There's Some Thang Going On At Gettysburg

 

General Hancock arrives at Cemetery Hill on the evening of July 1, 1863.
Painting by Don Troiani

So I almost missed the anniversary of the battle of Gettysburg. Well, I did miss Day One on July 1st, but an hour before midnight on the 2nd I am making this post to commemorate the event.

Back in 2020 or 2019 my daughter Lelia and I visited Gettysburg as well as a number of other Eastern Theater ACW battles. Below are two pictures that I took of the McPherson's Ridge area which saw the opening shots fired on the first day of the battle.

McPherson's Farm where much of the action took place on the First Day  of
the Battle of Gettysburg. I took this photo around 5PM in the evening and 
captured a view of the dramatic sky.

The Chambersburg Pike leading into the town of Gettysburg.
McPherson's Barn is on the right.

Back here in the present, I spent much of the day making wheat fields to use in my Pickett's Charge war game at Historicon this year. Here are three different iterations of wheat fields that I made:

Left side is the Third Generation wheat field. It is a simple flat board with tufts of wheat.
The Second Generation wheat field consists of irregularly shaped bases.

The First Generation wheat field was made of strips of coir material from a "welcome mat"
that I bought at Home Depot. I glued the one-inch strips of coir onto a base and then
sprinkled clippings from the door mat onto the field/ The Third Generation wheat field
can be seen in the background.

Here is the Third Generation of my wheat field construction ideas. I think that 
I like this version the best. It is supposed to depict the wheat field after it has 
been harvested or trampled down by soldiers passing through. The base is made
from a piece of cork backed dinner table mat. I then spread my mixture of "goop"
(wallboard paste mixed with brown acrylic paint) onto the cork side of the mat
and then let it dry overnight. The next day I dry brush a light tan color over the 
now-dried goop. Then I clip off cuttings from the coir welcome mat and sprinkle
these clippings onto the board. I use spray on photo adhesive for this step, but
while glue works just as well. I have glued some small pieces of the door mat onto
the board to represent random areas of the field that were not cut down and  harvested.

Battle in The Wheat Field. July 2, 1863 on the second day of Gettyburg

General Barksdale leads his vaunted brigade of  Mississippi
regiments through the Peach Orchard and on to the Trostle Farm.
This was Day Two action.

zz