July 23, 2014

 

What I like most about the artillery pieces of Hazlett’s Battery on Little Round Top is that they’re so easily accessible. Some batteries are in obscure places, and others are so ensconced in the high grass that you couldn’t pay me enough to tramp through the ticks in the summer. Battery D, 5^TH U.S. Artillery, however, is smack-dab on the summit of “Sugarloaf Mountain”, there for us to admire.

This particular piece dates to 1864 and was manufactured at West Point Foundry. The Hazlett-Weed monument can be partially seen at right. Note the platform behind the cannon to the left: this is where the stack of cannonballs for this particular piece once sat (see Monday’s post). This Parrott has seen better days but is still in good shape considering its age. The Park Service does a terrific job of restoring cannon barrels and carriages . . . I’ve watched over the years as the artillery pieces disappear and then return looking good as new.

**HONORED TODAY**

ADJUTANT JOHN SUMMERFIELD JENKINS, SR.

Co. C, 14^TH Virginia Infantry

Born abt. 1832 --- Died July 03, 1863 at age 31

Adjutant Jenkins enlisted in April 1861, husband of Alice and father of one-year-old Willis and later father to John, Jr., who was born in 1862. He was buried at Cedar Grove Cemetery in Portsmouth, Virginia. His tombstone reads, “Fell at the Battle of Gettysburg” and ends with “He giveth His beloved Sleep.” 


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