May 21, 2014

I’m not a Southerner, but there’s something about the North Carolina Memorial that really gets me. You can just feel the sorrow, the sense of importance . . . these bronze soldiers forever point to their objective across Cemetery Ridge, to the Union position they’ll never conquer. The Pickett-Pettigrew-Trimble Charge (or the Pettigrew-Trimble Assault, for any Tarheels who may be reading this :-)) is one of Gettysburg’s saddest legacies.

(Confession time: My connection to North Carolina is confined to having slept there on the way to and from Florida, yet it always bothered me that the focus of the charge is put on Virginia. Think of the Gettysburg movie: “Remember old Virginia!” Knowing that there were many more states that participated, that never set right with me.)

I like the colors on this photo, the blue, the green, the contrasting bronze, the waving fields in the distance. Mostly I appreciate the lack of humans (save for one unsuspecting guy jogging along West Confederate Avenue, who has no idea his back has been immortalized on my little corner of Blogger).

**HONORED TODAY**

CPL. WILLIAM MCELROY

Co. H, 82^ND Ohio Infantry

Born about 1833 --- Died July 28, 1863 at age 30 

Cpl. McElroy sustained injuries to both of his legs on the first day of battle and was left where he fell until he was brought to a local home to be cared for. Unfortunately, he couldn’t rally, and died four weeks later. Cpl. McElroy left behind a wife, Margaret, and two children, three-year-old Clara and one-year-old Ollie. He was later buried at Gettysburg National Cemetery, with a memorial stone at McKendrie Cemetery in his home state.


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