Annoying "...the enemy very seriously" - Gettysburg, PA
N 39° 49.595 W 077° 13.858
18S E 309075 N 4410891
On this site, next to the intersection, along the street and in front of this house the Confederates made an offensive line where they shot at the Union troops on East Cemetery Hill, about .3 miles away. They were indeed sharpshoters.
Waymark Code: WMA1HV
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 10/31/2010
Views: 6
The Battle of Gettysburg and the Civil War found its way in the streets of this small soon to be infamous town. This wayside marker is near 312 Baltimore Street and tells the tale of this Civil War site. The Confederates established a skirmish line along Breckenridge Street facing the Federals on Cemetery Hill. This included a barricade here across Baltimore Street. MAJ Eugene Blackford, commanding the 5th Alabama sharpshooters, reported "Our fire must have annoyed the enemy very seriously...their gunners (on Cemetery Hill) unable to stand to their guns."
The sign of history/interpretive is part of a much larger series sponsored by Main Street Gettysburg, a local historical organization who has marked just about every important Civil War site in this town. This sign is no the corner of the house it sits in front of and right next to the sidewalk, kind of out of the way. The sign reads:
Confederate sharpshooters in this area built a barricade across Baltimore Street at the intersection with Breckenridge Street to gain an open field of fire towards the Federal troops on Cemetery Hill. From behind the barricade and from windows of houses along these streets, Confederate marksmen traded shots with their enemy.
Maj. Eugene Blackford, commanding the 5th Alabama sharpshooters reported: "our fire must have annoyed the enemy very seriously,...picking off their officers, their gunners (on Cemetery Hill) unable to stand to their guns.