Year in Review 2015: #5

We’re counting down ECW’s most-read posts of 2015. Coming in at #5 is one of the most beloved stories of the Gettysburg battlefield—although it has its end outside Petersburg.

Many regiments had mascots, but few are as well-known as “Sallie the War Dog,” the mascot of the 11th Pennsylvania. Sallie holds quiet vigil at the foot of the regiment’s monument along Oak Ridge at Gettysburg, on the July 1 battlefield. There, she’s become known by millions of visitors.

But Sallie’s story continued on from there—all the way until February 6, 1865, when she was killed at the battle of Hatcher’s Run on the outskirts of Petersburg. On February 6, 2015, to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Sallie’s death, Edward Alexander recounted Sallie’s story.

The fifth-most-read post of 2015: “Man’s Best Comrade: Sallie and the 11th Pennsylvania” by Edward Alexander