. Prue’s grave. His burial site was legibly marked up to about three years after the battle, but by the time Southerners were disinterred to be sent home in the early 1870s, it could no longer be found. His name was absent from the lists of those reburied and so it’s almost certain that he remains buried along Plum Run. (Though I first saw his surname listed as “Pure”, his roster lists him as “Prue”). I don’t know much about him, but I know he married a lady named Mary Toomey in 1861 and that his residence was Jefferson County, Texas.


(c) 2013 Skies of Blue and Gray