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battle of Gettysburg

Gettysburg Diaries: Georgeanna Woolsey's "Friendly Enemies"

Tue, 2015-07-07 08:58 -- Jocelyn Green
Today in 1863, Gettysburg began to experience a second invasion. The armies had withdrawn on July 4, and now it was time to pick up the pieces of shattered homes--and bodies. Last week I shared the perspectives of housewife Sarah Broadhead and of teenager Tillie Pierce. Today I'd like to share from the perspective of Sanitary Commission nurse Georgeanna Woolsey. The following is excerpted from my nonfiction book, Stories of Faith and Courage from the Home Front: Friendly Enemies [[{"type":"media", "view_mode":"media_large", "fid":"671", "attributes":{"class":"media-image alignright wp-image-216 size-full", "typeof":"foaf:Image", "style":"", "width":"124", "height":"179", "alt":"BB-homefront-cover_125"}}]]When the armies moved out, they left behind 21,000 wounded Union and Confederate soldiers. The town of Gettysburg, with its 2400 residents, was taxed beyond their limit to feed, clothe, house and otherwise care for the men. Waves of volunteers from the U.S. Sanitary Commission and the U.S. Christian Commission flooded the town to help, bringing storehouses of food, clothing, and hospital supplies, plus manpower to relieve the townspeople of their nonstop cooking and nursing. [[{"type":"media", "view_mode":"media_large", "fid":"1287", "attributes":{"class":"media-image size-medium wp-image-2890", "typeof":"foaf:Image", "style":"", "width":"279", "height":"300", "alt":"Georgeanna Woolsey"}}]] Georgeanna Woolsey   Among the Sanitary Commission volunteers was Georgeanna Woolsey, who distributed fresh food and drink to the men on ambulance trains. She recalled: I do not think that a man of the 16,000 who were transported during our stay, went from Gettysburg, without a good meal—rebels and Unionists together, they all had it, and were pleased and satisfied. “Have you any friends in the army, madam?” a rebel soldier, lying on the floor of the car, said to me, as I gave him some milk. “Yes, my brother is on -----‘s staff.” “I thought so, ma’am. You can always tell; when people are good to soldiers they are sure to have friends in the army.” “We are rebels, you know, ma’am,” another said; “Do you treat rebels so?” It was strange to see the good brotherly feeling come over the soldiers, our own and the rebels, when side by side they lay in our tents. “Hullo, boys! This is the pleasantest way to meet, isn’t it? We are better friends when we are as close as this, than a little farther off.” And then they would go over the battles together: “we were here,” and “you were there,” in the friendliest way. Many on both sides found it impossible to cling to demonizing rhetoric about the opposing army when they ate and talked together, and slept side by side. Resident Liberty Hollinger later said, “Many romances were developed during the stay of the soldiers. One of our most intimate friends (a northerner) married a southerner who her mother had nursed back to health.” As friendships and marriages bonded Yankees and Rebels together, the people hoped the country would soon be reunited as well. Prayer: Lord, help me tear down any division among my brothers and sisters in Christ. “How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!” ~Psalm 133:1 ___________________________ Georgeanna Woolsey's pamphlet, entitled "Three Weeks at Gettysburg", can be read in its entirety online, and provided the inspiration for a few scenes in Widow of Gettysburg. Georgeanna herself was the inspiration for my first novel, Wedded to War, and she does come back to make an appearance as a nurse at Gettysburg in Widow of Gettysburg. The young woman named Liberty Hollinger, quoted in the excerpt above, inspired me to name my heroine of Gettysburg "Liberty." (Such a great name!) If you liked meeting Georgeanna Woolsey, Tillie Pierce, and Sarah Broadhead, you may also enjoy 3 Heroines of Gettysburg. View the live-action trailer below for a better glimpse into Wedded to War, my Civil War novel inspired by Georgeanna Woolsey:

Gettysburg Diaries: Tillie Pierce's Field for Profound Thought

Thu, 2015-07-02 08:10 -- Jocelyn Green
Today in 1863, Gettysburg shuddered beneath its second day of battle. Yesterday, I shared housewife Sarah Broadhead's perspective of hiding in the cellar during the July 1 fighting. Today, it's teenaged Tillie Pierce's turn in the spotlight. The following is excerpted from my nonfiction book, Stories of Faith and Courage from the Home Front: A Field for Profound Thought [[{"type":"media", "view_mode":"media_large", "fid":"677", "attributes":{"class":"media-image alignleft wp-image-228 size-full", "typeof":"foaf:Image", "style":"", "width":"124", "height":"179", "alt":"BB-homefront-cover_125"}}]] When fifteen-year-old Tillie Pierce fled to a neighbor’s farmhouse a few miles away, she thought she would be safe from the battle. Instead, she was right behind the Union lines on the eastern slopes of the Round Tops for the second and third days of the battle. She and her neighbors passed out water to the soldiers in blue as they proceeded into battle, and watched in horror as they came back wounded or dead. After tearing all the muslin and linen in the house into strips for bandages, Tillie finally looked up. I was looking out one of the windows facing the front yard. Near the basement door, and directly underneath the window I was at, stood one of these [amputating] benches. I saw them lifting the poor men upon it, then the surgeons sawing and cutting off arms and legs, then again probing and picking bullets from the flesh. Some of the soldiers fairly begged to be taken next, so great was their suffering, and so anxious were they to obtain relief . . . To the south of the house, and just outside of the yard, I noticed a pile of limbs higher than the fence. It was a ghastly sight! [[{"type":"media", "view_mode":"media_large", "fid":"1285", "attributes":{"class":"media-image wp-image-3305", "typeof":"foaf:Image", "style":"", "width":"300", "height":"316", "alt":"Tillie Pierce"}}]] Tillie Pierce   After the battle ended, Tillie and many other women in the town threw themselves into whatever they could do to bring comfort to these strangers, who by now felt more like family. They brought lemons, oranges, cakes, jellies and rolls. The women also spent hours reading to the wounded and participated in their religious services at the hospital. Though the Battle of Gettysburg certainly left a mark on Tillie, she chose to dwell not on the human suffering now forever linked with her hometown, but on God’s sovereignty. What in my girlhood was a teeming and attractive landscape spread out by the Omnipotent Hand to teach us of His goodness, has by His own direction, become a field for profound thought, where, through coming ages, will be taught lessons of loyalty, patriotism and sacrifice. . . . we cannot fail to learn that: “The God of battles” is ever present, that on those memorable days at Gettysburg “The hand of our God was upon us, and He delivered us from the hand of the enemy.” Prayer: Lord, help me focus on You and learn the lessons you have for me. “The hand of our God was upon us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy.” ~Ezra 8:31 ___________________________ [[{"type":"media", "view_mode":"media_large", "fid":"771", "attributes":{"class":"media-image alignleft wp-image-891 size-full", "typeof":"foaf:Image", "style":"", "width":"125", "height":"193", "alt":"Widow cover 3 125"}}]]Tillie's diary, At Gettysburg: Or What a Young Girl Saw and Heard of the Battle, is a wonderful eyewitness account, and one I used in my research for Widow of Gettysburg. It can be read online in its entirety for free at Google Books or purchased in paperback (or 99 cents for Kindle). Tillie's house is now the Tillie Pierce Inn, where you could lodge during your next visit to Gettysburg! (Also be sure to check out the home of Tillie's neighbor, Hettie Shriver. The Shriver House Museum is on my list of 9 Must-See Sites of Gettsyburg!) If you liked meeting Tillie Pierce and Sarah Broadhead, you may also enjoy 3 Heroines of Gettysburg. Learn more about Widow of Gettysburg here, or view the one-minute trailer below for a taste of the story.

Gettysburg Diaries: Sarah Broadhead's Suspense in the Cellar

Wed, 2015-07-01 06:00 -- Jocelyn Green
On this day in 1863, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, shed its small town tranquility as the most famous battle in the entire Civil War began. For three days, war would rage in fields and orchards, with farmers and townspeople alike caught in the crosshairs. Today I'd like to share with you one woman's perspective. The following is excerpted from my nonfiction book, Stories of Faith and Courage from the Home Front: Suspense in the Cellar [[{"type":"media", "view_mode":"media_large", "fid":"677", "attributes":{"class":"media-image alignleft wp-image-228 size-full", "typeof":"foaf:Image", "style":"", "width":"124", "height":"179", "alt":"BB-homefront-cover_125"}}]]While Sarah Broadhead’s husband stayed in their Gettysburg home to protect it, Sarah and her child fled to a friend’s cellar in a “safer” part of town to ride out the fighting on the first day. There they remained huddled together all day, only emerging when the firing ceased. She recorded in her diary at the end of July 1: How changed the town looked when we came to the light. The street was strewn over with clothes, blankets, knapsacks, cartridge-boxes, dead horses, and the bodies of a few men, but not so many of these last as I expected to see. . . We started home, and found things all right. As I write all is quiet, but O! how I dread tomorrow. The next two days of battle, the Broadheads stayed together in their own cellar. Staying in the dark for hours at a time while the battle raged, the suspense was nearly unbearable. On July 3, Sarah wrote: Nearly all the afternoon it seemed as if the heavens and earth were crashing together. The time that we sat in the cellar seemed long, listening to the terrific sound of strife; more terrible never greeted human ears. We knew that with every explosion, and the scream of each shell, human beings were hurried, through excruciating pain, into another world, and that many more were torn, and mangled, and lying in torment worse than death, and no one able to extend relief. . . Who is victorious, or with whom the advantage rests, no one here can tell. It would ease the horror if we knew our arms were successful. As Christians, we are in spiritual battles of our own, and we see the physical evidence of sin in every corner of the globe. Man’s inhumanity to man is often incomprehensible, and natural disasters from floods to fires cause tremendous heartache and destruction. But unlike the Gettysburg citizens hiding in their cellars, we don’t have to live in suspense about who holds the ultimate victory. Jesus had victory on the cross, and He is victorious in the end. When you feel attacked, remember that you are fighting on the winning side! Prayer: Lord, I praise You that You are victorious—the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the Alpha and Omega, Almighty God! “Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns.” ~Revelation 19:6 ___________________________ [[{"type":"media", "view_mode":"media_large", "fid":"771", "attributes":{"class":"media-image alignleft wp-image-891 size-full", "typeof":"foaf:Image", "style":"", "width":"125", "height":"193", "alt":"Widow cover 3 125"}}]]Sarah survived the battle and offered her nursing help to the wounded soldiers being cared for at the Lutheran Seminary building. Her diary of the weeks during and after the battle has proven to be one of our most valuable eyewitness accounts of the civilian experience. Stories like Sarah's inspired me to bring these women's voices to life with my novel, Widow of Gettysburg, in which Sarah plays a small but important role. I am so pleased to report that just last month, a marker was dedicated at Sarah Broadhead's grave to honor her contributions. If you liked meeting Sarah, you may also enjoy 3 Heroines of Gettysburg. Learn more about Widow of Gettysburg here, or view the one-minute trailer below for a taste of the story.

My Gettysburg Trip Scrapbook

Mon, 2013-07-15 07:00 -- Jocelyn Green
[[{"type":"media", "view_mode":"media_large", "fid":"771", "attributes":{"class":"media-image alignleft size-full wp-image-891", "typeof":"foaf:Image", "style":"", "width":"125", "height":"193", "alt":"Widow cover 3 125"}}]]UPDATE: This give-away is now closed. Thanks to everyone who entered, the winner is Anissa Meyer! Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I thought I'd let my snapshots from my recent trip to Gettysburg do most the talking in this blog post. Though we took hundreds of photos, I'm mostly just sharing scenes that relate to my latest release, Widow of Gettysburg, with a few "just for fun" shots thrown in. Please enjoy these glimpses, and be sure to scroll to the end for the Gettysburg Grand Give-away! We start with the building that is shown on the novel's cover. (Captions are included with each photo. You may click on the images to see them larger.) [[{"type":"media", "view_mode":"media_large", "fid":"959", "attributes":{"class":"media-image aligncenter wp-image-1580", "typeof":"foaf:Image", "style":"", "width":"482", "height":"614", "alt":"SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES"}}]] [[{"type":"media", "view_mode":"media_large", "fid":"960", "attributes":{"class":"media-image aligncenter wp-image-1601", "typeof":"foaf:Image", "style":"", "width":"614", "height":"614", "alt":"Christ Lutheran Church2"}}]] [[{"type":"media", "view_mode":"media_large", "fid":"961", "attributes":{"class":"media-image", "typeof":"foaf:Image", "style":"", "width":"614", "height":"337", "alt":"tent talk"}}]] [[{"type":"media", "view_mode":"media_large", "fid":"962", "attributes":{"class":"media-image aligncenter wp-image-1577", "typeof":"foaf:Image", "style":"", "width":"614", "height":"232", "alt":"Just for fun2"}}]] [[{"type":"media", "view_mode":"media_large", "fid":"963", "attributes":{"class":"media-image aligncenter wp-image-1591", "typeof":"foaf:Image", "style":"", "width":"614", "height":"482", "alt":"SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES"}}]] [[{"type":"media", "view_mode":"media_large", "fid":"964", "attributes":{"class":"media-image aligncenter wp-image-1576", "typeof":"foaf:Image", "style":"", "width":"614", "height":"614", "alt":"In town2"}}]] [[{"type":"media", "view_mode":"media_large", "fid":"965", "attributes":{"class":"media-image aligncenter wp-image-1578", "typeof":"foaf:Image", "style":"", "width":"614", "height":"614", "alt":"Pages of the Past2"}}]] [[{"type":"media", "view_mode":"media_large", "fid":"966", "attributes":{"class":"media-image aligncenter wp-image-1571", "typeof":"foaf:Image", "style":"", "width":"614", "height":"614", "alt":"Candlelight service2"}}]] [[{"type":"media", "view_mode":"media_large", "fid":"967", "attributes":{"class":"media-image aligncenter wp-image-1592", "typeof":"foaf:Image", "style":"", "width":"614", "height":"614", "alt":"museum preview2"}}]] [[{"type":"media", "view_mode":"media_large", "fid":"968", "attributes":{"class":"media-image aligncenter wp-image-1570", "typeof":"foaf:Image", "style":"", "width":"614", "height":"614", "alt":"Auto tour2"}}]] [[{"type":"media", "view_mode":"media_large", "fid":"969", "attributes":{"class":"media-image aligncenter wp-image-1575", "typeof":"foaf:Image", "style":"", "width":"614", "height":"614", "alt":"Holloway site2"}}]] [[{"type":"media", "view_mode":"media_large", "fid":"970", "attributes":{"class":"media-image aligncenter wp-image-1594", "typeof":"foaf:Image", "style":"", "width":"614", "height":"482", "alt":"SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES"}}]] [[{"type":"media", "view_mode":"media_large", "fid":"971", "attributes":{"class":"media-image aligncenter wp-image-1573", "typeof":"foaf:Image", "style":"", "width":"614", "height":"614", "alt":"Elizabeth Thorn2"}}]] [[{"type":"media", "view_mode":"media_large", "fid":"972", "attributes":{"class":"media-image aligncenter wp-image-1579", "typeof":"foaf:Image", "style":"", "width":"614", "height":"482", "alt":"SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES"}}]] The Gettysburg Grand Give-away! I've teamed up a couple of very talented ladies to bring you a remarkable give-away! Here's what we have for one lucky winner: A handmade baby quilt in patriotic colors, reminiscent of Liberty Holloway's baby quilt in Widow of Gettysburg. Only this one is color-coordinated and pinwheel-patterned. This is courtesy of my author friend Ann-Margret Hovsepian! (Connect with her on Facebook here.) A handmade doll modeled after Liberty Holloway, courtesy of another author friend, Pat Iacuzzi, who creates historical dolls like this one for museums. (Psst- Pat is running a concurrent give-away of a 15-inch Charlotte Waverly doll, plus Godiva chocolate, a silk fan, and a Currier & Ives print, so hop on over to her Hope Inspired Stories blog here! Charlotte is the heroine of Wedded to War, book 1 in the Heroines Behind the Lines series.) I'm throwing in two books: Farms at Gettysburg (self-explanatory) and The Civil War Sewing Circle, which not only has Civil War quilt patterns in it, but also photos and letters from Civil War couples that are sure to touch your heart regardless of whether you quilt. [[{"type":"media", "view_mode":"media_large", "fid":"973", "attributes":{"class":"media-image aligncenter wp-image-1574", "typeof":"foaf:Image", "style":"", "width":"614", "height":"614", "alt":"Gettysburg give-away final"}}]] To enter, please leave a comment sharing either 1) which photos you enjoyed the most from this blog post, or 2) something from your own trip to Gettysburg. For extra entries, you may: Share this blog post via Facebook, Twitter, and/or Pinterest. Here's a short link: http://wp.me/p1bLl3-pi "Like" my FB page Visit my Gettysburg Trip Scrapbook album on my Facebook page here and "share" one or more photos. (One point for each photo you share, so let me know how many you've done!) Sign up for my newsletter in the footer of this Web site The drawing will close at 11:59pm on Monday July 29. A winner will be selected using random.org. Good luck!
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