March 30, 2016

** This blog published Mondays and Wednesdays **

If you’re looking for a place on the battlefield where you won’t find throngs of tourists, where you can walk and feel truly alone and at peace, East Cavalry Field is the place you want. This hidden gem doesn’t have a whole lot to see, but it has its share of monuments, cannon, and an overall feeling of solitude. These particular artillery pieces represent a portion of McGregor’s Battery, which was part of Stuart’s Horse Artillery. (Another cannon sits to the right, out of view). The silent fields and woodlots hearken back to another time . . .the only modern things in the photo, save for the tree at front, are the informational marker and a hint of blacktop.

**HONORED TODAY**

PVT. BENJAMIN H. STONE

Morris {Virginia} Light Artillery, Page’s Battery

Born about 1841 --- Died July 02, 1863

                                       

Pvt. Stone enlisted in August 1862. Records show he was 5’6” tall and had a light complexion, and that he was a farmer by trade. Having been killed at Gettysburg, he was buried at Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond.

(c) 2012-2016 Skies of Blue and Gray

March 28, 2016

** This blog published Mondays and Wednesdays **

You never know what photo opportunities are going to present themselves in Gettysburg. Without fail, there will be a shot you didn’t expect, perfect symmetry, some hidden point of interest. And if you’re lucky, there’s fog. Fog makes every photo great in a mysterious, beautiful, supernatural way. This particular view of the Louisiana Memorial proves that fact. During the day it’s an amazing work of art --- in the fog it takes on a spiritual quality. You start to wonder what’s out there, in the fields . . . what we can’t see. All is shrouded in silence, and, ironically enough, peace. I’ve heard many people say Gettysburg is peaceful. I can attest to that.

**HONORED TODAY**

PVT. CHARLES E. DAY

Co. D, 94^TH New York Infantry

Died August 12, 1863 at 22

                                       

Though Pvt. Day was not wounded in battle and instead died of typhoid, I wanted to include him since he too died at a young age at the Seminary hospital in Gettysburg. He had enlisted in October 1862 and was said to be 5’4” tall with black hair and blue eyes. He was married to Angeline and had a little boy, Abner, who also died in 1863, before his first birthday. Pvt. Day was buried at Gettysburg National Cemetery.

(c) 2012-2016 Skies of Blue and Gray

March 09, 2016

** This blog published Mondays and Wednesdays **

 **Vacation time is here again. My next post will be Monday, March 28^TH**

This view of the Railroad Cut through the bars of the bridge is one of my current favorites. Just look at the greenery . . . this is more how the battlefield would have appeared in July 1863, though perhaps a bit muddier considering the frequent showers that plagued the region. If you can suspend reality just a little bit and erase the bridge in your mind, you can picture soldiers in blue and gray contesting for this ground, grappling on the tracks.  

**HONORED TODAY**

PVT. ASHLEY BUSTER TEW

Co. E, 20^TH North Carolina Infantry

Born 1835 --- Died July 03, 1863 at 28

                                       

Unlike many of his comrades, Pvt. Tew wasn’t killed during the ambush upon Iverson’s North Carolina brigade, instead dying two days later as a prisoner of war. He had enlisted in May 1861 and was married to Charity. They had one child, Sylvester, who was 4 when his father died, while another child, Ashley (some records list this child as a son, while others say it was a daughter with the middle name of Elizabeth) was born September 1863. Pvt. Tew was buried at Oakwood Cemetery in Raleigh, North Carolina.

(c) 2012-2016 Skies of Blue and Gray

March 07, 2016

** This blog published Mondays and Wednesdays **

I’m going to have fun with this one. Details, details, everywhere! Let’s kick it off, left to right. At far left is the “slaughter pen” at the base of Big Round Top, while the boulders of Devil’s Den are easily identifiable. Beyond the den, one can barely see the grouping of boulders which contains the Elephant Rock, and, further right, the open plane of Triangular Field with a stand of trees scattered here and there. At the center bottom of the photo is the “valley of death”, and above the valley is the slope of Houck’s Ridge.

The white structure far in the center distance is the Philip Snyder farm. If you have really good eyes, you might be able to pick out the short white object to its left: this is the Arkansas Memorial. A very few monuments are visible on this photo: the tall white obelisk at center right, directly above the black edge of the “Valley of Death” marker on Little Round Top, is the 6^TH New Jersey Infantry monument. If you look to the right of the Witness Tree (that lighter green tree directly above and to the right of Devil’s Den) you’ll see a little white dot which I believe is the marker for Smith’s New York battery. Beyond that, a brown monument standing out by itself, is, I believe, the 99^TH Pennsylvania Infantry. The white monument at the tree line at the center of the photo should be the 124^TH New York.

**HONORED TODAY**

PVT. HORACE W. NICHOLS

Co. F, 137^TH New York Infantry

Born 1832 --- Died July 03, 1863 at 31

                                       

Pvt. Nichols enlisted in August 1862, bidding farewell to wife Clarinda and his little son Adelbert, who was only five. Being mortally wounded on Culp’s Hill, Pvt. Nichols was taken to the Henry Spangler farm, his initial place of burial, and was later reinterred at Gettysburg National Cemetery.

(c) 2012-2016 Skies of Blue and Gray