Showing results for "gettysburg off the beaten path"

Gettysburg Off the Beaten Path: Ohio Flank Markers

Part of a series. Gettysburg aficionados often debate the key terrain of the battlefield. Is it Little Round Top, Culp’s Hill, Cemetery Ridge? Cemetery Hill receives less attention from battlefield visitors and “Gettys-buffs”, but it was more important than any hillock or ridge during the battle. Known as Raffensberger’s Hill by locals, it served as […]

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Gettysburg Off the Beaten Path: Semmes Rocks

  Part of a series. Of the nine generals killed or mortally wounded at Gettysburg, five met their fate on the afternoon of July 2. One of those officers, Confederate Brig. Gen. Paul Semmes, has several conflicting stories regarding the exact location where he received his mortal wound. Semmes and his men waited all afternoon […]

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Gettysburg Off the Beaten Path: Trough Rock

Part of a series. Of the thousands of rocks in Gettysburg National Military Park, a handful are “lucky” enough to be named. One such rock—the Trough Rock—is surrounded in mystery as to its origins. Located in the Plum Run Valley (or Valley of Death) between Little Round Top and Devil’s Den, Trough Rock is situated […]

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Gettysburg Off the Beaten Path: Messersmith’s (or Shetter’s) Woods

Part of a series.  Travelers that make the pilgrimage to Gettysburg via Route 30 East may not know that they are driving atop the very road traversed by Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Confederate Army of Northern Virginia before the battle. As Lee moved north into Pennsylvania in the summer of 1863, he used the Cumberland […]

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Gettysburg Off the Beaten Path: The Acheson Rock

Just north of Little Round Top, amidst a grove of trees, lies a boulder with a simple inscription on it: “D.A. 140 P.V.” That stands for David Acheson, 140th Pennsylvania Volunteers. The boulder served as Acheson’s temporary grave until his family arrived to retrieve his body on July 15, 1863. However, it also served as […]

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Gettysburg Off the Beaten Path: Arcadia and Prospect Hall

Major General George Gordon Meade settled into bed on the night of July 27, 1863 after a long day in the saddle. He and his V Corps of the Union Army of the Potomac had completed a hard march from northern Virginia to Frederick, Maryland. After ordering the men to bivouac along the banks of […]

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Gettysburg Off the Beaten Path: The 17th Connecticut Flagpole

One of the most frequent questions I receive is, “If you’ve been to Gettysburg so many times, haven’t you seen everything already?” Of course, the answer is no—but it hasn’t stopped me from trying. One of the most helpful sources to explore Gettysburg’s “off the beaten path” locations has been Kris White’s ECW series of […]

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ECW Weekender: Gettysburg Off The Beaten Path

Heading to Gettysburg this weekend or in the near future? We’ve pulled Kris White’s series Gettysburg Off The Path from the archives for the weekender feature. If you’re looking for some unique stories and places to explore at Gettysburg, this is for you! And if you’ve visited some of these places, leave a comment and […]

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Gettysburg Off the Beaten Path: The “Wounding” of Richard Ewell

Part of a series. Arguably the most criticized member of the Confederate high command at Gettysburg was 46-year-old Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewell. Ewell assumed command of the Confederate Second Corps prior to the Gettysburg Campaign, and after the death of Lt. Gen. Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson. At the August 28, 1862, Battle of Groveton, […]

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