October Snow Near the Emmitsburg Road Part 3

On Sunday morning, we took a walk along the Emmitsburg Road Ridge to take some pictures of the monuments and the trees in the area as the sun came up. Here is a tree at the intersection of the Millerstown/Wheatfield Road (shown on the left) and the Emmitsburg Road, which runs from right to left in front of the camera. The monument is to the 63rd Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment. This view was taken facing northwest at approximately 8:00 AM on Sunday, October 30, 2011.

Approximately five inches of heavy, wet, snow came to the Gettysburg area on Saturday, October 30, 2011. For those visiting Gettysburg, Saturday was not a good day to be touring the battlefield in the driving snow. The snow also caused trees to fall on a monument and a cannon (witness tree). But on Sunday morning, the first snow of the season looked quite interesting as it contrasted with the leaves, many of which were still on the trees.

See the following related posts:

October Snowstorm Damage Part 1 on October 31, 2011
October Snow Near the Emmitsburg Road Part 1 on November 2, 2011
October Snow at Culp’s Hill on November 4, 2011
Gettysburg Witness Tree Damaged Cannon Carriage: October Snowstorm Damage Part 2 on November 5, 2011
October Snow Near the Emmitsburg Road Part 2 on November 7, 2011.

We’ll continue to walk south along the Emmitsburg Road towards the artillery piece on the same side of the road. This view was taken facing southwest at approximately 8:00 AM on Sunday, October 30, 2011.

The artillery piece marks the position of Lieutenant Francis Seeley’s Battery K, 4th United States Artillery. The Sherfy Barn is in the right background. The Sherfy Peach Orchard (the Peach Orchard) is in the background above the artillery piece. This view was taken facing southwest at approximately 8:00 AM on Sunday, October 30, 2011.

At the Battle of Gettysburg, Seeley’s Battery had 25 men killed, wounded, or missing, and 28 horses “lost and disabled.” The Henry Spangler Farm buildings are in the left background. This view was taken facing northwest at approximately 8:00 AM on Sunday, October 30, 2011.

We showed you the Spangler buildings enough in the previous post, so this will be our last view of the farm buildings (for a while). This view was taken facing northwest at approximately 8:00 AM on Sunday, October 30, 2011.

We’ll stay on the west (Emmitsburg Road) side of the post and rail fence as we continue south. The Peach Orchard is in the right background. This view was taken facing south at approximately 8:00 AM on Sunday, October 30, 2011.

The monument to the 105th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, the “Wildcat Regiment,” was dedicated on September 11, 1889. United States Avenue is visible behind the monument. Big Round Top is in the left background. The Peach Orchard is in the right background. This view was taken facing south at approximately 8:00 AM on Sunday, October 30, 2011.

We’re now approaching the Joseph Sherfy Farm. This view was taken facing southwest at approximately 8:00 AM on Sunday, October 30, 2011.

this monument in the front yard is to the 57th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment. This image was created facing southwest at approximately 8:00 AM on Sunday, October 30, 2011.

The Sherfy House was constructed in the 1840s. The 57th Pennsylvania Monument was dedicated on July 2, 1888. The Spangler Barn is visible in the right background. This view was taken facing northwest at approximately 8:00 AM on Sunday, October 30, 2011.

Another monument in front of the Sherfy House is to the 114th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, “Collis’ Zouaves.” This view was taken facing northwest at approximately 8:00 AM on Sunday, October 30, 2011.

The monument to the 114th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment was dedicated on July 2, 1886, two years before the 57th Pennsylvania Monument, which is in the right background. This view was taken facing north at approximately 8:00 AM on Sunday, October 30, 2011.

The 114th Pennsylvania Monument, like the monument to Smith’s 4th New York Battery and the monument to the 11th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, was vandalized on February 16, 2006. This view was taken facing north at approximately 8:00 AM on Sunday, October 30, 2011.

On July 1, 1863 Joseph Sherfy and his family continually drew water from his two wells for the relief of many dust-covered, Union soldiers marching north along the Emmitsburg Road. Joseph’s wife, Mary, kept busy in the kitchen baking bread, which she and other family members gave to the soldiers. The Sherfy family left for the vicinity of Two Taverns on the morning of July 2, 1863. This view was taken facing northwest at approximately 8:00 AM on Sunday, October 30, 2011.

The original Sherfy Barn burned on July 3, 1863. Wounded soldiers from the 114th Pennsylvania and probably from the 57th Pennsylvania had entered the barn for protection. Unfortunately it caught on fire, and some of them died. This view was taken facing southwest at approximately 8:00 AM on Sunday, October 30, 2011.

The Gettysburg Compiler of July 20, 1863 reported that “in the barn… and around the hay stacks,were twenty wounded Philidelphia [sic] Zouaves who perished in the conflagration.” This view was taken facing southwest at approximately 8:00 AM on Sunday, October 30, 2011.

The burial records for the Soldiers National Cemetery show that in the Pennsylvania Section Row F, Plots 11, 12, 13 are Unknown Zouaves “burned in destruction of Sherfy’s barn.” This view was taken facing northwest at approximately 8:00 AM on Sunday, October 30, 2011.

We have now made it to the intersection of the Emmitsburg Road with the Millerstown/Wheatfield Road. The Millerstown Road is in the background. The Wheatfield Road is out of sight on the left. This view was taken facing southwest at approximately 8:00 AM on Sunday, October 30, 2011.

The monument to the 63rd Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment was dedicated on September 11, 1889. This view was taken facing southwest at approximately 8:00 AM on Sunday, October 30, 2011.

The Spangler Barn is visible in the right background. This view was taken facing southwest at approximately 8:00 AM on Sunday, October 30, 2011.

One of the best books on Gettysburg’s monuments is this book by Licensed Battlefield Guide Fred Hawthorne. For ordering information, click here. This image was copied facing north at approximately 6:00 PM on Sunday, October 30, 2011.