JPK Huson 1863
Brev. Brig. Gen'l
- Joined
- Feb 14, 2012
- Location
- Central Pennsylvania
For all the estimated numbers of men those terrible days at Gettysburg, killed and wounded, prisoners and missing forever and those who shouldered muskets and cleaned sabres for long treks July 4th, there existed women thrown into the odious mix of battle and blood. For once soldiers were too occupied with business on-hand to notice feminine charms being much too grateful for their presence alone. Terribly wounded, beyond desperate; men were nursed, fed, dragged from death's clutching fist or walked hand in hand towards those welcoming shores. They buried dead, moisten cracked and dry lips, hid black neighbors from avaricious Rebel eyes, slipped through danger to a certain woodpile, bringing food and safety to a certain Union general.
We'll never know who these Sanitary Commission nurses might be- stories will be singular but the same as so many others. They came to help.
They spent long months making sense of a battle torn town then welcomed war again, this time with purpose. Lincoln himself came to render their home sacred forever.
Some will be missing- remind me. Obviously so, so many unnamed. Citizens who took in wounded from the streets, allowed their carpets to be soaked in blood, Union and Confederate, heros all of them.
Diana Sandoe was the first widow made by a Rebel bullet at Gettysburg
" George Washington Sandoe was a local of the Gettysburg area, hailing from Mount Joy, Pennsylvania. Unfortunately for George Sandoe, he has the unenviable title of being the first Union soldier killed in Gettysburg. "http://emergingcivilwar.com/2015/06/09/gettysburg-off-the-beaten-path-the-death-of-george-w-sandoe/
The GJ George house, Gettysburg, Haven't found much information but am assuming the woman on the porch is either a nurse or Mrs. GJ George.
Widow Leister seems to be a darkly clad image in a few photos of her home- albeit never identified as herself- is this her or an army officer? Just cannot tell!
View attachment 81828
Mrs. Burns. You usually only see her husband- there's another photo of her somewhere. Found the dratted thing ages ago and cannot again. Mrs. Burns may have been a long-suffering soul. Your husband grabs his ancient gun in the middle of a battle and announces he is joining? And you know him well enough to know he means it?
Mrs. Basil Biggs, Basil Biggs
Harriet Hamilton Bayly, post war. Her story is that of a farm, family and extreme encounters with Confederates. One? Became a neighbor.
Biggs was hired to reinter Union dead, nearly 3,000, God Bless him. The government paid him around 1.25 dollars per, he did it anyway. His wife was there, no idea whether she helped but it's a fair bet.
Our women of Gettysburg welcoming Union soldiers back into Gettysburg November, 1863
Lee's HQ at Mrs. Thompson's house. Is the woman on the right she or a sister?
It must be Mrs. Thompson, Brady and the bob-haired assistant we see again at Bryan's farm.
Sallie Meyers
Some women came and stayed until hospitals closed, tents collapsed, rolled and packed off to the next battlefield hospital. Temporary Gettysburg residents Sanitary Commission workers were missed.
tbc.....
We'll never know who these Sanitary Commission nurses might be- stories will be singular but the same as so many others. They came to help.
They spent long months making sense of a battle torn town then welcomed war again, this time with purpose. Lincoln himself came to render their home sacred forever.
Some will be missing- remind me. Obviously so, so many unnamed. Citizens who took in wounded from the streets, allowed their carpets to be soaked in blood, Union and Confederate, heros all of them.
Diana Sandoe was the first widow made by a Rebel bullet at Gettysburg
" George Washington Sandoe was a local of the Gettysburg area, hailing from Mount Joy, Pennsylvania. Unfortunately for George Sandoe, he has the unenviable title of being the first Union soldier killed in Gettysburg. "http://emergingcivilwar.com/2015/06/09/gettysburg-off-the-beaten-path-the-death-of-george-w-sandoe/
The GJ George house, Gettysburg, Haven't found much information but am assuming the woman on the porch is either a nurse or Mrs. GJ George.
Widow Leister seems to be a darkly clad image in a few photos of her home- albeit never identified as herself- is this her or an army officer? Just cannot tell!
View attachment 81828
Mrs. Burns. You usually only see her husband- there's another photo of her somewhere. Found the dratted thing ages ago and cannot again. Mrs. Burns may have been a long-suffering soul. Your husband grabs his ancient gun in the middle of a battle and announces he is joining? And you know him well enough to know he means it?
Mrs. Basil Biggs, Basil Biggs
Harriet Hamilton Bayly, post war. Her story is that of a farm, family and extreme encounters with Confederates. One? Became a neighbor.
Biggs was hired to reinter Union dead, nearly 3,000, God Bless him. The government paid him around 1.25 dollars per, he did it anyway. His wife was there, no idea whether she helped but it's a fair bet.
Our women of Gettysburg welcoming Union soldiers back into Gettysburg November, 1863
Lee's HQ at Mrs. Thompson's house. Is the woman on the right she or a sister?
It must be Mrs. Thompson, Brady and the bob-haired assistant we see again at Bryan's farm.
Sallie Meyers
Some women came and stayed until hospitals closed, tents collapsed, rolled and packed off to the next battlefield hospital. Temporary Gettysburg residents Sanitary Commission workers were missed.
tbc.....
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