June 18, 2014

Even though it’s been quite a long time since I first visited Plum Run, I still gaze into the waters with some apprehension as if I expect it to live up to its name, “Bloody Run.” The place has an eerie quality even with lots of other tourists around. There’s a famous photo that shows dead Confederate soldiers lying near the boulders at left and center. (Click here). I remember reading that somewhere in the tangle of underbrush across from Devil’s Den, to the right of this photo angle, a Texas soldier named Marshall Prue or Pure is still buried; his final resting place has been hidden since a few years after the battle.

On this photo we can see pretty much of Little Round Top as well. Most visible are the 91^ST Pennsylvania monument at top center, the 140^TH New York (a white dot to the left of the castle) and the 12^TH/44^TH New York castle at center right. The large white “monument” at the far left of Little Round Top is not a new memorial, but a tree :-) I like the sprinkles of redbud here and there. On this same trip I spent a little time on the summit of Little Round Top, and redbud was everywhere . . . definitely a perk of visiting in springtime.

**HONORED TODAY**

PVT. JAMES EDWARD PUFFER

Co. A, 32^ND Massachusetts Infantry

Born March 20, 1841 --- Died July 02, 1863 at age 22

Pvt. Puffer was a farmer until he enlisted in October 1861 at the age of 21. He was well-liked by his comrades and was both a gentleman and a valuable asset to the regiment, per his sergeant’s letter to James’ family. In combat it was always a risk to climb higher and present oneself a target, and Pvt. Puffer was shot down while attempting to jump a wall. He is buried in Westminster, MA.


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