I arrived in Oxford, Massachusetts, happy to finally be out of the rain that had been a constant on this trip. Arriving in town, I made my way to the northern edge of the community towards North Cemetery. Entering the cemetery I turned right at the first road and as I made the turn, I … Continue reading Clara Barton: Angel of the Battlefield
Note: many early sources refer to this sacred piece of land as the Camp Chase Confederate Cemetery, something I must admit that I too have done and occasionally still do. While Confederate soldiers make up the majority of those buried on this piece of land, there are also Union soldiers and other local residents who rest … Continue reading The Grey Lady of Camp Chase Cemetery
“Where are we headed?” Zech asked as we left the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum as he scanned the list of monuments I wanted to visit on this trip. “The Twenty-First Pennsylvania Cavalry,” I replied as I turned right onto Baltimore Pike. “It’s the closest one.” A short distance later, just south of Colgate Avenue, … Continue reading Pvt. George Sandoe: Gettysburg’s First to Fall
There possibly is no other place in Pennsylvania that attracts as many people as the Gettysburg Battlefield. From the first visit, I found myself caught up in the history and lore of these hallowed grounds. With each return trip, I discovered new and exciting pieces of information about the battle, the monuments, and the general … Continue reading Along the Way: 90th Pennsylvania Monument
As with all of the previous times I had traveled west on Route 30 from Gettysburg, I missed the marker. No sooner had I passed the coordinates when the GPS began screaming for me to find a place to turn around and head back east. “Did you see a monument?” I asked. Zech answered that … Continue reading Gettysburg’s First Shot Monument
In the distance, there was a storm brewing, both figuratively and literally. Standing on the breastworks overlooking Harrisburg, Camp Hill, Lemoyne, and Mechanicsburg, I could see the storm in the distance. The storm that brought me here was an approaching battle as the Confederate army advanced northward into Pennsylvania. However, another storm – a physical … Continue reading Fort Couch
