BGuthrie Photos: MD -- Gathland State Park -- Correspondent's War Arch

MD -- Gathland State Park -- Correspondent's War Arch:

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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. ARCH_121013_046.JPG: Note the wasp nest in his nostril
2. ARCH_121013_060.JPG: Between September 4th and 7th, 1862, the Army of Northern Virginia, General Robert E. Lee, commanding, crossed the Potomac near Leesburg and occupied Frederick, Maryland. On the 10th a movement was made to surround and capture the Union forces at Harper's Ferry. Early that morning Major-General T. J. Jackson, with Jackson's (Stonewall) Division and the divisions of R.S. Ewell and A.P Hill, left Frederick, marched over South Mountain at this Pass, crossed the Potomac near Williamsport on the 11th, seized Martinsburg on the 12th and marching by way of Charlestown, invested Harper's Ferry from the Virginia side of the Potomac on the 13th. J.G. Walker's Division, then near Monocacy Aqueduct, recrossed the Potomac at Point of Rocks on the night of the 10th, and occupied Loudon Heights on the 13th. Major-General Lafayette McLaws with his own division and R.H. Anderson's both of Longstreet's command, moved from Frederick on the 10th, via Middletown; crossed South Mountain at Brownsville Pass, seven miles south of this, on the 11th; Two brigades moved unto Maryland Heights and six down Pleasant Valley on the 12th, and invested Harper's Ferry from the Maryland side. Generals Lee and Longstreet, with the divisions of D.R. Jones and J.B. Hood, the brigade of N.G. Evans and the Reserve Artillery, marched on this road to Hagerstown. D.H. Hill's Division halted at Boonsboro to prevent the escape of the garrison at Harper's Ferry through Pleasant Valley and to support Stuart's Cavalry, which remained east of South Mountain to observe the movements of the Union Army and retard its advance. C.P.1.
3. ARCH_121013_063.JPG: C. S. A. Maj. Gen. Lafayette McLaws' Command (September 12-13, 1862) McLaws' Command consisted of Kershaw's, Barksdale's, Semmes' and Cobb's Brigades of his own Division and R. H. Anderson's Division of six Brigades-Wilcox's, Mahone's, Featherston's, Armistead's, Wright's and Pryor's. On the morning of the 12th, Kershaw and Barksdale crossed Pleasant Valley, ascended Maryland Heights at Solomon's Gap and moving along the crest of the heights, attacked and drove the Union forces from the southern end of them and into Harpers Ferry, on the 13th. Cobb moved along the eastern base of the heights in support of Kershaw and Barksdale. Wright moved along the South Mountain and took position on its bold extremity overlooking Weaverton. Pryor, Armistead and Featherstone moved down Pleasant Valley and occupied Weaverton and Sandy Hook. These movements shut in Harpers Ferry from the Maryland side of the Potomac. Semmes' Brigade held Brownsville Pass, and Mahone's was in Pleasant Valley, prepared to assist Semmes or to re-enforce Munford's Cavalry Brigade in front of Crampton's Pass. C.P.2
4. ARCH_121013_066.JPG: (September 14, 1862) Upon the approach of the Sixth Corps, Army of the Potomac, from Jefferson, Col. T. T. Munford, Commanding Cavalry Brigade, prepared to dispute its advance through this Pass. Mahone's Brigade, Lt. Col. Parham, Commanding, was put in position at the foot of the mountain, with the Cavalry, dismounted, on either flank. Chew's (Va.) Battery of Horse Artillery and two guns of Grimes' Portsmouth (Va.) Battery were placed half way up the mountain; later in the day Grimes' guns were put on the crest near this point, and for nearly three hours, assisted by five guns in the Brownsville Pass, Munford held the Union forces in check, but, overlapped on both flanks and pressed in front, was compelled to retire. As the line began to yield, the 10th Georgia of Semmes' Brigade came to its assistance. Cobb's Brigade brought back from Sandy Hook, met the retiring forces a few yards east of this, but the whole Command was quickly overpowered, and losing many captured, retreated into Pleasant Valley, the Cavalry to Rohrersville, the Infantry to Brownsville. Semmes abandoned Brownsville Pass and joined Cobb and Mahone. Wilcox moved back from near Weverton, and Kershaw and Barksdale (except 13th Mississippi) were withdrawn from Maryland Heights and, before midnight, the six Brigades, under command of R. H. Anderson, were in line across the Valley to oppose the Sixth Corps. McLaws with the four Brigades of Pryor, Featherstone, Armistead and Wright, and the 13th Mississippi of Barksdale's continued the investment of Harpers Ferry, which surrendered on the morning of the 15th. C.P.3
5. ARCH_121013_069.JPG: U. S. A. Sixth Army Corps. Major Gen. W. B. Franklin, Commanding (September 14, 1862) The Sixth Corps consisted of two Divisions commanded by Major Generals H. W. Slocum and W. F. Smith. On the march of the Army of the Potomac through Maryland, this Corps with Couch's Division, Fourth Corps, temporarily attached, formed the left of the advancing line. It moved through Tennallytown, Darnestown, Poolesville and Barnesville, reaching Buckeystown, west of the Monocacy, 12 miles southwest of this, on the evening of September 13. Under orders to force Crampton's Pass and seize Rohrersville in order to cut off McLaws from the main body of the Army of Northern Virginia and to relieve Harpers Ferry, the Corps moved early on the morning of the 14th, passed through Jefferson and reached the outskirts of Burkittsville at noon. At 3 p.m., Slocum and Smith advanced, drove Munford's Cavalry and Mahone's Infantry from the foot of the mountain and through this Pass and overthrew Cobb's Brigade in the vicinity, taking many prisoners. The Infantry Brigades retreated to Brownsville and the Cavalry to Rohrersville. Semmes' Brigade abandoned Brownsville Pass and joined Cobb and Mahone. The Corps advanced into Pleasant Valley on the evening of the 14th where it remained until the morning of the 17th when it marched for the field of Antietam. C.P.4
6. ARCH_121013_285.JPG: Directory of Army Correspondents Memorial: Governor Lloyd Lowndes George Alfred Townsend John Hay Richard C. McCormick Edmund C. Stedman Henry Watterson Whitelaw Reid Joseph B. McCullough Crosby S. Noyes Nathaniel Paige Edward W. Menley John L. Smithmeyer, Architect Junius Henri Browne James Elverson Francis J. Richardson Victor Lawson John C. Moore Daniel Houser
7. ARCH_121013_293.JPG: Note that Matthew Brady's name is there as well as Alfred Waud
8. ARCH_121013_303.JPG: Out of Zebulon, they that handle the pen of the writer. Judges 5:14 It was with (obscured) that they were ascertained because those who were present in the (obscured) affairs did not give the same account of the same things. Thucydides, 4:25 B Xenophon assured him, with an oath, that he should not have enough for his expenses in travelling home unless he sold his horse and what he had about him. Anabasis (obs.) B.C. On quitting school, I boldly undertook to write and relate the wars. Froissart 1357 They sent us back the news which greatly rejoiced the whole army. Philip (obscured) 1492 I and my son staid with General Braddock several days at Fredericktown dined with him daily and had full opportunities. Franklin 1755 Know Mr. Trumbull as a man and an artist Washington to Lafayette 1791 The enemy's fire emptied several saddles, among others Theodore Wilson's, the correspondent. General Sheridan 1865 Mr. Livingstone, I presume Henry M. Stanley 1871 Vui kto? "Americanetz." MacGahan at Khiva 1873
9. ARCH_121013_366.JPG: Cobb's Brigade McLaw's Division C.S.A. At 1 P.M. on September 14, 1862, Cobb's Brigade under Gen. Howell Cobb of Athens, GA. marched from Sandy Hook to Brownsville at the west foot of South Mountain. At 4 P.M., as Cobb's Brigade reached Brownsville, word came that the Union VI Corps, numbering 12,000 troops, was attacking Crampton's Gap. The sole Confederate troops stationed there were Col. William A. Parham's Brigade augmented by Col. Thomas Munford's cavalry and the 10th Georgia Regiment of Semmes' Brigade, roughly 800 muskets in all. Cobb's regiments were hurried to Parham's aid: the 24th Georgia and 15th North Carolina ascending into the gap first, closely followed by the 16th Georgia and Col. T.R.R. Cobb's Legion accompanied by Gen. Howell Cobb. Two guns of the Troup Artillery were also commandeered. Outnumbered 6 to 1, Cobb's and Parham's troops were decimated and retreated. The next morning only 300 of the Brigade's 1300 men answered roll call. Beaten and wounded soldiers straggled in over the next few days. Casualties for the Brigade probably exceeded 50%. The defense of Crampton's Gap, though costly in casualties, was instrumental in forestalling the compromise of Lee's Army due to the famous "Lost Order." Here it was that Gen. George B. McClellan had elected to cut Lee in two and "beat him in detail."
10. ARCH_121013_368.JPG: Lt. Col. Jefferson M. Lamar & Cobbs Georgia Legion Col. Thomas R.R. Cobb (brother of Howell Cobb) organized Cobb's Legion in August 1861. The Legion consisted of 6 infantry companies, 4 cavalry companies, and the Troup Light Artillery. On September 6, 1862, the Legion, attached to Gen. Howell Cobb's Brigade, accompanied "Stonewall" Jackson's Corps en route to capture Harpers Ferry. Except for 2 guns, the Troup Artillery was positioned on Maryland Heights overlooking Harpers Ferry. Cobb's Legion infantry under Lt. Col. Jefferson M. Lamar accompanied Cobb's Brigade to Crampton's Gap. Many of the 248 soldiers were from Athens, GA. By the time Cobb's Legion took position at the gap, Parham's line at the foot of the mountain had been overrun. Col. Lamar desperately tried to form a line south of the gap. But the 1st New Jersey Brigade broke through and gained ground above and behind the Legion. The Legion, outnumbered 6 to 1 and partly surrounded, stood its ground. After suffering 72% casualties, including the mortally wounded Lamar, some of the men escaped to the top of the gap where a final stand was being made by Gen. Cobb with 2 guns of the Troup Artillery and refugees from the other regiments. In large measure Cobb's Legion was responsible for delaying the Federal advance until nightfall. The next day Harpers Ferry surrendered.
11. ARCH_121013_388.JPG: To the Army correspondents and artists 1861-65 whose toils cheered the camps, thrilled the fireside, educated provinces of rustics into a bright nation of readers and gave incentive to narrate distant wars and explore dark lands. Erected by subscription 1896 O wondrous youth; Through this grand ruth Runs my boy's life its thread. The General's fame, the battle's name The rolls of maimed and dead; I bear with my thrilled soul astir And lonely thoughts and fears And am but history's courier To bind the conquering years. A battle ray through ages gray; To light to deeds sublime And flash the lustre of my day Down all the aisles of time. War Correspondents' Ballad 1863
12. ARCH_121013_396.JPG: Burkittsville: Henry Burkitt's Town The first settlers in this area cleared their farm land and raised their families along two Indian trails that crossed here. Joshua Harley, one of these pioneers and a veteran of the American Revolution, started the settlement's first dry goods store. In 1824 Harley's store became Harley's post office. Henry Burkitt moved here from Pennsylvania about 1825 and laid out a town along the east-west trail, subdividing larger tracts bought from his neighbors. In 1829, Burkitt donated property on Cemetery Hill to the Reformed Germans, who built a church on it. The Resurrection German Reformed Church, originally called "Union Church," was shared by the Lutherans until they built St. Paul's next door. The cemetery behind these churches was known as "Union Cemetery," because both congregations buried their dead there. Burkitt died before he finished his town, but the village grew and became known as Henry Burkitt's Town. Joshua Harley, the community's first store keeper and postmaster had been forgotten. At the time of the Battle of South Mountain, Burkittsville had approximately 50 houses and 200 inhabitants.
13. ARCH_121013_400.JPG: Chew's Ashby Artillery Captain R. Preston Chew organized Chew's Ashby Artillery, the first "horse artillery" in the Confederate army, in November 1861. He named it for Colonel Turner Ashby. Chew's battery boasted a 3 in ordinance rifle, a 12-pounder smoothbore howitzer, and an English Blakeley rifle. Blakeley guns were not commonly used during the Civil War. The battery, attached to Colonel Thomas T. Munford's cavalry brigade, crossed the Potomac River on September 7. They followed Munford to Burkittsville on the 13th and took this position early on the morning of the 14th. A short time later the Portsmouth Light Artillery, a battery consisting of two 12 pound naval howitzers mounted on gun carriages, joined them. One of Chew's crew wrote: "At about ten o'clock we saw the first of the Yankee host, about three miles away, approaching our gap cautiously and slowly. As they drew nearer the whole country seemed to be full of bluecoats. They were so numerous that it looked as if they were creeping up out of the ground -- and what would or could our little force of some three to four hundred available men standing halfway up a bushy, stony mountain side do with such a mighty host that was advancing on us with flying banners? As they came nearer to the mountain they threw out a heavy skirmish line of infantry on both sides of the road, and were still advancing slowly when their skirmish line came to within about a mile of our position, so we opened on it with our rifled guns. Our line of fire was right over the village of Burkittsville, and completely checked their skirmishers about a half-mile from Burkittsville. The Yanks now brought up a battery and opened fire on us, but they were about two miles off and all their shells fell short. I fired at the min return, but in doing so I disabled my gun (the Blakeley). The mountain where we were in battery was a little steep and my gun is a vicious recoiler, and the recoil space of our position was too sloping, rough and limited for a free kick, consequently with the second shot that I fired ... my piece snapped a couple of bolts to its mounting, entirely disabling it for the day" Chew withdrew the Blakeley, but the rest of the battery held its position until late in the day. Shortly before the arrival of Cobb's Legion, the battery retired to the opposite side of the mountain.
14. ARCH_121013_410.JPG: "Sealed With Their Lives" Just before the Confederate line along Mountain Church Road gave way, Brigadier General Howell Cobb arrived in Crampton's Gap with his Georgia and North Carolina troops. After meeting with Colonel Thomas Munford, who had been directing the battle, Cobb allowed Munford to deploy Cobb's troops. Munford ordered the 15th North Carolina to the Arnoldstown Road. There they took a position behind a stone wall facing Whipp's Ravine. The 24th Georgia was ordered into the ravine while Cobb's Legion followed by the 16th Georgia, moved down Gapland Road. Near here Cobb's Legion formed line of battle on the mountain slope about halfway down between the two roads, the 16th Georgia to its left. As remnants of Munford's shattered line rushed through the Legion's ranks, Torbert's New Jersey Brigade surrounded it on three sides, the 3rd New Jersey wheeling down onto the Legion from behind after climbing to Gapland Road unopposed. Twelve hundred New Jersey soldiers surrounded the 248 men of Cobb's Legion. If Lieutenant Colonel Jefferson Lamar, the Legion's commander, retreated, he might start a stampede of the entire Confederate line; but, if he stayed where he was, he might buy time for the rest of the Confederates to retreat. He chose to stay. Shortly after, a bullet smashed into his leg, toppling him to the ground. Eventually, Captain William Lowe of Company F, also wounded in the leg, called to Lamar that the Legion was being annihilated. Lowe helped Lamar to his feet so he could order the Legion out of the killing field. No sooner had Lamar done so than a bullet tore through his chest, mortally wounding him. In about twenty minutes, the Legion sustained 72% casualties -- killed, wounded, and missing.
Wikipedia Description: Gathland State Park
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gathland State Park is a small state park located near Burkittsville, Maryland in the United States. The park is composed of the remains of the estate of George Alfred Townsend (1841-1914), a correspondent during the American Civil War who wrote under the pen name "Gath". Several buildings remain on the estate, including the War Correspondents Memorial Arch, and the Appalachian trail passes through the grounds.

History:

The area of the current park includes Crampton's Gap, which saw fighting during the Battle of South Mountain, one of the first battles of the Maryland Campaign during the American Civil War. In 1884, Townsend, now a successful journalist, purchased the land as a retreat and began work on what would become Gathland, his estate. His first project was Gapland Hall, an eleven room house built in 1885. This was followed that same year by Gapland Lodge, a stone servants' quarters. In 1890 a large building was erected to house a study, a library, and ten bedrooms.

Townsend's most famous and longest-lasting project was completed in 1896: The War Correspondents Memorial Arch. It is claimed that the arch is the only monument in the world dedicated to journalists killed in combat. (However, at least one other memorial monument specifically dedicated to journalists fallen in combat exists in the United States - the War Correspondents' Memorial marker in Arlington National Cemetery, Washington DC, dedicated in 1986.)

The book George Alfred Townsend describes the monument:

In appearance the monument is quite odd. It is fifty feet high and forty feet broad. Above a Moorish arch sixteen feet high built of Hummelstown purple stone are super-imposed three Roman arches. These are flanked on one side with a square crenellated tower, producing a bizarre and picturesque effect. Niches in different places shelter the carving of two horses' heads, and symbolic terra cotta statuettes of Mercury, Electricity and Poetry. Tables under the horses' heads bear the suggestive words "Speed" and "Heed"; the heads are over the Roman arches. The three Roman arches are made of limestone from Creek Battlefield, Virginia, and each is nine feet high and six feet wide. These arches represent Description, Depiction and Photography. The aforementioned tower contains a statue of Pan with the traditional pipes, and he is either half drawing or sheathing a Roman sword. Over a small turret on the opposite side of the tower is a gold vane of a pen bending a sword. At various places on the monument are quotations appropriate to the art of war correspondence. These are from a great variety of sources beginning with Old Testament verses. Perhaps the most striking feature of all are the tablets inscribed with the names of 157 correspondents and war artists who saw and described in narrative and picture almost all the events of the tour years of the war.

The plaque on the monument reads:
SPEED - HEED

Sept. 14 - 62 - 96 To the Army Correspondents and Artists 1861-65

Whose toils cheered the fireside
Educated provinces of rustics into
a bright nation
of
readers
and gave incentive to narrate
distant wars and explore dark lands.

Erected by subscriptions 1896

O wondrous youth
Through this grand ruth
Runs my boy's life, its thread
The General's fame, the battle's name
The rolls of maimed and dead
I bear with my thrilled soul astir
And lonely thoughts and fears
And am but history's courier
To bind the conquering years
A battle's ray, through ages gray
To light the deeds sublime
And flash the lustre of my day
Down all the aisles of time
War Correspondent Ballad - 1865

Also in the park grounds is the remains of a mausoleum built for Townsend in 1895 but never used. Originally topped with the figure of a large bronze dog, only the chamber remains, with a marble lintel inscribed, "Good Night Gath". Although Townsend retained ownership of the property until his death in 1914, maintenance of the monument itself was entrusted to the National Park Service in 1904.

Controversy:

The monument's plaques lists 157 names which are sometimes assumed to be all war correspondents. From the late 1990s, local historian Timothy J. Reese, publicly criticized Townsend's biases in choosing the names listed. Reese asserted that only 135 can claim to be war correspondents or artists (and 33 of these are not identifiable in the historical record). Furthermore, many names are misstated and several important names are missing. Townsend's criticisms of the names have been publicly accepted by the Federal authorities in charge of the monument.

Conservation:

After Townsend's death, Gathland changed hands three times before being acquired by the Department of Forests and Parks and named a state park in 1949. Gapland Hall was renovated in 1958 and now houses a visitors' center. Gapland Lodge was converted into a museum. Most of the other buildings are in various states of repair, some largely intact and some nothing but foundations, including the library building.

Features:

In addition to the monument, the historic buildings, and the museum, the park hosts Civil War reenactments and an interactive "living history" weekend with demonstrations of 19th century life.
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