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.
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...
Dilgers second position would be on Cemetery Hill literally in the cemetery. His 5 guns right next to the Baltimore Pike.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Sorry if I posted too many.... but honestly....who gets tired of looking at artillery??
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.
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...
Dilgers second position would be on Cemetery Hill literally in the cemetery. His 5 guns right next to the Baltimore Pike.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Sorry if I posted too many.... but honestly....who gets tired of looking at artillery??
Last edited: