Some of the survivors of Wiedrich’s New York Battery met on East Cemetery to dedicate their monument in 1889. $300 had been allotted for the “indigent” members of the battery to make the ceremonies, and that still wasn’t enough. Five members of the battery wouldn’t have been able to make the trip, and more money was raised among the survivors who could afford it so that everyone who wanted to could make the journey to Gettysburg. Many of them came from the area of Buffalo, New York, where the battery was raised in 1861.This image was taken by William Tipton facing northeast on Monday, May 20, 1889 and is found in A Record of Battery I, First New York Light Artillery Volunteers, Otherwise Known as Wiedrich’s Battery During the War of the Rebellion, 1861-1865. It was published by The Courier Company of Buffalo, New York in 1891.
Gettysburg Licensed Battlefield Guide Stuart Dempsey is our host for a series on the Eleventh Army Corps during the Battle of Gettysburg. Stuart had two relatives in the Eleventh Corps (73rd Ohio Infantry Regiment) and both were killed/mortally wounded at Gettysburg. They are both buried in the National Cemetery. Stuart has been a Licensed Battlefield Guide since 2004.
In addition to tours at Gettysburg National Military Park, Stuart also conducts tours at other historic sites in North America and Europe. He invites you to have a look at his website: www.battlegroundhistorytours.com.
Previous entries in the Eleventh Corps series can be found here.
In today’s Eleventh Corps post, Gettysburg Licensed Battlefield Guide Stuart Dempsey describes the attack and repulse of Hays’ Louisiana Tigers on Wiedrich’s Battery on the evening of July 2, 1863.
To email Licensed Battlefield Guide Stuart Dempsey, please click here to reveal his address.
This map shows the location of where our Eleventh Corps at Gettysburg videos were produced. Videos #1-#128 were shown in our previous Eleventh Corps posts. Videos #129- #131 were taken at the position of Wiedrich’s New York Battery on the summit of East Cemetery Hill.This map was created facing north at approximately 6:30 PM on Monday, January 16, 2012.
Gettysburg Licensed Battlefield Guide Stuart Dempsey is the host for our Eleventh Corps series. He is standing on the summit of East Cemtery Hill. Visible in the background are from left to right: 27th Pennsylvania Infantry Monument (close to the stone wall); 73rd Pennsylvania Infantry Monument and flank markers (closer to Stuart); 134th New York Monument (closer to stone wall); the landmark light green/blue water tank; artillery pieces and the monument marking the position of Wiedrich’s Battery I, First New York Light Artillery. This view was taken facing west at approximately 1:00 PM on Monday, December 19, 2011.
In Video #129 (Videos #1-#128 were shown in our previous Eleventh Corps posts) Gettysburg Licensed Battlefield Guide Stuart Dempsey is standing on the summit of East Cemetery Hill. He describes the attack on Wiedrich’s New York Battery, and how Adjutant Peter Young of the 107th Ohio captured the colors of the 8th Louisiana at the guns. This view was taken facing northwest to northeast to northwest at approximately 1:00 PM on Monday, December 19, 2011.
Licensed Battlefield Guide Stuart Dempsey has changed the angle that he is facing near Wiedrich’s Battery, which is behind the camera. Visible in the background from left to right are: cars on the Baltimore Street/Pike (including utility vehicles by the restroom in the Soldiers’ National Cemetery. The restroom is being remodeled); the top of the New York State Monument, located in the National Cemetery; and on the far right, the Baltimore Street entrance to the National Cemetery near the old Cemetery Superintendent’s Building. This view was taken facing southwest at approximately 1:00 PM on Monday, December 19, 2011.
In Video #130 Licensed Battlefield Guide Stuart Dempsey is standing at the summit of East Cemetery Hill at the position of Wiedrich’s Battery. He describes how the 27th Pennsylvania, the 73rd Pennsylvania, the 58th New York, and the 119th New York were formed to go to the aid of Wiedrich’s Battery on the evening of July 2, 1863. This view was taken facing southwest at approximately 1:00 PM on Monday, December 19, 2011.
The monument and guns of Wiedrich’s Battery. The equestrian statue is to Major General Oliver O. Howard. This view was taken facing north at approximately 1:00 PM on Monday, December 19, 2011.
In Video #131 Stuart Dempsey is standing on the summit of East Cemetery Hill. He explains how the counterattack of the Eleventh Corps infantry units drove the Confederates from Wiedrich’s artillery pieces and off of East Cemetery Hill on the evening of July 2, 1863. This view was taken facing northwest to northeast at approximately 1:00 PM on Monday, December 19, 2011.
There are not yet any histories of the Eleventh Corps that are in print. Here is the autobiography of Oliver O. Howard, who commanded the Eleventh Corps at Gettysburg. For ordering information, click here.
To see other posts by Gettysburg Licensed Battlefield Guides, click here.