The Devil's Kitchen in Winter

View of a portion of the "Kitchen" from the south.

Looking down into the "Devil's Oven" for lack of a better term.

It's amazing how much cooler it is down in there in summer or winter.

Evidence of quarrying at the kitchen. One could only guess why such activity was conducted in such an out of the way and difficult to access location.

View from down in the floor of the "Kitchen". Loooking into a crevice between rocks. Note the icicles formed on the wall.

Photos taken in February 2006 (MJW)

Erie's Own...

The likeness of Strong Vincent (wink,wink) tops the 83rd PA monument on the southern slopes of Little Round Top.

Photo taken January 10, 2006 (MJW)

Strong Vincent: June 17, 1837 - July 7, 1863

Etched in Granite ? Not !

The 5th New Hampshire infantry was considered one of the hardest fighting units in the Union Army and did nothing to diminish that reputation at Gettysburg.

The 5th New Hampshire Infantry monument in its original state in 1887.

Wm.Tipton photo
Detail view of the top rock.

Photo taken on April 2, 2006 (MJW)
The 5th New Hampshire infantry monument with its revised panels.

I must say that while understanding the desire for accuracy I prefer the look of the etched granite center block. Too bad they couldn't have swung the cost of replacing it rather than covering it over.

Photo taken on February 25, 2006 (MJW)

The Devil's Den of 1956

An Arborist's Dream...

View from the 44th NY observation platform

View from the parking lot. 4th Maine monument obstructed by foliage.
Photos by George W. Pyle

A turn of the century Wm.Tipton view from the same perspective.

" It's Grand Beyond Imagination "

The Battlefield's First Observatory

"In the spring of 1878, a wooden observation tower was erected by George Arnold (a member of the GBMA board of directors) on grounds owned by the association and leased from them. The latticed 50-foot tower had a reception room at the base, and a winding staircase led to two observation platforms (one at the 25-foot level and one at the top). This first major development on the battlefield by GBMA was a prominent landmark on East Cemetery Hill, standing until it was removed to make room for the Hancock equestrian statue in August 1895."

The observation tower which at one time stood on East Cemetery Hill.

I'm almost tempted to grab my putter and try and putt a ball through the doorway.

1885 view showing GAR encampment

An irreplaceable loss

The sad state of the 11th Massachusetts top stone after last February's vandalism.

Photo taken February 22, 2006 (MJW)

Update:

"We have been unsuccessful so far in our
search for a three-dimensional model for
the 11th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry
Monument, which featured a carved granite
arm holding a sword. When vandals pulled
the top stone and sculpture off its base, the
sculpture was shattered and pieces of the
forearm and hand were stolen, along with a
bronze sword. The park has a pattern for the
sword because it had been stolen in the 1990s
and park staff had replicated a new one.
Sculpting the new granite arm will be very
difficult without a model. The Boston Herald
ran a story asking for the public’s help and
as a result the park has been in contact with
descendants of the original granite company
that sculpted the monument. They have
written records and some drawings but they
no longer have any models or copies.
Estimates for the repair costs for Smith’s
Battery and the 11th Massachusetts
monuments and the historic fence are
between $55,000 and $65,000. As of May
11, 2006, the park has received 68 donations
from organizations and individuals, totaling
$12,560 for the needed repairs."

Getting to be that time of year...

Fields south of the Henry Spangler farm.

(Codori barn and Cyclorama seen distant)

Photo taken August 6, 2006 (MJW)

In the dead of winter

The Michael Bushman farm from the Observation Rocks

Photo taken January 6, 2006 (MJW)

A wealth of knowledge

Ranger Troy Harman and Dean Schultz along Highland Avenue during a recent presentation.

Photo taken August 12, 2006 (MJW)

Brooklyn stands ready...

A colorful sunset over Herbst Woods.

Photo taken December 27, 2005 (MJW)

"A Ghastly Array of Human Misery"

These words were spoken in relation to the unimaginable horrors witnessed on the 300 acre Jacob Schwartz farm which served as the Union 2nd Army Corps hospital. The Schwartz farm is located south of Gettysburg along the Baltimore Pike and White Run.

We're lucky that George had occasion to photograph this property in June of 2005 as the longtime historically aware owner passed away earlier this year and the future disposition of this significant piece of land is up in the air to our knowledge.

For more information on this farm see Greg Coco's magnificent "A Vast Sea of Misery", ppg. 91-97

Photos by George W. Pyle ( June 2005)

Dilger...

Medal of Honor (Chancellorsville) recipient Capt. Hubert Dilger

http://www.13nybattery.com/battles/dilger_gettys.htm

Dilger's 1st Ohio, Battery I position on Howard Avenue.

Photo taken August 4, 2006 (MJW)

Tipton image of Dilger's Napoleons (1900)

The Unobtainable Objective

View to the crest of Little Round Top from the valley floor.

Note the Michigan sharpshooter monument to the left of pine tree.

Photo taken April 30, 2006 (GWP)

A View to the Right...

The view from the Oak Ridge observation deck to the AOP's right flank on the first day's battle...Barlow's Knoll.

Photo taken on August 11, 2006 (MJW)

The 76th New York

The 76th New York Infantry monument.

Photo taken on August 11, 2006 (MJW)

This unit suffered no shortage of monikers. They also went by the following...Cortland Regiment, Cherry Valley Regiment, Otsego County Regiment, and the Cromwellian Regiment.

Another view of the 76th New York monument on Reynolds Avenue. The 76th was included in Cutler's brigade and went into early action on the extreme right of the 1st Army Corps on July 1st. The unit entered the fray with 375 men. When all was said and done they had suffered 32 killed, 132 wounded, and 70 missing !

Major Andrew Jackson Grover commanded the 76th on the first day at Gettysburg. He was mortally wounded early in the fighting. An ordained Methodist Minister in Cortland, NY, Grover was 32 years old at the time of his death.

July 1, 1893 (?) reunion at Gettysburg.

12 X 12 X 44

Monument dedicated to the men of the 44th and 12th New York infantry regiments. Thus the dimensions as laid out by designer Daniel Butterfield at a cost of $10,965 in 1893.

Any truth to the idea that the Spangler's Spring canopy was constructed of either rejected or left over 44th New York stone ? Garry Adelman mentioned something along these lines during one of his tours but I didn't catch it in its entirety.

Photo taken on April 22, 2006 (GWP)

Then and Now at the Bushman house

I came across this comparison purely by coincidence while looking through some old Tipton views of the Bushman farm. It doesn't get much more esoteric than this !

Bushman's new cement sidewalk and steps in 1916. (WHT)

90 years later...they're still there. Serving what purpose I do not know.

Photo taken on April 20, 2006 (MJW)

Roadblock to the Valley

The 40th New York "Mozart Regiment" monument in the Valley of Death.

Photo taken on April 30, 2006 (GWP)

Regimental history...

http://www.dmna.state.ny.us/historic/reghist/civil/infantry/40thInf/40thInfMain.htm

My Uncle Dan (A brief detour to Emmitsburg)

Daniel M. Beltzhoover is an Uncle to me on my Mother's side of the family.

Photo taken on February 6, 2006 (MJW)

Here's a brief history....

Watson's Louisana Battery
Daniel Beltzhoover - Colonel Daniel Beltzhoover was a professor of mathematics at Mount Saint Mary's. He also commanded a commandant of the Mountain Cadets, and drilled them thoroughly on Eardin's and Casey's tactics. The Zouave Drill formed an important feature of their training. He was a classmate of General Grant at West Point. Before the Civil War he had fought in Florida and Mexico. He left three daughters, who are nuns, and himself lies buried on the Hill.
During the outbreak of the Civil War, Daniel Beltzhoover was given a commission in the Confederate Army as a Major serving in the 1st Louisiana Heavy Artillery and was promoted to lieutenant colonel on August 14, 1861. While in command of Watson's Battery, composed mostly of Southern college boys, John Devereux and others he met Grant in his first battle at Belmont, and succeeded in recapturing and taking his battery in safety from the field. He afterwards had charge of all the artillery in the defense of Mobile.

Daniel Beltzhoover graduated West Point in the class of 1847. Among his classmates were A.P.Hill, Henry Heth, Ambrose Burnside, John Gibbon, Charles Griffin, and Thomas Neill. As a point of trivia, I'll have you know that Uncle Dan stood higher in his class (12th) than any of his more famous comrades.

The 3 daughters mentioned above are themselves buried in the cemetery on the grounds of the National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton in the town of Emmitsburg, Md.

It's an absolutely beatiful setting. If you ever get the chance take the quick trip down Rt. 15 and check it out. The cemetery on the Mount (just before the Grotto and Shrine) is also worth a look if you find that sort of thing interesting. Personally, I do.

The Baltimore Pike gate to the National Cemetery

Photo taken April 23, 2006 (GWP)

Yankees in the cut

Two Iron Brigade re-enactors take a closer look at the cut where the 6th Wisconsin saw action on July 1, 1863.

Photo taken August 4, 2006 (MJW)

The Laboratory

Tubes galore !

Photo taken Sept. 1, 2005 (MJW)

Eternal Vigilance

As temperatures hover near 100 degrees today

General Warren surveys a snow covered field.

Photo taken February 14, 2006 (MJW)

Zookobelisk

Marker to General Samuel K. Zook who fell in the fighting for the Wheatfield on July 2.

Photo taken on a mild January 12, 2006 (MJW)