Eighty-Some Years Later 09/18/19

Caledonia State Park, Fayetteville, Pennsylvania

A patient man has great understanding, but a quick-tempered man displays folly.  ~ Proverbs 14:29

NOTE: Just to make you aware, we learned so many interesting things, there are several “Special Editions” to go along with the next three days. It’s up to you to determine if your brain can handle more or not. : )

Four score and seven years ago . . . .

You may want to take a few days to read this post.  It’s probably about the longest one we’ve ever done.  Lots of reading. . . . .

A few weeks ago, we were in Boston learning about how our nation began.  Today, we’re in Gettysburg where we learned about how our nation, that once fought together against a common enemy, turned upon itself and sought to rip families – and our nation – apart.

Something I’ll bet you didn’t know (among thousands of other things!), President Lincoln’s address was at the behest of the man responsible for the Soldiers National Cemetery, established to bury the Union soldiers who died here.  The President was the secondary speaker (the main one talked for two hours!) and was invited to give “a few appropriate remarks” at the dedication on November 19, 1863.

Let’s begin with the history of Gettysburg National Military Park as told on the nps.gov website:

Fought over the first three days of July 1863, the Battle of Gettysburg was one of the most crucial battles of the Civil War. The fate of the nation literally hung in the balance that summer of 1863 when General Robert E. Lee, commanding the “Army of Northern Virginia”, led his army north into Maryland and Pennsylvania, bringing the war directly into northern territory. The Union “Army of the Potomac”, commanded by Major General George Gordon Meade, met the Confederate invasion near the Pennsylvania crossroads town of Gettysburg, and what began as a chance encounter quickly turned into a desperate, ferocious battle. Despite initial Confederate successes, the battle turned against Lee on July 3rd, and with few options remaining, he ordered his army to return to Virginia. The Union victory at the Battle of Gettysburg, sometimes referred to as the “High Water Mark of the Rebellion” resulted not only in Lee’s retreat to Virginia, but an end to the hopes of the Confederate States of America for independence.

The battle brought devastation to the residents of Gettysburg. Every farm field or garden was a graveyard. Churches, public buildings and even private homes were hospitals, filled with wounded soldiers. The Union medical staff that remained were strained to treat so many wounded scattered about the county. To meet the demand, Camp Letterman General Hospital was established east of Gettysburg where all of the wounded were eventually taken to before transport to permanent hospitals in Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington. Union surgeons worked with members of the U.S Sanitary Commission and Christian Commission to treat and care for the over 20,000 injured Union and Confederate soldiers that passed through the hospital’s wards, housed under large tents. By January 1864, the last patients were gone as were the surgeons, guards, nurses, tents and cookhouses. Only a temporary cemetery on the hillside remained as a testament to the courageous battle to save lives that took place at Camp Letterman.

Prominent Gettysburg residents became concerned with the poor condition of soldiers’ graves scattered over the battlefield and at hospital sites, and pleaded with Pennsylvania Governor Andrew Curtin for state support to purchase a portion of the battlefield to be set aside as a final resting place for the defenders of the Union cause. Gettysburg lawyer David Wills was appointed the state agent to coordinate the establishment of the new “Soldiers’ National Cemetery”, which was designed by noted landscape architect William Saunders. Removal of the Union dead to the cemetery began in the fall of 1863, but would not be completed until long after the cemetery grounds were dedicated on November 19, 1863. The dedication ceremony featured orator Edward Everett and included solemn prayers, songs, dirges to honor the men who died at Gettysburg. Yet, it was President Abraham Lincoln who provided the most notable words in his two-minute long address, eulogizing the Union soldiers buried at Gettysburg and reminding those in attendance of their sacrifice for the Union cause, that they should renew their devotion “to the cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion..”

In 1864, a group of concerned citizens established the Gettysburg Battlefield Memorial Association whose purpose was to preserve portions of the battlefield as a memorial to the Union Army that fought here. The GBMA transferred their land holdings to the Federal government in 1895, which designated Gettysburg as a National Military Park. A Federally-appointed commission of Civil War veterans oversaw the park’s development as a memorial to both armies by identifying and marking the lines of battle. Administration of the park was transferred to the Department of the Interior, National Park Service in 1933, which continues in its mission to protect, preserve and interpret the Battle of Gettysburg and the Gettysburg Address to park visitors.

While waiting for time for our first tour of the day, we checked out a few exhibits inside the Visitor Center.

We planned on participating in two Ranger led talks today – “Gettysburg History Hike:  Three Days in 90 minutes” and later in the afternoon, “Four Score and Seven Years Ago:  Lincoln and the Soldiers’ National Cemetery.

This morning’s talk was given by Ranger Jarrad Floss, who shared a bit of his history while we waited for time to move out.  He has a Master’s Degree.  He’s been working at Gettysburg for 9 years, and he recently applied to the Concord/Lexington Park.  He didn’t say why, but I would assume it’s to give him something different to talk about.  😊

And so we began our mile-long walk and talk.

When Abraham Lincoln was elected our nation’s 16^th President in November of 1860, those in the slave-holding Southern states weren’t happy.  To say the least.  They knew his mission was to eventually eliminate slavery, but the real problem was the disagreement over the National government to have the power to prohibit slavery in the territories that had yet to become states. And so, tensions continued to mount as they had before the election. 

When South Carolina seceded on December 20, 1860, it was only two more months before six more states joined them, demanding that all United States property be turned over to them, including military installations. President Lincoln and his administration tried not to provoke the states, but they refused to comply.  And Lincoln continued to resupply the southern forts when required with food, fodder (for the cattle and horses) and other necessities of life, but no arms munitions or troops.

Civil War broke out on April 12, 1861 when the Confederate States fired upon Fort Sumter, South Carolina.  With no way to defend the fort, it as surrendered on April 13^th.

According to Jarrad, the average age of the Civil War soldier was 23.5 years, but some were as young as 12.  In the beginning, most felt the war would be over within a couple of months.

Jarrad told the rest of his story based on the lives of two brothers from Illinois, who joined the Union Army mostly for a lark.  It wasn’t long before they realized the seriousness of war.  The brothers left Illinois and joined the Minnesota militia.  (I don’t remember why they went there, it’s possible no one knows)  Their names were Patrick and Isaac Taylor.

When Minnesota’s regiment headed south towards Washington where they joined up with others and became the Army of the Potomac – the name for the Union Army, they were 1,000 strong.   By the time they reached Gettysburg, there were about 350 of them remaining, including Patrick and Isaac.  By the time the battle of Gettysburg was over, there were only 47 men left.  One of them was Patrick.  He lost his brother, Isaac on the battlefield and buried him there.  Patrick survived the war and went on to become a teacher.

I wish I could re-tell the 90-minute talk like Jarrad did!  He’s an extremely engaging storyteller, bringing the lives of these two young men, as well as the 3-day battle to life.  He most likely believed I wasn’t paying any attention because I was on my phone “texting” the entire time he was talking, but I was taking notes in my ‘notepad’ program because I know the limits of my mind and memory.  What you’re left with is mostly a series of facts he shared that I tried my best to form into something cohesive and readable.

The Confederate march on Gettysburg began it’s planning stage in May, 1864 when General Robert E. Lee proposes invading the North – – for the second time.  His first attempt was on September 17, 1862 (which I’m not getting into much today) failed miserably.  Antietam (located near Sharpsburg, Maryland – just 72 miles NE of Washington, DC) is recognized in most circles as the bloodiest single-day battle on American soil.  Of the 127,300 soldiers engaged at Antietam, best anyone can guess is that 23,700 of them suffered casualties (dead, wounded or missing).  That’s nearly 20%!  But they seem pretty certain that 3,800 died in a battle that only lasted 12 hours. The Union claimed victory as General Lee’s army limped away.

Back to Gettysburg.

In June, Lee snuck out of Eastern Virginia at night, tricking the Union forces into believing they were still camped, by leaving their fires burning.  He’s marching his troops (which included the Minnesota regiment containing the Taylor brothers) about 25 miles a day, headed for Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.  Once the Union forces discovered they were gone, they followed.  Sort of.  Their speed was much slower, so much so that Lee’s Army of the Potomac was able to spread out across southern PA, where they slipped into the Northern territory unopposed.

A few side notes – at this time in history, guns are able to shoot from about 900-1200 yards, but it takes 9 steps to prepare your gun to fire.  A professional could make 3 shots in 1 minute, but few of these soldiers were professionals, making their times much, much slower.  On both sides, most had left their homes and jobs to join the cause.  Most were volunteers, and most were farmers. Many hadn’t even fired a gun before.

This is the reason they fought in close quarters – within 200 yards of each other.

Most battles during the Civil War lasted an average of 45 minutes.  War was very fast-paced at that time. 

I don’t remember why they ended up in Gettysburg instead of Harrisburg, but 170,000 soldiers showed up to a town with 2,400 citizens.  While that number of citizens seems a bit small by today’s standards, it was actually just 600 short of what they considered a ‘metropolis’ at the time.

Part of the problem for the Confederates was that their 6,000 member Calvary, instead of scouting the area, had been sent out throughout the countryside to round up “slaves”.  And it didn’t matter if they were free men or not.  ☹

Jarrad went into great detail about the events of July 1-3, including some information on a more colorful and controversial character, Major General Dan Sickles.  In fact, he gave us enough information to make us very curious, so there’ll be an upcoming Special Edition.

On day two, Major General George Meade, asked for a volunteer regiment to basically commit suicide.  Lee was sending 1,200 troops straight for them, and the Union needed a few minutes to prepare for the onslaught.  The Minnesota regiment, including the Taylor brothers, stepped up.  350 men verses 12,000.  The mostly hand-to-hand combat lasted 30 minutes.  Of the 350, only 47 returned to fight another day.  (I don’t have casualties for the Confederates)

On the afternoon of July 3^rd, Lee orders 130 cannons to fire on the Union artillery line for a solid 2-hours.  One every second exploding in the air and raining metal fragments or balls down onto the Union soldiers.  Unfortunately for Lee, most of the cannon shot goes over Union heads and the profusion of smoke that filled the area between the two battle lines, has masked that fact.  Lee sends 12,500 men running for the Union ridge.  Only 4,000 of them make it to the wall.

Another Confederate defeat for Lee.

When he left town, he had a wagon train that was 17 miles long, filled with a few dead and his wounded.  A regiment of Union soldiers that included Patrick Taylor, were sent to follow Lee all the way to the Potomac River, but they never engaged.

And so ends our tour.  Jarrad was excellent!

We had some time to kill before our next tour, and spent it eating lunch and driving over to Soldier’s National Cemetery where we walked around a bit until it was time for Ranger Tom Holbrook to enlighten us. 

Tom isn’t quite the storyteller Jarrad is, but he is passionate about those who gave their lives for us.

This cemetery is a Federal cemetery filled with only Union soldiers.  Following the Battle of Gettysburg, there were so many shallow, mass graves, the townspeople cried out to the governor for proper burials because of their concern of an epidemic.  Seventeen acres were purchased and four months after the battle, the bodies of Union soldiers began receiving a proper burial.  (I’ll cover more about that in another post, but . . .  Yuk!!)  Soldiers were laid to rest according to the State they were from, but identifying that was a difficult and tedious process.  Many were identifiable only by the buttons or insignias on their coats.  A full two-thirds of the more than 3,500 Union soldiers here are unidentified.  And most likely, mistakes were made.  We heard of one that they’re specifically aware of.

The Confederate men were left where they were originally buried – in shallow graves.  It wasn’t until the 1870’s that Southern States began collecting what was left of the remains and taking them back home.

Tom also focused on two particular, though very different men.  He also told his stories more colorful and fact-filled than I could take notes for.  😊

The first, George Nixon, was the great-great-grandfather of our President Richard Nixon.  He was born on a farm in 1821 in a small Pennsylvania town just south of Pittsburgh.  He moved to Ohio right after his marriage to Margaret and they had 9 children.  By the late 1860’s, they had grown their farm to the largest in southern Ohio, and leaving his wife and 9 children behind, he felt duty-bound to volunteer for service.  I believe Tom told us that 60% of all troops were volunteers.

George was shot in the hip at Gettysburg during picket duty and bled to death 12 days later.  Of the over 50,000 casualties at Gettysburg, 30,000 died of their wounds sometime after the battle – days, weeks or months later.  Tom took this time to stress the fact that there were so many more casualties of this Civil War than just the men.  Whole families were left to grieve and fend for themselves.  George’s wife had to learn to run the family farm and take care of 9 children on her own, because her extended family was in another State.  Such was the plight of much of America during and after the War.

The next man was John Johnson.  Born December 25, 1845 in a Mississippi farmhouse to a Baptist minister.  From the early age of just 6-years-old, John intended to follow in his father’s footsteps.  And at just 6-years-old, he’d actually become quite famous as a preacher in his own right.  At the age of 16, he was getting ready to enter ministry full-time, when other young men were being recruited as volunteers in his town.  John spoke with his father and the two (mostly his father) agreed that as men of faith, they couldn’t take the lives of other men.  Especially men who may not have come to faith yet.

But John continued to feel convicted to join, and two weeks later, he enlisted under the promise by the captain that he wouldn’t have to fight.  Instead, he would be a musician and help the wounded.  John wrote letters home to his devoted sisters every week about the duality of war.  The inhumane things men were doing to other men, and also the compassion shown to each other, but also to the enemy.

One day, those letters stopped.  John was killed on July 3^rd.  Shot in the head during Pickett’s charge.  By all accounts, John shouldn’t be interred in this National Cemetery.  He was a Confederate “soldier”.  But July 4^th brought heavy, all day rain.  Wet, gray uniforms now looked dark blue.  Anything with writing on it was faded.  Most likely, something on his person that identified him as being from Mississippi (Miss), was misread as Massachusetts (Mass).

We didn’t get a picture of John’s marker. : (

At over 3,500, this National Cemetery has the most markers for any battlefield in the world.  The oldest regimental monument was erected four days after the battle in honor of the 1^st Minnesota, and was moved to it’s present location.

And then we heard the stories of these 1,000 valiant men from Minnesota.  Some of it was a repeat of what Jarrad had previously shared, but most was new.

Minnesota was a new state.  In order to receive statehood, those applying had to prove their allegiance and provide some proof of their ability to contribute to the nation.  Minnesota was the first to answer President Lincoln’s call for 75,000 volunteers when the war began. 

But the 1,000 men didn’t get along.  They were from four sections of the state and each “type” of man didn’t care for the other “types”.  They were farmers, lumberjacks, trappers and something else we can’t remember.  There was a lot of fighting (including murder) during “boot camp”.  One captain was certain that once they were given identical uniforms, they’d see the light, but they didn’t, and he said, “I’m afraid all we’re doing is arming a mob.”  But then another officer reminded them why they volunteered.  They were all there to preserve the union.

These men finally began working together, and together they faced massive discrimination from their fellow soldiers from other states because they had weird names (a lot of them were Scandinavian) and talked funny. This continued throughout the war, until after the Battle of Bull Run on July 21, 1861, when they lost 200 of their 1,000 men standing to fight so the rest of the National army could escape. 

And then came their additional sacrifice at Gettysburg.  The general consensus is that the sacrifice of 300 of their remaining 350 men saved the Union.

We finished our day walking around the burial grounds contemplating the enormous loss and the effect those losses had on generations of Americans.

President Lincoln delivered the 272 word Gettysburg Address on November 19, 1863 on the battlefield near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

“Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, on this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived, and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting-place for those who here gave their lives, that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate—we cannot hallow—this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

Our brains were tired.  Mine is tired now putting all this together.  I’m certain yours is as well.  😊