I have the foggiest idea...

                You hear and read military historians talk about the so-called fog of war. If I understand the concept properly, the term refers to the confusion that develops on the battlefield when many dynamic actions take place at the same time. It is difficult for any individual to really know everything that has happened without talking to comrades.

          I found some war fog during a morning visit to the Gettysburg National Battlefield Park and I have two images here from that visit.



The Foggy Fence.

          The images were both produced from a position a few hundred yards east of the position along Seminary Ridge where the Virginia Memorial stands. I was looking in the direction of Cemetery Ridge. You can walk out to the position along a paved path, something visitors do every day.

          The fog dissipated while I was there, thinning from something like the soupy, thick gray stuff you sometimes see along Southern California’s coastline to nearly normal conditions in about 25 minutes. Of course, the action of the sun burning off the fog cranked the temperature higher and did nothing to lower the humidity. I got my images and got myself back in the air-conditioned car.

          You can see the fence drifting off into the fog in the first image. The fence gives you a bit of a feel for the size of the field it covers. I was happy when the bird landed on the fence because it gives the scene a bit of personality.

        

Foggy thoughts at Gettysburg.

  The canon has a personality of its own and it gives a different feel in the next shot. This shot was earlier in the series, so the fog is thicker than in the fence shot, but I like the idea of distance you get from the big gun.

          Few areas in America’s landscape have the important history of these fields. The Confederates attacked the Federal army across this ground on July 3, 1863. That was the third day of the battle, 150 years ago today.

          You can sit along either Ridge and stare across the span between the points of attack and repulse. Somehow, in the morning fog, I imagined things more clearly. I have looked across that distance many times, in both directions, but on this particular occasion it was easier to picture the attack. Something about fog does that, I guess.

          Thanks for reading.

This is it: A Package Deal

          Through the years that I have been photographing the Civil War battlefields at Gettysburg and Chickamauga, I have been more interested in the history of the locations than I have been in finding what I call the pretty pictures.

          I still enjoy the history aspect more than I do the artsy opportunities most battlefields offer, even with my camera in my hand. But this year, in the days following the 2013 Civil War Institute at Gettysburg College, the atmospheric conditions were so good that I abandoned my conceit for an evening and chased after this image.

          I will not lie to you; I am satisfied with this image.

          I am so satisfied with this image that I feel the world deserves to see it. Indeed, if the world really wants it, I am willing to part with this image for a price.

Sunset on Cemetery Ridge.

          I am open to negotiation, but the asking price will be $47 million. At that price, I only need one sale.

The complete offer can include the camera and lens I used to capture the scene, the backpack I carried them in, a guided tour of the location where I captured this shot with me as the tour guide, the car I drove to Gettysburg on the trip to capture the photograph and a house in which to hang the picture.

Oh, and I’ll throw in an autograph at no extra charge.

In sales talk, we call this a Package Deal. You’ll not find another offer like this anywhere.

Interested?

         
          Thanks for reading.

Two notes about the 15th Alabama

          The hand-scribbled note and pre-printed memorial sheet are among the heart-wrenching items you sometimes see at a National Military Park like the one here in Gettysburg.

          This week, with the crowds growing ever larger in advance of the looming 150^th anniversary commemoration of the Battle of Gettysburg, more are likely to pop up. You have to be careful; these things can sneak up on you. Were this one a snake, I’d be dead.

          I had decided not to return to the 20^th Maine area on Little Round Top because I am unhappy with the paved walking paths the National Park Service (I assume it was the NPS) installed in the area. But, while visiting General Warren on Little Round Top, I decided to return to the 20^th’s area anyway.

          The two notes, which you can see here, sat side-by-side.  I admit to moving a

stone away from the printed list of names so as to include the final name in the image. I then rolled the stone back to keep the thing standing.

          It was hard to photograph the notes in a way that shows where the notes stood when I saw them, so all I could do was shoot the goofy image you see that includes the 20^th Maine Regiment’s marker. The image also includes the idiotic paved path recently installed.

        The first note says 15TH ALABAMA NEEDS A MONUMENT.

 

         It so happens that I agree the 15^th Alabama should have a marker near the 20^th. We are not likely to see one erected. Remember Elder’s Rule regarding National Military Parks: Battle winners get to locate and install the markers, not to mention determine the wording for the markers in National Military Parks. Losers are allowed to visit National Military Parks.

          At one time, there might have been a marker installed for the 15^th. William

Notes below center,
20th Maine monument
upper left-center.

Oates, who commanded the 15^th at Gettysburg, was the Governor of Alabama at the same time that J.L. Chamberlain, who commanded the 20^th at Gettysburg, was the governor of Maine. Oates inquired of Chamberlain whether the Maine man would support the idea of some sort of memorial for the 15^th.

          As I understand the story, Chamberlain initially supported the idea until the matter of placement came up. Oates wanted to place the memorial on the location where Oates recalled his beloved brother was felled in the close fighting for the left flank of the 20^th Maine and, indeed, the entire Army of the Potomac on July 2, 1863. Oates described the location.

          Chamberlain, the governor of Maine, disagreed with the idea that the younger Oates advanced as far as the elder Oates, by then the governor of Alabama, believed. The men never came to an agreement and the matter died. In essence, two politicians agreed on something but two old soldiers did not.

          In the spirit of, uh, whatever, your loyal blogger did a very brief check on the Alabama soldiers listed on the pre-printed list shown in the photograph.

          John Robert Woodham did serve in Company H of the 15^th. Born in South Carolina, he was married when he enlisted in the Confederate Army July 3 of 1861. He is listed as severely wounded and captured at Gettysburg. He eventually returned to the 15^th.

          Cornelius Vertilus Atkinson served in Company E of the 15th. Born in Georgia, Atkinson was a farmer when he enlisted at age 16. He was captured at Gettysburg. He remained a POW until the end of the war.

          Manly Scott Anderson was born in South Carolina and was an 18-year-old farmer when he enlisted at 18. A member of Company K, he was captured on July 5^th, during the Army of Northern Virginia’s retreat from Gettysburg.

          Carnes Pattillo Anderson enlisted at Newton, Alabama on August 21, 1862 and served in Company K.

          William Harris was an unmarried farmer living in Daleville, Alabama when he enlisted at age 21. A member of Company K, he was killed at Chickamauga in September of the same year.

 

          Thanks for reading.

A man, a battlefield and time to see it

Across the valley in front of this cannon is the Lutheran Seminary, which
you can see by looking for the steeple-like structure in the center of the image.

               

          Today was a busy day on the battlefield here at Gettysburg, two shifts with time off in the middle to avoid the worst of the heat. There was a big storm here last night, a real windbag that knocked down trees and at least one monument in the battlefield park. We did not notice much of the storm in our hotel room, except for two momentary power losses.

          Out the door at 7:30 this morning and off to the location of the big Peace Monument on Oak Hill. This was really the kickoff area for the heavy fighting on July 1, 1863. I was there earlier this week but I spent time by myself today with a map and the Nikon, not to mention the compass my son and daughter gave me some years back.

          From where I stood today you can see a valley to your left, where one

Monument to Iron
Brigade near
Willoughby Run.

Confederate force rolled into the fight that morning. You look to your right to see where another group of Confeds headed toward the fight. Looking more or less straight ahead shows you where the Federal army intercepted those forces.

          If you use the Lutheran Seminary for an aiming point, you can see the direction the Confeds where headed. The Union guys actually headed there first, but they were retreating and couldn’t take the time to enjoy the view.

          I drove down to the railroad cut, where a lot of soldiers on both sides lost their lives. I was following a map and some notes I had taken during an earlier tour and, since I have a few hundred frames shot inside the cut, I did not shoot there today.

Willoughby Run #1.

          Eventually I made it over to the Willoughby Run area where I watched very carefully for poison ivy, poison oak and poison snakes. Seeing none, I shot a few images of the Run. I was not sure which I liked best and I have included two for you readers to observe and rate. I also paused to record the monument to the Iron Brigade as seen here.

          I made several other stops without recording images, as I have shot those

Willoughby Run #2.

areas on previous visits and today was mostly about the history.

          This afternoon was mostly about recording a sunset image. I decided to try using the monument to the 72^nd Pennsylvania Infantry, which faces mostly West along the famed Cemetery Ridge section of the park.

          The monument had been through a tough night. It was knocked from its perch by the high winds. The amazing National Park Service staff was on the ball and a crane lifted the heavy statue off the ground and back up in the air early in the day.

          I tried to hide the fact that the rifle the soldier holds was bent when the statue

Bent rifle #1.

crashed to the ground overnight, but you can notice it if you really try.

          I’ve been coming to Gettysburg for five years and tonight’s conditions were the best I’ve seen at sundown. I used my new tripod (a gift from Mrs. Leeway), my monopod (which I call my pogo stick) and two lenses during the three hours I was on station.

It turns out that, in Pennsylvania, when you see dark clouds heading for the western sky in order to give you a chance for nice sunset images, the clouds frequently drop raindrops on your head as a sort of revenge for withholding a share of the royalties from the big money earned from the photo shoot.

I will admit to sitting in the car during the rain shower, but that was mostly to

Bent rifle #2.

 protect the photo equipment. The shower was that oddest of things, a warm rain.

I’ve included three images of the monument to the 72^nd here. They are all fun and slightly different.

While shooting these sure-to-be award winning photographs, I was joined by another photog and we chatted as we moved around the area. I mentioned my years as an assistant photography instructor and he asked, “Well, are we doing this right?”

I replied, “I said I was an assistant instructor,” and he laughed. Clearly, it was my line of the day.

Bent rifle #3.

Tomorrow calls for a visit to the Visitor Center bookstore, a drive down Seminary Ridge and, eventually, some time on Little Round Top with General Warren. My Nikon and I visit the General anytime we are in Gettysburg.

I visited the 20^th Maine portion of Little Round Top last week and I was angered by the addition of asphalt to that area. I wrote an angry blog about the asphalt addition, which I eventually deleted. I’ll spend my time elsewhere on LRT in the future.

 

           I hope you enjoy these images. Thanks for reading.

Walking the walk and hearing the talk

                The Civil War Institute at Gettysburg College offers an opportunity to immerse yourself into the Civil War for five days, a chance to really commit to the study of the era. If you enjoy history, particularly the history of the Civil War, this is a grand chance to learn.

          One of the events on Saturday was a walk of the distance between the

A monument along Cemetery Ridge.

Confederate positions on Seminary Ridge toward the Union positions on Cemetery Ridge along the path of a unit involved in Pickett’s Charge. We walked with experts in the field (sorry for the pun) who stopped us at various locations along the way to explain what was happening at each point in the Charge.

          This was an extraordinary event for your loyal blogger. The walk along the path was not a new experience and the story is a familiar one, but the addition of the mini lectures made the evening walk unique.

          We walked from the Virginia Memorial statue to the Bloody Angle and the Copse of Trees. It’s about a mile from Ridge to Ridge and the undulating terrain was a little bit of a test for irregular walkers.

          When you turn to your right, see Little Round Top in the distance and understand that the Union artillery troops up there fired at the Confederates with terrific effect during the Charge, you suddenly get a new feel for the difficulty the Confederate infantry faced that day.

          If you go to Little Round Top and look in the distance, you can see the same area where we walked last night. But without a large group of people walking toward the Union position, there is a disconnect from what the Union artillerymen saw and felt. Walking across the fields and looking at Little Round Top, where those Union men had their artillery pieces working well on July 3, 1863, you get a very different feeling. You understand the feeling of being a target.

          Five years ago, when this writer visited Gettysburg for the first time, I walked the same approximate pathway twice (once in the wrong direction in order to get to the starting point and then back with the correct bearing). When I returned to the Visitors Center, where my wife and daughter were soaking up the air conditioning, I told them, “I know what they did. I don’t know how or why they did it.”

          Since then, this blogger has read several books on the subject. I have attended lectures and talked to experts.

          And I still don’t know how those Confederate soldiers got as far as they did before the Charge failed in the face of a determined Union defense.

          Why do we study history? To answer that question.

          Thanks for reading.

 

Images from a restless Nikon

          A few hours before the start of this year’s Civil War Institute, your loyal blogger

Back lighting provides a nice image.

took to the battlefield with a camera, a tripod and a dream.

          The camera was the trusty Nikon D90 DSLR, just a terrific platform. The tripod was the nifty 58-inch, dual-bubble gizmo my wife bought the night before for just such contingencies.

          The dream was to get a decent image.

          The first two shots in this sure-to-be award-winning collection come from the Devils Den area of the battlefield, the memorial to the 4^th New York Battery that served the Union cause so well during the second day of the battle of Gettysburg, July 2, 1863.

          There are a lot of possibilities with this statue, but this was a morning shoot and the backlight shot simply instructed the photographer to forget everything else on the morning’s list and begin working right there.

       

The business end of the canon provides
a nice addition to the image here.

   Backlight images are fun to produce and this one works very well because the sun is obviously behind the subject and the background is clear.

          Another image from the same area shows an attempt to get creative, using the barrel of a cannon to help frame the statue. Right, re-read the previous sentence. This was an attempt to be creative, not a promise to be creative.

          The next two images show two views of one of the more popular stops for this particular photographer: The memorial to the Andrew Sharpshooters on the Loop near the Rose Farm.

The Andrew Sharpshooters.

          The first image is a generic view. The second image is from in front of the monument. Take a look at the nice detail on this monument and the placement within the trees. This is a superior location and your loyal blogger has many hundreds of

Note the damage to the neck area. The
National Park Service has a group of
dedicated men and women who spend
their time repairing cases like this.

images of the monument.

          The last image in this collection shows a position marker neat the crest of Culp’s Hill. The marker details the position of the 60^th New York regiment on the side of the hill.

          The positioning leads me to believe the Federal breastworks that were put up to help stop the charging Confederates may have been lodged in this general area. A little investigation is in order next week be accurate on that suggestion.

          Either way, the setting is very nice.

          Getting back up the slope was a challenge, but life never promised to be easy.

         
          Thanks for reading.

CWI time: Gettysburg bound

          The 2013 Civil War Institute begins Friday at Gettysburg College and this year’s conference will be very special. This year’s CWI begins less than two weeks before the beginning of the 150th anniversary of the battle of Gettysburg.

          This year’s CWI will cover the entire year of 1863 but it will include a special concentration on the fight at Gettysburg.

          Some of the top Civil War scholars of the day will speak at the 2013 CWI. They

Right flank marker for the 16th
Michigan regiment on Little
Round Top.

include Gary Gallagher, Peter Carmichael and Carol Reardon. Conference attendees have the opportunity for US Army Staff Rides on the battlefield at Gettysburg and at Chancellorsville. There are guided walks of Pickett’s Charge and other locations at Gettysburg.

          Attending the CWI is an extraordinary experience. You can meet and interact with the foremost experts on the subject. You are thrown together with attendees who share your interest in the war and the war’s era and you end up making friends with folks from all walks of life.

          I typically fill a legal-sized notebook with notes and thoughts gathered during the CWI. While I spend much of the year doing my own research, the CWI is a chance to gather a lot of information in a short time. If you came to your interest in the War late, the CWI represents a chance to accelerate your learning curve.

          The Civil War is a very complex subject. Learning what happened and why is an amazing journey through time and the CWI is one of the best parts of the journey. I recommend attending the event to anyone interested in history.

          Where else can you gather lots of different viewpoints from the top people in the field in a short period of time?

          You might consider getting ahead of the pack for next year’s conference and look at the CWI website online. The topic, I think, will be the war in 1864. If history is your interest, you’ll want to be there.

 

          Thanks for reading.