Cannons, fakes, privy destroyers...

Rothermel

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Joined
Aug 5, 2020
My day today started with a cruise past the Lutheran Seminary in Gettysburg...past the 5th Maine Battery of Greenleaf Stevens. I had not realized that this battery was deployed and firing on day 1. First position just south of the Seminary, then moved to just north of it.

Steven's remarks in preparing for his batteries monument dedication in 1889. " We were then ordered to take position immediately North of the Seminary and within 150 feet of the Seminary. There was not room for all of our six guns and I ran some of them in between the guns of Coopers' Battery. "B" 1st Penn. One of the out buildings of the Seminary were in the way of one of our guns and I ordered it blown away which was immediately done. That gun continued to fire through the hole made in the building until the whole line was forced to retire. We were heavily and hotly engaged in this position and fell back with Wadsworths Division and Coopers Battery. Cooper lost one gun. We saved all of ours by moving to the right and retreating down the Chambersburg Pike..."

Before leaving the position the battery would fire 57 rounds of canister is quick succession. Scales brigade bore the brunt.

It has been stated that the aforementioned 'outbuilding' was a privy for the Seminary.
20200901_114645.jpg


In front of Stevens Battery would have been Reynolds 1st NY Union Battery east of Herbst woods. They brought 141 men to the field with 6 3" rifles. One gun was lost in the action west of town. I hope the one lost was this fake one...
20200901_145943.jpg


Dilgers second position would be on Cemetery Hill literally in the cemetery. His 5 guns right next to the Baltimore Pike.
20200901_121602.jpg


Not another fake, but sort of faked me out.... a very cool monument to the First Excelsior Light Artillery (Taft's 5th NY).
It is a 1/3 scale model of a 20lb Parrott on top of their monument.
20200901_121659.jpg


more of Tafts battery looking east now towards the many batteries on East Cemetery Hill. Heavy duty...but they get explode-y every now and then.

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I then headed out of Gettysburg eastward on Hanover Road to look once again at the guns on Latimers Battalion. I had not been out there in years and yes, this was a terrible time to go there. Mid summer the tree foliage so thick it is hard to see anything, and it was foggy and overcast obviously. But with hardly anyone in Gettysburg, I was onto Benner's Hill in my truck and there were 5 turkeys at the south end. Of course I missed a photo, but I was able to watch them in the woods. While following the turkeys into the woods near the tip of this hockey stick formation of batteries I walked into the field which offers a perfect view of Culps Hill viewing tower. So I got a view I had not seen before
because I never ventured into the woods there.

20200901_131727.jpg

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20200901_131705.jpg



I close with a couple misc. pics from last week. Seeleys battery near Klingle farm, A muzzle on Barlows knoll (Wilkeson)

and Bigelow at the Trostle barn.
20200820_130544.jpg

20200820_150827.jpg


20200820_135256.jpg




Sorry if I posted too many.... but honestly....who gets tired of looking at artillery??


 
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Beautiful photos! Thank you for sharing for those of us far away from Gettysburg.
Regards
David
 
My day today started with a cruise past the Lutheran Seminary in Gettysburg...past the 5th Maine Battery of Greenleaf Stevens. I had not realized that this battery was deployed and firing on day 1. First position just south of the Seminary, then moved to just north of it.

Steven's remarks in preparing for his batteries monument dedication in 1889. " We were then ordered to take position immediately North of the Seminary and within 150 feet of the Seminary. There was not room for all of our six guns and I ran some of them in between the guns of Coopers' Battery. "B" 1st Penn. One of the out buildings of the Seminary were in the way of one of our guns and I ordered it blown away which was immediately done. That gun continued to fire through the hole made in the building until the whole line was forced to retire. We were heavily and hotly engaged in this position and fell back with Wadsworths Division and Coopers Battery. Cooper lost one gun. We saved all of ours by moving to the right and retreating down the Chambersburg Pike..."

Before leaving the position the battery would fire 57 rounds of canister is quick succession. Scales brigade bore the brunt.

It has been stated that the aforementioned 'outbuilding' was a privy for the Seminary.
View attachment 372403

In front of Stevens Battery would have been Reynolds 1st NY Union Battery east of Herbst woods. They brought 141 men to the field with 6 3" rifles. One gun was lost in the action west of town. I hope the one lost was this fake one...
View attachment 372404

Dilgers second position would be on Cemetery Hill literally in the cemetery. His 5 guns right next to the Baltimore Pike.
View attachment 372406

Not another fake, but sort of faked me out.... a very cool monument to the First Excelsior Light Artillery (Taft's 5th NY).
It is a 1/3 scale model of a 20lb Parrott on top of their monument.View attachment 372407

more of Tafts battery looking east now towards the many batteries on East Cemetery Hill. Heavy duty...but they get explode-y every now and then.

View attachment 372408

View attachment 372409


I then headed out of Gettysburg eastward on Hanover Road to look once again at the guns on Latimers Battalion. I had not been out there in years and yes, this was a terrible time to go there. Mid summer the tree foliage so thick it is hard to see anything, and it was foggy and overcast obviously. But with hardly anyone in Gettysburg, I was onto Benner's Hill in my truck and there were 5 turkeys at the south end. Of course I missed a photo, but I was able to watch them in the woods. While following the turkeys into the woods near the tip of this hockey stick formation of batteries I walked into the field which offers a perfect view of Culps Hill viewing tower. So I got a view I had not seen before
because I never ventured into the woods there.

View attachment 372410
View attachment 372411
View attachment 372412


I close with a couple misc. pics from last week. Seeleys battery near Klingle farm, A muzzle on Barlows knoll (Wilkeson)

and Bigelow at the Trostle barn.
View attachment 372413
View attachment 372414

View attachment 372415



Sorry if I posted too many.... but honestly....who gets tired of looking at artillery??



Great shots that we won't get tired of. So many examples of heroism by artillery units at Gettysburg.
 
Steven's remarks in preparing for his batteries monument dedication in 1889. " We were then ordered to take position immediately North of the Seminary and within 150 feet of the Seminary. There was not room for all of our six guns and I ran some of them in between the guns of Coopers' Battery. "B" 1st Penn. One of the out buildings of the Seminary were in the way of one of our guns and I ordered it blown away which was immediately done. That gun continued to fire through the hole made in the building until the whole line was forced to retire. We were heavily and hotly engaged in this position and fell back with Wadsworths Division and Coopers Battery. Cooper lost one gun. We saved all of ours by moving to the right and retreating down the Chambersburg Pike..."

Before leaving the position the battery would fire 57 rounds of canister is quick succession. Scales brigade bore the brunt.

It has been stated that the aforementioned 'outbuilding' was a privy for the Seminary.

I am reminded of a story in wrote in the 7th grade. In it, I wrote about the Battle of Fredericksburg and All my friends were characters in it. One of my friends, in the story, she was in an outhouse that explodes when a Confederate cannnonball takes it out. She says, sitting on the privy, “”Man! I didn’t realize it was going to be that explosive!”
 
Nice photos, thank you. Gettysburg is on my bucket list. And I want to take the haunted tour!
 
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