- Joined
- Jan 16, 2015
Early on the morning of July 2, Major Eugene Blackford, commanding the skirmishers of Colonel E. A. O'Neal's brigade, visited an upscale house on Seminary Ridge, probably to draw good water from their well. Later that day, the major stopped by again to obtain water and was admiring the flowers in an adjacent greenhouse, when two women emerged from the house and approached him. They requested his help in dealing with a wounded Federal who had drawn his pistol and threatened to shoot them over some perceived offense. Upon investigation, the major found other Federal wounded in the house, probably First Corps casualties from the first day, and advised the women to keep out of the soldier's room and they would be safe enough, since he was missing a leg. On learning the major's name, they inquired if he knew a Mrs. Caroline Blackford of Lynchburg, Virginia, and said their name was "Smooker" (evidently a phonetic rendering), and they were related to the "Steenburgers" in that valley. This confirms Major Blackford was actually at the Schmucker residence, and it is highly likely that one of the ladies he was conversing with was Alice Schmucker. Her (deceased) mother, Mary Catherine Steenbergen, had been born in Frederick County, Virginia (which included Winchester) and was the second wife of Alice's father, Samuel Simon Schmucker. Samuel was an ordained Lutheran minister and one of the founders of the Theological Seminary, on whose grounds their home rested. His abolitionist views were widely known; he was a controversial theologian even within his own church. Samuel had married three times, siring a total of 13 children. His first wife, Eleanora, died shortly after the birth of a son in 1823. Two years later he married Mary Catherine, and together they had 11 (of those 13) children, eight of whom survived childhood, prior to Mary Catherine's death in 1848. His third wife, Esther, was likely the other lady encountered by Major Blackford that day.
The major mentioned the possibility of hostile artillery fire, which made the women very anxious. He suggested raising a yellow hospital flag, but the best they could manage was to attach a red petticoat to the lightning rod on top of the house. It did little good, because the house was in line with Confederate guns near the seminary building and Federal batteries crowning Cemetery Hill. The house could even be reached by distant enemy sharpshooters, as the major discovered while making observations from the roof. The ladies afterward left the house and took refuge in town with Alice's older sister, Catherine William (Schmucker) Duncan, and her husband of just five weeks, William Addison Duncan, who was then serving his first term as District Attorney. They wed on May 26, 1863.
Between the Federal wounded and Confederate scavengers, the unoccupied house fared poorly during the battle. The men of the house had already made themselves scarce before the battle commenced, but at least Alice's brother, Samuel D., had an excellent excuse – he had joined the local 26th Emergency Militia and been on the losing end of a June 26 skirmish with Early's veterans. The patriarch, Rev. Samuel Simon Schmucker, lost much. His extensive library and papers, comprising manuscripts prepared over many years, were strewn about, covered with mud and destroyed. An oil painting of his father, also a pastor, was slit with a bayonet. The expensive furniture was ruined, and valuable goods carried off as war booty. Only the piano survived intact, without a scratch. Inside the house, sashes and most of the glass was broken, windowpanes were shattered, and outside, fences were leveled. Thirteen artillery rounds or fragments had struck the house over the course of three days.
The photograph is of the south face of the house, taken in April 2018. Hard to discern is the location of an imbedded shell on the upper floor, just to the left of the window on the right. A nearby plaque also notes that Confederate soldier J. G. Bearden kindly retrieved a Bible from amid the debris and placed it on top of the bookcase, taking time to inscribe his good deed on the inside cover. I can only identify one possible candidate: 2nd Lieutenant John G. Bearden, Company F, 2nd Mississippi. Believed to be present at Gettysburg, he incidentally received three pens from his regimental quartermaster on June 30, 1863. (attention: @Coonewah Creek)
Some sources: 5th Alabama Sharpshooters Taking Aim at Cemetery Hill, ed. by Noah Andre Trudeau, America's Civil War; Wikipedia.org, Samuel Simon Schmucker; https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6598378/samuel-simon-schmucker; https://vandenheedemarkfamily.wordpress.com/our-mark-in-history-2/rep-william-addison-duncan/; History of Cumberland and Adams Counties, Pennsylvania, https://archive.org/details/historyofcumberl00wtay/page/n5/mode/2up; Adams County Historical Society, Gettysburg; Compiled service records of John G. Bearden, Fold3)
The major mentioned the possibility of hostile artillery fire, which made the women very anxious. He suggested raising a yellow hospital flag, but the best they could manage was to attach a red petticoat to the lightning rod on top of the house. It did little good, because the house was in line with Confederate guns near the seminary building and Federal batteries crowning Cemetery Hill. The house could even be reached by distant enemy sharpshooters, as the major discovered while making observations from the roof. The ladies afterward left the house and took refuge in town with Alice's older sister, Catherine William (Schmucker) Duncan, and her husband of just five weeks, William Addison Duncan, who was then serving his first term as District Attorney. They wed on May 26, 1863.
Between the Federal wounded and Confederate scavengers, the unoccupied house fared poorly during the battle. The men of the house had already made themselves scarce before the battle commenced, but at least Alice's brother, Samuel D., had an excellent excuse – he had joined the local 26th Emergency Militia and been on the losing end of a June 26 skirmish with Early's veterans. The patriarch, Rev. Samuel Simon Schmucker, lost much. His extensive library and papers, comprising manuscripts prepared over many years, were strewn about, covered with mud and destroyed. An oil painting of his father, also a pastor, was slit with a bayonet. The expensive furniture was ruined, and valuable goods carried off as war booty. Only the piano survived intact, without a scratch. Inside the house, sashes and most of the glass was broken, windowpanes were shattered, and outside, fences were leveled. Thirteen artillery rounds or fragments had struck the house over the course of three days.
The photograph is of the south face of the house, taken in April 2018. Hard to discern is the location of an imbedded shell on the upper floor, just to the left of the window on the right. A nearby plaque also notes that Confederate soldier J. G. Bearden kindly retrieved a Bible from amid the debris and placed it on top of the bookcase, taking time to inscribe his good deed on the inside cover. I can only identify one possible candidate: 2nd Lieutenant John G. Bearden, Company F, 2nd Mississippi. Believed to be present at Gettysburg, he incidentally received three pens from his regimental quartermaster on June 30, 1863. (attention: @Coonewah Creek)
Some sources: 5th Alabama Sharpshooters Taking Aim at Cemetery Hill, ed. by Noah Andre Trudeau, America's Civil War; Wikipedia.org, Samuel Simon Schmucker; https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6598378/samuel-simon-schmucker; https://vandenheedemarkfamily.wordpress.com/our-mark-in-history-2/rep-william-addison-duncan/; History of Cumberland and Adams Counties, Pennsylvania, https://archive.org/details/historyofcumberl00wtay/page/n5/mode/2up; Adams County Historical Society, Gettysburg; Compiled service records of John G. Bearden, Fold3)
Bringing the