Some Pictures From the Wilderness Where Immigrants Fought and Died

Pat Young

Brev. Brig. Gen'l
Featured Book Reviewer
Joined
Jan 7, 2013
Location
Long Island, NY
I am in Fredericksburg for the 150th of the Battles of The Wilderness and and Spottsylvania and I just wanted to share a few photos.

The first few are of the area of Saunders Field in the Wilderness where the 140th was slaughtered. The 140th NY was from Rochester and included many workers on the Erie Canal as well as farmers and other working men. It had played a crucial role in the defense of Little Round Top. At the Wilderness it would be decimated as it pressed its attack on the Confederate earthworks. The unit was a little over half native born with the immigrant half being nearly equally divided between Germans and Irish. It is the only regiment at Saunder's with a monument:

IMG_0039.JPG
IMG_0035.JPG
IMG_0038.JPG
 
Thanks for posting these photos Pat - most interesting.
Do you know which Confederate Regt the 140th New York were attacking in Saunders' Field ???
 
WOW.

Thanks so much for posting these. The Wilderness Campaign has been much on my mind on this 150th anniversary. Wish I could be there myself!

It is so chilling to see those earthworks still there. Kudos to the NPS and to the American people for making sure these battlefields stay preserved. Seeing that stuff in person instead of just reading about it in history books must be very powerful.

Since starting to study the Civil War several months ago, I have never been so proud of my German-Irish ancestry (even though none of my ancestors were actually here until the 1870s). Thanks so much for all your work on this subject, Pat. You're doing a great service.
 
Please keep those pictures coming. I have not visited these particular sights since about 2005. I have been wanting to go back and these confirm those feelings. Really wish that I could be there.
 
Back
Top