Lutheran Seminary Defense.

[PatrickDunn]

Hello...

I know that a good deal of day one discussion is about McPherson
Ridge action ... the Railroad cut action ... and Oak Ridge ... and
everything on the north end of town.

I wonder, the intense fighting in front of the Seminary Building, the
makeshift breastworks ... the relentless pounding by Union artillery
and the apparent slaughter in those low fields.... is this part of the
fighting overlooked ? That " last stand " when you read about it was
really intense and yet I read very little about it in here... and on the
battlefield today that area seems overlooked . Granted ... the tennis
courts are a visual eye sore but those guys held their ground and if
it wasn't for the rout taking place behind them, I believe they would
have been standing there at the end of the day.

What do you guys think ?

[RickAllen]

I think you are right and for some of the reasons you mentioned, that part of the battle isnt really very well interpreted. As far as the Seminary grounds themselves, part of it is just that it's in the middle of a campus and its difficult to get that ethereal feeling when cars are whizzing by you and people are walking around with tennis rackets.

Certainly the actions taken in front of the Seminary are some of the most desperately courageous on the entire field, but its difficult to get a handle on it considering the setting. Perrins actions there were pretty remarkable and surely those Yanks fought with extreme pluck behind their barricades.......but I think the current usage of the location limits our ability to envision things as they were in this area.

That's all the Day One comments I am allowed for this year.

Regards,

Rick
_________________
" Do you like French fries, Wyatt Earp?"

[corydon]

What does anyone know about the white house on the corner of Seminary Ave. and the Chambersburg Pike, within site of Lee's HQ? The middle section has a plaque designating it as being there in 1863.

This would leave 4 structures on Seminary Ave. that were there at the time of the battle, including the house east across the street from it.
_________________
"Let us have faith that right makes might..."
- Abraham Lincoln

[RickAllen]

If it's the white house just across the street from Larsons, that was there during the battle, though the name escapes me at the moment. In fact, Larsons rents the place out and it's pretty nice inside!

Regards,

Rick
_________________
" Do you like French fries, Wyatt Earp?"

[corydon]

So it's generally vacant? No one lives in it?

The older section's walls are plastered in white. I guess you could say it's stuccoed. I've got a photograph of it.
It would appear to have two post-war additions, one on each side.
And apparently it would make for the only surviving structure on the west side of the road that witnessed the fight around the Seminary grounds.

Wasn't there a fire there a few years ago?

If I move there and have time to do research and get the data I need, I'll probably look into the history of all the surviving structures in town and perhaps form some kind of database. What would be neat would be to create a large map and ONLY place surviving structures on it. Or perhaps use an existing satellite map and "gray out" the modern structures and highlight the surviving ones.
_________________
"Let us have faith that right makes might..."
- Abraham Lincoln

[RickAllen]

You dont need to do any of that......it's already been done. Just become friends with Tim Smith........that dude is a town/civilian Encyclopedia.

You are correct about that 'stucco' house. By my reckoning that would be the only building on the west side of the road. To my knowledge nobody lives there. A few years ago, some friends of ours (Jim and Kathy Semler) rented the place and had a little party.....thats the only way I have ever been inside.

Not sure about the fire, but that may ring a bell with somebody.

Regards,

Rick
_________________
" Do you like French fries, Wyatt Earp?"

[corydon]

(Still staying on topic, I hope.)


_________________
"Let us have faith that right makes might..."
- Abraham Lincoln

[GKWEAGLE1]

Chris,
Its my understanding from talking to the dear folks at larsons the middle structure plus the two story part where there during the battle. The liittle extention on the left end was not there.. JIM
_________________
"The Flag, THE FLAG, Oh THE FLAG! G.K. Warrens last words on his death bed, August 8,1882
There is many a boy here today who looks on war as all glory, but, boys, it is all hell. W.T. Sherman

[corydon]