tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-46930556368464427052024-02-21T08:35:36.975-05:00Spotsylvania Civil War BlogDiscussion of all social, political and cultural aspects of the American Civil War battles fought in Spotsylvania County, Virginia. Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Wilderness and Spotsylvania.
Antebellum to modern day perspective of the material culture effects of these engagements, both military and civilian. From time to time your blog host will examine other Civil War sites such as Manassas, Gettysburg, and Petersburg.
All original material copyright 2024 by John F. Cummings IIIJohn Cummingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15664001896165763192noreply@blogger.comBlogger179125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4693055636846442705.post-39528308266076976862020-09-30T16:24:00.002-04:002020-10-01T06:56:03.553-04:00The Death of General Thomas Stevenson. Identifying the ground where he fell.<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4-mjhOb3Pa4x729FybgXiADVoptMR61brT3SqSnBNxm_HAVxNlBzfbC_EJc_Ig15ElQaN7rXBdC6Tzxn2k4Hr8VYkO4JfOKwRmUR5ZdYlGVVWsOoejWytZ9LZP_LisdQgzyt9F2CXhMc7/s2048/img223.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1271" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4-mjhOb3Pa4x729FybgXiADVoptMR61brT3SqSnBNxm_HAVxNlBzfbC_EJc_Ig15ElQaN7rXBdC6Tzxn2k4Hr8VYkO4JfOKwRmUR5ZdYlGVVWsOoejWytZ9LZP_LisdQgzyt9F2CXhMc7/w124-h200/img223.jpg" width="124" /></a></div><br />The following is the culmination of a project I began over sixteen years ago, brought out again currently by the expressed desire of others to place a historical marker pertaining to the death site of Brigadier General Thomas Greeley Stevenson. Since early 2004 I have studied the terrain around which he was killed and the documentation that exists detailing the incident. Many thanks to historian Eric Mink of the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park for providing access to copy documents within their holdings. Also, in remembrance of the late historian Greg Coco, I want to acknowledge his kind generosity in fielding my questions back in 2007, and his providing copied pages from his book, <u>Through Blood and Fire.</u> They served as the first strong clue supporting my assertions herein.<p></p><p>All images can be tapped for enlarged viewing.</p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>Introduction</b> </p><p>Around 8:30 on the morning of May 10, 1864, Brigadier Thomas Greely Stevenson was relaxing under a tree behind an advanced defensive position on the south side of the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania Courthouse Road, modern Route 208. The general and some fellow officers had just finished breakfast and he was reclined on his right elbow, smoking his pipe. Several eyewitness accounts of the details behind this incident exist. Some are confusing, others contradictory and easily dismissed, leaning toward hearsay, while others, taken together, paint the scene vividly. Numerous pedestrian terrain surveys, accompanied by the maps of topographical engineers Nathaniel Michler and James Duane, as well as a vivid, on-location sketch of the landscape by newspaper Special Artist, Alfred Waud, helped to verify, for me, the vicinity in relation to the written accounts.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>Stevenson's Arrival On The Field</b></p><p>At the conclusion of the costly two-day fight in the Wilderness, the Union Army started its way toward the Spotsylvania Courthouse during the evening of May 7, 1864. In the morning hours of May 8, the 5th and 6th Corps arrived northwest of the village on the edge of the Spindle Farm, while the 2nd Corps made an a extension of the Union right, nearly three miles to the west, crossing the Po River. Over May 8 and 9, the 9th Corps approached along the Fredericksburg Road, heading southwest, having made a circuitous route, part of a plan desiring to trap Lee's army in a bag, but this was ultimately due to fail as delays along the path curtailed the left wing's part of the action. </p><p>The 9th Corps' had established a foothold south of the Ni River (spelled Ny in 1864, and the cause of some confusion, with erroneous speculation that it stood for the "New York" River). The Third Division, under General Willcox, had engaged Confederates on the Beverly Farm, known as Whig Hill, in the morning hours of May 9, along with scattering units atop the rise coming out of the Ni River valley on the Couthouse Road. The Confederates withdrew after a strenuous firefight. Near noon, the First Division, under General Stevenson, arrived, pressing forward, beyond Whig Hill, to an advanced position within a half mile of the entrenched Confederates on the rise around Spotsylvania Courthouse. For the remainder of the day skirmishers exchanged fire, the Confederates having advanced theirs near 300 yards to the front of their main line. At some point, newspaper artist Alfred Waud witnessed, and sketched, advancing 9th Corps troops, engaging the Confederate pickets semi-concealed in a line of "dwarf pine".</p><p style="text-align: center;"><b>The ground in front of the Spotsylvania Courthouse advance</b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAP6Xf0zaQkGYKu4NYr3U-qBsojpfa3LX9o1_sTLhyphenhyphenHzeo_yTmOmMLRojfH-RtTC-f4tA-Nh3Cmgabjcsard0GfN2zjRanVHFsO5CeJJpIEfurOZSyznUXOfM60sBryawFT8It89XQuhNF/s3237/img222+left+side+combined.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="971" data-original-width="3237" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAP6Xf0zaQkGYKu4NYr3U-qBsojpfa3LX9o1_sTLhyphenhyphenHzeo_yTmOmMLRojfH-RtTC-f4tA-Nh3Cmgabjcsard0GfN2zjRanVHFsO5CeJJpIEfurOZSyznUXOfM60sBryawFT8It89XQuhNF/w640-h192/img222+left+side+combined.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">A panoramic view toward Spotsylvania Courthouse, made from two photographs taken March 25, 2004.</div><div style="text-align: left;">The author was able to achieve this in the days before readily available drone photography, by the kind assistance of Spotsylvania Fire Company/Rescue Station 1, and the use of their truck, Tower 1. Company 1 is now located in the open foreground seen in this image, the historically important ground over which the 9th Corps advanced on May 9, 1864. The advance was witnessed and drawn by Harper's Weekly Special Artist, Alfred Waud, as seen in the next image and comparative ground-level photograph assembled, also by the author, in his early investigations of the site. Annotations are added in red to orient the location of buildings around the Courthouse. A <a href="https://spotsylvaniacw.blogspot.com/2010/04/landscape-of-war-spotsylvania.html" target="_blank">prior blog post from April 2010</a> goes into further details on this point.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixTm1hZx6PfLnKHcOXeG8c9RjMv-8GGiW0f2VruP8F00z2SjCIpxpMuv-c1fEarice4kMMHTjaNce9G9wCBPtf7oONcUzFlZMuAmJl0oXobxaB9OtszqdCYhyphenhyphen9BJBhKLNEAM06PRXThYLH/s1498/ARW+blogpic001.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="948" data-original-width="1498" height="406" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixTm1hZx6PfLnKHcOXeG8c9RjMv-8GGiW0f2VruP8F00z2SjCIpxpMuv-c1fEarice4kMMHTjaNce9G9wCBPtf7oONcUzFlZMuAmJl0oXobxaB9OtszqdCYhyphenhyphen9BJBhKLNEAM06PRXThYLH/w640-h406/ARW+blogpic001.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinZpwuJan4OYBvRCbDaNtEX5cdB5PFmGt8r12AsFEiOZL9vkyeBZIVsLHGrbv0jBjnLqdsI4wpA2RxAeGmr2d3gzw73iM5Q9wykPuF-hIaVvTCZd8XysXlZPrgmK86hv6rGh5fTEIF-HiI/s1498/ARW+BlogPic002.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="948" data-original-width="1498" height="406" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinZpwuJan4OYBvRCbDaNtEX5cdB5PFmGt8r12AsFEiOZL9vkyeBZIVsLHGrbv0jBjnLqdsI4wpA2RxAeGmr2d3gzw73iM5Q9wykPuF-hIaVvTCZd8XysXlZPrgmK86hv6rGh5fTEIF-HiI/w640-h406/ARW+BlogPic002.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The ground's appearance on May 10 is described by Lieutenant Edwin Rufus Lewis in his reminiscences after the war. <span style="background-color: #fcff01;">"...the men were getting into shape on the high slope facing a long depression beyond which was the gentle rise..."</span> upon which was the entrenched Confederate position in advance of the Courthouse. Lewis was on detached duty from his regiment, the 21st Massachusetts, serving as Aid de Camp for General Stevenson. Waud's sketch makes note of action on May 9th, with "Rebels firing from the dwarf pine on the slope to the ct. house". Waud may have used a slight elevation to observe this action, perhaps from a tree. Another sketch by Waud exists, showing greater details of the structures around the Court House, undoubtedly observed with the aid of binoculars or a telescope. That drawing is shown below. Space considerations compelled Waud to draw the left side details of what he observed at the top of the page, then proceeding to the right hand structures on the bottom half. This was very likely drawn on May 9th as well. The Confederate entrenched position is indicated by the dashed line on the rising slope indicated on the top half.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiTZJTv1SC_mV9Bo72YAUEkjqUE8RFWzxAeRZ3eOiptuyGSYgYEcvGPvA7eY_n7dnkrGuNnmOgvCDJ_GtS11KJAbTvYWy6pjXI8vbkPrA5gBq4HvUB6rGq6TEOhLJBauDR1L4u8QVHhPmm/s1879/Spotsylvania+CH+buildings+by+Waud+crop.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1316" data-original-width="1879" height="448" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiTZJTv1SC_mV9Bo72YAUEkjqUE8RFWzxAeRZ3eOiptuyGSYgYEcvGPvA7eY_n7dnkrGuNnmOgvCDJ_GtS11KJAbTvYWy6pjXI8vbkPrA5gBq4HvUB6rGq6TEOhLJBauDR1L4u8QVHhPmm/w640-h448/Spotsylvania+CH+buildings+by+Waud+crop.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The images were later cobbled together to create the wood engraving below, published in Harper's Weekly, on page 380 of their June 11, 1864 issue.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg52H7w5kLw5kspC_kD6kwn7QFNbMCeySVqkApzFeJE2ZZrdFZo2Q55MF1Gb3XBPdIFFMsyAtqwJsbU-vTtPzbc4rV4fRByd7aUKV1bNltupQbss1u6Ja4OKhFic68awQ-I-1bIWaWoAqYq/s913/Spotsylvania+Court+House+view+engraved+from+Waud.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="355" data-original-width="913" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg52H7w5kLw5kspC_kD6kwn7QFNbMCeySVqkApzFeJE2ZZrdFZo2Q55MF1Gb3XBPdIFFMsyAtqwJsbU-vTtPzbc4rV4fRByd7aUKV1bNltupQbss1u6Ja4OKhFic68awQ-I-1bIWaWoAqYq/w640-h248/Spotsylvania+Court+House+view+engraved+from+Waud.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq3hVzJYUcx0MikLanZoayJIADH8awmtiFBQRIqh86UHEdd0BFjNxI7gqXAt3NyUpILH6Ig5A6MWrLZYKE7wL_lty_zWGVNZ2fcZciJyUuTwFgen6aPDd7_IBHQ451WxnR0bPiFSlq8P45/s503/Spotsy+Harpers+June+11+details.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="191" data-original-width="503" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq3hVzJYUcx0MikLanZoayJIADH8awmtiFBQRIqh86UHEdd0BFjNxI7gqXAt3NyUpILH6Ig5A6MWrLZYKE7wL_lty_zWGVNZ2fcZciJyUuTwFgen6aPDd7_IBHQ451WxnR0bPiFSlq8P45/s320/Spotsy+Harpers+June+11+details.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Major Charles J. Mills of the 56th Massachusetts, of the 1st Brigade, 1st Division, described the arrival and disposition on May 9. "Gen. Wilcox's Headquarters were well in rear, and <span style="background-color: #fcff01;">Gen. Stevenson was sent to take command in front</span>, and the Division posted principally in reserve. Strong entrenchments were immediately begun, as the enemy have a very strong position in front. There was some skirmishing in front all the rest of the day, but nothing to speak of, and we had a quiet night."</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><b>The Morning of May 10, 1864</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: left;">Stephen Weld affirms Stevenson's location on the <span style="background-color: #fcff01;">"left of the road were three or four terraces, and he was lying down under one of them"</span>. Major Mills states that headquarters was "behind a bank where we were perfectly protected."</div><div style="text-align: left;">Stevenson was lying on a blanket spread out under the shade of a tree, smoking his pipe and looking relaxed. This was noticed by fellow officers who had ridden forward, remarking that they would enjoy switching places. That is where most retellings of the story are similar, with Stevenson being killed suddenly, at that moment, rather akin to the immediacy of General Sedgwick's death by sniper, nearly 24 hours previous, while laughing at his own joke. The most graphic, and in all likelihood, the most accurate accounting of Stevenson's death was penned by his Aid de Camp, Lieutenant Edwin Rufus Lewis, who immediately went to the stricken general's assistance. Lewis was in post-war years trained as a physician and a chemist at Harvard Medical College, graduating in 1867, thus I am trusting of his medical assertions. </div><div style="text-align: left;">"We had breakfasted and had had coffee and the general was enjoying his pipe reclining on the ground and resting on his right elbow, his head and upper body up, when report came that some of our men being killed in action had been left uncared for. Stevenson began to give us an order for having proper care taken of the bodies. He removed his pipe and began speaking. I stood near listening to him. Stray bullets were coming over and whistling around, burying themselves in the ground. It was a part of our routine experience. One was heard coming that seemed to be VERY near. The general stopped in the middle of a sentence. I heard the bullet strike with a peculiar dull thud as if striking in a pumpkin. I stood waiting the completion of the order. But the general was silent. He had not moved. He was holding his pipe up in hand and looking me in the face. No movement of hand or eye betrayed him, but soon his hand began to drop and his head to droop. Lieut Jones, an aide standing near by, exclaimed "Good God! the general is struck." I sprang forward and put my hand under his head to support it and felt a gruesome damp liquid oozing out. The ball had entered back of the left ear. On searching we saw it pushing out below the right temple. It had passed through the brain but had stopped short of emerging. The general never knew what hit him. He was unconscious, of course, and soon a comative sleep developed. In an hour or so he died."</div><div style="text-align: left;">As to the location on the ground, a soldier in Company A of the 100th Pennsylvania, Joseph H. Templeton, is quoted as saying the Division Headquarters was near his company. The 100th probably held the left most section of the line that day, along with the 3rd Maryland and the 21st Massachusetts. </div><div style="text-align: left;">At 9 AM, Brigadier General Willcox, commanding the Third Division, notified Burnside that Stevenson had been killed, <span style="background-color: #fcff01;">"at his headquarters in front"</span>.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>Position Abandoned May 11</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Stevenson's breastworks of the morning of May 10th would be the first of two "abandoned" works encountered late in the day of May 12, when two Confederate brigades advanced northeast along the Fredericksburg Road, before encountering an effectively held third line along what is now NPS road, Burnside Drive, on the north side of Route 208, and Wild Turkey Road, entering the Plantation Forest Subdivision on the south side of Route 208. In 1864 there was a road on nearly the same footprint as Wild Turkey, referenced in local documents as the "Anderson Road", running southeast before branching, the northern most fork moving east to cross the Ni River below the Anderson Plantation on a plateau on the north side of the Ni. The southern fork swung to the south, downhill, then swung back southeast into the property of John Henry Myer and the landmark known as "Myer's" or "Bleak" Hill.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>Maps</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This aerial view is annotated to illustrate the three lines (vibrant blue) encountered by the "Cooke - Weisiger Advance" of May 12, along the Courthouse Road. <span style="color: red;"><b>1</b></span> and <span style="color: red;"><b>2</b></span> have been described as "abandoned" or lightly held by skirmishers, whereas <span style="color: red;"><b>3</b></span> was strongly held and caused the Confederates to fall back.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLv5AyNJTlJ_9Jw6jsKA8_p49gLgkdgd_PC5I3kyFX0D09tTWctDJRuezFbRiT9FutFanUSEO_ftmw1GckznqUZxgzvF9s2wBwP6BZ1OvwDYWb5Wuai1ODltapt9cu3cLk5DKHVkbjkz0v/s853/3+lines+Cooke+Weis+adv+anno.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="603" data-original-width="853" height="452" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLv5AyNJTlJ_9Jw6jsKA8_p49gLgkdgd_PC5I3kyFX0D09tTWctDJRuezFbRiT9FutFanUSEO_ftmw1GckznqUZxgzvF9s2wBwP6BZ1OvwDYWb5Wuai1ODltapt9cu3cLk5DKHVkbjkz0v/w640-h452/3+lines+Cooke+Weis+adv+anno.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Here is a detail of the area from the Michler map, showing the entrenched positions along the road.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji7rTcAbQte3Yb2ZiB1-KWsguS9OJYv7Y9dhQnB38exuIkrvEr9eeTQqoT_FTiBCz3G_Wphqo2Uw7ST9BnqEMGvxWR0VZpwBB-tEZkR0ZW36dVGM_RAxKtv0JBsdapeJBeeU2xXgSj73Dh/s1444/Michlerspotsylvania+cw0658100+%25282%2529.tif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1444" data-original-width="1342" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji7rTcAbQte3Yb2ZiB1-KWsguS9OJYv7Y9dhQnB38exuIkrvEr9eeTQqoT_FTiBCz3G_Wphqo2Uw7ST9BnqEMGvxWR0VZpwBB-tEZkR0ZW36dVGM_RAxKtv0JBsdapeJBeeU2xXgSj73Dh/w594-h640/Michlerspotsylvania+cw0658100+%25282%2529.tif" width="594" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Below is a focus on the location of the forward line, and position of General Stevenson's death. Based heavily on pedestrian surveys by myself, and line of site considerations, I have based my conclusions that a slightly elevated position at the center of the line, inside the "S" curve, would be the logical place of Stevenson's headquarters, "at the front", as it is referred to. Based on the stated nearness to the 100th Pennsylvania in line, I would suggest they occupied the eastern wing. Headquarters then, and the remnant of trench it sat behind, is sadly the location of a decades-old trash dumping ground, outlined in white, with an old dirt path marked through its center. By all appearances, the ditch of the trench may have been initially used as a ready-made dumping ground. Estimates of its use may be 50 years or more, considering the items visible when toured around 15 years ago. Modern (current, assumed) property lines are indicated in red. Further examination would prove beneficial, but it must be pointed out that this is all private property. The scene of the fighting in Waud's May 9 sketch is across Courthouse Commons Boulevard, across the ground now occupied by Spotsylvania Fire Company/Rescue Station 1, and the 1960s vintage pond seen to the southwest corner of the map. The Confederate skirmishers detailed in the Waud sketch would have been along what is now the driveway leading to the Confederate Cemetery.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Ck7DvJiAMbnQIdw48LtMueUbQd7GS3DtWqpiJ6slK7XwgvS9Yngirv90LwxYUlrjWUwbBlqib9WhgA-8Do9-ciV5tm9x2wnD3LruG0i1ZWLPi70BbGBLopcrak1Ur8Gd63QxzWO2vNpQ/s848/Property+lines+assumed+%25282%2529.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="848" data-original-width="780" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Ck7DvJiAMbnQIdw48LtMueUbQd7GS3DtWqpiJ6slK7XwgvS9Yngirv90LwxYUlrjWUwbBlqib9WhgA-8Do9-ciV5tm9x2wnD3LruG0i1ZWLPi70BbGBLopcrak1Ur8Gd63QxzWO2vNpQ/w588-h640/Property+lines+assumed+%25282%2529.JPG" width="588" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In an ideal world, my suggestion to locate proposed interpretive markers for this ground would ideally be in the open field just north of the 1960s pond, on the Fire Station property, largely on the visual strength of the Waud sketch and comparative graphics that can be provided.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I will point out that interestingly, the troop movement map set produced by National Park Service researchers in 2000, usually referred to as the "O'Reilly maps", does not indicate the existence of this forward trench line. Similarly, the much older "Happel and Bearrs" map set from around 1950, shows the existence of the line only on the last two maps of the set, without further notes.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>Conclusion</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It is my belief, based on documents indicating Stevenson was sent, and took command, in the "front", whereas others were in the "rear", and the on-site, as it happened, visual strength of the Waud drawing of advancing Union soldiers across the ground, dated as the 9th of May 1864, this is the location of Stevenson's death on May 10. The site would be the ideal "military crest" from which to observe and engage the enemy, roughly 500 yards (skirmishers), and 800 yards (entrenched) to his front.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Copyright <span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; text-align: center;">© </span>2004-2020 by John F. Cummings III</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div> </div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><br /> </div><p><br /></p>John Cummingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15664001896165763192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4693055636846442705.post-38182249813678933202020-05-26T13:02:00.000-04:002020-05-30T13:11:28.901-04:00Fox House Below The North Anna: The front has always been the front. Concern raised as restoration work nears.<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;">Last May the <a href="https://emergingcivilwar.com/2019/05/23/the-fox-house-at-the-north-anna-river/" target="_blank">Emerging Civil War blog published a piece </a>about the American Battlefield Trust's acquisition of the Fox House, a vital landmark of the North Anna Campaign, and location of a near fatal blow to Robert E. Lee himself. In that article there was raised the question as to which face of the house, east or west, was the 1860's entrance. The answer to that question is easily established, yet a few days ago, May 23, 2020, <a href="https://emergingcivilwar.com/2020/05/23/a-walk-around-the-fox-house-at-north-anna/" target="_blank">ECW </a><a href="https://emergingcivilwar.com/2020/05/23/a-walk-around-the-fox-house-at-north-anna/" target="_blank">posted an on-site video, now revised as of 5/28/2020)</a>, with </span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333;">co-founder and editor-in-chief, Chris Mackowski, wherein he presents the west face of the house as being the wartime entrance, maintaining that this was due to the wartime placement of the Telegraph Road being some 250 yards distant, Mackowski further maintains that the entrance was switched to the east face with the 1926 opening of modern U. S. Route 1, alternately known as the Jefferson Davis Highway, and Washington Highway. This assertion does not bear up under scrutiny. There are two major points to be brought forth here.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333;">Point 1: When built in the mid to late 1830's, the front of the house was oriented toward the newly opened (1836) Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad, which took dominance over the Telegraph Road as the anticipated route of burgeoning commerce. It also didn't hurt that facing east provided morning sun and added warmth during winter months. This trended into the mid 19th century.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333;">Point 2: The incident of General Robert E. Lee's near brush with death on May 23, shortly after 5:00 PM, left physical evidence on the left door frame of the east face entrance way. The story places the general on the porch, receiving a cold glass of buttermilk from the home's owner, Reverend Fox, just as a Union artillery shell hits the frame and fails to explode. A photograph of that battle damaged wood, taken by me in 1992, can be seen below, at center, along the edge of the brick wall.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #1c1e21;">I'm confident the Trust is aware of the Fox House entrance being on the east side rather than the alternate story initially detailed in the ECW video. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #1c1e21; display: inline;">From the ECW video it is apparent the Trust has the door and frame protected by a boxed enclosure, not only as a security measure, but one to also protect the battle-scarred woodwork.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #1c1e21; display: inline;">Additional images of the Fox House are included below, taken in 1992 while touring with Blue & Gray Magazine editor, Dave Roth, and North Anna battle expert, J. Michael Miller, author of the seminal volume, <u>The North Anna Campaign "Even To Hell Itself"</u>, published in 1989 by H. E. Howard. Our visit was in preparation for Miller's cover article for the April 1993 issue of Blue & Gray.</span></span><br />
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Jason Lee Roth (David's dad and tour assistant), historian Mike Miller, and David E. Roth, publisher of Blue & Gray, approach the east facing front porch of the house.</div>
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To the left of the house (south) stands the former library and school maintained by Reverend Fox.</div>
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Later in the day, J. Michael Miller and David Roth posed along the newly built North Anna Battlefield Park trail system, near where Colonel Chandler of the 57th Massachusetts Infantry was mortally wounded on May 24, 1864. </div>
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A detail from Nathaniel Michler's map of the North Anna Battlefield shows the RF&P running north to south at center, with the Fox house, mislabeled "Cox", at center left, with the Telegraph Road to its west. The long entrance road to the Fox house approaches from the railroad. Modern day Route 1 would bisect the property in 1926.</div>
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A detail from the J. C. Duane map of the North Anna Battlefield, although distorted as for the course of the river, it does provide greater detail of the road leading from the RF&P to the Fox House.</div>
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John Cummingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15664001896165763192noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4693055636846442705.post-26522880286058376232020-05-14T16:38:00.001-04:002020-05-16T19:10:53.227-04:00Myer's Hill Map Examinations<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Today is the 156th anniversary of the fighting on Myer's Hill, an important opening engagement of the second week of fighting at Spotsylvania, Virginia, May 14, 1864. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> After 20 years of this author's advocacy, the site has been preserved by the Central Virginia Battlefields Trust. The two accompanying videos supply some brief overview of the fighting that took place, and of the cultural resources on the preserved property and surrounding area. They are brief, 9:45 minutes, and 6:20 minutes, but I hope they provide a satisfying introduction to a project that has been very near and dear to me. They can be viewed full screen by clicking on the video.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> Please visit the CVBT for further information, and consider donating to the cause.</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.cvbt.org/myers-hill-donate"><span style="font-size: large;">https://www.cvbt.org/myers-hill-donate</span></a></div>
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<span style="color: red;">Update: I mention in the video below that the Confederate trench to the south of the field might have been destroyed by a recent subdivision going in. I am happy to report that it appears efforts were taken to protect that section along a long standing path. I will report in a new post soon.</span></div>
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<br />John Cummingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15664001896165763192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4693055636846442705.post-74429440781203453422020-02-04T08:35:00.001-05:002020-02-04T08:35:38.979-05:00New Book - Coming May 2021<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Two immigrants, born on the same day, a year apart, came to America for all the opportunity it offered. The Civil War brought them both to a hilltop farm near Spotsylvania Court House, Virginia. Without ever meeting, their lives would collide on May 14, 1864. One would lose his life, the other his property.<br />
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Over twenty years in the making, historian John Cummings brings his exhaustive research, and passion for battlefield preservation, into telling the story.<br />
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Cummings has been a devoted advocate for the preservation and interpretation of what remains of the John Henry Myer Farm, and this came to fruition with the 2018 purchase of the property by the Central Virginia Battlefields Trust.<br />
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Set for publication on the 157th anniversary of the battle that raged over the land, Cummings' work details the struggle for the high ground, and the lives of those who fought and died there.John Cummingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15664001896165763192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4693055636846442705.post-55357463622325292982019-05-14T14:19:00.000-04:002019-05-14T14:24:29.505-04:00155th Anniversary of the Action on Myer's Hill: On Location, and Authentic Weather To BootIt's been some time since I've posted here while handling numerous other projects, but today I decided to head up to Myer's Hill on the 155th Anniversary of the fighting there. May 14, 1864. Studying this battlefield has been a twenty year passion of mine, and after an equal effort of advocating for its preservation, I can finally see that goal coming to fruition. Use the "Search This Blog" bar for previous posts I've done regarding other aspects of the Myer family experience and the soldiers engaged here.<br />
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The Central Virginia Battlefields Trust has acquired the nearly 74 acres that constitute the core of the action, including the Myer house ruins, and instrumental ground surrounding. <a href="https://www.cvbt.org/myers-hill-donate" target="_blank">Click their link here to learn more and to make a donation toward the purchase.</a><br />
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The following two, short videos were made essentially in real-time as the height of the morning assault by two small regiments of Ayres' Brigade would have been wrapping things up. Rain fell this morning, just as it did then, making for an authentic experience, but a shortened one from what I had originally planned to do. Nevertheless, I enjoy doing these "as it happened" presentations, and I hope you'll find some value in them.<br />
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Video One</div>
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Video Two<br />
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John Cummingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15664001896165763192noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4693055636846442705.post-14032613991996307092018-12-07T14:01:00.000-05:002018-12-07T14:01:11.253-05:00Jackson's Line At First Manassas - A Radical Re-examination <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
This posting will certainly open a can of worms, I have no doubt, but I will present this with great confidence, for as you will see, there is substantial evidence to back it up. </div>
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Have you ever stood behind the Jackson monument on Henry Hill and wondered to yourself, "It took him an hour to arrange this line?" There is nothing spectacular about the ground we are led to believe contained his Virginians, lying prone behind the thirteen assorted pieces of artillery, yet here it has been marked, with one prior adjustment, and worshiped as sacrosanct.</div>
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The prior adjustment I mention dates to sometime in the late 1970s or early 80s, a date no one has given me firm confirmation of, but one that has been acknowledged. Prior to the adjustment, the cannons were lined up some 125 yards or so to the west of where they stand today, having been set close to the monuments to Jackson, Bee, and Bartow. But, eventually, this was reconsidered, and the National Park Service historians came to an epiphany, and moved them tighter to the "woodline", thought to be the one described by all accounts, where the farm lane emerges onto the open plain. </div>
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Much of this has been based on a mere trust of a poorly mapped accounting of what took place. Historians noted for their expertise of this battle readily admit that they are not certain of the placement of the woodlines during the battle, and published maps since July 1861 have been vague at best. Unfortunately, a map produced by a Wisconsin Lieutenant, Charles K. Dean, has received a great deal of traction, mostly after an article appeared in the March/April 2004 issue of Military Images magazine. The Dean map however, is far from reliable, being grossly distorted, and on a par with directions to a 7-11 scrawled on a napkin. It is indeed a wonderful artifact from someone who witnessed the fight and walked the ground again less than a year later, but it has no merits as a reliable, surveyed map. A feature marked by Dean as a "small water hole surrounded by rebel graves", has taken the spotlight since that article appeared, making claim that Dean's map puts it south of the Henry House. Indeed, that is the illusion given by this "map", but as will be explained in a later post, in greater detail, this, forgive the pun, holds no water. Some of my readers may have attended a photography tour I held on the field earlier in the year, hosted by Harry Smeltzer, and are well aware of my challenge to the article's assumption. Suffice to say, the Dean map is not reliable. Now, back to the immediate point at hand.</div>
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Below is an aerial map of the Manassas battlefield, focused on the Henry Hill area. Two foot contour lines have been placed over the ground, providing much greater detail than usually found on topo maps. This information is culled from the Prince William County website. Elevations are marked in white, but not necessary to understand the ground's undulations. </div>
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What I am about to present rests heavily on another period map, one in the collection of the Manassas National Battlefield Park. This map is the most accurate, and extremely reliable period map that exists of this battlefield. It is superior in its accuracy in the fact that it was actually surveyed, and not sketched or traced from other sources. It was produced for General P.G.T. Beauregard by his map maker, a trained engineer, Captain David Bullock Harris. Harris is most famously known as the designer of numerous Confederate defensive positions, including Centreville, Vicksburg, Charleston, and Petersburg. His map, a real map in every sense of the word, can be placed with amazing accuracy over the topographic map provided. As I gradually increase the opacity, the features Harris delineates begin to demonstrate a profoundly different, yet very logical placement of Jackson's line, one that merits the "hour" it is said to have taken in placement. Notice the arching of the troop position east of the Henry House, and note the contours of the plateau it fringes. Here is a military position that takes advantage of the ground features and makes far more sense. You will see that the treelines shown on the Harris map are considerably different from what is presented by the NPS on the ground today. This can not be ignored, and clearly makes written accounts all the more visually clear. The period treelines have been encroached upon since the establishment of the Battlefield Park, again due to poor understanding of the ground and the lack of published maps with any accuracy. Scroll through the five increases in opacity below. Jackson's artillery placement was some 200 yards further east than marked by the NPS currently. The small plateau where Jackson positioned his guns is now inside trees, and the slope behind, where the Virginians lay prone, has become the Park's maintenance path and part of the recreational equestrian trail. Note the accurate positioning of the Federal guns near the Henry House as well. This is an important map.</div>
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Walking the ground with these insights is eyeopening.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwyrclW5xVixcNv4-Ku75fQrFGoiVTI26AQtJ-YnisvGJ8Er3rRUMFBO1cfDs3KRLU1jSnQZ325UrBTJZFc7xqLXomWsQRMqlwaQoLswyvaiqN43pMa0tuUgctd7dldQGyfpteVdgE-Gqh/s1600/Manassas+Battlefield+Topo+to+realignment+001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="870" data-original-width="1390" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwyrclW5xVixcNv4-Ku75fQrFGoiVTI26AQtJ-YnisvGJ8Er3rRUMFBO1cfDs3KRLU1jSnQZ325UrBTJZFc7xqLXomWsQRMqlwaQoLswyvaiqN43pMa0tuUgctd7dldQGyfpteVdgE-Gqh/s640/Manassas+Battlefield+Topo+to+realignment+001.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA_ZbSlH0obfXNzijcAir4EhVbQZbRuZ1_xdRgt9Hph1sN1h38ZYHzDig6dBVLICxevS3EaF8PHARFyQx8UjvUEaB0YfiIMVl5xrpiDu19g6IUBMOSG0446bkQD-J-byKltvv8MdSbiSxh/s1600/Manassas+Battlefield+Topo+to+realignment+002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="870" data-original-width="1390" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA_ZbSlH0obfXNzijcAir4EhVbQZbRuZ1_xdRgt9Hph1sN1h38ZYHzDig6dBVLICxevS3EaF8PHARFyQx8UjvUEaB0YfiIMVl5xrpiDu19g6IUBMOSG0446bkQD-J-byKltvv8MdSbiSxh/s640/Manassas+Battlefield+Topo+to+realignment+002.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVbxgEBEN_irmk6wo6KbeYvR9O9qtfwT9wCNiiwjvX2YBJvyE_KQCkUOLIY223dHeTA2cp-FX0MZ98UiIadCBayAIsuhvXqx9wGI0yY316fDtUWG56-Iv_WNZjVpOwtJPgR_jOU-TPGaP7/s1600/Manassas+Battlefield+Topo+to+realignment+003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="870" data-original-width="1390" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVbxgEBEN_irmk6wo6KbeYvR9O9qtfwT9wCNiiwjvX2YBJvyE_KQCkUOLIY223dHeTA2cp-FX0MZ98UiIadCBayAIsuhvXqx9wGI0yY316fDtUWG56-Iv_WNZjVpOwtJPgR_jOU-TPGaP7/s640/Manassas+Battlefield+Topo+to+realignment+003.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJNVwffjjZZ8_zkORio1vkO42ckzweqH1r_Pxtw881PaKuyqIP63Ql-_Ja0u9aaK1M24-uCUmc7Zxgzde61KD7V4dujKn19qwZm1i37NfS9boQ1izWyS6NfdrFbohFDVaF8RCJRNPUk2Bt/s1600/Manassas+Battlefield+Topo+to+realignment+004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="870" data-original-width="1390" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJNVwffjjZZ8_zkORio1vkO42ckzweqH1r_Pxtw881PaKuyqIP63Ql-_Ja0u9aaK1M24-uCUmc7Zxgzde61KD7V4dujKn19qwZm1i37NfS9boQ1izWyS6NfdrFbohFDVaF8RCJRNPUk2Bt/s640/Manassas+Battlefield+Topo+to+realignment+004.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixeu2LLIOxZ-onnJ32mBd4fBRJc6RVvCRWZt7ztlgU4a2ELQrzQX2MIjlDJZfgL7WWi7XmqT9wzUjOKD1arqXQs-Ai9oCjhvTKE17mtzsvvT6BRXV3LZn746cQa7nma0c4ltvXN2MMVwN6/s1600/Manassas+Battlefield+Topo+to+realignment+005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="870" data-original-width="1390" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixeu2LLIOxZ-onnJ32mBd4fBRJc6RVvCRWZt7ztlgU4a2ELQrzQX2MIjlDJZfgL7WWi7XmqT9wzUjOKD1arqXQs-Ai9oCjhvTKE17mtzsvvT6BRXV3LZn746cQa7nma0c4ltvXN2MMVwN6/s640/Manassas+Battlefield+Topo+to+realignment+005.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Here is the 1937 aerial map of the Henry Hill area, before the Park's establishment.</div>
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Note the treelines in 1937 are more representative of those in 1861.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMUMDBHS3OHzfj-M4nKoHarf_apDr92ojsdPerC3QIK0CzCO3cKbksm3RifRcVSvm_JGlr6qKS2HnebVHM5BG2DSSLnmN8f-4uDL275qYL6cWAquzX56TTJ0kZMUlcBmmwGeQZ3uNdgHB7/s1600/Henryhill+1937+plus+Harris+map+001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1461" data-original-width="1600" height="584" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMUMDBHS3OHzfj-M4nKoHarf_apDr92ojsdPerC3QIK0CzCO3cKbksm3RifRcVSvm_JGlr6qKS2HnebVHM5BG2DSSLnmN8f-4uDL275qYL6cWAquzX56TTJ0kZMUlcBmmwGeQZ3uNdgHB7/s640/Henryhill+1937+plus+Harris+map+001.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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This is the Harris map, with enhanced contrast for better detail. Notice the gap between the middle and south gun positions where the farm lane exited the scrub growth near center.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYrnLSTR2nsLqRyn4voxwND0sdItwNKhO7XGM0tcCPJtXejk2MpqbMgkA9ziqgDi28dmjgMusMvwiOgfmn672PJO708fjLGJyvRHxN-9fW-ecwem1UcvtW41IGybTeJGAhom6Y_-UuVPwv/s1600/Henryhill+1937+plus+Harris+map+003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1461" data-original-width="1600" height="584" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYrnLSTR2nsLqRyn4voxwND0sdItwNKhO7XGM0tcCPJtXejk2MpqbMgkA9ziqgDi28dmjgMusMvwiOgfmn672PJO708fjLGJyvRHxN-9fW-ecwem1UcvtW41IGybTeJGAhom6Y_-UuVPwv/s640/Henryhill+1937+plus+Harris+map+003.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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A combination of the Harris map and 1937 aerial photo.</div>
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Today the Park has "Jackson's artillery" running north to south at center.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh08Omi8wAFZL3INd1gXEZ8QwiyPuk7PZSj1HSxK2ipPTLyeFuzGW1pqnPMaKg2aQDdf1l8QHDZ2W4h_8C6xyjO6ioV3LYOkE-j3VOekz5CGhRMCKiDZR26VoE2KegKTVZObDG-hGern-CK/s1600/Henryhill+1937+plus+Harris+map+002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1461" data-original-width="1600" height="584" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh08Omi8wAFZL3INd1gXEZ8QwiyPuk7PZSj1HSxK2ipPTLyeFuzGW1pqnPMaKg2aQDdf1l8QHDZ2W4h_8C6xyjO6ioV3LYOkE-j3VOekz5CGhRMCKiDZR26VoE2KegKTVZObDG-hGern-CK/s640/Henryhill+1937+plus+Harris+map+002.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Below, from the farm lane Jackson's men came up, this view looks southwest, on the crest held by the five southern most guns of his artillery position. The line of trees along the right horizon was not there in 1861, and would have provided an ideal view of approaching Union infantry, and artillery.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Eh5WSC4TxDdZQwsshYZyyZlbNysUQp65f8xzwoL0DBNI5TJ8qLgaFHbOLUYhoSvCLEJ60YhOhoi-9bh0Qn34DvF7tFuB9sIqycbIpRb9bVlwl9WhMW5ntfTgk0nySqAYvcN6hhH5QKW7/s1600/DSC_0287.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1600" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Eh5WSC4TxDdZQwsshYZyyZlbNysUQp65f8xzwoL0DBNI5TJ8qLgaFHbOLUYhoSvCLEJ60YhOhoi-9bh0Qn34DvF7tFuB9sIqycbIpRb9bVlwl9WhMW5ntfTgk0nySqAYvcN6hhH5QKW7/s640/DSC_0287.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Below is Confederate Engineer, Captain David Bullock Harris, creator of the official map of the Manassas Battlefield for General Beauregard. His skills are demonstrated by its accuracy.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwXZW-6MHxGw1UlUlHyjbHgFJCXcUb7ujFbt248fyhm3gp3ukvQkVv_qmxjM0a0rCSi8FoQEs8BHElNWjXWOGjQl8x9woRI1lPMXQ0DhxXGXxtceVikVhzP-wZ_OG8LH_JyBX-6rOHxfSc/s1600/Confederate+engineer+David+Bullock+Harris.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="402" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwXZW-6MHxGw1UlUlHyjbHgFJCXcUb7ujFbt248fyhm3gp3ukvQkVv_qmxjM0a0rCSi8FoQEs8BHElNWjXWOGjQl8x9woRI1lPMXQ0DhxXGXxtceVikVhzP-wZ_OG8LH_JyBX-6rOHxfSc/s400/Confederate+engineer+David+Bullock+Harris.jpg" width="251" /></a></div>
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Here is a brief video from behind the plateau where Jackson positioned six guns of thirteen, and two covering the right flank where it overlooked a ravine. The remaining five were south of the farm lane, out of frame to the left of the camera. Further to the right, the flank was refused by Hampton's troops. Jackson's Virginians lay prone in the open ground in front of the camera.<br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyf0xyj72UIqTBB-agj0EGI388nkL3f77J9qm55W2sWe6yacEDWK9OjTqv4sNhzp38YyWoWLEEbd-MyWtU6LQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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I can see no room for argument or debate as to the merits and qualifications of the Harris map. He was a highly skilled and respected engineer with many defensive positions both designed and mapped to his credit. The faded condition of the original, enhanced for our purposes here, made its use minimal until now. After all, no one seemed to question what was considered an "understood" field.</div>
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As stated earlier, this information also enhances a strong critique I maintain of the "Dean map", an artifact of note, but not as an accurate mapping of the field. I will follow up on that in a future post. </div>
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I will welcome any invitation to walk the ground for further discussion.</div>
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Below, we see the current presentation of Jackson's line, with the Henry House at distant center. </div>
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The Harris map gives great cause for reconsideration.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEingusp1n33nSA7f6QI_Q2q4JZPO8ZBC4TWhK9TMI0Fz1gEMoH0Q2FYteVJXfG1HqoslHjOX9z9qpscQdSy3xY7eUe4ztjT1FZzzhtNyAudzaNOoVKKy39gapL65ev0xY_hgYtAIdh1YmNB/s1600/DSC_0297.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1600" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEingusp1n33nSA7f6QI_Q2q4JZPO8ZBC4TWhK9TMI0Fz1gEMoH0Q2FYteVJXfG1HqoslHjOX9z9qpscQdSy3xY7eUe4ztjT1FZzzhtNyAudzaNOoVKKy39gapL65ev0xY_hgYtAIdh1YmNB/s640/DSC_0297.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br />John Cummingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15664001896165763192noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4693055636846442705.post-76328609520764965332018-05-03T14:04:00.000-04:002018-05-03T14:04:01.088-04:002nd Fredericksburg - Captain Russell's Photo. Not taken immediately after the action...Today is the 155th anniversary of the action known as Second Fredericksburg, fought along the Stone Wall. It is also the same day this image of the Confederate dead behind the wall was taken by Captain A. J. Russell, official photographer for the United States Military Railroad.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ0wpx-_KozXV7HnidGf1qpSvWB-UAbF-xnPmVol7mS5NWqcbNwaUDg1gxa1_SPvuwFwr3lDTie6yKWYSNw1buc8AXFf3cMYzGUJ5QHabKNc31e1gkrkjhGvkrwVECZa_JH8jMI0Fxtw0F/s1600/Sunken+Road+Stone+Wall+May+3+1863.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1244" data-original-width="1600" height="496" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ0wpx-_KozXV7HnidGf1qpSvWB-UAbF-xnPmVol7mS5NWqcbNwaUDg1gxa1_SPvuwFwr3lDTie6yKWYSNw1buc8AXFf3cMYzGUJ5QHabKNc31e1gkrkjhGvkrwVECZa_JH8jMI0Fxtw0F/s640/Sunken+Road+Stone+Wall+May+3+1863.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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It is certainly an intriguing documentary image, and the only one known to have been taken of dead soldiers during the Chancellorsville Campaign. It would not be until three years later that skeletonized human remains were photographed on the former battlefields west of Fredericksburg, by the photographic entourage of Dr. Reed Brockway Bontecou.<br />
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The question has remained though, "How soon after the action was Russell able to take this image?"<br />
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Popular belief has stated that it was taken within 20 minutes of Sedgwick's men sweeping the surviving Mississippians from the ground, and pressing them toward the eventual engagement at Salem Church. <br />
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A hand written note, signed "H. H.", most certainly Herman Haupt, Russell's boss, per se, does indicate the ground behind the wall was held in Union hands for a couple hours. There is no doubt of that, but there are still no details of the timing for this and other images taken that day.<br />
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It is said that a telegraph message was sent to General Hooker at 10:50 AM, advising him of Sedgwick's success. If we go with the "20 minute" suggestion as to when Russell was in place exposing the glass negative, we can begin to examine 11:10 AM. For this, we need to adjust, in simplest form, our clock by an hour to account for the hour gained by Daylight Saving Time, thus, without other smaller adjustments that can be taken into account, we will use the addition of an hour. In the three days leading up to this anniversary, I began the process to determine the timing of Russell's iconic photo. This advance examination was done to bar the possibility of rain, or overcast skies preventing the following of the sun's path. This effects the timing by only minutes. My investigative photographs taken just this past April 30th, at 12:14 PM, an hour and four minute adjustment, reveals that the shadows present along the wall at that time make the 20 minute suggestion impossible. As you can see, the entire west face of the wall is in shadow.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdBhnVcR96ubV65uMAYC9uH1tsjrdVBfiar6EGIxc2d1u5Lni_Hzydnffg9_AK267atBrPYvyjyGM3nQIaiq5yt_VP8qeZsfTwPg9bI-UDj4a3gLSsqPeGKh9AnP-Qr7mMa-8SfzFk66rK/s1600/20180430_121405_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdBhnVcR96ubV65uMAYC9uH1tsjrdVBfiar6EGIxc2d1u5Lni_Hzydnffg9_AK267atBrPYvyjyGM3nQIaiq5yt_VP8qeZsfTwPg9bI-UDj4a3gLSsqPeGKh9AnP-Qr7mMa-8SfzFk66rK/s640/20180430_121405_HDR.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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On May 1st, I produced the following photo at 1:16 PM, which again, for simplistic adjustment, would serve close enough to the appearance at 12:16, on May 1, 1863. I added pieces of dimensional lumber, cut to the exact length of an Enfield Rifled Musket, the predominant weapon seen strewn about in the original image, as markers to indicate scale and how shadows would be cast against the stones of the wall. The ground is brightly illuminated, and there is a lack of shadows on either side of the road.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIHBQYK2qYvKPwpDgRKx07hoeVavEB4IwPcj64UFRIbwj2kYqic9L9ovxcCd2TjBUM1Fqi89PYo61QgiCYYR9TYsUGKGnAZyk1nuRTuV7ecpSAoGaYP1rAd5ojbGGrqyAaf59NSNwvFu43/s1600/20180501_131614_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIHBQYK2qYvKPwpDgRKx07hoeVavEB4IwPcj64UFRIbwj2kYqic9L9ovxcCd2TjBUM1Fqi89PYo61QgiCYYR9TYsUGKGnAZyk1nuRTuV7ecpSAoGaYP1rAd5ojbGGrqyAaf59NSNwvFu43/s640/20180501_131614_HDR.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
I waited till 1:36 PM to see how the shifting sun might change the shadow issue, as seen below. The shadows were not sufficient on the west, or right, side of the road, nor were the trees on the hill strongly illuminated on their west face. Additionally, the structures on the far end of the image, similar in position to the Hall house at left of center in the Russell view, remained in strong shadow. So, 12:36, in 1863 time, is still incorrect. This is now an hour and twenty minutes after the suggested exposure by Russell.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJBeNHSv_Ys7WgK_cwHT3kQUvpLtYP5baFbzrwQ-egvOgGGPmQC8rCAH0k9luJVGJCOXsPm-euspOWdCu6zfrw5IfTjcdVXG4l8oJjglJH3LuBdCW_ix5RMGsVWc1HVgzTgs4hyvkXI_CU/s1600/20180501_133645_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJBeNHSv_Ys7WgK_cwHT3kQUvpLtYP5baFbzrwQ-egvOgGGPmQC8rCAH0k9luJVGJCOXsPm-euspOWdCu6zfrw5IfTjcdVXG4l8oJjglJH3LuBdCW_ix5RMGsVWc1HVgzTgs4hyvkXI_CU/s640/20180501_133645_HDR.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Returning yesterday, May 2, now one day ahead of the anniversary, I took the following image at 3:02 PM, yes, 2:02 1863 time, and found that the shadows were finally looking closer to the time required to replicate the original, making it 2:02 PM, Civil War time, three hours beyond popular belief.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge-3KBh3kR1CkvPeeqkVVtzUMzoei4vPQw0ZnCvM1JH5ri5z62kQDjfqcAZx5wTHeaErSGGqr_sx6oammSlrivbFuoVtKnAvHdoj8H3DOo3ln8ZyjSL1sBJz6zegKm95vT_YvgqxSdwQjR/s1600/20180502_150203.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge-3KBh3kR1CkvPeeqkVVtzUMzoei4vPQw0ZnCvM1JH5ri5z62kQDjfqcAZx5wTHeaErSGGqr_sx6oammSlrivbFuoVtKnAvHdoj8H3DOo3ln8ZyjSL1sBJz6zegKm95vT_YvgqxSdwQjR/s640/20180502_150203.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Shadows were beginning to build on the west side of the image with still sufficient strong light against the wall, and the ground in front of it. The east face of the trees on the hill are darkening, and if the height of the trees just out of view on the right margin were not as great as they are presently, the left foreground where the bodies are seen, would not have the dappled shadow, although some are present in the original as well. The shadow cast by my leaning "rifled musket", produces as near identical a shadow line as needed to place the Russell exposure around 2:00 PM on May 3, 1863, still about an hour and a half before Sedgwick's advance would come upon dismounted Confederate Cavalry near Salem Church. The day was far from over.<br />
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Make note: The current wall, built by the NPS contractors in 2004 is one course of stone taller then the one which stood here in 1863. This was done partly for stability, but chiefly as a "cover course" from the effects of weather directly to the top of the wall. </div>
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Within reason we can say we are near the correct time for this image. It may still be a little early, but I will be revisiting the site today so as to monitor the shadows as the sun sinks lower in the west. The shadow cast across the face of the stones by the rifled musket and its modern representation are well within acceptable proximity. </div>
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John Cummingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15664001896165763192noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4693055636846442705.post-64681549463217106042017-08-05T08:06:00.000-04:002017-08-05T08:06:08.336-04:00Photo reveals Fredericksburg Landscape in 1866It's always exciting to find new images to study. A batch of previously unseen stereoviews from the April 1866 Bontecou expedition has been revealed, and they fill a few holes in the 121 image series. Until now, there were only about 65% of the series known to exist in any printed form. Unfortunately, all the glass negatives have long vanished, including the number that had been apparently purloined from the Surgeon General's collection by assistant George Oscar Brown, and later published under his name while setting up his post-military career in Baltimore, Maryland. Previous posts on this blog have gone into further detail on my research into the series, and can be found by <a href="http://spotsylvaniacw.blogspot.com/2014/04/bivouac-of-dead-then-and-now-examination.html" target="_blank">following this link by clicking here</a>.<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">One of the new views, from <span style="background-color: white;">The American Antiquarian Society in Worcester, Massachusetts, is labeled as being taken from the Shakespeare Hotel, in Fredericksburg, Virginia.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2IzNpYQvnAPckOsZA9LicAYe7IQ8uINo0pVPS1CWEIETm3Bmeqj6VUIGP2tH79JB8SzhnwaXAfaaOkfFTOUx42AYu5x0Ili8bUSOlpvoiji9DsE7L2rxPD_5wLx6uE2xpT4hpoOrBp-jh/s1600/Bontecou+3+back+detail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="175" data-original-width="811" height="136" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2IzNpYQvnAPckOsZA9LicAYe7IQ8uINo0pVPS1CWEIETm3Bmeqj6VUIGP2tH79JB8SzhnwaXAfaaOkfFTOUx42AYu5x0Ili8bUSOlpvoiji9DsE7L2rxPD_5wLx6uE2xpT4hpoOrBp-jh/s640/Bontecou+3+back+detail.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">The immediate problem with that captioning is that the </span><span style="background-color: white;">Shakespeare Hotel, located in the 800 block of Caroline Street,</span><span style="background-color: white;"> had been completely destroyed by fire in November 1865, as detailed by NPS historian Noel Harrison, in his 1995 book, <u>Fredericksburg Civil War Sites, April 1861-November 1862</u>, published by H. E. Howard, Inc., Lynchburg, Virginia.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">What the photo does reveal, as we can see in its middle distance, is that it is actually looking southwest, and was taken from the top floor of the Planter's Hotel, on the intersection of William and Charles Street's northwest corner, at 401 William Street. </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmAHfji_GaC1EIodqZIn2a3GAo6hMR_N66hmi2f5Y0HiB1bh7GKH_3xIsSZFYh-NQE24GODxbiJQLVwEL1Y1bk3pokVKhTnlePO5Hdn0mibb3FCY-51n6GNyBG3Lzes6nZNKPLH6oGXg38/s1600/View+from+Planters+Hotel+half.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1522" data-original-width="1476" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmAHfji_GaC1EIodqZIn2a3GAo6hMR_N66hmi2f5Y0HiB1bh7GKH_3xIsSZFYh-NQE24GODxbiJQLVwEL1Y1bk3pokVKhTnlePO5Hdn0mibb3FCY-51n6GNyBG3Lzes6nZNKPLH6oGXg38/s640/View+from+Planters+Hotel+half.jpg" width="619" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">Just above the wide chimney dominating the foreground, we can see the Old City Burial Ground, now the site of Hurkamp Park. On the other side of that cemetery's western wall, is the now also moved, Cemetery of Masonic Lodge #63. Beyond that, we have a nice view of structures on Liberty Street. And, along the horizon, Hanover Street, running up the heights at left, with Brompton faintly visible among the trees. Also note the covered wagons parked on William Street at lower left. They would be sitting in front of what is today, Paymon Fine Rug Imports at 501 William Street.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY_Qwkjnl16M7sNyDQJG-GDbImSYWXiSO7OriRCtisMcTUeAfB8jqbtRNlKNddzMlefnMGKimsBrpsLoG_gwBSlgU6_t22m4XxsE3OjeO-qh7jlcBG36cneIUls17xDzhW-SpalzLMo_tG/s1600/View+from+Planters+Hotel+detail+001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="544" data-original-width="1024" height="339" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY_Qwkjnl16M7sNyDQJG-GDbImSYWXiSO7OriRCtisMcTUeAfB8jqbtRNlKNddzMlefnMGKimsBrpsLoG_gwBSlgU6_t22m4XxsE3OjeO-qh7jlcBG36cneIUls17xDzhW-SpalzLMo_tG/s640/View+from+Planters+Hotel+detail+001.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Here is the still standing western wall of the Old City Burial Grounds, running along the eastern wall of 520 William Street, which occupies the site of the Cemetery of Masonic Lodge #63.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhksNOFRIdvDYa60YK5KHe692D6ej2uDoI43NVE6i_bXD0zgEEgXU29lCXxb_5nJI5v56DigZ2SyeFv-zWBNH1Iv-wEW0w0LI56oGRxz5DDgpEhsJRioyYtlcwvlVimkg7aXPMNpFgpbn3/s1600/DSC_0756.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1600" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhksNOFRIdvDYa60YK5KHe692D6ej2uDoI43NVE6i_bXD0zgEEgXU29lCXxb_5nJI5v56DigZ2SyeFv-zWBNH1Iv-wEW0w0LI56oGRxz5DDgpEhsJRioyYtlcwvlVimkg7aXPMNpFgpbn3/s640/DSC_0756.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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At the left of the foreground, we can see three buildings along the south side of William Street, of which only two remain standing today, which comprise Ristoranti Renato, at 422 William Street.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi279a8_Xx6Htw7k0BKsJECCPx3Y7PpVo8E7_OAcDYFvPpwcaL1CJ4zB7hLwVYTHefn44tTHc7PGa7WvE46ZYeAGvxDoHv8iqK1ahFeqbKBcmbIozwBZbF4H0vNdnwNQKZYEvS4nNkTldlh/s1600/View+from+Planters+Hotel+half+detail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="782" data-original-width="624" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi279a8_Xx6Htw7k0BKsJECCPx3Y7PpVo8E7_OAcDYFvPpwcaL1CJ4zB7hLwVYTHefn44tTHc7PGa7WvE46ZYeAGvxDoHv8iqK1ahFeqbKBcmbIozwBZbF4H0vNdnwNQKZYEvS4nNkTldlh/s640/View+from+Planters+Hotel+half+detail.jpg" width="508" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWbzHFvGbxV7Az4L0CoN_vjXthRIfBiktUFLZPycPkmT_FlMNX-38NZOMmJ2HGJMzYe9nkdqWNM-k5MvmEiTo2BHpNWBfjtRekoAU9I3vdAvcnC-BIaRmr7lIRSjESHmn647e-g1swgYP2/s1600/DSC_0739+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1538" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWbzHFvGbxV7Az4L0CoN_vjXthRIfBiktUFLZPycPkmT_FlMNX-38NZOMmJ2HGJMzYe9nkdqWNM-k5MvmEiTo2BHpNWBfjtRekoAU9I3vdAvcnC-BIaRmr7lIRSjESHmn647e-g1swgYP2/s640/DSC_0739+%25282%2529.JPG" width="612" /></a></div>
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At upper right, beyond both cemeteries, and standing on the corner of William and Liberty Streets, is 600 William, the current home of Primavera, Pizzeria and Grill.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5u7YVy-nnBwakUys0oyRGJnA6b_4ynQ5x-O5z8FhGtsxjSel8uzEn3yjdmfLP8Hnv8FCJpMZka2mTXKtu5kSDy2w4QtceZ9PH36OxRAIQUirrsR0NzOr4Ln0qfMtIdbEBXhlwvyFeBHAV/s1600/View+from+Planters+Hotel+detail+002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="405" data-original-width="366" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5u7YVy-nnBwakUys0oyRGJnA6b_4ynQ5x-O5z8FhGtsxjSel8uzEn3yjdmfLP8Hnv8FCJpMZka2mTXKtu5kSDy2w4QtceZ9PH36OxRAIQUirrsR0NzOr4Ln0qfMtIdbEBXhlwvyFeBHAV/s640/View+from+Planters+Hotel+detail+002.jpg" width="577" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_nWS7OE2Gal-_FJXadjsCfxFCe0H1U5RLCyZkfCOdmL5qWknEUTIaXA7xb49eGK0LHCONnRHtoQ3DAYiSFRI5WnnhOQ6xeYYBOxxDj8m_xLnPLdFbmHMulStao-xf5dfuJUDQN94pKTwL/s1600/DSC_0735.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1600" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_nWS7OE2Gal-_FJXadjsCfxFCe0H1U5RLCyZkfCOdmL5qWknEUTIaXA7xb49eGK0LHCONnRHtoQ3DAYiSFRI5WnnhOQ6xeYYBOxxDj8m_xLnPLdFbmHMulStao-xf5dfuJUDQN94pKTwL/s640/DSC_0735.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Here is a view of the Planters Hotel building, looking west, seen in an early 20th century photograph long after it had ceased operations as a hotel, and had become the offices of "R. T. Knox and Brother", producers of sumac extract and bone meal. The Bontecou photograph was taken from one of the top floor windows that looked to the west, on the other side of the building. The false front and wide chimney of a neighboring business can be seen at the extreme left. That structure no longer stands, but is the source of the large chimney in the middle foreground of the Bontecou stereoview image.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3rPElfNgNO8AqivUsyN6kUCQcrhB34LgSx4D-w7wQl-adJenlx_A7DXk4UiqgdHZ3T85WK2aY7_8U0X1ewNtnN5qCw7PCj5rCTCMqW2cO1u6BkXSD0fK6Yo1Wg9eVUcoh7o5uZYMmKjZ4/s1600/Planters+then+001+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1209" data-original-width="1600" height="481" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3rPElfNgNO8AqivUsyN6kUCQcrhB34LgSx4D-w7wQl-adJenlx_A7DXk4UiqgdHZ3T85WK2aY7_8U0X1ewNtnN5qCw7PCj5rCTCMqW2cO1u6BkXSD0fK6Yo1Wg9eVUcoh7o5uZYMmKjZ4/s640/Planters+then+001+%25282%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh-ek8vBRUX7YIrtwSwtZkqd-vdfAqyTStqLnm852vjlRXqOIynOMTxcVngEooSbPxUmC0zoao4AO8uySLB7L5LZ5EzHv4cJv_SdGFqXHjZ37vF6xXVPU5-r8ETxk1o1jc4o_RuhWJYPy8/s1600/Planters+now+002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1209" data-original-width="1600" height="481" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh-ek8vBRUX7YIrtwSwtZkqd-vdfAqyTStqLnm852vjlRXqOIynOMTxcVngEooSbPxUmC0zoao4AO8uySLB7L5LZ5EzHv4cJv_SdGFqXHjZ37vF6xXVPU5-r8ETxk1o1jc4o_RuhWJYPy8/s640/Planters+now+002.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Below, we can see the top floor dormer window from which the Bontecou photo was taken.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge6q4maW2tBPZ4WjlePq5ummMCkpq4a0975oawZI1NG-ewUz2vU7ruRXeT_JjDwhGmBf0IbNRz1fSkHOt7lKqklDkTMawgIl1EhtZIgy6_6Kz6JlcQltdcxyIsYH9QKZi_0vOdNhGgQwmn/s1600/DSC_0746.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1600" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge6q4maW2tBPZ4WjlePq5ummMCkpq4a0975oawZI1NG-ewUz2vU7ruRXeT_JjDwhGmBf0IbNRz1fSkHOt7lKqklDkTMawgIl1EhtZIgy6_6Kz6JlcQltdcxyIsYH9QKZi_0vOdNhGgQwmn/s640/DSC_0746.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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It is the window at center.</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>John Cummingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15664001896165763192noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4693055636846442705.post-77953393584356758252017-04-25T07:33:00.000-04:002017-04-25T10:56:32.131-04:00Harvest of Death vs Garry AdelmanSince Garry Adelman has chosen to go after the work I have done on the "Harvest of Death" images, yet again, five years after his initial efforts, and state that he "looks forward" to my rebuttal, what I'll do here is take a point by point approach to Garry's recent video <a href="http://www.gettysburgdaily.com/harvest-death-part-16-licensed-battlefield-guides-garry-adelman-tim-smith/" target="_blank">installment on Gettysburg Daily</a>. Garry talks real fast, as usual, in his video, and makes use of smoke and mirrors (unless he really believes these things), in a frantic display of sleight of hand and magician's banter.<br />
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At 1:41 he asserts that I "misunderstood" him when he pointed to a tree (which he described as "distinctive" in the original video), when I placed a tree symbol to the left of the photo's center line, as a place-marker on the Google Earth map.<br />
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Here he is in the original video, <a href="http://www.gettysburgdaily.com/harvest-of-death-part-11-licensed-battlefield-guides-garry-adelman-and-tim-smith/" target="_blank">filmed February 5, 2012</a>, pointing to the tree he wants me to correlate with the Gutekunst photo. Bear in mind, this video was made in an incorrect site, not the location I have presented for years now, along Reynolds Avenue. Thus, other points he makes in the 2012 video have no basis in relation to my work as it has stood for years since. Note also, he is using the photo with the grave diggers, which skews the centering further to the left, but now, in the new video, he asserts it is the "right side" of the image, when my marker is "on the left" as he enthusiastically points out. And note, my map says "Vicinity of Garry's tree". Go and look at it.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmbUwIE_vaDno2d7D-kjxzLJiwIjlSld6iOcdtJ8Hwb8r0eI3_YnbjSJWxjyr7hVWyq-IpEsgQmyHPDoXqeUx9_zs_Dm78AYAiFT43HKe7yv_0wZe_vw2arwoywKLiizpTfIYTvEuP-xsX/s1600/Garry+and+his+tree.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmbUwIE_vaDno2d7D-kjxzLJiwIjlSld6iOcdtJ8Hwb8r0eI3_YnbjSJWxjyr7hVWyq-IpEsgQmyHPDoXqeUx9_zs_Dm78AYAiFT43HKe7yv_0wZe_vw2arwoywKLiizpTfIYTvEuP-xsX/s400/Garry+and+his+tree.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
Here then, circled in red, would this be the "Garry tree?" on the wider view, which would of course, shift the center line. If this isn't Garry's tree, the spot he's pointing to, then which one is it? But that's really irrelevant, as this is a ridiculous challenge, presented with an air of authority. I placed a marker right where he pointed, just for the heck of it, and then he proceeds to say its elsewhere. And no, Garry, I will not make any effort to satisfy your demand that I locate this one tree, tucked into a bend in the tree line, from the Gutekunst view. Who can not see that that demand is really quite absurd?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0NzAIEX7o_9MiJBD3tZpUb_5B6hpeJpsxRlWHTvXwnCh11lpkWOvFP2dNQmyvBj3sSY4y1yM3nOrYeGrZuMu6WwbtNR2hamk_dtuTkwc0BgCDyyWj4zYgI3JjesHiD2ZlVee9hB8QOt1I/s1600/Garry+and+his+tree+again.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0NzAIEX7o_9MiJBD3tZpUb_5B6hpeJpsxRlWHTvXwnCh11lpkWOvFP2dNQmyvBj3sSY4y1yM3nOrYeGrZuMu6WwbtNR2hamk_dtuTkwc0BgCDyyWj4zYgI3JjesHiD2ZlVee9hB8QOt1I/s400/Garry+and+his+tree+again.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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At 1:57, Garry then goes to a place marker for the Dustman property on my map and begins to go into hysterics as he claims I have put the Dustman house itself too close to the road. If he would be honest, he'd see that I had outlined the Thompson House in red, but made no effort to do so on the Dustman House, choosing only to tag the property line which divides the two, with a black line. It was never an effort to define the Dustman House itself. See for yourself, below. It's a place-marker. He knows I know where the Dustman house was, he and I discussed it briefly when I questioned him about finding its foundation when the restaurant was torn down. I might, if I was to be a real jerk, ask him why it was placed downhill on a CWT fundraising map, back when the restoration project was getting under way. But I won't. After all, he was in charge of the project.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiob5Q-VJLtG2ej8uNWlZWHhVxw8HCo164JIZvlov9Y01hYvNfkv-En5fZv4Ht21VtrmxEeMyWa8PPo96xpxLA74s7eL20-QH8y2XuhI3onh_MDpvCQAFHIvValuvMa_2JrAW5pL3PvyWqe/s1600/HoD+Corrected+map+10-06-12+detail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiob5Q-VJLtG2ej8uNWlZWHhVxw8HCo164JIZvlov9Y01hYvNfkv-En5fZv4Ht21VtrmxEeMyWa8PPo96xpxLA74s7eL20-QH8y2XuhI3onh_MDpvCQAFHIvValuvMa_2JrAW5pL3PvyWqe/s320/HoD+Corrected+map+10-06-12+detail.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Here, below, is a version I did in 2015, with both Thompson and Dustman outlined in red, just for information sake. I was always under the impression that a portion of the original Dustman foundation was integrated into the east entrance of the restaurant, but Garry said the archaeologists found nothing. Interesting. But I digress...</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjArs3Rbs0-yloxdZq2Wb0PIMrzN0MbKtX9aIOcd_cNGeJHSHWW13TlvjyiRlz5gKVY-mgIoh6kCif74eA7OTwwuu4wgvRh19LfQ40tzGeYSNvx8cTpYVXB-ViJfGWxQoyXbJ_ZVPC9Fbe2/s1600/Larson+as+seen+from+Gardner+right+margin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjArs3Rbs0-yloxdZq2Wb0PIMrzN0MbKtX9aIOcd_cNGeJHSHWW13TlvjyiRlz5gKVY-mgIoh6kCif74eA7OTwwuu4wgvRh19LfQ40tzGeYSNvx8cTpYVXB-ViJfGWxQoyXbJ_ZVPC9Fbe2/s400/Larson+as+seen+from+Gardner+right+margin.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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But here he is below, anyway, taking delight at claiming I'm incorrect, at 2:01. He continues to make up things that he wants you to believe I would say to "excuse" this, but if, again, he was honest, and had actually read all my material instead of selective interpretation on his part, he would know that I in fact have made it quite clear that the Dustman House IS ALSO IN THE PICTURE!!! But, he's too busy trying to claim I am an ignorant fool. <a href="http://spotsylvaniacw.blogspot.com/2015/10/gettysburg-harvest-of-death-and-field.html" target="_blank">Here is the link to my posting of October 1, 2015</a> that provides overlay images in a video, where I toggle back and forth, mentioning the location of Dustman on top of the restaurant. Watch it. Apparently Garry did not, or perhaps, forgot. Still he goes on to claim these assertions of his, are a "hallmark" of what I do. He's claiming I find excuses for things he asserts are problematic with my material. Far from it.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjh_0S7ziI8RFnXOBorsQCaqoxp32lO1L2PB_tFeCMaijXA2pFrATChLz8yry6yQAlrSzJS1Y5-C-8nkfMeuzNU2QqCkGogTC_ZKdeQrH-tIppc8wYtZvGueR07tZy9nm0Lun-quJB96sQ/s1600/Garry+pointing.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjh_0S7ziI8RFnXOBorsQCaqoxp32lO1L2PB_tFeCMaijXA2pFrATChLz8yry6yQAlrSzJS1Y5-C-8nkfMeuzNU2QqCkGogTC_ZKdeQrH-tIppc8wYtZvGueR07tZy9nm0Lun-quJB96sQ/s320/Garry+pointing.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Now, at 2:39, Garry claims he has something that I have "chosen not to address", and he goes on to talk about the location of trees, and their leaves, "crawling all over" the Thompson House. He states they are "clearly on the north side" of the road. He goes on to claim that these branches, "touching the Thompson House", must be visible in all other views. Here is the problem though with what he asserts. The branch he points to, "touching" the house, is an orchard tree on the south side of the road. Let's look.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFouqyMlWrON-zPp5QZX9pDrhgfRuz_I6XC_DzOZrsCV17RSStcXXCQIvJzB0AkHh-AFOc6GTM7I9eqrQYCsOSl9IX7jC-NukmKPXMGHiH07WVPUFHof4f3ZmveXOwB8NNND43Ur6P-4lY/s1600/Garrys+touching+tree.tif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFouqyMlWrON-zPp5QZX9pDrhgfRuz_I6XC_DzOZrsCV17RSStcXXCQIvJzB0AkHh-AFOc6GTM7I9eqrQYCsOSl9IX7jC-NukmKPXMGHiH07WVPUFHof4f3ZmveXOwB8NNND43Ur6P-4lY/s400/Garrys+touching+tree.tif" width="395" /></a></div>
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Here's the crop. Is the tree on the north side "crawling all over the house? It looks to me that the tree in the orchard, on the south side of the road, is the one that appears to touch the house, or "crawling", as Garry described it. Click on any of these images for larger viewing.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJBoUkCZ_RUoUx3OKFgyIjrxu-0YjzeNrywLcIwCR7o0GOd9yeKzg9_Qlb8La59qcSope7nEEp_x56trHxRDNfIdzHBXT7J4Q5Lmk-29s0al207i4JtTz0fEVLvo2FYsGIDc_JDvhCVYyy/s1600/Garrys+touching+tree+crop.tif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJBoUkCZ_RUoUx3OKFgyIjrxu-0YjzeNrywLcIwCR7o0GOd9yeKzg9_Qlb8La59qcSope7nEEp_x56trHxRDNfIdzHBXT7J4Q5Lmk-29s0al207i4JtTz0fEVLvo2FYsGIDc_JDvhCVYyy/s320/Garrys+touching+tree+crop.tif" width="228" /></a></div>
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Now, below, is an additional image, taken the same day as the above image, looking from a more eastward camera position, about 33 yards or so, east of the previous, without the branches touching. But that's not all. Garry also claims those trees are on the south side of the road after claiming they are on the north side, as he says, they are "below" the ridge. Fact is, the Gardner image shows trees on both sides of the road, orchard trees on the south, and much larger trees on the north side, layered over each other, giving an impression of one massive tree. But, that doesn't play well with his attack on me. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM6-5m5qPG98ou5cWlUJw4xVb6uAuOdvQrfUlo5JGY1igWueqyONAE9mDVQDrdcOdcfoS080eFAokiXzaFTpC8tA_yw3nyCGXyoDlseFPYssuID5A6xx7Kcm3DgfSak7P17O33YQiJRzOd/s1600/Garry+and+trees+again+and+again.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="392" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM6-5m5qPG98ou5cWlUJw4xVb6uAuOdvQrfUlo5JGY1igWueqyONAE9mDVQDrdcOdcfoS080eFAokiXzaFTpC8tA_yw3nyCGXyoDlseFPYssuID5A6xx7Kcm3DgfSak7P17O33YQiJRzOd/s400/Garry+and+trees+again+and+again.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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But Garry goes on from there to say that in my camera position, roughly 430 some yards to the southwest, mostly west, across from the Reynolds monument, my camera angle (according to Garry) is so divergent from the Brady camera angle, that the branches (again!) would be "even more" touching and over hanging the Thompson House. Plus, he asserts my (Gardner's) camera position would show the Thompson House at an increased angle, thus throwing off my use of image comparison with Brady's. Below, I provide a map to illustrate that the two photographer's camera angles are virtually the same. I turned the orientation of the map to replicate the Gardner field of view as if seen straight on. The map compass is there, so don't freak out, you can still see where north is. I marked Brady's position with a "B", across from Thompson, outlined in bright red, and Gardner with a "G", toward the bottom of the view, Note Gardner's right angle of view, in yellow, follows all the way up to the Brady position. Does not look too divergent to me. One point I'm not even going to dignify is his assertion regarding the north chimney on the Thompson house. It is there, blending into the roof line, but I'll let him figure that out. One has to remember, Garry insists that individual fence posts should be visible, despite the effects of aerial perspective. He has demanded elements of clarity should exist while ignoring the reality that this image suffers from pronounced atmospheric issues on the horizon line. Repeatedly I have explained all the elements he questions in those regards and he ignores them. And yes, broad areas of light and dark do present correlation of these shapes, thus a white picket fence can appear as a distinct area of white, without having to show individual pickets. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmzoVFCbFgppRAlAUPqQxTgbkKi_RsYO7IPz3gZR2TpvDMIyKWMMvPKXktwHVWBwo459msc1KVJ8UWvbKCWOBSWA07EomFEdk52pQxutjhJjHoFweh6tYImHVSLfpai39nkBc_GjcM347s/s1600/Brady+and+Gardner+cameras.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmzoVFCbFgppRAlAUPqQxTgbkKi_RsYO7IPz3gZR2TpvDMIyKWMMvPKXktwHVWBwo459msc1KVJ8UWvbKCWOBSWA07EomFEdk52pQxutjhJjHoFweh6tYImHVSLfpai39nkBc_GjcM347s/s400/Brady+and+Gardner+cameras.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Be sure to click on these images for larger viewing.</div>
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From there, Garry goes on the claim I ignore trees that were standing in the Gardner view, yet those mid ground trees are a prominent feature in my work, as they stand along a fence line that cuts across the Gardner images at a slight diagonal, and are discussed repeatedly throughout my numerous presentations. Once more, for ease sake, <a href="http://spotsylvaniacw.blogspot.com/2015/10/gettysburg-harvest-of-death-and-field.html" target="_blank">here is the link I shared earlier</a>, and in it the discussion of those trees, and fence, are a main point of discussion.</div>
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But, and here is the clincher, on November 4, 2015, I posted stereoscopic comparisons, with the period image and a modern views, demonstrating how the terrain is identical. But Garry makes no mention of that, at least as of this writing. <a href="http://spotsylvaniacw.blogspot.com/2015/11/gettysburg-field-where-reynolds-fell.html" target="_blank">Here is the link</a>.</div>
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Finally (hardly!), Garry begins to throw in things to characterize, he says, my explaining away or making excuses for things, even throwing in a wild remark about the Thompson House moving, as though I've ever suggested that. He is trying to paint me as crazy. And just when one would think he is running out of gas, he begins to attack my other assertions, that the other view, the actual "Harvest of Death" images, have been modified, in both the full plate and stereo, when I have, in other postings, made it quite clear they were, in Gardner's effort to make a poignant best seller. I have even gone to the source, the Library of Congress, and provided evidence of masking on the actual stereo glass negative. The full plate image, especially the Chrysler Collection print, provides clear evidence of modification. That modification has been pointed out in a series of progressive alterations which ultimately ended with the iconic "Harvest of Death" view, which captured the hearts of viewers for a century and a half. With manipulated features! Here are the links to both stereo and plate examinations. </div>
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<a href="http://spotsylvaniacw.blogspot.com/2015/06/iconic-photograph-of-gettysburg-dead-is.html" target="_blank">Full plate examination.</a></div>
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and</div>
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<a href="http://spotsylvaniacw.blogspot.com/2013/06/harvest-of-death-question-of-stereo.html" target="_blank">Stereo negative examination.</a></div>
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OK, finally, you'll see, as Garry nears completion of his six minute video, he begins to get very insulting and mocking of me, trying to give the viewer the general impression that this is what I have been doing, for over five years mind you. He likens me to the character Vizzini, in the movie, Princess Bride. How sweet. And with that he proclaims, "You have the wrong site."</div>
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If you haven't had enough of this, be sure to see Garry's video #33 at the end of his Gettysburg Daily post. He plays with a wooden house and grass, trying to further explain the "touching" and "crawling tree" concept.</div>
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Really fun.</div>
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<br />John Cummingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15664001896165763192noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4693055636846442705.post-78865190673760671292016-09-16T16:54:00.000-04:002016-09-16T16:54:24.888-04:00And Just Like That - GONE! The Minor House is no more... Some final photographs delivered by our friend Stephen Masters, who has been on-site today, documenting the tragic loss of one of Northern Virginia's historic treasures. Admittedly, the Minor House was lost before today due to obscurity. With additions and expansions during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the house faded from view. Its historical importance forgotten as the neighborhood grew around it, only to be revealed at the eleventh hour like so many preservation losses, usually too late to have a happy ending.<br />
Stephen has logged many personal hours in an effort to save the Minor House. Sadly, the battle is lost. I am very appreciative of Stephen's determination and his continual updates.<br />
These final images show the remnants of the log structure and stone fireplace, its hearths having seen innumerable faces warming themselves since possibly the late 1700s. Thus is the passage of the centuries, and the fading of memories.<br />
<a href="http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dpz/historic/minors-hill-report.pdf" target="_blank">Attached, by this link, is a pdf report of historical assessment by Fairfax County ARB and History Commission.</a><br />
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As always, click on any of the following images for larger viewing.</div>
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Note the extending length of the chimney as the house grew around it vertically.</div>
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The triangular design fireplace once served separate rooms. </div>
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<br />John Cummingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15664001896165763192noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4693055636846442705.post-37874902960320521332016-09-16T07:54:00.000-04:002016-09-16T07:54:22.101-04:00The Minor House - Supplemental Photographs as the clock keeps ticking... More modern images from our friend Stephen Masters. As the bulldozer draws nearer, here are some then and now glimpses. Many thanks to Stephen for his work on trying to save this landmark.<br />
Please read my prior posts on the history of this structure. For those of you coming in new, the original Minor House was a log structure with wood siding. By the early 20th century there was a brick facade added as well as a second floor. There were later expansions and additions. Currently, the oldest section remains, but it is coming down soon to make way for new homes as has been done in the surrounding neighborhood.<br />
Besides its Civil War history, as recorded in photographs taken in January 1862, the house was also the site of refuge for Dolley Madison during the British burning of government buildings in Washington, D.C., including the Capital and White House, in 1814.<br />
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THEN AND NOW</div>
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January 1862</div>
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September 15, 2016</div>
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Where the Union observation and signal tower stood.</div>
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Large Union encampments covered the fields beyond the hill,</div>
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now the site of suburban sprawl. nearly 155 years later.</div>
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Review of the 17th New York Infantry at Minors Hill.</div>
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Their encampment is seen behind.</div>
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<br />John Cummingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15664001896165763192noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4693055636846442705.post-5323409377373366392016-09-15T17:18:00.000-04:002016-09-15T17:22:28.315-04:00The Minor House - Coming Down! History LostOur friend Stephen Masters brings us very sad news today. The Minor House is coming down. When an asking price of two million, and a 24 hour deadline produced no results, the bulldozers began to remove the early twentieth century expansion of the house. As seen in the following photos, the door and window openings of the original section are quite apparent, despite the overlay of brick on the log structure, and the addition of a second floor.<br />
See our prior posts in July and August regarding the history and location of the structure.<br />
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The first image is the most telling, and brings us to the only "then and now" that we will ever see, as the entire structure will soon be leveled.<br />
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September 15, 2016.</div>
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Photo by Stephen Masters</div>
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The tower stood among the debris pile.</div>
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January 1862</div>
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September 15, 2016</div>
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Photo by Stephen Masters</div>
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September 15, 2016</div>
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Photo by Stephen Masters</div>
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General McClellan stood in front of this doorway, as seen in the </div>
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January 1862 photograph below. The original camera position would</div>
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have been located in the area behind the red truck, seen at right.</div>
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As close as we will ever see.</div>
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<br />John Cummingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15664001896165763192noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4693055636846442705.post-20043423911413602532016-08-15T18:18:00.001-04:002016-09-17T09:24:22.168-04:00McClellan at Minor House, Fairfax County, Virginia - Then and Now (Updated) Sadly, the much altered original structure is about to meet the wrecking ball, but thanks to our intrepid reader, Stephen Masters, we are able to provide a then and now look at the spot where General McClellan posed with other officers on the front lawn of the house, in January 1862.<br />
<a href="http://spotsylvaniacw.blogspot.com/2016/07/blog-reader-locates-minor-house-soon-to.html" target="_blank">See also the July 24 post linked here.</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipJWtT8gVL3v3aBs9pbmveSVVGtP-AoBAY5_Xkd4C-esiBK_PmHnK3LmCFioC9yoBI4io688hkXlkjzU9Eryi5DV-DgFSMAJJIDVhKRalT2Y80Gf2yaG0CUCKTUMLeau7uIRs5kwtZw-pD/s1600/McClellan+at+Minor+House.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="327" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipJWtT8gVL3v3aBs9pbmveSVVGtP-AoBAY5_Xkd4C-esiBK_PmHnK3LmCFioC9yoBI4io688hkXlkjzU9Eryi5DV-DgFSMAJJIDVhKRalT2Y80Gf2yaG0CUCKTUMLeau7uIRs5kwtZw-pD/s400/McClellan+at+Minor+House.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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January 1862. McClellan at center with hand on stump.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXBd2lgfIHYEsCJ4fjeXwanAx9BU5_-3Yj_nwaEgOn6oxf5U-glpiZ3uS3vOvcRgsE9K5UCdU3-chEWrz4rsZNiXD9A5GwwpYsIdPCB_WKxAsajv3Q_Ft6xmbG9do_TinLIZqDbgRVQ96V/s1600/McClellan+site.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXBd2lgfIHYEsCJ4fjeXwanAx9BU5_-3Yj_nwaEgOn6oxf5U-glpiZ3uS3vOvcRgsE9K5UCdU3-chEWrz4rsZNiXD9A5GwwpYsIdPCB_WKxAsajv3Q_Ft6xmbG9do_TinLIZqDbgRVQ96V/s400/McClellan+site.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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August 2016. This is the best, approximate angle available today due to the hedges in front of the house. The stump would have sat just inside the ell-shaped bend in front of the tree and hedge, at center. Of course, the original camera angle is coming on a diagonal to the left, from the right, as illustrated in my scale diagram below.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVtYQGJMyd0gxjckooA2dKwKxNM48OVwDfKO5Wj8cCg57sYBghYLmWB2nqg0_0xVL0Tr-SHouYLOpr7l9RT8-VFzcKEu-sOPCdgt7g4ONkHg0CUgbE9m8NCHVzK3xxia5j20HxztaqNlXg/s1600/McClellan+Minor%2527s+Hill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVtYQGJMyd0gxjckooA2dKwKxNM48OVwDfKO5Wj8cCg57sYBghYLmWB2nqg0_0xVL0Tr-SHouYLOpr7l9RT8-VFzcKEu-sOPCdgt7g4ONkHg0CUgbE9m8NCHVzK3xxia5j20HxztaqNlXg/s400/McClellan+Minor%2527s+Hill.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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McClellan's position is indicated by the red dot, to the right of the stump, indicated in brown.</div>
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The larger brown dot is the approximate location of the larger, mangled tree in the left, rear distance of the January 1862 photograph. Four approximate post locations mark the nearby signal and observation tower, to the right.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg6NhMHGsJOLRO3h0bVzZb9IYrI4hPZUIERInuqYAE7CN-gF9xaqVk4pcrMtD3N5sW0_o5N6Fpx7gt00XjdO_lygSkNOPEaougb7q6_EClF-woszqGHXb8F1ObfvMvjaoK-wEzDxAzaJ4L/s1600/20160809_145309_resized.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg6NhMHGsJOLRO3h0bVzZb9IYrI4hPZUIERInuqYAE7CN-gF9xaqVk4pcrMtD3N5sW0_o5N6Fpx7gt00XjdO_lygSkNOPEaougb7q6_EClF-woszqGHXb8F1ObfvMvjaoK-wEzDxAzaJ4L/s400/20160809_145309_resized.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQZu64Ax1Uh0wORi1uHLHA7Eo_2rAMC9rg_V9GLgCbsfEoTrXfM-CLLelgebrbkocoZcz7HjIxhOXcE8BQDiQdvJdWjPhA_gP34cUlB_zMk11VU5YGmIna5bXGdSUOI3G31eymQqzPKwkI/s1600/20160809_145238_resized.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQZu64Ax1Uh0wORi1uHLHA7Eo_2rAMC9rg_V9GLgCbsfEoTrXfM-CLLelgebrbkocoZcz7HjIxhOXcE8BQDiQdvJdWjPhA_gP34cUlB_zMk11VU5YGmIna5bXGdSUOI3G31eymQqzPKwkI/s400/20160809_145238_resized.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Here are two additional views of the front entrance to the original house, approximating the angle of the McClellan photo, but from a much tighter camera position, so that the wing at left is visible. Both photos supplied courtesy of Stephen Masters. For clarification to those who are just now coming into this information, the original log structure (which had board siding) was bricked over many years ago, turned into a two-story structure and had an addition attached to the east face.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghH4YA_xF49QpLnMXXPzmNtdfIWvzEQfurWbvIGOs52QmK3PFODfIaBKoTgcra547ndMH6gVSqAE4U-kYaF_jT4SO8pmLCzGfW86pKFuMQo7zqNASJ1itDMe_G-e2sXLyfG945PTQyKZDi/s1600/MInor+House+location.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghH4YA_xF49QpLnMXXPzmNtdfIWvzEQfurWbvIGOs52QmK3PFODfIaBKoTgcra547ndMH6gVSqAE4U-kYaF_jT4SO8pmLCzGfW86pKFuMQo7zqNASJ1itDMe_G-e2sXLyfG945PTQyKZDi/s400/MInor+House+location.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The neighborhood today.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSyR9meDmSuDfprwo2PDqraxd9AwxC1M0QlayWNYVjpEfxIOsHys5IyG2e4BvuzUYONwVxFL0m39SEvXDOQvZ5FHmLLQCU8tkzNwBkmfyiWb7QbDRuH3rQincNfFB98PC2Lv6JqVXaO5is/s1600/MInor+House+location+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="325" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSyR9meDmSuDfprwo2PDqraxd9AwxC1M0QlayWNYVjpEfxIOsHys5IyG2e4BvuzUYONwVxFL0m39SEvXDOQvZ5FHmLLQCU8tkzNwBkmfyiWb7QbDRuH3rQincNfFB98PC2Lv6JqVXaO5is/s400/MInor+House+location+%25282%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Close up with the original house, outlined in red. Tower to the right.</div>
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Original camera position indicated, looking northwest.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6exovWx86YUQYMC9JTU5Y_niyslzPWUp_USZCgLedCmI9Xzc6x_aH9Fj77DuDInADa3EHsbIVAYe5qflQDZUzSQAzs1sDcaCPE9lYmlJ25bPQTcaW_Wyi104DSbOcjyG0ucelybqxZDGK/s1600/Minor%2527s+Hill+001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6exovWx86YUQYMC9JTU5Y_niyslzPWUp_USZCgLedCmI9Xzc6x_aH9Fj77DuDInADa3EHsbIVAYe5qflQDZUzSQAzs1sDcaCPE9lYmlJ25bPQTcaW_Wyi104DSbOcjyG0ucelybqxZDGK/s400/Minor%2527s+Hill+001.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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View showing tower to east of the Minor House.</div>
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There is also a much larger history to the Minor House and its property beyond the McClellan photograph, one that includes the fact that both President James Madison and wife Dolley came here as the government fled the burning of Washington in 1814. The President arrived here looking for his wife but not finding her, continued on to Falls Church. Dolley arrived later and is said to have spent two nights there. </div>
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Additional information can be found at the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minor%27s_Hill" target="_blank">Wikipedia link provided by clicking here</a>.</div>
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<br />John Cummingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15664001896165763192noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4693055636846442705.post-75349894692995221372016-07-24T20:21:00.002-04:002016-09-17T09:31:02.393-04:00Blog Reader Locates Minor House - Soon to be demolished! Updated 7/25/2016Recently, a reader of this site, Stephen Masters, left comments to this blog's August and October 2013 postings regarding the location of the Minor House in Fairfax County, Virginia. On a site once inside the Falls Church boundary, the original structure has been absorbed by several additions since the Civil War, and is currently slated to be demolished to make way for new construction. Masters has indicated he will supply images of the interior of the building, detailing the original log walls and chimney.<br />
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The site is approximately 430 yards slightly northwest of my previous suggested location. There had been prior indication that the house was long demolished.<br />
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This is all exciting, yet sad news if the building will not be preserved. It is fortunate that we can now know the true location of the following January 1862 photographs, including one that shows General McClellan meeting with officers outside.<br />
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Click on images for larger examination.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9apNbGs0cpPtOWqVAPn_wIF0umqRN_Vy6wyxS53G3wd2ZmCYdbJyb-1CqiEmIlCQW8kk3kuthjeieAak6Kr0XXaEeC1jyNsF0I2qxAoz5mxciTbvmlI8tJyZPkfBduZDD620eU3oKJ1K-/s1600/Minor+House+full+image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9apNbGs0cpPtOWqVAPn_wIF0umqRN_Vy6wyxS53G3wd2ZmCYdbJyb-1CqiEmIlCQW8kk3kuthjeieAak6Kr0XXaEeC1jyNsF0I2qxAoz5mxciTbvmlI8tJyZPkfBduZDD620eU3oKJ1K-/s640/Minor+House+full+image.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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"Then", in January 1862.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0GCFAm3ad5g5064r0C93CLvComNWbgYFmFMNuTf_cNpCyQ4bQ8AZza2FWTdleHCJQ76xud-T_fubGoSpTIq_4ceYMmAAfXc9Zntiu9mx3C7laKSPEkYoNzG9wKomfrNRKqJM-QXy-Bdbi/s1600/Minor%2527s+Hill+location+2016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0GCFAm3ad5g5064r0C93CLvComNWbgYFmFMNuTf_cNpCyQ4bQ8AZza2FWTdleHCJQ76xud-T_fubGoSpTIq_4ceYMmAAfXc9Zntiu9mx3C7laKSPEkYoNzG9wKomfrNRKqJM-QXy-Bdbi/s400/Minor%2527s+Hill+location+2016.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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This is an approximate "now" image of the above January 1862 photograph,</div>
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courtesy of Google Earth Street View. The trees unfortunately block the building, at center.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyeRMwIhNAAv5RlE4TBscrTuK5F7Mt5zEaPBKwweESBOLKAx5O3rH4O_E2xn2WDIDbOZv8emndGQ-I9W_QIxbXlQFHUuqHVGLOj60xmQg9bZz-31loKDJX_DLTEFx0Draz1WTbdRbdiKHn/s1600/Minor%2527s+Hill+location+annotated.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="396" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyeRMwIhNAAv5RlE4TBscrTuK5F7Mt5zEaPBKwweESBOLKAx5O3rH4O_E2xn2WDIDbOZv8emndGQ-I9W_QIxbXlQFHUuqHVGLOj60xmQg9bZz-31loKDJX_DLTEFx0Draz1WTbdRbdiKHn/s640/Minor%2527s+Hill+location+annotated.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
View from Google Earth indicating the original structure, outlined in red, and the approximate location of the nearby signal tower, also marked in red. Click image for larger examination.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSUZ_S0QYUASEzrM39QScXzFDHJqB0olFvmtGSrNbsGC89wOZGsMAe4NyaQoK5EW3tQAjX_tXIFhLmPTuVOSXCh5nK9b6zus0W-O8v-M8RAcPmPTBJn4_Ki3h5_aDOVnnoT5tsxc0YDfGH/s1600/McClellan+at+Minor+House.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="524" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSUZ_S0QYUASEzrM39QScXzFDHJqB0olFvmtGSrNbsGC89wOZGsMAe4NyaQoK5EW3tQAjX_tXIFhLmPTuVOSXCh5nK9b6zus0W-O8v-M8RAcPmPTBJn4_Ki3h5_aDOVnnoT5tsxc0YDfGH/s640/McClellan+at+Minor+House.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The McClellan mystery photo as solved in the August 19, 2013 posting. <a href="http://spotsylvaniacw.blogspot.com/2013/08/mcclellan-mystery-can-we-put-it-to-rest.html" target="_blank">Click link.</a></div>
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My previous site suggestion <a href="http://spotsylvaniacw.blogspot.com/2013/10/minors-hill-signal-tower-suggested-then.html" target="_blank">appeared in the October 2, 2013 posting</a>, to which Stephen Masters commented recently, alerting us to the true location and impending demolition.</div>
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<span style="color: red;">As stated in the beginning of this update, we were hopeful to have</span></div>
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<span style="color: red;"> photographs of the structure as it stands today, both inside and exterior.</span><br />
<span style="color: red;">Below, with kind permission of Stephen Masters, here are comparison </span><br />
<span style="color: red;">images of the structure as it stands today. More will be posted soon.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNIvoHZZY7USL4U-KT3zIJ8VKe_VMpjKOMANxxs4tih1OgW0FovMQmsCw8UxM-emDYXkJVTnMyawjIJsbGSFuzgKyGC7O5-xWSccKdumc46aPM4bjvlAew_rOcLb5jbrz9WJFgsirZk9YN/s1600/75baa035-177e-4a4c-9496-2f24f9765ed7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNIvoHZZY7USL4U-KT3zIJ8VKe_VMpjKOMANxxs4tih1OgW0FovMQmsCw8UxM-emDYXkJVTnMyawjIJsbGSFuzgKyGC7O5-xWSccKdumc46aPM4bjvlAew_rOcLb5jbrz9WJFgsirZk9YN/s400/75baa035-177e-4a4c-9496-2f24f9765ed7.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
The original building is the left hand portion, since converted to two-story.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF40oyj_3qhOtI1T3HR7ueCPyx_QUsOiIgAkx-CXZStZ5y7BeD1GjkON704KPT7Pc8Ux32r9IZqOY2kHpOwSUwIUdJF-Y8bf16gIOyo40lEssGscUe00GHcwe9vPb3osir6eV75Rgs-u8w/s1600/1cacdafd-b771-4443-80e3-a1454e3df14c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF40oyj_3qhOtI1T3HR7ueCPyx_QUsOiIgAkx-CXZStZ5y7BeD1GjkON704KPT7Pc8Ux32r9IZqOY2kHpOwSUwIUdJF-Y8bf16gIOyo40lEssGscUe00GHcwe9vPb3osir6eV75Rgs-u8w/s400/1cacdafd-b771-4443-80e3-a1454e3df14c.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Circled is a side entrance on the east face, as it appeared in 1862.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG2y1h4Svt2xcdpICbXofTLBNRkYuBhEu3z-Hcd5yxND_HWGb_FRDttfPJvUatRUU8TFJ6LpVEIdvDOe8hIjXuyOdJ314tLkI94NSl0aEg9mdNiGrkVhuFwZXsHu3eORW7EsdlIMoL_9Bp/s1600/ff1bbca9-ca3c-40b6-a557-dceee33918dc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG2y1h4Svt2xcdpICbXofTLBNRkYuBhEu3z-Hcd5yxND_HWGb_FRDttfPJvUatRUU8TFJ6LpVEIdvDOe8hIjXuyOdJ314tLkI94NSl0aEg9mdNiGrkVhuFwZXsHu3eORW7EsdlIMoL_9Bp/s400/ff1bbca9-ca3c-40b6-a557-dceee33918dc.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Further enlargement of the entrance.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSt80Ux49C1g1IOi4IHvPrxLRnPTzdHvyMll9i5Lq8KTQpVeLm8hnKrfe9cNZ13NFei1uItzCMAQZOcJH8ZqDCLJxJOR1mv9ALgtJ0OFFfPBbnN_FTGU6jsLSy5W8f1gSsJ3u90c3z5o_s/s1600/df23a2dc-9fed-45ac-ac19-725ce665a1c5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSt80Ux49C1g1IOi4IHvPrxLRnPTzdHvyMll9i5Lq8KTQpVeLm8hnKrfe9cNZ13NFei1uItzCMAQZOcJH8ZqDCLJxJOR1mv9ALgtJ0OFFfPBbnN_FTGU6jsLSy5W8f1gSsJ3u90c3z5o_s/s400/df23a2dc-9fed-45ac-ac19-725ce665a1c5.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Stephen Master's view of that side entrance as it looks today.</div>
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The original log structure was bricked over.</div>
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<br />John Cummingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15664001896165763192noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4693055636846442705.post-69078849487862681762016-05-26T09:42:00.000-04:002016-05-26T09:42:44.410-04:00Supplemental Material re: blog post of May 25, 2016. Image details, and Lt. Ames' fate. An observation made during an all over review of yesterday's primary image, reveals what is apparently the coat and sword belt of Battery G's captain, Nelson Ames, hanging from the branches of the tree above the seated group. It is easy to distinguish the scabbard of the saber (perhaps an 1840 model?), as well as the holster for a revolver and the hanger straps. The coat has captains shoulder bars. Captain Nelson Ames was the cousin of Lieutenant Albert N. Ames, author of the <a href="http://spotsylvaniacw.blogspot.com/2016/05/a-question-of-date-north-anna.html" target="_blank">letter quoted here in the May 25th post</a>. Nelson is referred to as " The Capt." in Albert's letter, and can be seen with his back essentially to the camera, blurred from movement during the image exposure.<br />
Not an earth shattering detail, but interesting to note, and otherwise missed.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnGd6urUe3fQUrL0ssn6j97WgaT_fPfx-Db6oVFYgL7QsVFLqrSsAMrVchCniGfK7Si6FZXvUseD3AHnSSGFImM7BuPGcaPVhId28UyKVVzehuLNprbspuDgZm6-NoGD3wR9p-p-xRimyh/s1600/01210a+detail+.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnGd6urUe3fQUrL0ssn6j97WgaT_fPfx-Db6oVFYgL7QsVFLqrSsAMrVchCniGfK7Si6FZXvUseD3AHnSSGFImM7BuPGcaPVhId28UyKVVzehuLNprbspuDgZm6-NoGD3wR9p-p-xRimyh/s640/01210a+detail+.jpg" width="508" /></a></div>
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The detail.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZYJkOyOmXUR_MUJyUM0UxcZZHsnQW82CDElGCJMi-cNSx8j6sDkWHD3YhOP158Wq2ZoHPyVZ1UbNyLWuHqKYR_4hajbXayMTb3PUr00OxRGY56IDQIa-uhXR4OZxaULndiKUstP9ZRmwx/s1600/NA+full+01210a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="626" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZYJkOyOmXUR_MUJyUM0UxcZZHsnQW82CDElGCJMi-cNSx8j6sDkWHD3YhOP158Wq2ZoHPyVZ1UbNyLWuHqKYR_4hajbXayMTb3PUr00OxRGY56IDQIa-uhXR4OZxaULndiKUstP9ZRmwx/s640/NA+full+01210a.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The full image.</div>
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Albert was mortally wounded by a sharpshooter near Petersburg on September 26, 1864, at Fort Morton, about a third of a mile east of the site of the Crater. He was less than a month shy of his 26th birthday.</div>
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Below is the New York, Civil War Muster Roll Abstract for Lt. Albert N. Ames</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZj_G438kmqsvtbH8gMt6m9zKOD1gBgaeG5RngW64butrXkXyfgMJvISufAzBYwKpsyKTnQZkSnzE2e_IRevYK9lI58uffLewK4CLSzq6lMsF3hkEjEbxlQMpMXbmc9hc_WdaDMmpBwCd-/s1600/Albert+Ames+descriptive.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZj_G438kmqsvtbH8gMt6m9zKOD1gBgaeG5RngW64butrXkXyfgMJvISufAzBYwKpsyKTnQZkSnzE2e_IRevYK9lI58uffLewK4CLSzq6lMsF3hkEjEbxlQMpMXbmc9hc_WdaDMmpBwCd-/s640/Albert+Ames+descriptive.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3HlS9QTmtn_h9JUoPN2W4IZCIsBEz8VrSY9TR92bZcaX2_Qxe9ftVOz5r9o9AtKAfUxc1riFKYxMFoYUqWUK5awg20jt0zQcWn3dV1yyrlJ3vfrpq01dhJHSb1yRSDsoZrXCucbUs31ie/s1600/Albert+N.+Ames.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3HlS9QTmtn_h9JUoPN2W4IZCIsBEz8VrSY9TR92bZcaX2_Qxe9ftVOz5r9o9AtKAfUxc1riFKYxMFoYUqWUK5awg20jt0zQcWn3dV1yyrlJ3vfrpq01dhJHSb1yRSDsoZrXCucbUs31ie/s400/Albert+N.+Ames.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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1st Lieutenant Albert N. Ames</div>
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Identified by his own description, noted in his May 29, 1864 letter home.</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px; text-align: left;">"I sat in a Rebel chair also, with a towel over my lap, a tin plate on the towel, </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px; text-align: left;">in my shirt sleeves and my cap off..."</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px; text-align: left;"><a href="http://spotsylvaniacw.blogspot.com/2016/05/a-question-of-date-north-anna.html" target="_blank">Link to the previous post regarding Ames and the photograph at North Anna.</a></span></div>
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John Cummingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15664001896165763192noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4693055636846442705.post-69367147980744547702016-05-25T12:47:00.001-04:002016-05-25T17:23:00.550-04:00A Question of Date: North Anna Photographs Re-examined, 152 years later... It has been said that several images taken by photographer Timothy O'Sullivan along the North Anna River were made on May 25, 1864. The first we see here, looking to the southwest, across a reversed section of Henagan's Redoubt, has been dated to the 25th since the publication of William A. Frassanito's, <u><b>Grant and Lee, The Virginia Campaigns 1864-1865</b></u>, published in 1983.<br />
In 1998, a regimental history for the 7th New York Heavy Artillery was published in a limited first edition of 1,000 copies, entitled, <u><b>Carnival of Blood</b></u>, by Robert Keating. Discussing the activities of the regiment on May 25, Keating quotes a letter written by a 1st Lieutenant from the 1st New York Light Artillery, Battery G, Albert Ames. The Ames letter was written to his family on May 29, and in great detail describes the making of the photograph. The full image is seen below, followed by the quoted section of the letter.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU92K014SEI1e4FTalJNx67vCAURWhEWVSgVuUE6nhS5umlxykx2tQWlOUzME2NRBnEaJXk2rwuqP0iqSnF6VBjAbyAPB95hFYT-hlpNfmTdHSWDPDSdcE6y-plGSiSCtktj1epGUNzAY-/s1600/NA+full+01210a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="626" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU92K014SEI1e4FTalJNx67vCAURWhEWVSgVuUE6nhS5umlxykx2tQWlOUzME2NRBnEaJXk2rwuqP0iqSnF6VBjAbyAPB95hFYT-hlpNfmTdHSWDPDSdcE6y-plGSiSCtktj1epGUNzAY-/s640/NA+full+01210a.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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"...you will see the officers of our Battery at dinner. The Capt. sits in a Rebel chair taken from a house demolished, and I sat in a Rebel chair also, with a towel over my lap, a tin plate on the towel, in my shirt sleeves and my cap off...the men, part of them laying around under the shade made by pieces of tents and on feather beds, some on a mattress, some had old dresses for pillows taken from the ruins of the house...." </div>
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As you can see, every detail is as Ames describes it, written within less than a week of the image being taken. Bear in mind, photographer O'Sullivan was not creating prints of his images out in the field, so it's not as if Ames was looking at the finished product. He was graphically recounting the particulars of the moment. The original letter is in the New York State Library in a collection of Ames' papers, donated by a family member. <a href="http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/msscfa/sc12224.htm" target="_blank">A link to that inventory can be found here.</a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAml8I6tDwF7-1f1dcGzgfmY7GcMqiy_JWAV5nmoPgaDQzeAdWrG6_UFKB6v9h2Ly-b2iaxNs_JPHYtDjljAzTEYBLrmfsGBfP95ffegQpLq9CixwS2CfKmtLAEHmv5eevqVKeFIz6Mwlw/s1600/NA+detail+01210a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAml8I6tDwF7-1f1dcGzgfmY7GcMqiy_JWAV5nmoPgaDQzeAdWrG6_UFKB6v9h2Ly-b2iaxNs_JPHYtDjljAzTEYBLrmfsGBfP95ffegQpLq9CixwS2CfKmtLAEHmv5eevqVKeFIz6Mwlw/s640/NA+detail+01210a.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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An additional image, seen below, taken within the same time frame as the previous, was earlier presented in one of my blog posts from 2012, <a href="http://spotsylvaniacw.blogspot.com/2012/03/along-north-anna-river-then-and-now.html" target="_blank">and can be found at this link</a>.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9_BQYbCq1PAqLnns99ct-6HLBdcgjPE7i0Mn46LZ66IRJMj79vR8_0bdQm7R000i8j6cpGZ9HhWZFYJgLG5BwNcL_k62L80UdrXKaAz9StcUQaiZr5FMJ92WGyCyOY1KUIkfjzOKrBNqq/s1600/NA+01212a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="614" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9_BQYbCq1PAqLnns99ct-6HLBdcgjPE7i0Mn46LZ66IRJMj79vR8_0bdQm7R000i8j6cpGZ9HhWZFYJgLG5BwNcL_k62L80UdrXKaAz9StcUQaiZr5FMJ92WGyCyOY1KUIkfjzOKrBNqq/s640/NA+01212a.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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On March 21st, 2012, a follower of this blog named Andy, commented regarding the earlier posting, that due to the Ames quote, the soldiers seen in the photograph would be members of 2nd Corps regiments, something that is contrary to the fact that the 2nd Corps had been relocated to the south side of the river not long after 5:30 PM on the previous day, May 24. However...</div>
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Not having seen the entire contents of the Ames letter yet myself, it is uncertain if it was Ames providing an incorrect date (but clearly not the wrong details) of O'Sullivan's image taking, or did Robert Keating make an assumption on the date of the photographs from having familiarity with William Frassanito's work on the subject? Could this image have actually been taken on May 24? This would imply an interruption in O'Sullivan's creation of the series of photos taken around the Chesterfield Bridge area, something not totally inconceivable. Thus, assertions that soldiers seen in both images here are members of 9th Corps units is suspect since they would not have occupied this position until late on the 24th and into the 25th. </div>
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Additionally, the Library of Congress holds in its collection a print from O'Sullivan's stereo negative with other images identified as the Chesterfield Bridge area, bearing a May 24 date, written on its mount. These are post-war printings, glued on pages similar to those in the MOLLUS collection with a printing date of 1884.That image is seen below.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEnxKTywqeQ6C9GMwGYSlJGt9t9txrP5GoqEmZtipSy4vjNYP5S_FIB3XUDoaULJGt4LwS_kI2xyWYFJRea6anE_zJTQTBHLKCF_5e8gtMpyMbfW33KMZbCq99b09ect8dKTk0LeSwRGAY/s1600/NA+3h00044v.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEnxKTywqeQ6C9GMwGYSlJGt9t9txrP5GoqEmZtipSy4vjNYP5S_FIB3XUDoaULJGt4LwS_kI2xyWYFJRea6anE_zJTQTBHLKCF_5e8gtMpyMbfW33KMZbCq99b09ect8dKTk0LeSwRGAY/s400/NA+3h00044v.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Lastly, for added interest sake, friend and <a href="http://john-banks.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">fellow blogger John Banks</a> kindly assembled a slider version of my then and now pairing from the 2012 posting. Grab the toggle at center with your cursor and move it back and forth.</div>
<iframe class="juxtapose" frameborder="0" height="787" src="https://cdn.knightlab.com/libs/juxtapose/latest/embed/index.html?uid=077770fc-22be-11e6-a524-0e7075bba956" width="100%"></iframe>John Cummingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15664001896165763192noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4693055636846442705.post-14712716257982009722016-05-05T12:51:00.000-04:002016-05-05T13:00:32.455-04:00The Human Wreckage of the Wilderness - Dr. Bontecou's Documentation <span style="font-family: inherit;"> <span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">One hundred and fifty-two years ago today, the armies of north and south clashed in a forbidding landscape, partly along the Orange Plank Road, in western Spotsylvania County, Virginia. The two day engagement left nearly four thousand killed and close to another twenty-five thousand wounded, captured or missing. A large number of the dead were left where they fell, some receiving hardly a thin earthen shroud to cover them. Two years later, their then <span style="background-color: white; color: #3b3e41; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.64px; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">skeletonized</span></span> remains dotted the shot-torn woods, some alone, others gathered into groups. The remains of the Union dead had been collected and interred by a burial crew dispatched by the Federal government the previous summer. The southern dead were largely left in situ.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> In April of 1866, Dr. Reed Brockway Bontecou visited the battlefields around Fredericksburg. Bontecou was a talented surgeon with the Union Army, and by war's end was the head of Harewood Hospital outside of Washington, D.C.. As part of documenting soldiers under his care, Bontecou began to photograph their condition, and healing wounds. These images became part of the Armed Forces Museum of Pathology, known today as the National Museum of Health and Medicine.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> While passing through the Wilderness region, Bontecou was accompanied by a photographic entourage, headed by William Bell, the chief photographer for the Surgeon General's Office. Much of what they recorded showed remains of earthworks and shattered trees. Some however showed the bleaching bones of the dead. Out of all of them, one image in particular shows considerable detail of three skulls, partly surfaced to the elements, along the Orange Plank Road,</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBMIRsmCXdD-25S47Kc2grcRWHGDplIw8WTiLNWu-hlsocbaG9EwHK1kb-nn2-LpG1ZhBvzLA4qzKRxq_IGh72xU8niPFaLWm3obR8O54oKe-ujptmTxRJqscqc33AQK-WRKpIo5HbGdwO/s1600/042.tif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="596" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBMIRsmCXdD-25S47Kc2grcRWHGDplIw8WTiLNWu-hlsocbaG9EwHK1kb-nn2-LpG1ZhBvzLA4qzKRxq_IGh72xU8niPFaLWm3obR8O54oKe-ujptmTxRJqscqc33AQK-WRKpIo5HbGdwO/s640/042.tif" width="640" /></a></div>
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Along with the photographic record, Bontecou collected numerous pathological specimens, human crania that bore the effects of the projectiles that killed them, often times still found rattling inside, and retained to be wired to the side of the specimen. They are maintained in the museum collection to this day. Due to the details visible in the above photograph, I was able to determine that the center skull was one of the ones retained for the collection. There has been unfortunate postmortem loss of teeth, along with apparent misplacement of the mandible, but the visible trauma to the right rear and a pronounced fracture across the forehead make this a clear match that would stand up in a court of law.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji8whgcTMMzGpLkefzKIGNo_L5WeLC4pHEf3TI1g4o1DFv_7dSO53PQytVGk11N3oZvYpUt08CRBxk4lyqrYDyQy3XD1UmoMHKVYHmVjdf77sZsM8P56SXp4_jacnhRQW-JaiGi5Z6Z4KB/s1600/045.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji8whgcTMMzGpLkefzKIGNo_L5WeLC4pHEf3TI1g4o1DFv_7dSO53PQytVGk11N3oZvYpUt08CRBxk4lyqrYDyQy3XD1UmoMHKVYHmVjdf77sZsM8P56SXp4_jacnhRQW-JaiGi5Z6Z4KB/s400/045.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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July 6, 2010, finding the matching specimen at the NMHM, Walter Reed Hospital.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7lvJM-Fjx0sqwXCkKAQbF7SJq28vCtpIzMf8KDUNbhhGzeAHw2hD72TocWUdFPnYkSkmG8FoM24maeS5Y2hKWdBkbHAxSMsoBmzBNfmhTJIlwwMcHbCN595CDf2IwjYFLZDTNSGWDyI8L/s1600/043.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7lvJM-Fjx0sqwXCkKAQbF7SJq28vCtpIzMf8KDUNbhhGzeAHw2hD72TocWUdFPnYkSkmG8FoM24maeS5Y2hKWdBkbHAxSMsoBmzBNfmhTJIlwwMcHbCN595CDf2IwjYFLZDTNSGWDyI8L/s640/043.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Detail from the April 1866 photograph taken on the Orange Plank Road.</div>
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The same skull as it resides in the collection of the National Museum of Health and Medicine.</div>
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AFIP 1001057</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghGK1jZUNUIMce1gwrfloDjdrd7d3AsrCwogYCB_iNFxVqu5PYRoun4AAhVu6txEDqmh9QTr82Tel1ksS7EOFksWSEzbNoewwTy0RLeH30dyIOJhFghcC1iMk64J66Gop7kFjyiI8y6nVV/s1600/046.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghGK1jZUNUIMce1gwrfloDjdrd7d3AsrCwogYCB_iNFxVqu5PYRoun4AAhVu6txEDqmh9QTr82Tel1ksS7EOFksWSEzbNoewwTy0RLeH30dyIOJhFghcC1iMk64J66Gop7kFjyiI8y6nVV/s640/046.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRI-HOACGuNVVb9QNJ23UqyAFN9W5WTauaj_VEThsHZgLPoUE2zaGGaDLGbvXKiAAXkDg-Ij78T_z8naF-KjbPN6A_NpWHFVyO1m5zMx6UR3TUI__mfyDICueid7NJh0URH0tB81dbUM2U/s1600/047.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRI-HOACGuNVVb9QNJ23UqyAFN9W5WTauaj_VEThsHZgLPoUE2zaGGaDLGbvXKiAAXkDg-Ij78T_z8naF-KjbPN6A_NpWHFVyO1m5zMx6UR3TUI__mfyDICueid7NJh0URH0tB81dbUM2U/s640/047.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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The garish wound that ended this man's life.</div>
<br />John Cummingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15664001896165763192noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4693055636846442705.post-46871204413430466642016-04-02T07:47:00.000-04:002016-04-07T03:32:37.336-04:00Real-Time Tour of Dr. Bontecou's Spotsylvania Photographs - April 13, 2016. Join Us!<h2>
<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">National Park Service News Release</span></b></h2>
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<span style="font-size: small;">For Immediate Release - March 30, 2016</span></h2>
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<span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">Contact Name: John Hennessy 540-693-3200 x 4010</span> </h2>
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<b>Spotsylvania, VA -</b> The National Park Service has announced a special 150th tour—a tour
not pegged to a battle, but rather to an effort to photograph
Spotsylvania Court House Battlefield just a year after the end of the
war.
Join photo-historian John Cummings and Chief Historian John Hennessy
as they visit the sites of several famous images taken on April 13,
1866, precisely 150 years after those images were taken.<br />
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<b>The Story:</b> During the second week April of 1866, United States Army Surgeon Reed
Brockway Bontecou traveled to the former battlefields around
Fredericksburg.
Bontecou collected medical specimens (some still survive), but most
importantly brought along a photographic team from the Surgeon
General’s Office in Washington, D.C. Moving over the area
battlefields, the group created a series of 121 stereo images on glass
negatives showing a landscape ravaged by war. The views include
famous images taken on the morning of April 13, 1866, at the Bloody
Angle, the McCoull farm, and of Laurel Hill at Spotsylvania.<br />
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<b>The Tour:</b> On Wednesday morning, April 13, we will follow the footsteps of
Bontecou and his photographer as the sun moves across the sky and the
shadows shift with the passage of time. Learn about these powerful
images that today give us the most vivid look at Spotsylvania’s
wartime appearance. Mr. Cummings has done years of research and field
work on these images.<br />
<br />
Meet at the Bloody Angle Stop parking lot, Tour Stop 3 on the
Spotsylvania Court House Battlefield. <b>The program will start promptly
at 9:30</b>. The tour will include just under 2.5 miles of walking across
mostly gentle terrain, along established trails. Bring water and
snacks. The tour will conclude about noon.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6aMl0iD1Tpml4HaxZ9dhAXkdoZGpxAZahA56DUoEmIXBwW4cP79QwI6LhkxN4Jpl923kC6ciitJS-gLcVsQxbh9Wicg5K4m2M06ipyWxho75sBqKQ0iA3RaROAEv5q_ZXx0IQo9wDytnq/s1600/DSC_0436+crop+adj.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6aMl0iD1Tpml4HaxZ9dhAXkdoZGpxAZahA56DUoEmIXBwW4cP79QwI6LhkxN4Jpl923kC6ciitJS-gLcVsQxbh9Wicg5K4m2M06ipyWxho75sBqKQ0iA3RaROAEv5q_ZXx0IQo9wDytnq/s400/DSC_0436+crop+adj.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
<br />John Cummingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15664001896165763192noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4693055636846442705.post-86823724851472550982016-01-01T12:13:00.000-05:002018-04-04T06:43:47.099-04:00The Battlefield of First Manassas - Then and Now, Isolating the Details, and Camera Location<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: red;">This post contains REVISIONS, based on continued examinations of the ground on March 31, 2018. These revisions are made to clarify and correct certain aspects that were made two years previous. The chief factor that lead to these corrections was the mowing of a field covered with five foot grass. The tall grass was an unfortunate obstacle that caused a misperception as to the camera position assumed in March of 1862. The misperception did, however lend itself to a better understanding of the terrain beyond the ravine seen running across the middle ground of the photograph. This did enable certain features to be identified in their present condition, and better understand the visual aspect of the fighting on July 21, 1861. I would like to thank Keith Knoke who patiently discussed with me my errors prior to a return visit to the site. The important correction is the confirmation of the original camera position, which was indeed some 140 yards straight back from the position I utilized, as originally determined by Keith Knokes and James Burgess. </span></div>
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The camera location for this March 1862 photograph by Barnard and Gibson had been speculated on for many years, and in the March/April 2004 issue of <i><b><a href="http://militaryimagesmagazine.com/" target="_blank">Military Images Magazine</a></b></i> it was examined by historians Keith Knoke and James Burgess. Their work correctly placed it along a former fence line on the Robinson Farm, overlooking Henry House and the ground to its east. In October of 2015, <b><a href="http://www.civilwarphotography.org/" target="_blank">The Center for Civil War Photography</a></b> ventured to Manassas for its annual seminar, taking their attendees along the same tree/fence line, to a similar location selected by the group's vice president, Garry Adelman, and published previously in his 2011 book, <i>Manassas Battlefields Then and Now</i>. In December of 2015, the National Park Service installed numerous new interpretive signs throughout the Manassas National Battlefield Park, including one based on the work of Knoke and Burgess, but located some what off because of obstructing trees. Bottom line, for all intents and purposes, it is the correct camera location, give or take a few feet, here or there. </div>
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Beginning on October 29, 2015, and concluding on December 4, I began my own investigations of the site, with the initial intention of duplicating the necessary elevation of the camera suggested by Knoke, Burgess, and Adelman, a height all had postulated was made by the Barnard and Gibson camera being placed on the roof of a barn or similar structure. My idea was to work along the fence line, beginning at the furthest southeast corner of the suggested Robinson fence, and make adjustments as I went. It was easy, going into the project, to automatically assume the fence seen in the foreground of the original stereoview was indeed the same site found today, just as my predecessors had done. Start with what seems to be the obvious. However, even with mounting fences, and using my fully extended tripod as a pole mount for my camera, the topography of the ground got in the way, all along the line, in varying degrees of obstruction. The one solid detail in the image, without a doubt, and agreed on by all, was the ruins of the Henry House, anchoring the right horizon line. The foreground fence, and seeming orchard, were problematic, as period maps of the battlefield certainly suggested it should be the Robinson fence, but at the time of my examination extremely tall grass obstructed the view, causing confusion as to the foreground of the 1862 image, and compelling me to move forward to the next rise, approximately 140 yards further south. This location provided a much more realistic view of the ravine-like feature that runs through the middle ground of the 1862 image. There are only finite possibilities when dealing with this image when accounting for the angle with which we see the Henry House chimney, and the clearly defined topographic features of the ground beyond the ravine. One realization from my March 2018 return visit is that the cluster of trees seen in the left middle ground, are indeed very probable witness trees or their descendants. That is a happy realization, and one that correlates to another image take from the opposite direction in the 1880s for the <u>Century Magazine's</u> article series, <u>Battles and Leaders</u>. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggtDQU0u72usB7zE5x4ZeAxZOkYZYhSC1GtCAdBwub2ptVwp9FMSbqleYBnWUk9eNq7wp5O_o_hI7U6iLjBOKLIoR_kgu-bU9uaU4lw7ZLeCXDUQ6_6VOZlZxYMyXf6-5ydFcj8eiv0QD2/s1600/First+Manassas+full+view.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="548" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggtDQU0u72usB7zE5x4ZeAxZOkYZYhSC1GtCAdBwub2ptVwp9FMSbqleYBnWUk9eNq7wp5O_o_hI7U6iLjBOKLIoR_kgu-bU9uaU4lw7ZLeCXDUQ6_6VOZlZxYMyXf6-5ydFcj8eiv0QD2/s640/First+Manassas+full+view.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/cwp2003000005/PP/" target="_blank">One side of the original stereographic negative, Library of Congress.</a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3dJpsawmlVrSCdJeV8QTsFcC23z5pbqUtdWsDmntgeY2SU_e7Es1B6O07bC08SNRiW1Ul5Bs7L3cWhal6df4SgM4JL5pFmOuXmnKkBDvDmTR5jFWp-zzsZzJD24K-eCVQdBEOKxvhsb_G/s1600/Barnard+DSC_0700+level+crop+adj+combined+copyright.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="417" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3dJpsawmlVrSCdJeV8QTsFcC23z5pbqUtdWsDmntgeY2SU_e7Es1B6O07bC08SNRiW1Ul5Bs7L3cWhal6df4SgM4JL5pFmOuXmnKkBDvDmTR5jFWp-zzsZzJD24K-eCVQdBEOKxvhsb_G/s640/Barnard+DSC_0700+level+crop+adj+combined+copyright.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Then and Now comparison of the far side of the ravine. Extremely tall grass obstructs all of the foreground in the modern view. This modern view is taken roughly 140 yards further south than the 1862 camera position, however it does allow for vivid comparisons of the terrain features beyond the ravine. The following three details, both period and modern, are crops taken from a direct overlay of the two, resulting in remarkable matching.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Detail 1</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIUoY5IuRHL6hMrdDlsS5WNdBISQwYHz_1-FAMlK393S7Q7nvJmh2VpePK5EEEBFaB4Wy7vUmrl1oU-Qr3fl3TsT_peEbMj9RP5rtjqyCQGU2gdfZMpSWjZU85SBctlF2CQ-tDFsP2XYuj/s1600/Barnard+DSC_0700+Henry+House+001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIUoY5IuRHL6hMrdDlsS5WNdBISQwYHz_1-FAMlK393S7Q7nvJmh2VpePK5EEEBFaB4Wy7vUmrl1oU-Qr3fl3TsT_peEbMj9RP5rtjqyCQGU2gdfZMpSWjZU85SBctlF2CQ-tDFsP2XYuj/s640/Barnard+DSC_0700+Henry+House+001.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Zoom in detail of the Henry House ruins. Notice the topographic features still visible today, below.</div>
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Scaling was based on an 8 ft approximate height for the chimney base and toppled framing timbers.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicuamUBao4yqt-1pAJN3Mtuz1580a8-akYjHOIcHaLj9GYm0jkwNBgqcQcjYBwWsryHvjaSbupEKjsQqCr1tWbHohKfW61UT02frjJrqrLWDQmV5TL8fr9rgdqLOJn5GKThBM6JGsmENR8/s1600/Barnard+DSC_0700+Henry+House+003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicuamUBao4yqt-1pAJN3Mtuz1580a8-akYjHOIcHaLj9GYm0jkwNBgqcQcjYBwWsryHvjaSbupEKjsQqCr1tWbHohKfW61UT02frjJrqrLWDQmV5TL8fr9rgdqLOJn5GKThBM6JGsmENR8/s640/Barnard+DSC_0700+Henry+House+003.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Detail 2</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVWo3lH_pzpqzog6byCiFTaJa_DbODl1wRbYV5f1dWRqgjSwB8I6pZgnzn_d4Eww99D3m2SZPh4DKYGh4HMx_bQUnD7cM1UuGVPnT-Nk8rttiSlzmq17-nb8y_ykGxb_hMuDMI4tCBJDM0/s1600/Barnard+DSC_0700+Ricketts+001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVWo3lH_pzpqzog6byCiFTaJa_DbODl1wRbYV5f1dWRqgjSwB8I6pZgnzn_d4Eww99D3m2SZPh4DKYGh4HMx_bQUnD7cM1UuGVPnT-Nk8rttiSlzmq17-nb8y_ykGxb_hMuDMI4tCBJDM0/s640/Barnard+DSC_0700+Ricketts+001.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Zoom in detail of the ground occupied by Rickett's Battery. The topographic features remain, below. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyGNMdp4R8SKbc6XkG8MYo1lBG2MmGSCrXkzOGCklnt37V1ZhvTC0StPB-DUL3mKKz4GwWpx8UotdKb5U8NZpC4rgEaCJdiymdV9dfGcyYDvkBkJWTUtG7W8Dos6s0SDS-I1eaSeQ64Bv-/s1600/Barnard+DSC_0700+Ricketts+003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyGNMdp4R8SKbc6XkG8MYo1lBG2MmGSCrXkzOGCklnt37V1ZhvTC0StPB-DUL3mKKz4GwWpx8UotdKb5U8NZpC4rgEaCJdiymdV9dfGcyYDvkBkJWTUtG7W8Dos6s0SDS-I1eaSeQ64Bv-/s640/Barnard+DSC_0700+Ricketts+003.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Detail 3</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4eKjZZpGZsDv3kHCCoGcygDI8I5As_pQ2qsMVt8p6TURhyk6KWyCqpSPaW0hN__DxZ9qCVm6AA1kobDjgaJVW0RWr7yISeJbSmYHDbk_iqUc2iE7maHDhEI1jzI76HTDmjSKz1fKz7V04/s1600/Barnard+DSC_0700+Bartow+VC+001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4eKjZZpGZsDv3kHCCoGcygDI8I5As_pQ2qsMVt8p6TURhyk6KWyCqpSPaW0hN__DxZ9qCVm6AA1kobDjgaJVW0RWr7yISeJbSmYHDbk_iqUc2iE7maHDhEI1jzI76HTDmjSKz1fKz7V04/s640/Barnard+DSC_0700+Bartow+VC+001.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The Bartow marker location at left of center, along the documented fence running toward the modern Visitor Center, as seen below. Notice the small white objects in the period detail, near where the base of the original monument sits today, wedged between two small trees. These are in all likelihood the scattered pieces of the monument, (the largest possibly being the base itself) having been broken up not long before by Union soldiers, and documented by one who witnessed the incident, in a letter to a friend, and linked here: <span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; font-family: "karla" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.6px; line-height: 21.42px;"><a href="https://sparedshared9.wordpress.com/2014/12/13/1861-james-wilson-hanna-to-richard-lyons/" target="_blank">On one part of the field I saw a monument erected by Beauregard to the memory of a rebel general. On it was the following inscription, “Boys, they have killed me, but don’t give up the fight.” At the time I saw it, it was standing & whole, but after a short time, I saw that it had been torn down & the boys were busily at work smashing it in pieces for mementoes. </a></span></div>
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The CCWP/ Adelman suggested site, based on Knoke and Burgess, and revisited March 31, 2018, after tall grass had been removed. The topography does not work, as it is too far to the west along the Robinson fence line. It is uncertain why they chose this location for their 2015 Seminar stop.</div>
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The new MNBP wayside marker, based on Knoke and Burgess. Slightly off, per Keith Knoke due to tree obstruction, but close enough for this purpose.</div>
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Full frame of my originally suggested camera location, December 2015, however the tall grass made the foreground perception difficult. Elevated camera height is approximately nine feet. </div>
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Grass in foreground, to beyond ravine, is extremely tall, more than five feet in some areas.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu7OMLNAJWSNEzWxxMOFM7128Wijtv22esSVBck-hd2VfRJ3g3MdLhfp1qNOZVCk6pxZsNb9GWnOaLin1iHlTl5jcBYKYn_k4yPHsdxaw0iJ0C3n1B-0P0yWXU82_Yz67xlYuslnG2bCm3/s1600/DSC_0964+pretty+darn+close.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1600" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu7OMLNAJWSNEzWxxMOFM7128Wijtv22esSVBck-hd2VfRJ3g3MdLhfp1qNOZVCk6pxZsNb9GWnOaLin1iHlTl5jcBYKYn_k4yPHsdxaw0iJ0C3n1B-0P0yWXU82_Yz67xlYuslnG2bCm3/s640/DSC_0964+pretty+darn+close.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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March 2018. My corrected view from near what would have been the 1862 camera position, roughly 140 yards further north than my initial efforts in December 2015, and slightly east of the NPS marker. <span style="text-align: left;">Barnard and Gibson would have to have been on top of a Robinson Farm outbuilding to have achieved the middle ground details seen in their March 1862 view, as well as the downward angle perspective on the fence, an effect I attempted to achieve by raising my tripod above me.</span></div>
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The author, working on the site, elevating camera, December 2015. Photo by James Anderson.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT9N2M5ZtTKDGYGvrq9VWEYtYnu9bfXRS9wL8_9aVuS7rMsiZw-AM12D-sL1aMNlXFXdWW3d-vrwxDOzg9Ta-1Pv70KV4She1LxZh0a3Jm1tWYYgMxv4R0fSf4OTpulBlMLCL41cu-TMTf/s1600/Robinson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1440" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT9N2M5ZtTKDGYGvrq9VWEYtYnu9bfXRS9wL8_9aVuS7rMsiZw-AM12D-sL1aMNlXFXdWW3d-vrwxDOzg9Ta-1Pv70KV4She1LxZh0a3Jm1tWYYgMxv4R0fSf4OTpulBlMLCL41cu-TMTf/s640/Robinson.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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This engraving from <u>Battles and Leaders</u>, taken from an 1880s photograph, looks from the fields of the Henry Farm, looking northward, toward Robinson, seen in the middle distance. It is possible that the furthest left structure was utilized by <span style="text-align: left;">Barnard and Gibson</span> to get the elevation needed for their March 1862 view. </div>
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The cluster of trees seen at far left, above the ravine line, are the same trees seen in the middle left of the <span style="text-align: left;">Barnard and Gibson view, but here twenty some years after the battle.</span></div>
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All original contents copyright 2016 and 2018 by John F. Cummings III</div>
John Cummingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15664001896165763192noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4693055636846442705.post-77169637415747704532015-11-04T13:21:00.001-05:002015-11-04T13:23:57.781-05:00Gettysburg - Field Where Reynolds Fell - Stereoview Then and Now, and more... I am now two weeks away from the fourth anniversary of my initial investigations into the location of Gettysburg's "Harvest of Death", and "Field Where Reynolds Fell" photo series. Over the four years I have made some early adjustments as to the camera position on the field, but have not wavered from the one key element of my work, that the Thompson House is sitting in the upper right horizon of the O'Sullivan view titled, "Gettysburg, Pa. Bodies of Federal soldiers, killed on July 1, near the McPherson woods". This has been fought tooth and nail by the Center for Civil War Photography's co-founder and vice-president, Garry Adelman. In late October this year, he showed a giant anaglyph of the "Federal dead on the right of the Federal lines, killed on July 1" variation, taken by James Gibson, while telling a walking tour he was conducting about the "importance of seeing these images in stereo" when attempting to find their location. Yes, yes indeed Garry, it is vital. Below, I provide stereo pairings from the original O'Sullivan negatives, and a modern stereo pair I made in September. I don't make anaglyphs so pull out your real viewers, such as those issued with the first two Bob Zeller books, or old CCWP seminars, and take a look. Click on the images to see them in larger format as well, especially if the right hand column of this blog interferes with your viewing from the home page.<br />
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Get your viewers ready!</div>
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If you are new to all this hubbub, take time to review some of the more recent postings I have made here, especially the ones featuring videos with overlays. Please read my dissection of the actual <a href="http://spotsylvaniacw.blogspot.com/2015/06/iconic-photograph-of-gettysburg-dead-is.html" target="_blank">Harvest of Death photograph</a> companion image as well. In four years I have provided plenty of evidence that the location is found, yet the steadfast denials still spill forth. How many supposed coincidences of "similar ground" but not "the" place can be asserted before it gets ridiculous? All the logic in the world, and the topographic evidence, along with the ORIGINAL CAPTIONING for Pete's sake! Let's see where this goes! </div>
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Here is a little video to lay out the location of this series. Enjoy.</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/aw4jESyKAQ0/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aw4jESyKAQ0?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe><br />
<br />John Cummingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15664001896165763192noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4693055636846442705.post-21517926098294860722015-10-05T12:29:00.000-04:002015-10-05T17:13:15.964-04:00Gettysburg - Harvest of Death, etc debate - More Details... A quick post with video<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Just a quick post, with a video using the Gibson exposure of the view looking to the northeast.</div>
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The video points out many of the finer details the photograph shows, and how they relate to today's landscape. The video explains everything regarding the images. Watch the video in full screen.</div>
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Click on the photos below for larger viewing.</div>
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Detail from Gibson exposure.</div>
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Detail from Elliott map with mass Union Burial at left (HoD),</div>
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and additional details explained in video.</div>
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Overlay detail using O'Sullivan exposure.</div>
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<br />John Cummingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15664001896165763192noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4693055636846442705.post-75529987958752310942015-10-01T17:59:00.000-04:002015-10-02T09:03:21.205-04:00Gettysburg - Harvest of Death and Field Where Reynolds Fell - Time to stop the debate<br />
Next month, on November 18, I will mark the fourth anniversary of my investigations into the Harvest of Death/Field Where General Reynolds Fell photos. My adventure began as support to the work of historian Scott Hartwig who had published his findings initially <a href="https://npsgnmp.wordpress.com/2011/05/27/a-mystery-solved-part-2/" target="_blank">on the Gettysburg, NPS Blog</a>, and later in the magazine, <u>Civil War Times</u>. Hartwig's work was immediately met with resistance by Garry Adelman of the Center For Civil War Photography. Adelman's position was that William A. Frassanito had discounted the site years before. Adelman proceeded to produce a thirteen part dissection of where the Harvest of Death <b><i>was not</i></b>, demonstrating numerous past proposals by himself and other investigators, include Mr. Hartwig and my own. That series appeared over several months on the <a href="http://www.gettysburgdaily.com/" target="_blank">Gettysburg Daily Blog</a>. The episodes concerning my work were filmed on February 5 and 15 of 2012, but were not posted until May, months after my continuing work had been adjusted and fine tuned. Nowhere in this time (or since) was Mr. Adelman welcoming to my offers of meeting with him and actually presenting my material in person, something that I had assumed courtesy would permit. Thus, when posted, Adelman's refutations of my work featured a site long out of line with the ground I had settled on, and he has since adamantly stated that the true location will "never be found". Certain circles consider Mr. Adelman's word to be sacrosanct. This has recently led others to offer wide ranging proposals of the "true" location of the Harvest of Death, making it the obsessively desired, "Tut's Tomb", of Civil War photography.<br />
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The foundation of my work has always been based on what I have stated to be a long visible clue in the upper right hand corner of Timothy O'Sullivan's exposure, titled by Gardner, "Field where General Reynolds Fell". It has been consistently my assertion, over many blog postings and other writings, that the features on the horizon are the Thompson House, and the Dustman House. The Dustman House no longer stands, but appears in other photographs, so we know what it looked like, and we know exactly where it stood. The Thompson House, of course, remains today as the site of Lee's Headquarters, on Chambersburg Pike, and is soon to be restored by the Civil War Trust.<br />
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I will not repeat my previous material, as it stands on its own and is easily found by searching this blog, but I will present two brief videos made after a recent return trip to the site on September 25th. Here I demonstrate, using overlays, that the landscape just east of the Reynolds death marker, along Reynolds Avenue, is, clearly, the location of the bodies seen in the July 1863 images.<br />
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What I continue to find sad about the deniers of this site, is that when I visited the location on the 150th anniversary of Gardner's team's visit, my wife and I, and fellow blogger Scott Manning, were the only people there to recognize the dead and the ground they fell on. <a href="http://www.scottmanning.com/content/john-cummingss-harvest-of-death-location/" target="_blank">Scott's coverage of that day can be found here</a>. This is what we do our research for in the end, so that these honored dead can be appreciably recognized for where they fought and died, and hopefully we can achieve a better understand of the battlefield.<br />
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Below, the first video shows the full, left hand side of Timothy O'Sullivan's stereo negative, with my toggling back and forth between the period and modern images, pointing out important features.<br />
View the videos in full screen.<br />
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Below, I have zoomed in for a closer view of the horizon features as well as the contoured land between. As mention in the previous video, James Anderson stands in the modern image along the location of the northern fence that enclosed the "Field Where General Reynolds Fell".</div>
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Below, are three progressive views of the overlay used in the videos.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtrvZn65jQMHz-77qGkf145AGimrF6ngf2oyjjQXjHDWxGqIt7X7FsF7yMy3xcGBcvHnuZb9ETX5eEyBUBp8t6dbWrT6XJx3Q_tTUEEEyU4WyHvLj_5uJcJETCvpGhAdtMOfkN1eFVpbOK/s1600/DSC_0265+HoD+overlay+001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtrvZn65jQMHz-77qGkf145AGimrF6ngf2oyjjQXjHDWxGqIt7X7FsF7yMy3xcGBcvHnuZb9ETX5eEyBUBp8t6dbWrT6XJx3Q_tTUEEEyU4WyHvLj_5uJcJETCvpGhAdtMOfkN1eFVpbOK/s400/DSC_0265+HoD+overlay+001.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYkU7E-mwPVFEb9QL8pykCLcg8eNvNOTLlrVVeYrYfzo0sRwyAhJT61RERLwYGFbMg5V5J087oLMoQbXXaelYEcaLkxkoG3HgkuW6v0bUXOS4DRxovPbLkLqQxT7MO3d1qQKOHBSzBLyes/s1600/DSC_0265+HoD+overlay+003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYkU7E-mwPVFEb9QL8pykCLcg8eNvNOTLlrVVeYrYfzo0sRwyAhJT61RERLwYGFbMg5V5J087oLMoQbXXaelYEcaLkxkoG3HgkuW6v0bUXOS4DRxovPbLkLqQxT7MO3d1qQKOHBSzBLyes/s400/DSC_0265+HoD+overlay+003.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Below, my October 2012 map of the camera's field of view, indicated in bright green.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKuhNDbZ9MMLkdfIbLIPQ1uqzfXBSCPNmm56S1L4LAG2AebDnNAOjG9VbFpyeQoKeCsxDkekNPdWA846YIXU6NwKVC3Vag1W7ZlMivtfx8Tt5Q7KSZ7xnTkGcw3YXssa4AKubMGM_guYPB/s1600/HoD+corrected+w+trees+10-16-12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKuhNDbZ9MMLkdfIbLIPQ1uqzfXBSCPNmm56S1L4LAG2AebDnNAOjG9VbFpyeQoKeCsxDkekNPdWA846YIXU6NwKVC3Vag1W7ZlMivtfx8Tt5Q7KSZ7xnTkGcw3YXssa4AKubMGM_guYPB/s400/HoD+corrected+w+trees+10-16-12.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Below, a close up of the area where the northern fence enclosed the field.</div>
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The beginning and ending points of the path taken by James Anderson for </div>
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the September 25, 2015 photo used in the overlay video, are marked "<b>A</b>" and "<b>B</b>".</div>
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The approximate point at which he is stopped along the way is marked by "<b>J</b>"</div>
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This image is not made from the above map, and shows notation lines of other points</div>
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not discussed in this presentation.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjensCbNoVlOmYJGN7dVbV_5yBBe8MBgZ3upj10P9zHSj3T9Y1jj2cCS8ulqOfnmCqTpCetJfFUsUcCUyU2qlkAw7_9WoOy2jdRGwT5YNNL7aq3CttyJ7ptzbzU9ab5RxzGyaoth6E5Ybf2/s1600/HoD+Fence+line.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjensCbNoVlOmYJGN7dVbV_5yBBe8MBgZ3upj10P9zHSj3T9Y1jj2cCS8ulqOfnmCqTpCetJfFUsUcCUyU2qlkAw7_9WoOy2jdRGwT5YNNL7aq3CttyJ7ptzbzU9ab5RxzGyaoth6E5Ybf2/s400/HoD+Fence+line.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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For four years I have not wavered in my assertion we are seeing the Thompson House on the horizon. It is the vital clue to anchoring the location. The evidence speaks for itself.</div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">ADDED</span></b></div>
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Since last night's posting, I am adding these of the opposite view for those who have not read my previous material. Please, examine my numerous prior posts, Enter "Harvest of Death"in the search box near the top of the right hand column. There is plenty to see.</div>
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<br />John Cummingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15664001896165763192noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4693055636846442705.post-75721315076233175512015-08-27T15:43:00.000-04:002015-08-28T08:48:59.645-04:00172 Year Old Witness to Battle of Fredericksburg - Destroyed 8/27/15 One of the last remaining pre-Civil War structures along lower Sophia Street in downtown Fredericksburg, Virginia, has succumb to years of neglect with an as of yet unspecified plan for the property. Initial efforts to preserve the 1843 structure were foiled the day before when removal of a later addition on the north face of 401 Sophia Street revealed severe termite damage, making any thought of restoration unfeasible.<br />
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The building can be seen in several war era photographs of Fredericksburg taken from the Stafford County side of the Rappahannock River.<br />
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National Park Service chief-historian, John Hennessy, wrote of the pending threat four years ago in the <a href="https://npsfrsp.wordpress.com/2011/07/28/a-survivor-threatened/" target="_blank">F&SNMP's blog, Mysteries and Conundrums</a>.<br />
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<span style="color: red;"><b> Update!</b></span> It has now come out that University of Mary Washington students and faculty, of the Historic Preservation Department, were scheduled to document the structure on Saturday, August 29, but the "owners opted not to wait even that long."<br />
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Below are details from period photographs along with photos and a link for a video taken the morning of the demolition.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkpCRlE6u05VmLBzJfEut38qDguE9LDLJsyCOP1r0adT6ryH_8lZH27yBacRimBttf6-v1A0e3QAqAR6CT-_hBBTbdEhq_BmuGebuGKgeM3G-iRC_Y-S4Dv9lc8vS4JH06ygRy2_vvscyC/s1600/fredericksburg-panorama+401+sophia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="331" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkpCRlE6u05VmLBzJfEut38qDguE9LDLJsyCOP1r0adT6ryH_8lZH27yBacRimBttf6-v1A0e3QAqAR6CT-_hBBTbdEhq_BmuGebuGKgeM3G-iRC_Y-S4Dv9lc8vS4JH06ygRy2_vvscyC/s400/fredericksburg-panorama+401+sophia.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVhssHldzheKOIKfIMdt6pRrLUwrL86N6muH1NzUqDOM8twPtkxpajLGBiYg364kC02bCsQNlk6yUtOh90GGZ4d8XxZJA0JdipROLhSg6JHpIkBHkemr6BP4rlN_oUg679n5HMV6dA90ek/s1600/401+Sophia+crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVhssHldzheKOIKfIMdt6pRrLUwrL86N6muH1NzUqDOM8twPtkxpajLGBiYg364kC02bCsQNlk6yUtOh90GGZ4d8XxZJA0JdipROLhSg6JHpIkBHkemr6BP4rlN_oUg679n5HMV6dA90ek/s320/401+Sophia+crop.jpg" width="196" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfPj0I-fEC4SRjYKuUJs7aX49fbB-OGevECdWUuz0Q1Z8rpYPJveUHTfMTolLDSeFH_cHAa0pEknLGMYNh5nPIZQYtn0XnNEgyiy9cOsOEyHnE3AEtRpOWjeYVZ7nCra6rm1tQJXLq3LgB/s1600/07262u+crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfPj0I-fEC4SRjYKuUJs7aX49fbB-OGevECdWUuz0Q1Z8rpYPJveUHTfMTolLDSeFH_cHAa0pEknLGMYNh5nPIZQYtn0XnNEgyiy9cOsOEyHnE3AEtRpOWjeYVZ7nCra6rm1tQJXLq3LgB/s320/07262u+crop.jpg" width="195" /></a></div>
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Images circa 1863-1864, F&SNMP, and Library of Congress</div>
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Prints and Photographs Division. Looking west, from the river.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmiMhpJDNFSd87GRlMqSksMIZiS9ID2d8zakXOXbEMaEqP0GSSx7zPviD6tPLxTJA6VAq5DNl24f7oLtTA6h8Ji7I_2gVbG5EJIKEUXiji3fXJ-u4yga_FsMn8JWr67PxTACprzysvBMBH/s1600/DSC_0922.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmiMhpJDNFSd87GRlMqSksMIZiS9ID2d8zakXOXbEMaEqP0GSSx7zPviD6tPLxTJA6VAq5DNl24f7oLtTA6h8Ji7I_2gVbG5EJIKEUXiji3fXJ-u4yga_FsMn8JWr67PxTACprzysvBMBH/s400/DSC_0922.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Above, one of the last photographs taken of the river face of the building, looking west, at 8:37 AM, </div>
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August 27, 2015. Remains of additions to the north face of the building are visible to the right,</div>
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and foreground. The photos below were taken between 8:14 and 9:15 AM, </div>
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View from Sophia Street, looking southeast.</div>
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Looking north on Sophia Street</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikMArVos7VHskvVSihDksmbUdcM2YeunJRF3SeX8lJ1gFRkdtvQlMhFCIFd0nx6UQX33Y1MqgAdgRdyDMOEOfvOS3LXss6N_9vr7w3EJToMu8FseB51IAz30Gt_gTrAY2v1rp0m4E1RuIX/s1600/DSC_0891.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikMArVos7VHskvVSihDksmbUdcM2YeunJRF3SeX8lJ1gFRkdtvQlMhFCIFd0nx6UQX33Y1MqgAdgRdyDMOEOfvOS3LXss6N_9vr7w3EJToMu8FseB51IAz30Gt_gTrAY2v1rp0m4E1RuIX/s400/DSC_0891.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Looking southeast on Sophia Street.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmPNahipiHmZMvQsX-KxSd9RKk8Rkuff30aDih5HnJ12lLlsyHr4fP_gHt5lM1UHyw_c7sRvSdIPi1uGN9Z0gC9RhAopAs5tI9k1FGTuxVY5vQKSDpiMz_SD-gVE3mf_I2pFgqmNJa0flL/s1600/DSC_0894.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmPNahipiHmZMvQsX-KxSd9RKk8Rkuff30aDih5HnJ12lLlsyHr4fP_gHt5lM1UHyw_c7sRvSdIPi1uGN9Z0gC9RhAopAs5tI9k1FGTuxVY5vQKSDpiMz_SD-gVE3mf_I2pFgqmNJa0flL/s400/DSC_0894.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVSg68AHi3JSAN-YNhTHWvFqNApJgW-D1jwQvtBMmFzeQKv0AYzQYDQ3gZkSkiFQpkK1TSNSVqP-DH6JcdRXyVYeoJ2oHiHI6uD2xX3qsOVQ2UTMBirWkHpgiKf7aoJq0eswRgkBRLkGmN/s1600/DSC_0906.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVSg68AHi3JSAN-YNhTHWvFqNApJgW-D1jwQvtBMmFzeQKv0AYzQYDQ3gZkSkiFQpkK1TSNSVqP-DH6JcdRXyVYeoJ2oHiHI6uD2xX3qsOVQ2UTMBirWkHpgiKf7aoJq0eswRgkBRLkGmN/s400/DSC_0906.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Visible termite damage of 1843 framework.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfwH8hHumUYMOPlAwWCstnoVV9hAZQNpp0fkXXvSJAxVrAzOehPJl5fGKR2-cENO-sqpZsSBDbwBjEOfguCA45bMQ7S0cNUiFqc3d_UwJvJ8SsPG58Y6ElYEhS7fE14c-u7I_xMzeQmrr4/s1600/DSC_0908.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfwH8hHumUYMOPlAwWCstnoVV9hAZQNpp0fkXXvSJAxVrAzOehPJl5fGKR2-cENO-sqpZsSBDbwBjEOfguCA45bMQ7S0cNUiFqc3d_UwJvJ8SsPG58Y6ElYEhS7fE14c-u7I_xMzeQmrr4/s400/DSC_0908.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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North wall foundation exposed.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEtUS8h_lScoYe0749MBINvDCXhO6Rl6FzX-4qXxsySwxrc12lmh9TuWWBgFpvYGx-yhe0oZ2enLY4HTa72vxB7WiOY-lKPKGAEClxsUxGeLC4NMmfbv_hL7WBqXCivQZBJSc2kurwrenO/s1600/DSC_0910.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEtUS8h_lScoYe0749MBINvDCXhO6Rl6FzX-4qXxsySwxrc12lmh9TuWWBgFpvYGx-yhe0oZ2enLY4HTa72vxB7WiOY-lKPKGAEClxsUxGeLC4NMmfbv_hL7WBqXCivQZBJSc2kurwrenO/s400/DSC_0910.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUqUUWHZ64ZUGOyssLtS_6pmlvUXhhx2FP8veognNEx5sAVOkvk7GX_huMX0jyHDfIzVQLF-0OEGzMNrJihdv9vEe7BFNy6qFhjqudgG-6xQtvOBC9-aQfobvWPmgzmxBjk1VXxd6NuELg/s1600/DSC_0982.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUqUUWHZ64ZUGOyssLtS_6pmlvUXhhx2FP8veognNEx5sAVOkvk7GX_huMX0jyHDfIzVQLF-0OEGzMNrJihdv9vEe7BFNy6qFhjqudgG-6xQtvOBC9-aQfobvWPmgzmxBjk1VXxd6NuELg/s400/DSC_0982.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Looking northeast from Sophia Street.</div>
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<b><span style="background-color: yellow; color: red; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ntwxl0RqxuA" target="_blank">Click here to view an 8 minute video</a> </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ntwxl0RqxuA" style="background-color: yellow;" target="_blank">made during the demolition.</a></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK2HhAr4Bk5vHGc87xE4VgZ7d86Ncx8iBgyHWfYNQryvPu_4JuSQopPRe9vO9FzShdbjk-uFYH6xm0cKQTTvbciwFlWDz2dQrlYQToHNjY7KFE7S3hkvirp5AfRyRPf_icUAim3gsKh8zq/s1600/DSC_0939+crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK2HhAr4Bk5vHGc87xE4VgZ7d86Ncx8iBgyHWfYNQryvPu_4JuSQopPRe9vO9FzShdbjk-uFYH6xm0cKQTTvbciwFlWDz2dQrlYQToHNjY7KFE7S3hkvirp5AfRyRPf_icUAim3gsKh8zq/s400/DSC_0939+crop.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Above, Steve Smallwood, Deputy Director of Building Services Division for the City of Fredericksburg, and Erik Nelson, Senior Planner of the Fredericksburg City Planning Department, along with members of the demolition crew from <a href="http://www.abbyconstruct.com/" target="_blank">Abby Construction</a>, examine architectural elements from the debris. Below, an original roof truss and details of its construction.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlsahXkRRGc4ZpJohiLe5P3NU70s3WbLGHcAjraEJALqHZwU8vniZPf1QR6yHNTJMGQudjwOI29GjVd3B50Lg99dUGkrrcDuhi2VXcbnQyLvG8kfs2eCNTctdvuRhW5qUs6QEfW7vHcBJe/s1600/DSC_0942.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlsahXkRRGc4ZpJohiLe5P3NU70s3WbLGHcAjraEJALqHZwU8vniZPf1QR6yHNTJMGQudjwOI29GjVd3B50Lg99dUGkrrcDuhi2VXcbnQyLvG8kfs2eCNTctdvuRhW5qUs6QEfW7vHcBJe/s400/DSC_0942.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Salvaged foundation stones and an oak beam from 401 Sophia Street.</div>
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John Cummingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15664001896165763192noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4693055636846442705.post-48257322176310297272015-06-30T21:00:00.000-04:002015-06-30T21:15:01.050-04:00Iconic Photograph of Gettysburg Dead is a Contrivance A Harvest of Death - Gardner's Artistry<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Tomorrow is the 152nd anniversary of the death of the men seen in this photograph, taken by Timothy O'Sullivan, and published by Alexander Gardner. This is the image that has caused countless clamorings, as to its precise location on the battlefield, since first examined in a scholarly form by William A. Frassanito in his groundbreaking work, <i>Gettysburg - A Journey In Time</i>, published in 1975. The print below is most typical of published versions as they appeared in Gardner's <i>Photographic Sketchbook of the Civil War</i>.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVoO1xrN8LmD7wpFtNsZFUDl4gPe5h112u8XkNEz5QvdXq6w2pMy-2RNim1mEyrGzZrQkqpQdQ8GNV69hGPOIHYUbe19AZTs8MG5Fkf93oe55OGEw9f__hVXzIvyGZLM937K1I8GncRITo/s1600/12557u+crop.tif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="514" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVoO1xrN8LmD7wpFtNsZFUDl4gPe5h112u8XkNEz5QvdXq6w2pMy-2RNim1mEyrGzZrQkqpQdQ8GNV69hGPOIHYUbe19AZTs8MG5Fkf93oe55OGEw9f__hVXzIvyGZLM937K1I8GncRITo/s640/12557u+crop.tif" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;"> Below we have, as described by Frassanito himself, in his 1995 in-depth study, <i>Early Photography at Gettysburg</i>, "one of the best versions currently available, courtesy of the Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, Va.". Its merits are owing to the rich tone and thorough burning of the "horizon line, much sharper than prints in other collections. However, this horizon line is not true, it is a fabrication created by an opaque masking applied to the glass negative as well as artistic embellishments made to multiple print copies that were rephotographed to achieve a marketable composition from a less than stellar original exposure. <a href="http://spotsylvaniacw.blogspot.com/2012/09/gardners-gettysburg-enlargements-from.html" target="_blank">I offered this subject in a previous post in September of 2012.</a> But, after nearly three years, and the <a href="http://www.scottmanning.com/?s=harvest+of+death" target="_blank">virtually ignored sesquicentennial recognition</a> of this image's honored dead, it is time that these facts are incorporated in our understanding of the true nature of its creation.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi9UKpvk5id34LYG6JVT7SkUMrRpp4NvVv1JpRznDW8iv4ZyFvGD3YQgqjLDyJjVdUGcJWvPdDsAVNrfaElHUBwRr4hyphenhyphenFWO7a4nAglVi9FIAh042Z8n1TXQOvWbMVd92TfEsugzPzMgr6u/s1600/91.23.36.study.tif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="491" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi9UKpvk5id34LYG6JVT7SkUMrRpp4NvVv1JpRznDW8iv4ZyFvGD3YQgqjLDyJjVdUGcJWvPdDsAVNrfaElHUBwRr4hyphenhyphenFWO7a4nAglVi9FIAh042Z8n1TXQOvWbMVd92TfEsugzPzMgr6u/s640/91.23.36.study.tif" width="640" /></a></div>
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In the copy below I have drawn a black line to delineate the upper third of Gardner's creation. This is the area that was contrived. The process is clearly evidenced by magnification and the existence of progressively modified prints in two other collections. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwT_PmgjktoHRqk_mYs8SMuNPTeO1hq46o3taXi4tTLIiiez88byimIeZLhRbSfXRgD9N0tKcqKGYWR8IdO8ouleV3bpgNe2Vx-7s0UY8pvUmNz8CnlTT1SL_IeXvQPgSm7fwWrxWA69oN/s1600/91.23.36.study+upper+third.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="491" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwT_PmgjktoHRqk_mYs8SMuNPTeO1hq46o3taXi4tTLIiiez88byimIeZLhRbSfXRgD9N0tKcqKGYWR8IdO8ouleV3bpgNe2Vx-7s0UY8pvUmNz8CnlTT1SL_IeXvQPgSm7fwWrxWA69oN/s640/91.23.36.study+upper+third.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> The first print we will examine comes from the collection of the </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #454545; font-family: inherit; line-height: 17.0400009155273px;">Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #454545; font-family: inherit; line-height: 17.0400009155273px;">Cornell University, in </span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 17.0400009155273px;">Ithaca, NY. This version shows some of the first steps in defining distant ground as well as the appearance of a smudge or stain that will eventually become the basis of the "standing" figure. Notice the </span></span><span style="color: #454545;"><span style="line-height: 17.0400009155273px;">nonexistence</span></span><span style="color: #454545; font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 17.0400009155273px;"> of the mounted figure usually seen at left of center. Very evident pencil markings are seen, used to help define the horizon. This is one of the earliest stages in the creation of what was to become a century and a half old con job. </span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLdR4p_YEWY181g833Rcwwj7aK8t7rNTA1jFfjbiIh6yC5KqQ9VJXRU59mOdcHpeaWaJniYKQo5quZpBWkYeBDxQ_A9pdcbhdIqe7dEdQTsJMlu_eRaAPBEybozJGMB9823A_8HNXck6Yp/s1600/HarvestofDeath_JohnsonMuseum+adj.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="539" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLdR4p_YEWY181g833Rcwwj7aK8t7rNTA1jFfjbiIh6yC5KqQ9VJXRU59mOdcHpeaWaJniYKQo5quZpBWkYeBDxQ_A9pdcbhdIqe7dEdQTsJMlu_eRaAPBEybozJGMB9823A_8HNXck6Yp/s640/HarvestofDeath_JohnsonMuseum+adj.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The next image, this time from the Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, shows the continued progression of the ruse. The identical pencil markings seen in the previous print can be seen along with penciled in suggestions of what would become shadow trees in the final version. Also evident is the further enhancement of the standing "smudge" man and the suggestion of a riderless horse. To the left of center is the crudely drawn beginnings of what will become the mounted figure. Over burning has begun to fill in the sky below an initial masking, creating the false horizon.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP-_TQdDmLmzEioQStibnNzOKh0mxybxq9vD19_9kUEHsQuCJyWImnRPs48JtZLKiwYfTTIfLc9A_N9cftE1AO7_65GZUUuzEXF0mTvIWE9rWYdhNrSAd_NqhE4eeMOFlxuol8sTPSE2Lg/s1600/33072v.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP-_TQdDmLmzEioQStibnNzOKh0mxybxq9vD19_9kUEHsQuCJyWImnRPs48JtZLKiwYfTTIfLc9A_N9cftE1AO7_65GZUUuzEXF0mTvIWE9rWYdhNrSAd_NqhE4eeMOFlxuol8sTPSE2Lg/s640/33072v.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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For clarification purpose, here are the tops of the two prints so that the reader can see the gradual building up of the composition that we have come to know as <b>A Harvest of Death.</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZwufCYxW_fOcWh_Nz49m-0vYFp4D11KGgDXjeMeFkStjmCfxyRF2k6Xtd-nfXhLv50IEs9K8FzaJm8WWdZpXFN2MZUbT8LyQa2XezW-Tdkz3C_tKxJ32NOPUd33PRmOAbrbIu6kcHwW11/s1600/HarvestofDeath_JohnsonMuseum+adj+002.tif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="552" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZwufCYxW_fOcWh_Nz49m-0vYFp4D11KGgDXjeMeFkStjmCfxyRF2k6Xtd-nfXhLv50IEs9K8FzaJm8WWdZpXFN2MZUbT8LyQa2XezW-Tdkz3C_tKxJ32NOPUd33PRmOAbrbIu6kcHwW11/s640/HarvestofDeath_JohnsonMuseum+adj+002.tif" width="640" /></a></div>
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Below, I have enlarged a detail of the Cornell print, showing the pencil work and the origins of "smudge man", and the clear absence of the mounted figure. Note the bright, artificial sky.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM_jC3DPtdSDQ5trhC4KvhdVViqCxToJSxlaqJesKBu2TBPNf2fjZStuh7zlCiIAss2hPFe5SKIanBnY8RAVEGJhT2jd2vyywHx2OUnaxAGbSVzgsQVvMHQzS3Szh-LSAq5prh8G6zymUt/s1600/HoD+combined+detail+0+percent.tif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM_jC3DPtdSDQ5trhC4KvhdVViqCxToJSxlaqJesKBu2TBPNf2fjZStuh7zlCiIAss2hPFe5SKIanBnY8RAVEGJhT2jd2vyywHx2OUnaxAGbSVzgsQVvMHQzS3Szh-LSAq5prh8G6zymUt/s640/HoD+combined+detail+0+percent.tif" width="640" /></a></div>
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Here is the Library of Congress print with the same enlarged area. Identical pencil work, and the first suggestions of the additional mounted figure.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0fwx0fwBMVtlZyt3GdC_LSuogUFdFVZ2vNBfT0kbLHxkeXmTGZEoa7yGGJ2zR77DWQoPDRQiRMzMa-2sRM6P0JLM5NFJFL6PmYR-sTNwhMQhmnTibxjzuejy3wQKM3reyjb0p3lCGHkd-/s1600/HoD+combined+detail+100+percent.tif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0fwx0fwBMVtlZyt3GdC_LSuogUFdFVZ2vNBfT0kbLHxkeXmTGZEoa7yGGJ2zR77DWQoPDRQiRMzMa-2sRM6P0JLM5NFJFL6PmYR-sTNwhMQhmnTibxjzuejy3wQKM3reyjb0p3lCGHkd-/s640/HoD+combined+detail+100+percent.tif" width="640" /></a></div>
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The next three enlargements are from the Chrysler Museum print. There is a very obvious painted edge of the false trees, created by the application of opaque material to the glass negative. These are not real trees silhouetted against a bright sky, They are a darkening of the area not covered by the opaque masking with a longer exposure during the print out process. The pattern made by the brush bristles is evident as well. The remaining print has no strong, contrasting white area. It is muddied. Opaquing the sky was a common practice with Gardener. Many of his negative show this, and in this case the process was used to essentially create a piece of art from an otherwise flawed negative. Note also the shadow trees against the false tree line, identically place where the penciled trees appear in the Library of Congress copy. Gardner's stereo version was created with a similar process as I also <a href="http://spotsylvaniacw.blogspot.com/2013/06/harvest-of-death-question-of-stereo.html" target="_blank">documented in a post from June of 2013</a>.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Z5OqS-eVQzQ3IcM0LqQx-RZDVBNW6fGg797Eh4VN1Usny_dEUip6yzDOBo9YA_fUg2MN-sSV-ii0xvzi-KqXdOQsbv4iul_xZreqXc8wjRxGDv6krdDdhhT5W34s9jyuS87Ct88Zzuy8/s1600/91.23.36.study+adj+detail+003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Z5OqS-eVQzQ3IcM0LqQx-RZDVBNW6fGg797Eh4VN1Usny_dEUip6yzDOBo9YA_fUg2MN-sSV-ii0xvzi-KqXdOQsbv4iul_xZreqXc8wjRxGDv6krdDdhhT5W34s9jyuS87Ct88Zzuy8/s640/91.23.36.study+adj+detail+003.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Additional material on this and its companion photograph are available at the links below:</div>
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<a href="http://spotsylvaniacw.blogspot.com/2012/10/gettysburgs-harvest-of-death-conclusion.html">http://spotsylvaniacw.blogspot.com/2012/10/gettysburgs-harvest-of-death-conclusion.html</a></div>
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<a href="http://spotsylvaniacw.blogspot.com/2013/02/field-where-general-reynolds-fell.html">http://spotsylvaniacw.blogspot.com/2013/02/field-where-general-reynolds-fell.html</a></div>
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<br />John Cummingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15664001896165763192noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4693055636846442705.post-68117015587882870232014-12-20T19:44:00.002-05:002014-12-24T08:15:00.098-05:00Spotsylvania Battle Landmark, GONE! Harris Farm House Destroyed! <div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: red;"><b> UPDATED 12/21/2014! See end of post for recent sale activity on the property!</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: red;"><b>Additional photos added to the post 9:15 am, 12/21/2014, showing the sad then and now.</b></span><br />
<span style="color: red;"><b>Update 12/24/14: Articles from Fredericksburg news sources cover demolition. See bottom.</b></span></div>
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It is a sad fact that last week the historically significant Harris Farm House was torn down. I found out early on December 20, but could not get to the site until after dark. Even in the pale remainder of twilight, it was clearly confirmed, the house is gone, along with the adjacent dairy farm buildings on the two acres that had survived after the rest of the property was subdivided years ago. The house itself, built circa 1755, was used as a field hospital during the May 19, 1864 fighting that took the name of Civil War era owner, Clement Harris. There were blood stains on the floor boards in several rooms and the central hallway. My own great-great-grandfather was treated there for a wound received in the action.<br />
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This is a significant loss to the cultural resources of the Spotsylvania battlefield. Although continually on private property, the historical significance is undisputed. In recent years the house had been surrounded by new, high-end houses, some selling for well over a million dollars. The house was on the National Register of Historic Places since May of 2000. It is significant to point out that it survived one hundred and fifty years after the battle.<br />
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I arrived early at the site on the morning after this initial posting, shortly after sunrise, and photographed the now empty lot. See additional image near end of post.<br />
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The following images (first six) were taken by me on March 24, 2010. The next shows the empty lot in a similar view to image six. The last picture is from 1901, the year of the monument dedication on the property.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0h7kpGAcgzK_zNIbdIt-u2vMidmsOxDBuZPZnLRDvgUgqyozB9-Usadp6WEzQ-ct_65AyGfFk_yBwXV_TyUQxsRHcjVsNmcof5tdlh6Q8pR4raxdGeQTMvn_zkO1E0pHsOC_IXXRvVixD/s1600/DSC_0034.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0h7kpGAcgzK_zNIbdIt-u2vMidmsOxDBuZPZnLRDvgUgqyozB9-Usadp6WEzQ-ct_65AyGfFk_yBwXV_TyUQxsRHcjVsNmcof5tdlh6Q8pR4raxdGeQTMvn_zkO1E0pHsOC_IXXRvVixD/s1600/DSC_0034.JPG" height="424" width="640" /></a></div>
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The Harris House stands at distant center, down the end</div>
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of the old driveway, surrounded by new construction.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipL8Ozu1qQxCZaHrbldLvORrbKO0gckD8EPpZurtK0hNH-q5pO5ge8KMp6QHlWPfbLn_W3dXdnSLmg7_XEEW5G3EPV5T6BXukqwDcM3omYsV0gXxNYXA2DkqeV0C_0l_b64xpU-vwQAq_w/s1600/DSC_0035.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipL8Ozu1qQxCZaHrbldLvORrbKO0gckD8EPpZurtK0hNH-q5pO5ge8KMp6QHlWPfbLn_W3dXdnSLmg7_XEEW5G3EPV5T6BXukqwDcM3omYsV0gXxNYXA2DkqeV0C_0l_b64xpU-vwQAq_w/s1600/DSC_0035.JPG" height="424" width="640" /></a></div>
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Approaching the house from an access road into the subdivision.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7UEs_QCqBqgBYoI1nsjazbSCaTz7DGC1vKFOXMC-6IgwogKwGAm0Cq6WWYd5xFXFJZt6VqDH5Wk_V_YA0n8WWWtuUkUi9yfkHz-A7kdzdSBPX6FK24Q09H1GBY4PGa35MnIyFlOd2skqM/s1600/DSC_0036.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7UEs_QCqBqgBYoI1nsjazbSCaTz7DGC1vKFOXMC-6IgwogKwGAm0Cq6WWYd5xFXFJZt6VqDH5Wk_V_YA0n8WWWtuUkUi9yfkHz-A7kdzdSBPX6FK24Q09H1GBY4PGa35MnIyFlOd2skqM/s1600/DSC_0036.JPG" height="424" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp9672Ahw-d9JtxS3kgoJxg8vvFQwXvIPkefaWx8Fvuiyriq7FNH01EC7_Ij3eTzDY6riXx_kiStawvtTIyoSG7JduHC-Yma0lUg8EkhSpaS_WlESzQh09sZ6_xgsSfw8p0jw4939JxMfT/s1600/DSC_0041.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp9672Ahw-d9JtxS3kgoJxg8vvFQwXvIPkefaWx8Fvuiyriq7FNH01EC7_Ij3eTzDY6riXx_kiStawvtTIyoSG7JduHC-Yma0lUg8EkhSpaS_WlESzQh09sZ6_xgsSfw8p0jw4939JxMfT/s1600/DSC_0041.JPG" height="424" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtSZVRqLEqhSsL2406sFBhyUYHm1-FfOnreXWACfzEpwVhwvJNZ3bKllV_OYCNlnCy_L6MgxX8uAIDKHAN-YzR5PNIwFHGBke4dkefd03A85I9h8q5QkFFGRj5dd9uGLnmgSWMI_agVowG/s1600/DSC_0043.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtSZVRqLEqhSsL2406sFBhyUYHm1-FfOnreXWACfzEpwVhwvJNZ3bKllV_OYCNlnCy_L6MgxX8uAIDKHAN-YzR5PNIwFHGBke4dkefd03A85I9h8q5QkFFGRj5dd9uGLnmgSWMI_agVowG/s1600/DSC_0043.JPG" height="424" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf-YfLOy3jrxLADDVxNRkHICXha64bPPy0DD7Bt4bVhIoVxzpE6Gqo0ySiNYziGJRoZgJkTYzrdSByEgj6Y6SeMXdKVMbgs_Poqd-QxcAU0oeIm9dYbTfTnhY1tfweTnjT-WqWHm96p9UO/s1600/DSC_0044.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf-YfLOy3jrxLADDVxNRkHICXha64bPPy0DD7Bt4bVhIoVxzpE6Gqo0ySiNYziGJRoZgJkTYzrdSByEgj6Y6SeMXdKVMbgs_Poqd-QxcAU0oeIm9dYbTfTnhY1tfweTnjT-WqWHm96p9UO/s1600/DSC_0044.JPG" height="424" width="640" /></a></div>
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Then: View of the historic Harris House, March 24, 2010</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf8x8bMWWW7jcwotKRfhp6is_0CybJ38kdQTyUP7Qr5T18GzqcM7ehpwGKsG_k43jhlfd-C0YmCogpir3m6GvVqARFZ5NSxOuk4U2-i2YTZXmW7G8oJUK3H9-iXSHGLRC3gPRC0kfEUQI1/s1600/DSC_0561.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf8x8bMWWW7jcwotKRfhp6is_0CybJ38kdQTyUP7Qr5T18GzqcM7ehpwGKsG_k43jhlfd-C0YmCogpir3m6GvVqARFZ5NSxOuk4U2-i2YTZXmW7G8oJUK3H9-iXSHGLRC3gPRC0kfEUQI1/s1600/DSC_0561.JPG" height="424" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">NOW:</span> Near same view on the morning of December 21, 2014. The historic Harris House: GONE!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQHDFwfE0dM1K1E2BHmgN3q01TEP9KgkoA-G4chj0c8ODz3BpsEVH4SNkSuUhhWV9aBjGed9M2AFFe5aadXdZ7CkfGsKbPOXKXC4hYoSh0kUQyqD2gXWPLCVF8kGbC3zgSOp0peOsA_DDj/s1600/scan0006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQHDFwfE0dM1K1E2BHmgN3q01TEP9KgkoA-G4chj0c8ODz3BpsEVH4SNkSuUhhWV9aBjGed9M2AFFe5aadXdZ7CkfGsKbPOXKXC4hYoSh0kUQyqD2gXWPLCVF8kGbC3zgSOp0peOsA_DDj/s1600/scan0006.jpg" height="400" width="326" /></a></div>
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The house as it looked from near the same angle in 1901, the year a monument was dedicated on the property to the 1st Massachusetts Heavy Artillery, some of the Union forces engaged against those of Confederate General Richard Ewell, May 19, 1864.</div>
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<span style="color: red;">Property had been sold on December 1st, along with 2.48 acres.</span></div>
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Here is a link to provide details on the property. Remember, what you see in the photos is now GONE forever!</div>
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<a href="http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/6705-Pond-View-Ln-Spotsylvania-VA-22553/64667073_zpid/" target="_blank">Click this link for Zillow details.</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.fredericksburg.com/news/local/spotsylvania/historic-spotsylvania-farm-house-demolished/article_4e6ce35f-1df9-5f1f-ac7d-e829cc740749.html" target="_blank">Fredericksburg's Free Lance-Star reports: 12/24/2014. Click link.</a></div>
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<a href="http://fredericksburg.today/nps-historian-mourns-destruction-of-bloomsbury" target="_blank">Coverage by Fredericksburg Today, 12/23/2014. Click link.</a></div>
<br />John Cummingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15664001896165763192noreply@blogger.com35