Many visitors that come to Gettysburg question why there are so few confederate markers on the field. There are a number of reasons - #1 it was a confederate defeat #2 after the war the South was unable to financially channel many funds toward memorials and #3 the North plain & simple really didn’t want them here.
One of the few markers here at Gettysburg that honors Confederate soldiers can be found on Meredith Ave. in Reynolds Woods & belongs to the 26th North Carolina Infantry. Engaged with the Union Iron Brigade on July 1st, this unit suffered very heavy casualties. They would lose a total of 588 men which would be the greatest numeric loss of any Confederate unit during the battle. They would also participate in Pickett’s Charge on July 3rd & a companion marker can be found at the Angle which notes their position on that day.
The Regiment had been commanded by Col. Henry Burgwyn, the "Boy Colonel of the Confederacy" - Burgwyn and the 26th North Carolina moved north toward Pennsylvania as part of the Gettysburg Campaign. The 26th engaged in brutal fighting against Solomon Meredith's vaunted Iron Brigade in Herbst's Woods on the afternoon of July 1, 1863, at Gettysburg. As the regiment was exiting Herbst's Woods and reaching the crest of McPherson's Ridge, Burgwyn was shot through both lungs and mortally wounded carrying the colors of the 26th (Historian Earl J. Hess wrote that Burgwyn had just passed the colors to a private then the colors fell again and Burgwyn turned to see what had happened and was then shot). According to William M. Cheek, an eyewitness at the time:
The color sergeant was killed quite early in the advance and then a private of F Company took the flag. He was shot down and the flag was taken up by a Captain McCreary, who was killed shortly thereafter. Then Colonel Burgwyn himself took the colors and as we were advancing over the brow of a little hill and he was a few feet in advance of the center of the regiment, he was shot as he partly turned to give an order, a bullet passing through his abdomen.
In all, 13 color bearers for the 26th North Carolina were either killed or wounded. Burgwyn died about two hours after he was wounded and was buried on the field north of the Chambersburg Pike in an empty gun case.
Another eye witness and a member of Burgwyn's command, Fred A. Olds, wrote in a letter that he was with the Colonel when he died:
I remember that his last words were that he was entirely satisfied with everything, and "The Lord's will be done." Thus he died, very quietly and resigned. I never saw a braver man than he. He was always cool under fire and knew exactly what to do, and his men were devoted to him.
For his gallantry and heroism, Colonel Burgwyn was awarded the Confederate Southern Cross of Honor for his actions on July 1, 1863, and is listed on the Confederate Honor Roll. His family had his body exhumed in 1867 and he was laid to rest in Raleigh's Historic Oakwood Cemetery.
18 сен 2024
