SkyWatch Friday

Looking at blue skies over Gettysburg from the right side of the cannon...to see skies from all over the world, visit Skyley!

Gettysburg - The Slyder Farm

The farm of John Slyder was on the western side of Big Round Top, just down Plum Run from the Devil's Den. John had moved from Maryland and bought the 75 acre farm in 1849. By the 1860's it included a two story stone house, barn, blacksmith and carpenter shops, an orchard of peach and pear trees, and thirty acres of timber and eighteen of meadow.

On July 2nd Confederate General John B. Hood's Division swept across Slyder's farm in its advance toward the Devil's Den and Little Round Top, and the farm became a Confederate field hospital.

Two months after the battle, in September, John sold the farm and moved to Ohio.

The Slyder family had a couple of connections with other Gettysburg families. John's wife Catherine was the sister of Lydia Leister, whose house became General Meade's headquarters during the battle. And in October of 1863 John's son William married Josephine Miller, the granddaughter of Peter and Susan Rogers, whose farm lay on Emmitsburg Road.

The farm passed to the Snyder family, who owned it around the turn of the century. It is now owned by the National Park Service.

Gettysburg - 90th PA Memorial

This is the memorial for the 90th Pennsylvania. It's in the shape of an oak tree shattered by artillery fire. The story goes, that during the fight there, the tree was hit by artillery fire and the limbs fell among the men. On the ground was a robin's nest, filed with, shaken, but unharmed babies. A soldier, witnessing the scene, picked up the nest, and under heavy fire and great risk to his own life, the soldier climbed up the shattered stump and replaced the nest. Today, Bronze accoutrements, a knapsack, a rifled musket, and a canteen are slung over one of the shattered branches. Ivy, also sculpted in bronze, has begun to grow up the shattered trunk. At the top of the tree is a bronze nest with baby birds resting inside. Perched on the nest, the mother bird watches over her brood. The intention was to symbolize are generation of life amidst the debris of battle and the start of a new era of peace and goodwill.

Barn Charm Tuesday

Another great old Gettysburg barn! To see barns from all over, visit Tricia @ Bluff Area Daily Photo!

Olde Mill Primitives

On Saturday I had to drive out to Bedford. Ashlyn was going to Staunton River's prom with her boyfriend. I have driven by this shop many times and always wanted to stop but always seemed to be too busy. This time though the boys and I had a few hours to kill so this was the perfect way to do so. Even Braden and Dalton were happy to stop and look inside as I have trained them well since they were little, before they started school. When we lived in Georgia, we had a few great antique stores near us that were HUGE and would take hours to walk around and see everything. We'd wait till Ashlyn and Christian went to school then the boys and I would spend the mornings wandering through these fun shops! Anyways, back to this one....when we entered we were immediately greeted by a couple who were as nice as could be, anxious to help us out and tell us about the shop and offered the boys cookies. They have a counter which you can help yourself to donuts (which were already gone this late in the day and we were told you need to be there early for those!) coffee, tea and hot chocolate. This store just oozes with hospitality! Oh, and I mentioned that I had Ozzy out in the car (don't worry, it was a cool day!) and the man in the shop pulled out a jar of dog biscuits for me to take to Ozzy and told me to bring him in with me next time that a lot of customers even shop with their dogs! They really think of everything!

Olde Mill Primitives is housed in an old 1930's feed and seed mill, which makes it even more fun for looking around. I can't wait to get back over there and look around some more!

Sunday Bridges - Blue Ridge Parkway

Construction on the Blue Ridge Parkway began Sept. 11, 1935 near the Virginia and North Carolina state line. The bridges were built by Spaniard and Italian stone masons.

To see bridges from all over the world, visit Louis La Vache

Gettysburg - Skirmish

A skirmish taking place with the Lutheran Theological Seminary in the background.

The seminary gives its name to the geographical feature, Seminary Ridge, which was the site of fierce fighting on the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg, July 1, 1863. The building, as well as adjacent homes of the professors, was used for weeks after the battle as a temporary field hospital before its last patients were moved to the Camp Letterman military hospital.

Barn Charm Tuesday

An old barn in Gettysburg....to see more barns from all over the world, visit Tricia in Missouri!

Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. Lee

Meet The Generals Night in Gettysburg...this was a fun, free event. The Generals who were present at Gettysburg were all present and willing to talk to you about their role in the Battle of Gettysburg.

Sunday Bridges - Sach's Bridge

Over spring break last week we took a short trip up to Gettysburg. Of course I had to go see Sach's Bridge after seeing it on a few ghost shows!


The Sachs Bridge is rich in history. Built in 1852 and located only a mile from General Longstreet’s Headquarters, it is certain that his troops were stationed in the vicinity of the span. Both Union and Confederate soldiers made their way across this bridge during the Battle of Gettysburg.

Legend says that three Confederate deserters were hanged at the far end of the bridge for defection from the army.






To see more bridges from all over the world, visit Louis La Vache!

*Happy Mother's Day!*