1 JULY, 2023…GEORGE ROSE’S WHEATFIELD, GETTYSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA

The morning dawned bright and quite warm, appropriately, for a gathering to remember the Battle of Gettysburg, one hundred and sixty years past…shortly after 9:30 A.M., the 62nd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Living History Family, descendants and friends, assembled around the 62nd PA monument in the lower portion of Rose’s Wheatfield…

A few minutes after 10 o’clock, the infantry Honor Guard marched into position, halted, and fronted the tall, granite obelisk that honors the regiment, at the very location chosen by the Veterans of the 62nd regiment…the ladies, children and grandchildren followed, and a small group of descendants and friends completed the assembly…

In keeping with tradition, I “opened the exercise with prayer” as my great, great, great uncle D. W. Swigart had done at the dedicatory ceremony in 1889…after a few welcoming remarks, I posed the question “what brings us here today”, as a matter of self-reflection…as the question lingered, Pvt. Matt Hankinson stepped forward, and immediately began to formulate an answer…Matt shared some background into the lives of two soldiers who served in Company I, out of Jefferson County, PA…Matt then read from letters penned by the two men, one from Sgt. Issac Osborn to his son, and a few moving paragraphs from Captain Edwin Little, to his wife Maggie, awaiting word back in Punxsutawney, PA…these were the last words from Osborn and Little–both were killed in what would be known to history as “the Wheatfield: Whirlpool of Death”…

In keeping with the emotional remarks, our long-time friend, historian and Veteran Mike Smith, in an eloquent portrayal of Major General John Buford, [Officers for the Union] shared a memorable story from Buford’s early war experiences with Captain Charles May in the 2nd Dragoons at Resaca de la Palma, Texas during the Mexican War…May’s attack order resonated as General Buford repeated “Remember your regiment and follow your officers”….

Before anyone could wipe the tears from their eyes, we were honored to welcome Col. Tom Vossler [U.S. Army-retired; author; battlefield guide] to share from his “battle tested” experiences, and from his heart for our nation and our history…Col. Vossler also has family ties to the Wheatfield, with lineage to the 64th New York Infantry…with the voice of a combat Veteran, the knowledge of battlefield scholar, and the passion of a friend and patriot, Col. Tom covered “all the bases” regarding our presence in that field of honor, and the reasons why we cannot allow the duty or the memory to fade…

With Col. Tom’s words still fresh in the minds of all present, I called upon three of the 62nd descendants present to join us at the monument, and each one read from a list of names, until the names of all twenty-two men from the 62nd PVI who had given “the last full measure of devotion” on July 2nd, 1863, had been called…in addition, Col. Vossler called the names of those who died of their wounds in the hours, days and weeks following the Battle of Gettysburg…

With that, Chloe Armstrong, descendant of Private John A. Walker, Company D, along with John Thompson and Matt Kirschner, descendants of Private John Long, Company D, proceeded to place the “sheave of wheat” [our tribute of choice, appropriate for the location and occasion] at the base of the monument, as the Honor Guard snapped to “present, arms”…the solemn silence was broken by the haunting yet familiar notes of “Taps”, beautifully played by Bugler Brian Wolfe…and THAT, is what brought us to this place…eleven years prior, another dear friend, descendant and author Tom McMillan opened our tribute by stating that “these men who fought here would be completely amazed to know that there are still crowds gathering in this place, to remember what they did”…over a decade later, we do not forget…

[As a footnote to our use of the “wheat sheave” or “spray”, if you will notice in the group photos taken immediately following the ceremony, the wheat tribute in the foreground is in its’ original shape…if you then go back to the photo at the beginning of this article, you will notice that the rain following our ceremony turned the sheave into a “wheat cross”, the Lord’s blessing on our tribute…]

As our ceremony of remembrance was concluded, the invitation to remain was given, as we had a piece of “living history business” to tend to…before breaking ranks, a “field promotion” took place, with devoted Privates Dan Lavezoli and Tim Bowser being promoted to the rank of Corporal…

Our sincere thanks to all who attended or participated in making this tribute a memorable one…may God bless you all, and the 62nd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry…

Slim Bowser, humble descendant and servant

*PHOTO CREDITS: “WHEAT CROSS” by Slim Bowser; “62ND FAMILY” , “62nd Honor Guard”, “62nd Honor Guard Procession”, “Col. Tom”, “Col. Tom & Descendants”, “62nd Sgt.” by Nancy Bowser

**CAPTAIN MAY: https://history.army.mil “Remember Your Regiment” [U.S. Army Center of Military History]

***OFFICERS FOR THE UNION: link coming soon

****COL. TOM VOSSLER: http://www.posthillpress.com

*****TOM MCMILLAN: http://www.amazon.com>Tom-McMillan