Category Archives: Romances of Gettysburg

“The hissing bullet has sung his requiem.” The Obituary for a New York Soldier.

Posted on October 25, 2019 by Gettysburg National Military Park

The devastating news arrived in Dunkirk, New York on a warm July day- Private Thomas Holland, the  town’s former clothing merchant, a soldier in the 72nd New York Infantry, was dead, killed at Gettysburg. Like so many families affected by … Continue reading →

Posted in 72nd New York Infantry, Army of the Potomac, Romances of Gettysburg, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

The Mears Party and the Medal of Honor, Part 1

Posted on July 12, 2018 by Gettysburg National Military Park

Extraordinary incidents occur in the whirlwind of battle and the Battle of Gettysburg certainly has its share- heroism, cowardice, curiosity, gallantry and even humor. Few incidents are more enthralling than those which earned an individual the cherished Medal of Honor … Continue reading →

Posted in 6th Pennsylvania Reserves, Medal of Honor at Gettysburg, Romances of Gettysburg, Veterans | Tagged | Leave a comment

When the Martians Visited Gettysburg

Posted on March 31, 2016 by Gettysburg National Military Park

It was very soon after the Battle of Gettysburg when the recounting of battle events and experiences evolved to become battlefield legends, which flourished as the tourism industry in Adams County grew.  Most were quite sentimental- blue and gray calling an … Continue reading →

Posted in Battlefield Legends and Lore, Romances of Gettysburg | 4 Comments

The Enduring Might of Melody and Verse: Instrumental Pieces

Posted on September 4, 2014 by Gettysburg National Military Park

We continue our look at music inspired by the Battle of Gettysburg, and today present two instrumental pieces: Pickett’s Charge March, and the Battle of Gettysburg.   Pickett’s Charge March While the Battle of Gettysburg was a defeat for the … Continue reading →

Posted in Civil War Music, Romances of Gettysburg | Tagged | Leave a comment

Sergeant Duckett’s Hat

Posted on August 16, 2012 by Gettysburg National Military Park

There is a gleam in his eye; the slight smile partially obscured by his goatee reveals a certain smugness under that old weather beaten, bullet-torn hat, a relic of his service in a war fought fifty years before when he … Continue reading →

Posted in Great Reunion of 1913, Romances of Gettysburg, Veterans | 18 Comments

Lieutenant Cushing

Posted on June 21, 2012 by Gettysburg National Military Park

    1st Lieutenant Alonzo H. Cushing is possibly the most famous 1st Lieutenant of the Battle of Gettysburg, perhaps of the Civil War. There is now a good chance that Cushing, who was killed on July 3 during Pickett’s Charge, … Continue reading →

Posted in 4th U.S. Artillery, Alonzo H. Cushing, Army of the Potomac, Battery A, 4th US Artillery, Medal of Honor at Gettysburg, Romances of Gettysburg | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Romances of Gettysburg – The Barlow-Gordon Incident, Part 3

Posted on April 12, 2012 by Gettysburg National Military Park

    Nearly everything we know about the Barlow-Gordon incident came from John B. Gordon. What did Francis Barlow have to say about it? The answer is Barlow did not write about the war. His son Charles wrote to the National … Continue reading →

Posted in Historical Memory, Romances of Gettysburg | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Romances of Gettysburg – The Barlow-Gordon Incident, Part 2

Posted on March 29, 2012 by Gettysburg National Military Park

    Who was Clarkson Nott Potter? He is important to unraveling the Barlow-Gordon story, for it was at his Washington, D.C. residence that John B. Gordon says he met Francis C. Barlow again, sixteen years after the Battle of Gettysburg. … Continue reading →

Posted in Historical Memory, Romances of Gettysburg | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Romances of Gettysburg – The Barlow-Gordon Incident

Posted on March 15, 2012 by Gettysburg National Military Park

    It is perhaps the most well known human-interest story of the Battle of Gettysburg; Confederate Brigadier General John B. Gordon, his troops in pursuit of the retreating Federal soldiers of the 11th Corps on the afternoon of July 1, … Continue reading →

Posted in Historical Memory, Romances of Gettysburg, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Who Shot J.R.? Part Three

Posted on January 20, 2012 by Gettysburg National Military Park

    Four years after his letter to Samuel Bates about Reynolds’ death, in 1880, Joseph Rosengarten gave the keynote address for the presentation of the Ole Balling (a Dutch artist) portrait of General Reynolds to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. … Continue reading →

Posted in Historical Memory, John F. Reynolds, Romances of Gettysburg | Tagged , | 13 Comments