JPK Huson 1863
Brev. Brig. Gen'l
- Joined
- Feb 14, 2012
- Location
- Central Pennsylvania
Gettysburg, November 19th 1863. The procession to the new Soldier's National Cemetery was captured by Brady, this is asnip from the famous ' troops marching into Gettysburg ' photo gives endless scope for examination. It's not troops marching in, it's part of the procession- but which part?
Disclaimer yes, this photograph has been examined to death and back here. Yes, with thousands of less famous photos, why re-hash just one? Because I still have questions, love to know a LOT more of Lincoln's stop in Gettysburg, November, 1863.
Almost out of frame, the black/white dress and what looks like a solid veil seem to indicate our Sisters were still in Gettysburg.
This image is supposed to be of the procession to the National Cemetery, Nov. 19th, 1863. It was a huge day in Gettysburg, according to eye witnesses, a huge procession so this is only a small section. Despite haste, the cemetery was unfinished. Fallen men were still being disinterred from the battlefield , men whose last sight of the sun had been through battle's smoke a few months earlier lay under freshly mounded earth. The town had begun a long recovery; it would never return to anything anyone could call normal. This day marked more than a dedication. The last men from Letterman Hospital were transferred, the hospital closed and something new opened.
This turn out of citizens was significant. We just do not see ' Gettysburg ' beyond the battlefield and they're here. Each citizen had their own story of unspeakable horror, most threw away household linen stained with the blood of wounded men they nursed, most came together to solemnize not only fallen men but the history changing What Happened here.
Buggy has always been puzzling- part of the procession which pulled off, allowing others to pass? Fluttering flags, military escort by the looks of it, whose?
This procession was carefully planned. There's an order, President Lincoln and Seward in the ranks, bands, dignitaries, officers and civilians of note walked the blocks to the dedication. You can't tell me this is the only photo- photographers didn't arduously set up all that gear for one shot but it's all we have. So far.
I'd had an idea for years that these troops were alone. They're not, the procession trails out of sight.
At what and who are we looking? Article made me curious- which part are we seeing and who was in it? These troops are halted, why? What are onlookers looking at there at the corner? To what is the cluster of people paying so much attention. The carriage fluttering flags, held by an officer probably would not have held civilians, there's too much military around. Whose carriage?
We're seeing one regiment, with more procession trailing off into time. After the military came Lincoln.
After men who fought, before the citizens they served, public servants. Like a President and his Secretary of State.
This procession is not in motion in this photo- head of the long stream, halted and waiting? Had some already passed from sight, around the corner and gone? Is President Lincoln somewhere in sight, an out of focus group somewhere far above where we see more procession on the way? It's all so unidentifiable, at least knowing the order, someone with a lot more information about troops could tell us who, exactly, these troops may be. And if Lincoln is a speck in the crowd, how cool would that be?
Please no one gets distracted thinking I'm asking the wrong question. Genuinely love to know what troops, what may be happening at this corner and why the procession has apparently halted. Asked a question not long ago about this photograph. It probably won't be the last- such an important moment in time, too important to miss anything.