Category: Gettysburg
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Gettysburg After Action Report – September 10, 2017
On my 39th visit to Gettysburg, my wife and I had the privilege of taking Aishwarya who is a software engineer and an aspiring poet (she goes by Ash for short). This was an emergency trip, as she is slated to move back to India in a month after living in the States for 5 years…
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My Favorite Spot at Gettysburg
Welcome to the first edition of Warpath Wednesday, the day in which I recount something historical from the warpath. Today’s focus is my absolute favorite spot at Gettysburg: Sedgwick Avenue. First, I am an unlicensed tour guide of Gettysburg, which means I provide tours to friends, family, and coworkers for free. Want a professional? Then…
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Book Review: Protecting the Flank at Gettysburg
Clausewitz tells us “war is nothing but a duel on a larger scale. Countless duels go to make up war.” We can go one-step further in that countless duels make up a battle, especially larger battles. Historians such as Eric J. Wittenberg understand this and with a seemingly over-analyzed battle such as Gettysburg, he continues…
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John Cummings’s “Harvest of Death” Location
For nearly two years, John Cummings has gone through a discovery process to find the location of one of the most iconic images from Gettysburg, and the Civil war—Alexander Gardner’s “The Harvest of Death” and its companion, “Field where General Reynolds Fell.” I still remember these images from my textbook in grade school. When I…
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The 150th of Pickett’s Charge from the Peter Rogers House
Roughly 15,000 people were there for the 150th of Pickett’s Charge. After walking these fields numerous times, I can confidently say you just cannot get to a spot where you can see all the highs and lows of the hills between Cemetery and Seminary ridges. Here is what I saw. By 12:00 PM on July…
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Why I Keep Going Back to Gettysburg
Next week, I will spend five days and four nights at Gettysburg. Over the past few years, I have been there more than two dozen times. Every time I visit, I bring people with me—family, friends, coworkers, Temple students—giving them tours that last the entire day. I often have to explain my obsession, literally answering…
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A New Gettysburg Casualty
While giving a tour of Gettysburg on January 5, we encountered loads of snow and ice. I was continually warning folks with me to be careful and not slip. In a twist of irony, I slipped down the last four or five steps of the 44th and 12th New York monument on top of Little…
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Escorting Classics Majors at Gettysburg
On January 5, I had the privilege of playing tour guide for five Classics majors from Temple University. This was my largest group so far and the most rambunctious. Ma’am, please get off the cannon! On the way there, I was able to discuss the antebellum period with three of them, but the others showed…
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Naming Artillery from the Medieval World to Gettysburg
Sitting in front of the headquarters of Daniel Sickles is a 12-pounder Napoleon. While the cannon was not present for the Battle of Gettysburg, it was used in the Civil War. ((George W. Newton, Silent Sentinels: A Reference Guide to the Artillery at Gettysburg (New York: Savas Beatie, 2005), 98.)) The cannon is unique, because it appears…
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A Few Gettysburg Generals in the Autumn
With the fall leaves all but gone, my wife and I set out to Gettysburg in hopes of capturing some colorful images. We were fortunate to come across a few magnificent views of generals John W. Geary, Winfield Scott Hancock, George Meade, and Robert E. Lee. All photos are by Dawn Manning, which she originally…
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Panoramic of Little Round Top in the Autumn
This is a common view of Little Round Top from Devil’s Den, but how often are the trees that colorful? Dawn Manning took a series of photos on November 5 of this year and stitched them together to create this panoramic. This thumbnail does not do the photo justice. Be sure to click the image…
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The Gettysburg National Cemetery in the Autumn
This is a view of the Gettysburg National Cemetery from the tower on Culp’s Hill. Dawn Manning took a series of photos on November 5 of this year and stitched three of them together to create this panoramic. If you click the image for a larger version, there is plenty to see. This ground holds…