Georgian Eyewitness Vignette From Devil's Den

[Gettysburg Greg]

Firsthand or eye-witness accounts are interesting, but you must remember they may be flawed by failing memory or simple embellishment. I am a big fan of eye-witness accounts that describe a setting that is still recognizable today, thus relatable. Here is one of my favorite eye-witness accounts because modern landmarks are in the description so I can clearly "see" what is being recalled. From Sgt. William Houghton of the 2nd Georgia describing fighting through the rocks of Devils Den. "We were advancing in front of the big rocks where a government road runs today. A line of men in blue were aligned on the rock ledge above and fired straight down on us killing two of my comrades, Mays and Muse. Both had fell dead right where the iron Devils Den sign is today." Because Sgt. Houghton uses three identifiable landmarks in his description, we can easily see exactly what he is relating. In my photo of Devil's Den below, I have labeled Muse's three landmarks so you can clearly imagine the line of blue coats firing straight down on the Georgians and Houghton's comrades falling right where the sign is today. In addition, I have included a photograph I took from the POV of the Union soldiers who shot down on the Georgians. Looking down at the iron sign where they fell, the term "shooting fish in a barrel" comes to mind. Sgt. Houghton wrote this memoir after visiting the battlefield in 1913. This vignette is extremely well detailed in Garry Adelman and Tim Smith's great book on the Devils Den.

 

[Nathan Stuart]

Clearly described and demonstrated.

Think these distinctive rock formations in the topography at this location would have left an indelible mark in Sgt. Houghton's mind, even remembering it fifty years later.