Ben Crippen, Sam Peiffer, and the defiant fist

I will be featuring the 143rd Pennsylvania’s monument with it’s own capsule post in June.  I occasionally come across a story behind a monument that’s more in-depth that deserves a longer feature than the more standardized monument entries — each basically designed just to be a capsule about the regiment and it’s memorial.  Anyway when researching to write about the 143rd Pennsylvania’s monument I found the 143rd has a little extra story behind their Gettysburg monument, and so I decided to give the story behind the monument it’s own post separate from the standard entry that will appear later.

Most people familiar with the battle of Gettysburg are aware that the bas relief on the front of the monument to the 143rd Pennsylvania located on the Chambersburg Pike near the intersection with Reynolds Avenue depicts Color Sgt. Ben Crippen.

Most people are not, however, aware that there is some controversy behind the monument.

As Stone’s Brigade retreated from McPherson’s Ridge on July 1 under the onslaught of Daniel’s North Carolina Brigade and Brockenbrough’s Virginia brigade, Lt. Col. Arthur Fremantle, an observer from the British Army with the Confederate troops was watching the progress of the fighting along with General A.P. Hill and other officers. Fremantle kept a diary and later wrote in his diary that:

A Yankee color bearer floated his standard in the field and the regiment fought around it, and when at last it was obliged to retreat, the color bearer retreated last of all, turning around now and then to shake his fist in the face of the advancing Confederates. He was shot. General Hill was sorry when he met his fate.

Fremantle, of course, did not identify the soldier or his unit; no official report mentioned the brave act of the color bearer either. The identity of the brave color sergeant sparked a controversy between two of Stones’ regiments, the 143rd and 150th Pennsylvania regiments.

The 143rd was sure that the color bearer seen by Fremantle was Sgt. Benjamin H. Crippen. The 21 year old color bearer was killed carrying the regimental colors on the first day. Sergent Simon Hubler of the 143rd recalled that ” It was in the field between the Chambersburg Pike and Gettysburg where Crippen our color bearer fell, defying the enemy.”

The 150th Pennsylvania, also of Stones’ brigade, disagreed. They thought that their color bearer, Sgt. Samuel L. Peiffer, had to be the defiant soldier seen by Fremantle. Like Crippen, Peiffer was killed on July 1, 1863. Colonel Huidekoper noted that Peiffer fell “bleeding from a mortal shot, while proudly flaunting the colors in the face of the foe”.

In this case, the fact that the 143rd had staked Crippen’s claim some 20 years before was convincing to the Gettysburg Battlefield Preservation Association. They approved the 143rd’s monument design — a block of granite with a large bas relief of Crippen, shaking his face defiantly in the face of the on-coming enemy.

Although Crippen’s contribution was honored in stone and Peiffer’s contribution was mostly lost to history, nevertheless it is obvious much valor was expended by the Union troops as they retreated on the afternoon of July 1. They may have been defeated, but they were obviously still very much defiant.

Gettysburg - March 2008 Highlights

I changed my mind. I’m a woman, we’re apt to do that. =) That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it. Here are a few of my better photographs from this trip.
Recognize this monument up close? It’s the monument to the 78th and 102nd New York Infantry regiments on Upper Culp’s Hill.

There was great light for a morning trip to Culp’s Hill. I also got a good picture of the Dutchess County Regiment (the 150th New York).

A few more images of the Culp’s Hill area that were particular stand outs appear below.

Images left to right each row: Culp Barn, view of Gettysburg from Culp’s Hill Tower; Monuments to the 5th Ohio including it’s badge; General George Greene’s memorial on the summit of Culp’s Hill near the War Department tower.

This is a detail of the bugler on the Virginia Monument.

I also took a few close ups of General Lee on Traveller which you can see here and here.

Here are some more images from Confederate Avenue:

I must admit I especially like the image of the Bushman Farm with the wild growing (I assume) daffodils. Daffodils are associated with the American Cancer Society. The other farm (on the left) is the Biesecker Farm.

The monument to the left is a detail of the 17th Maine Monument along De Trobriand Avenue near the Rose Farm in the Wheatfield. As you probably are aware, the Wheatfield is my favorite area of the battlefield to study.

Below are a few monuments in the heavily monumented Wheatfield and Loop areas.

The monument to the left shows the Andrews Sharpshooters looking towards the Rose Farm. The second monument is a detail of the 4th Michigan’s Colonel Jeffords. He was bayoneted in the Wheatfield while defending that flag.

And of course you can’t go to Gettysburg with a camera and not stop to take pictures of the Sach’s Covered Bridge. (I also wandered back to take pictures of Pitzer’s Schoolhouse too.)

Other mandatory shots:

While almost no one misses the Pennsylvania Monument, Meade, and Hancock, not everyone bothers with visiting Benner’s Hill and the historic Daniel Lady Farm, but I think it’s worth a look-see, especially this time of year when you can make out the different rooftops and spires from behind the guns of Latimer’s Battery along Benner’s Hill.

And then there are of course some shots you take just because you think they look cool. Into that category falls the following four pairs of pictures:

And then there is of course the mandatory pictures of the Devil’s Den.

And finally I conclude with some images of sunset at Gettysburg. On this trip, I tried to shoot not only old favorites and old stand bys (like Warren and the 72nd Pennsylvania’s soldier swinging his musket at the Angle), but also some different views.

For example, this is Hampton’s Battery at the Peach Orchard.

Some of the images were chosen not because they were spectacular or fantastic but because the sky in them was just so different and unique.

(If I ever start waking up early enough, I will start scoping out sunrise locations. For now, you’ll just have to settle for sunsets.)

Interesting Pictures from March 2008

Some interesting pictures from my March 2008 Gettysburg trip.  (I have many, many sunsets, monuments, barns, etc.  These are just a few of the more interesting shots.

Pretty much anything you can think of, I probably have a picture or three of it, if not from this trip, then from a past trip.)

The New Visitor Center

This is the new Visitor Center as viewed from the Culp’s Hill tower.  If you like, here’s the Old Cyclorama building for comparison purposes.  And here’s a skewed horizon shot of the old entrance to the Visitor Center itself. (I hated skewed horizons, but this is the only picture I have of the old Visitor Center.)

Tree Cutting in the Den

This is the Devil’s Den as viewed from South Confederate Avenue near the Bushman farm.  You can now actually see the Devil’s Den from the Emmitsburg Road, which is something you could never do before.  In this image, you can see the comfort station and just “below” it the monument to Companies E&H (Vermont) Sharpshooters (the monument with the hornet’s nest on it.)

My Favorite Shot of the Trip

I won’t bore you with the boatloads of sunset pictures, scenic pictures, monuments and markers, barns, etc. that I took, but this was my favorite image of the trip.  It depicts the 40th New York monument taken from behind looking towards Devil’s Den.  The monument in the distance is to the 99th Pennsylvania.

(The Devil’s Den, Valley of Death, Wheatfield area remains my absolute favorite part of the battlefield.)

OK, OK, I lied.  I really liked this one of Father Corby taken on Easter Saturday too.  (And … must refrain from posting the zillions of Warren sunsets I took …)

Finally, although Cleveland didn’t get the memo yet, this old tree near the Almshouse Cemetery suggests spring IS on it’s way.  And what is with all the crows?  (Careful readers note that Jenny loves crows.)

Anyway, these are a few not necessairly “great” or “fantastic” shots, but ones that I thought were kind of interesting and updated the battlefield progress.