We continue our tour of the interior of the Wills House parlor by viewing the other display near the middle of the parlor. This display, not being attached to a wall has two, count ’em two, sides!
Over the next couple of posts we’ll stay on the first floor. Today we’re in the the Wills Parlor, which is labeled “Gallery One, War and the Wills House.” This map is from the Wills House brochure which was scanned while we were facing south at approximately 7:00 PM on Wednesday, February 18, 2009.
The south panel of the exhibit. The top is the very familiar photograph of the Leister House (Meade’s Headquarters) taken on July 6, 1863 by Alexander Gardner. This view was taken facing north at approximately 4:15 PM on Wednesday, February 18, 2009.
The bottom of the south side of the middle display (did you get all that?). This view was taken facing north at approximately 4:15 PM on Wednesday, February 18, 2009.
The other (north) side of the middle display has a small display case at the bottom. This view was taken facing southeast at approximately 4:15 PM on Wednesday, February 18, 2009.
The top of the north side of the middle display. This view was taken facing south at approximately 4:15 PM on Wednesday, February 18, 2009.
The middle section of the north side of the middle display. This view was taken facing south at approximately 4:15 PM on Wednesday, February 18, 2009.
The display case at the bottom of the exhibit. We’ll show some items from left to right along with their text/captions. The photographs were taken at an angle to get rid of any glare. This view was taken facing south at approximately 4:15 PM on Wednesday, February 18, 2009.
“Pocket Surgical Kit circa 1860. Civil War surgeons carried small surgical kits such as this one to treat minor wounds on the field of battle. During the battle, Surgeons worked on the wounded in numerous public buildings and private homes in the town.” This view was taken facing southwest at approximately 4:15 PM on Wednesday, February 18, 2009.
“Pain Bullet .58 caliber, 1863. This bullet for a .58 caliber rifle-musket bears teeth marks, which testifies to its use by a soldier to bear the pain of his wounds. Ether and chloroform were frequently used as anesthetics during the Civil War, but were obviously unavailable for this patient.” Some experts on Civil War medicine will disagree with this text. This view was taken facing southwest at approximately 4:15 PM on Wednesday, February 18, 2009.
“Tintype, Private Wilson D. Race, Co. A, 149th Pennsylvania Infantry, 1863. A member of the Union First Corps, Race was wounded in the lungs and carried to the field hospital in the St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church. He died there on July 24.” This view was taken facing southwest at approximately 4:15 PM on Wednesday, February 18, 2009.
“Booklet. ‘Three Weeks at Gettysburg,’ Mrs. Georgeanna Murison (Woolsey) Bacon, 1863. Scores of civilians assisted in the battle recovery including Mrs. Georgeanna Murison Bacon (seated in the photograph to the left) who traveled by train from Baltimore to help the U.S. Sanitary Commission. Her account appeared in this printed booklet in late 1863.” No, there’s not a photograph to the left. This view was taken facing southwest at approximately 4:15 PM on Wednesday, February 18, 2009.
“Pocket Diary, July 1863. John P. Rose owned a farm on the southern portion of the battlefield that saw heavy action on the afternoon of July 2nd. A member of his family compiled this listing of the names and units of Confederate soldiers from South Carolina and Georgia that had been buried hastily on their farm after the battle. This view was taken facing southwest at approximately 4:15 PM on Wednesday, February 18, 2009.
“Letter, Annie Sheads to Gellespie B. Corwin, 10th New York Cavalry, August 14, 1863. Nothing conveyed the impact of the battle on Gettysburg’s civilians more than their own words. Annie Sheads of Gettysburg wrote this letter to ‘Birney’ Corwin of the 10th New York Cavalry (whom she had met in Gettysburg in 1862) describing the battle and the horrors she had experienced. This view was taken facing southwest at approximately 4:15 PM on Wednesday, February 18, 2009.
In our next Wills House post we’ll look at the Parlor’s west wall. This view was taken facing west at approximately 4:15 PM on Wednesday, February 18, 2009.
See the following related posts:
Gettysburg’s Wills House: The Misleading, Mislabeled Diorama on March 10, 2009.
Gettysburg’s Wills House: Wills Parlor North Wall on March 7, 2009.
Gettysburg’s Wills House: Wills Parlor East Wall on March 2, 2009.
Gettysburg’s Wills House: Entrance and Ticketing Information Area on February 20, 2009.
Gettysburg’s Wills House: Another Exterior View on February 18, 2009.
Abraham Lincoln at Gettysburg, November 18, 1863: 145 Years Ago This Evening on November 18, 2008.
Gettysburg’s Wills House: White Stenciling Completed on West Side on November 5, 2008.
Stenciling, railing, steps, and shutters of the Wills House on October 31, 2008.
Stenciling progressing well on the west side of the Wills House on October 28, 2008.
Completion of the white stenciling on the north side of the Wills House on October 21, 2008.
White stenciling appearing on the north side of the Wills House on October 14, 2008.
Wills House needs a new manager on September 12, 2008.
First coat of red paint completely covering the north side of the Wills House on September 4, 2008.
Red paint beginning to cover the north side of the Wills House on September 3, 2008.
Only the west side of the Wills House still had red paint on August 19, 2008.
West side of the Wills House started to be painted red on August 13, 2008.
Wills House’s sidewalk construction on July 21, 2008.
The Gettysburg Railroad Station on March 6, 2008.
