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Feeling the Past at Gettysburg
By Glenn W. LaFantasie |
Civil War Times |  Slyder Farm The stream gave us pause. The cut was too wide to jump, the run was too deep to ford without soaking our feet. Oates, standing in the same place, didn’t have the time or leisure to contemplate his next move. As his lines approached Plum Run, a sudden ripple of musket fire, coming from under the trees on the steep slopes of Big Round Top, caught him and his men off guard. From behind a stone wall on the opposite side of the creek, the 2nd U.S. Sharp Shooters sent a volley into the Alabamians. Oates swiftly moved his men across the stream—no worries about wet feet—and led them forward toward the saddle between the two hills. Another volley from the Yankees, dressed in their distinctive green uniforms, convinced Oates that he could not leave this Federal force on his flank or in his rear, so he ordered the 15th and 47th Alabama regiments to change direction to the right, face the stone wall and get ready to charge the enemy. As the Alabamians moved into position, the Union sharpshooters decided they couldn’t possibly hold back two Confederate regiments, so they quickly withdrew from the wall, dispersing into the woods.  Slyder Farm with Big Round Top beyond On July 2, Oates responded quickly to the sharpshooters’ withdrawal by ordering the regiments under his command to pursue the Federals up the hill. For Oates and his men, and for us trying to follow in their footsteps, that climb was no cakewalk. After the war, Oates remembered: “In places the men had to climb up, catching to the rocks and bushes and crawling over the boulders in the face of the fire of the enemy, who kept retreating, taking shelter and firing down on us from behind rocks and crags which covered the side of the mountain.” Without dodging Minié balls, Sarah and I had a hard enough time just pushing our way through the natural barriers of brambles, fallen limbs, downed trees, exposed roots and huge rocks—boulders that Oates described as being more plentiful than “grave-stones in a city cemetery.” He later reported that many of his men fainted while climbing the hill. We didn’t faint, although we had to stop every 50 yards or so to catch our breath. Passing through a large clearing where today there is a monument to the 1st Vermont Cavalry, we veered a bit toward Big Round Top’s southern slopes, crossed a modern park road, entered woods again, then came upon something we hadn’t expected to find: a high, jagged cliff. Oates never mentioned the cliff, but he and his men must have encountered it, just as we had done—by complete surprise. Huffing and puffing, Sarah and I went straight up the precipice, with me leading the way and often reaching back to pull her up the rock face. Help HistoryNet by bookmarking to
Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6            Tags: Civil War, Civil War Times, Gettysburg
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18 Comments to “Feeling the Past at Gettysburg”
What a truly wonderful article. One of my favorites. Made me laugh and even made me tear up a bit.
By Eric Weider on Jun 14, 2008 at 10:44 am
one of the very best cival war stories iever read out standing.
By bobbybartram on Jun 14, 2008 at 10:34 pm
Artfully, and captivatingly written. My first visit to Gettysburg was in april of this year. I don’t believe anyone who has visited has not felt - something.
As I approached the 20th Maine Monument, a tour group of high school students from Minnesota was leaving. They had left roses and small American flag at the base. I was deeply proud of, grateful to, and moved by these students; so much younger than I, and whom I would never know.
I know, or, rather, understand what Sarah Felt. I felt the same something at Little Round Top.
By Greg Schaaf on Jun 17, 2008 at 1:21 pm
One time while walking Devils Den in the fog my daughter felt a “sense” that scared her and she just backed away from the rocks facing the Round Tops. I myself had a feeling of something stepping heavily on my foot on the paved road where Gen. Farnsworth made his cavalry charge. The battlefield will always remain alive in its own way.
By Ed Mignone on Jun 17, 2008 at 2:48 pm
I also felt something at the Devil’s Den. As I stepped up on the rocks there, I slipped, fell and took a bit of a gash on my leg.
My girlfriend was with me that day and asked if I was going to be O.K., to which I could only chuckle and tell her that another Texan bleeding at the Devil’s Den seemed somehow appropriate and that I was much lukier than most of those who had done it before.
By Craig Deaton on Jun 17, 2008 at 5:22 pm
Gettysburg-A place where people hush and the ghosts speak lodly!
By Fred Mossbrucker on Jun 17, 2008 at 8:53 pm
Sorry. That’s loudly.
By Fred Mossbrucker on Jun 17, 2008 at 8:54 pm
A Truly wonderful read. Having stood at the base of Little Round Top, Awe Struck by a sense of history, your piece sums it up so much better than I ever could. Thank you for writing it.
By John C on Jun 18, 2008 at 8:36 pm
I visited Gettysburg about two years ago. I was alone my wife was at a meeting, so I drove to the battlefield. It was more than I had imagined. I was so moved with emotions, that I had to share it with someone,so I called our oldest daughter. She was as excited as I was at the time.I was sad,happy,upset,overwhelmed,shaken,changed by it all as I stood there and prayed.I long to return and feel overpowered once again.
By Rev. David L. Hopkins on Jun 20, 2008 at 10:11 am
I have followed the same path led by a gentleman I met by chance who later became a battlefield guide. Thank you for leading me over the same never-forgotten ground.
By Fred Boyle on Jun 20, 2008 at 11:18 pm
I once rode my bike to Little Round Top at dawn…the feeling was transcendental…it was a truly overwhelming feeling to ride past the monuments in the breaking daylight,culminating with the view of Devil’s Den,where I did not feel alone,despite no man being near me….
By Joe Messore on Jun 22, 2008 at 10:17 pm
When I received my August issue I was expecting another story about Joshua L. Chamberlian. When I opened up and began reading I was surprised and impressed with the article about William Oates Alabamians. The struggles they went through even before they were engaged in battle brings their story closer to home, for historians as well as the casual observer. I only wish that William Oates was featured on the cover instead of Chamberlain.
By Scott J Payne on Jun 23, 2008 at 11:00 pm
Many of us have had this same experience, apparently. Geetysburg was the first place I ever truly felt a presence, and I have felt it at every other battlefield I have visited since. However, somehow, there was a different quality to it at Gettysburg–more intense and a storng mixture of pride and tragedy. A very touching article.
By Bob on Jun 25, 2008 at 9:10 am
Three years ago myself and other reenactors walked Pickett’s Charge in our uniforms and with battle flags flying. That whole walk I had chills and the hair was standing up on my arms. I felt like the men of Pickett’s Division were walking with us that day. Gettysburg is a very sad place because of all the lives that were lost there, but the sacrifices that were made by the men of both sides, helped make this country a better place.
By Brian Logan on Jul 10, 2008 at 2:52 pm
What a wonderful article. As a very young man I have always had a desire to visit the Gettysburg Battlefield. May of this year I was able to go and spend four wonderful days there. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, the experience of walking this hollowed ground is an experience that I will never forget. The emotions ran high at the thought I had family that fought both sides of this war. I too felt a presence as I walked the Wheatfield and climbed the rocks of Devils Den. The evening view from Little Round Top was an emotional one for me as I looked down and across where many a man died for a cause they truly believed in.
By Wesley C. Norris on Jul 13, 2008 at 7:12 pm
It is not possible to be a student of the Civil War without a visit to Gettysburg. As so many before me and likely after as well, I walked as much of the battle field as possible to try to get some perspective of the events of those days. It is overwhelming. There are so many things to experience. Try lying in the ditch, imagining defilade fire all around you. Screams of those unlucky enough to be in a spot the shot fell upon.
God, it is humbling, even for a career soldier with some combat experience.
By CSM (Ret) Lee Ingram on Jul 22, 2008 at 10:41 pm
What a truly amazing article. I had the pleasure of taking my first trip to Gettysburg two years ago and remember the emotions that overwhelmed me as I stood looking out of Little Round Top. Can’t wait to go back and spend some serious time exploring a part of history that captivates me.
By Stephen Creech on Jul 29, 2008 at 1:59 pm
i also felt something at the Devil’s Den. I don’t beleive that.
sorry……..
By parvez akhtar on Sep 16, 2008 at 11:30 am