More Battlefield

More Battlefield

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania High 68 Low 46

Yesterday I forgot to put a picture of the design of the women’s skirt hoops, which the young lady was wearing, so I am doing so today.

I wanted to put more pictures of the Battlefield and monuments on this post. There are over 1200 monuments and it would be impossible to take pictures of every one. We stopped at most of the stops along the auto tour.

After the stop at Big Round Top, we saw a clump of Mushrooms unlike any we have ever seen and Cindy had to take their picture. Also we are seeing more leave turning color, so we might get to see the Fall Leaves.

At the stop at Little Round Top, There were 2 Park Rangers dressed in period costume telling about what we were looking at. The one I talked to told me where Devil’s Den got its name. He said some children were playing around the rocks and found a large snake in a little cave or den. Since snakes were associated with the Devil, they called the rock formation Devil’s Den and the name stuck.

Devil's Den from Little Round Top.

Notice where Penny is.

Patrick Henry "Paddy" O'Rorke or O'Rourke  (March 25, 1837 – July 2, 1863) was an Irish-American immigrant who became a colonel in the Union Army during the American Civil War and was killed at the Battle of Gettysburg.
At Gettysburg, O'Rorke was back in command of his regiment while Brig. Gen. Stephen H. Weed commanded the 3rd Brigade. The 140th New York arrived in time for the second day of fighting (July 2, 1863). Brig. Gen. Gouverneur K. Warren was desperately searching for units to defend Little Round Top, and he encountered O'Rorke's New Yorkers, the rearmost regiment in Weed's brigade, on their way to reinforce the III Corps. O'Rorke initially declined Warren's request for assistance because he was under orders to follow his brigade. Warren told him, "Never mind that, Paddy. Bring them up on the double-quick and don't stop for aligning. I'll take the responsibility."  O'Rorke rushed his men to the crest of the hill and plunged down its western face without pause, driving the attacking Confederates back down the slope. During the counterattack, O'Rorke caught up his regimental colors and, mounting a rock to urge on his men, was struck in the neck and fell dead. The Comte de Paris in his Histoire de la guerre civile en Amérique (VI, iv, 379) says this was one of the most striking and dramatic episodes of the battle.

A closer look at Devil's Den.

While we were looking at the monuments on Little Round Top, we saw a large rock that had been chiseled to tell about the wounding of Colonel Strong Vincent on July 2^nd 1863, and he died on July 7th. He was recommended for Brigadier General, which was given to him on his death bed. We were told that this was the oldest monument on the Battlefield.

From Little Round Top we were able to look out on the Battlefield and see the large Monument dedicated to the Pennsylvanians who fought in the Battle of Gettysburg. One of the plaques tells how the survivors were present at the dedication in 1910. It is the largest Monument in the Battlefield.

While we were on Little Round Top we could see a group of Segway’s on their way to the stop. While we were on the tour we saw horse riders, bicycle tours, foot tours and many cars. There were also horse drawn buggies with about 10 people doing the tour. There were many buses, and lots of double decker buses. The people on the double decker bus had head phones on, and we had been told that they were doing about the same audio tour we did. I did notice that they merely drove through some of the stops without stopping, but instead they just drove around the monuments.

We still haven’t stopped at or gone through the Cemetery, but we want to see it and the place where Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address.

Thanks for visiting.