My visit to Gettysburg

After a lovely 2 days in the nation's Capital, my sister & I drove to Gettysburg National Military Park for a visit. Being a Washington County girl, I had to see the monument to the 123rd New York Infantry, 1st Brigade, 1st Division, 12th Corps of the Army of the Potomac. The gentleman at the desk at the Visitor Center had a book of all the monuments, but go knowing the regiment you are searching for. I was able to search on my phone & get the location. I am providing it for you below...

123rd NY monument is between stops 13 and 14

Quoting the monument... "The 123rd N.Y. was enlisted in Washington Co. in Aug. 1862 mustered into the U.S. service Sept. Joined the Army of the Potomac and was engaged in the battles of Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. In Sept. 1863 transferred to the Army of the Cumberland and was engaged in the Campaign of Atlanta the March to the Sea and the Campaign of the Carolinas. Mustered out at Washington at the close of the war June 8, 1865."

My ticket to the museum inside the visitor center

Here are my pictures taken on Thursday afternoon, 8 August 2013.

123rd NY monument on Slocum Ave in Gettysburg NMP

123rd NY left flank marker at Gettysburg NMP

Gettysburg NMP information marker regarding 123rd NY

Service panel on 123rd NY monument

History panel on 123rd NY monument

Battles the 123rd NY were engaged in

Last panel stating location of the line

Back side of the 123rd NY monument 

Front view of the 123rd NY monument

Closeup of top of the 123rd NY monument

Notice the castle-like look of this monument here at the feet of the recorder of events (possibly Clio). A number of the NY monuments throughout Gettysburg look like castles. It did not appear that any other sate used this kind of imagery in their monuments. Something to look into...

If you have never been to Gettysburg NMP, I highly recommend it. & be prepared to spend to whole day.

123rd NY Monument in Greenwich NY

This is our monument to the citizens of Greenwich, NY who fought in the Civil War. Erected in 1916 for the Grand Army of the Republic Post 326. I took this image during the Underground Railroad Tour in June 2013.

Other websites to checkout regarding the 123rd NY monument:
123rd NY history
Huletts Current blog
Stone Sentinels
Historic Marker database

Another woman to research curtsey of the Mowry clan: Ann Caroline Holmes

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I recently came across the obituary of Ann Caroline Holmes (nee Mowry) & her husband Henry Holmes. The Holmes' were involved in both Abolition & Temperance & were founding members of the Free Church which used to sit on Main St, across from the Rough & Ready Firehouse. Cool, right? But, she was also a nurse during the Civil War. The following is a quote from the obituary

In 1864, moved by her country's needs and the sufferings of its sick and wounded defenders, she hastened, in company with Miss Prudence Fitch of Battenville and Miss Phebe Bernard, now Mrs. F. A. Gale of this village, to the hospital at Frederick City, Maryland, where she served for three moths as head nurse, with her companions and assistants. Here her business, energy and experience in the care of the sick, and her cheerful disposition were of greater value and the soldiers, turning to look after her as she passed along, said her presence was a ray of sunshine and called her "Mother."^

 I got excited yesterday when I located her on page 85 of the book Emma Willard and Her Pupils: Or, Fifty Years of Troy Female Seminary, 1822-1872 on Internet Archive. How unsatisfying that it neither mentioned her service during the Civil War, nor her aid in the fight for Abolition & Temperance. It simply mentioned who her parents were: William & Lydia (nee Whipple) Mowry, who her husband was & how many kids they had. So disappointing.

The unusual bit in the obituary was regarding her physical description. Apparently she resembled her so much that she was mistaken for Elizabeth Cady Stanton!

Elizabeth Cady Stanton- suffragist*

*image from Accessible Archives
^People's Journal. February 11, 1875

Get out of the house & into some history

I don't know about you, but February & March can get me down. Waiting for the leaves to burst open in that pretty spring green. Willing the crocuses, snowdrops & daffodils to push their way up through the gray snow & dead leaves. Then you get days like today, snow on top of mud.

Snowfall in Greenwich March 8, 2013

So, how about you get out of the house & go visit some local museums.

Here are just a few of my favorites:

 The Hyde Collection on Warren Street in Glens Falls. It is a world class art museum right in our own backyard.

The Old Fort House Museum on Broadway in Fort Edward. They are only open by appointment during the winter & spring so get a group together & give them a call to set up a time. Executive Director & Town of Fort Edward Historian R. Paul McCarty is also presenting a program on Solomon Northup at the Courthouse Community Center in Salem on Thursday, March 21 at 7:00 p.m.

The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs. I think I might just take my daughter there this weekend. The student curated exhibit Crowded looks particularly interesting.

The Chapman Historical Museum in downtown Glens Falls. I love house museums. Need I say more?

The New York State Museum in Albany. They have a great Civil War exhibit on until September titled An Irrepressible Conflict: The Empire State in the Civil War. I am still fascinated by the Cohoes Mastodon & the cadence of the woman's voice telling stories in the Native American section. (Note: The museum will be closed this Saturday 3/9 for a test of their emergency system.)

The Museum of Innovation & Science in Schenectady. The Planetarium is never a disappointment, plus they have a new butterfly exhibit up only through April 6.

Historic Cherry Hill in Albany. Another amazing house museum worth a look. Their current tour focuses on their restoration project, so it is great for preservationists & DIYers. There is also a family tour.

Saratoga National Historical Park in Stillwater. Don't think that because it is winter & the tour road is closed that you can't visit the park. The Visitor Center is open year round, plus they have a great bookstore & an exhibit on 18th Century female artists! Also, Ranger Jennifer Morrow will be presenting a program called Foodways of 18th Century Women & Camp Followers on Sunday, March 10 from 1:30-3:00 p.m.

In honor of Women's History Month there is a new exhibit up in the War Room on the 2nd floor of the Capitol Building in Albany. Some of the women featured in the exhibit are: Dr. Mary Edwards Walker, only woman to earn a Congressional Medal of Honor, Belva Ann Lockwood, pioneering female attorney and political activist, Rose Schneiderman, Triangle Shirtwaist Factory workers’ advocate, Kate Mullaney, founder of the Collar Laundry Union in Troy, Luisa Moreno, immigrant workers’ rights advocate, Mary McLeod Bethune, African American community rights activist. But what I am most interested in seeing is one of the artifacts on display, a sewing machine from the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in 1911.

Another event to check out this month is at the Cambridge Public Library on Thursday, March 14 at 7:00 p.m. Historian Michael Russert will present For the Liberation of Ireland: Last Battle of the Civil War? regarding the  unsuccessful attempt of Irish-American veterans, both Union & Confederate, to attack Canada & gain independence for Ireland in 1866.

There are so many other museums & events going on that you are sure to find something of interest to you & your family.