The Association of Licensed
Battlefield Guides 2009 Gettysburg Seminar: Brigades at Gettysburg
Profiles of the Famous and
the Forgotten September 11-13, 2009
The oldest professional guide service in America
proudly announces its annual autumn seminar. This year we will be
presenting the stories of several hard fighting but often-neglected
Gettysburg brigades. The weekend includes special in-depth walking
tours with experienced battlefield guides, Friday night reception, two
breakfasts and two lunches, Saturday night banquet, maps and
materials, and more.
Itinerary:
Friday, Sept. 11th:
Reception at Gettysburg’s historic
G.A.R. Hall.
The Pennsylvania Reserves: Into the Valley of Death (Power
Point presentation by Guillermo Bosch)
It can be fairly
argued that the greatest threat to Little Round Top came after
the 20th Maine’s famous bayonet charge. In a much less
famous attack that evening, McCandless’ brigade of Pennsylvania
Reserves, with Gettysburg natives included in its ranks, helped stem
the tide of McLaws’ seemingly invincible division as it rolled
inexorably toward a breakthrough. In a moment that was perhaps as
perilous as any faced by Meade’s army that day, the Pennsylvania
Reserves performed a valuable service for their country, for which
they have received little, if any credit to this day. Guillermo Bosch
will discuss the actions of the Reserves on the fateful evening, as
well as the unusual and impressive history of an organization that two
years before, no one in the Union Army seemed to want.
Saturday, Sept. 12th:
Breakfast
The Bogus Bucktails: Stone’s Brigade on July 1st.
(Rich Kohr)
Colonel Roy Stone’s three Pennsylvania
regiments entered combat for the first time on July 1st,
1863. After conducting an epic defense of McPherson’s and Seminary
ridges that afternoon, the brigade had lost over 800 of its 1,300
soldiers, the third-highest percentage of any Federal brigade at the
battle. Stone’s troops had also gained an enviable reputation as
fighting men that would sustain them through the rest of the war. No
one knows the history of the Bucktail Brigade better than Rich Kohr.
Rich will discuss that history, beginning with the recruitment of
the regiments and their experiences prior to Gettysburg, and
culminating in a detailed exploration of their role at the battle.
“We stood there to be shot at, and that was about all we did”:
Brockenbrough’s Brigade at Gettysburg. (George Newton)
When the performance
of Confederate units at Gettysburg is evaluated, Col. John
Brockenbrough’s Virginians consistently rank dead last. How did this
brigade, which had fought splendidly in many previous engagements,
turn in such dismal performances during the summer of 1863? George
Newton will scrutinize the actions of this unit on July 1st
and 3rd and attempt to answer that most persistent and
perplexing of questions: What went wrong with Brockenbrough’s brigade?
Lunch on the battlefield.
“Many fell along this line”: Semmes’
Brigade at the Rose Farm. (Dave Richards).
On the evening of
July 2nd, Gen. Paul Semmes led his 1,300 Georgia veterans
into battle on George Rose’s farm; in under two hours, he and over 400
of his men were casualties. The photographs taken of the dead of the
brigade remain to this day some of the most memorable of the entire
war. Yet for all that, mystery still shrouds the actions of Semmes’
Brigade on that bloodiest of Gettysburg days. Dave Richards is an
expert on this part of the battlefield and his walk will cast
long-overdue light on this excellent – but much neglected – command.
Saturday night
banquet followed by Q & A with the guides.
Sunday, Sept. 13th:
“The
heaviest skirmishing I ever witnessed”: Orland Smith’s Brigade and
the Defense of Cemetery Hill. (Stuart Dempsey)
Few brigades actively
engaged at Gettysburg have attracted less attention from historians
than the one commanded by Col. Orland Smith. Smith’s regiments
constituted the only significant formation of organized infantry on
the field when the Federal defense north and west of town collapsed on
July 1st, and they maintained their positions in the shadow
of Cemetery Hill until the end of the battle. During that time they
were involved in some of the bitterest skirmishing of the war,
sustaining heavy losses in the process. Stuart Dempsey will conduct
this tour, highlighting the key role – and neglected story – of
Smith’s brigade in the defense of Cemetery Hill, including visits to
parts of the battlefield long since altered by development.
In the eye of the
storm: The Philadelphia Brigade at Gettysburg & Beyond. (Charlie
Fennell).
The Philadelphia
Brigade was one of the most unique of the Civil War. Originally
organized in New York, recruited in Philadelphia, representing
California, it was the brainchild of a Senator from Oregon. Mustered
into service as the “California Brigade,” its first experience in
combat came at the Ball’s Bluff debacle. Reclaimed by Pennsylvania,
the brigade was the only one in the Army of the Potomac to carry the
name of a city. At Gettysburg, the Philadelphians were destined to
hold the now famous Angle in the eye of the storm known to history as
Pickett’s Charge. While its most significant contribution to the Union
victory was its desperate defense of Cemetery Ridge, other elements of
the brigade fought in forgotten actions on other parts of the field.
Long after the guns fell silent, some of its veterans clashed again,
in what would become Gettysburg’s most significant monument
controversy. Charlie Fennell will introduce the Philadelphia Brigade
and chronicle its battles during and after the war.
Price for the weekend: $310.
Discount for early registration
(before June 1): $280.
For additional information or to
register online, visit:
www.gettysburgtourguides.org/seminars.html
or write:
ALBG Seminar,
P. O. Box 4152, Gettysburg PA 17325
Mail-in Registration Form:
Name:
__________________________________________________
Address:
________________________________________________
City:
__________________________ State: ______ Zip: _________
