Pictures, flags and notes about history

The Boot Hill cemetery on the outskirts of Tombstone, Ariz. Note
the wording on the marker and note the 'historians' in the background
to the left of the marker.

          If you enjoy visiting historic locations, then you probably own a camera. Most history enthusiasts like to record their visits to the various famous locals.

          Who cares what kind of camera is available. We just want to prove we’ve been

Shirts on Warren's rock at
Little Round Top.

there. I have a buddy who has never been to the Gettysburg National Military Park, so I bought both my pal and his wife a shirt, then photographed the shirts on General Warren’s rock at Little Round Top. Even if my friends haven’t been to LRT, at least they own shirts that have been on that hallowed ground.

          I love to explore these places and every time I go, I find something I haven’t seen before. The real task, then, is to explain to my wife the interesting discovery I have made when I return to her at the end of each exploratory day. Mrs. Leeway loves history, but she does not enjoy summer heat. Since most of our history visiting happens during the hot months, she typically explores the air conditioned shopping malls, movie theaters and hotels whilst I am stomping around in the heat.

          She might be smarter than I am.

  

First shot marker for
Gettysburg. This is
located in someone's
backyard.

        The images I capture with my trusty Nikon, then, have an extra duty: They have to remind me of what I saw so I can show it to Mrs. Leeway.

          The thing is, you just never know what you are going to find at these locations, even spots you’ve visited many times in the past. Thousands of others have visited these places as well and they sometimes leave their imprint.

          Sometimes you go looking for something you know about but have never visited.

          My family had grown tired of hearing me talk about the Boot Hill cemetery near Tombstone, Arizona by the time we visited there. The first image here is a classic example of an image from the ‘proof I’ve been there,’ school of photography. I had a passing visitor snap this image. If you look to the left side of the image, you can see my wife and daughter were already tired of the visit. I was still warming up.



          Sometimes visitors leave small notes at these locations. One of the most noteworthy spots is the left flank marker for the 20^th Maine regiment at Little Round Top. In this image, you see where someone jammed a small flag in the ground next to the marker. What else is there to say?

          And look at the regimental memorial for the 20^th Maine. Small notes are held against the wind by small stones. I’ve never opened one of these notes to read them. I don’t think they were left for that purpose.

Look at the notes and small flag left at the base of the regimental memorial for the 20th Maine. These are removed
constantly, only to be replaced by others. In a way these notes are also memorials. I've never opened a closed
note at a memorial. Would you?

          But, sometimes, there are notes left to be read. Two examples of these open notes left behind on Little Round Top are shown. The typewritten note memorializes

The hand-scratched note reads, "15th Alabama
needs a monument."

members of the 15^th Alabama, the Confederate unit that attacked the 20^th Maine on July 2, 1863. The notes were left a few steps from the 20^th Maine memorial. The hand-written note explains itself. Whether you agree with the sentiments expressed is immaterial. The feelings are real enough for those who leave the notes.

          Then there are the flags. Visitors leave flags all over these historic spots. The first flag image is in one of the cemeteries at the Confederate Veterans Memorial Park in Alabama, a flag for a marker. I deliberately stood behind the marker for this image, so as to keep the name of the soldier private.

A small flag flutters in an old Confederate cemetery.

          Look at the image of the flag propped up by small stones at Little Round Top, not far from the right flank marker of the 20^th Maine. This is a Confederate flag, perhaps left by a descendant of a Confederate soldier. Given that the little flag is posted on the rocks that demark the approximate line defended by the 20^th Maine, it seems unlikely that Confederate many soldiers reached that location.

I didn’t shoot this image because of the importance of the spot. Mostly, I liked all the different colors available.

The wrap up here is that regardless of what type of image you are looking for at an historic site, remember to keep your eyes open. Walk with respect for those who

made the place historically important and remember that you will not be the first visitor to have made the trip.

Others have been there before you and those people had their own reason for coming.

Thanks for reading.

 

For some reason, this site is seldom part of a tour guide's planned trip around the Gettysburg battlefield. You can see
the flags are dirty, meaning they have been there for a while. This is the location where the 20th Maine's
Company B waited in ambush for the attack of the 15th Alabama on the Maine regiment's main body.

 

A flag but no notes. The left flank marker of the 16th Michigan.