Project Management, Acquisition, & Leadership - PMAL
Columbia, MD 21044
ph: 410-842-3692
John
The Story Page
Everyone loves a good story. For thousands of years of human history, story-telling was the most important way to preserve the lessons learned in the past, and convey them to the current generation. In my study of the battles of Gettysburg and Antietam, and in my career with the space agency, I learned many fascinating stories. This page is where I offer to share some of them with you. My intent is to update this page of my web site every now and then with a story I hope you will find interesting.
The Bird-Man of Gettysburg
In the afternoon of July 1, 1863, Day One of the Battle of Gettysburg, the soldiers of the Union Army’s 90th Pennsylvania Regiment were in a dangerous location. Confederate cannons on Oak Hill, a quarter-mile to the northwest, bombarded them mercilessly. The only protection they had was a stone wall only three feet tall. They hugged the ground behind that wall and prayed they would not be struck by the Southern cannon shells that filled the air.A curious young soldier peeked over the stone wall to take a look at the Southern cannons. To him, Oak Hill looked like a volcano, with billowing clouds of smoke from the Confederate guns. He saw the flash from a cannon barrel, and a second later saw the poorly-aimed shell smash into a tree that stood a hundred yards away, at the edge of a field. He uttered the words “Oh, no!”, and to the amazement of his comrades, he leaped over the wall and began sprinting toward the tree. His companions yelled to him, telling him to get back behind cover, but he ignored them. As he ran across the field, cannon shells exploded overhead, breaking into deadly fragments capable of tearing off arms or heads. He made it to the tree safely and found what he was looking for. On the ground was a bird’s nest. In it were two terrified baby birds. The Confederate cannon shell had broken off the branch in which their nest was located, and it had fallen to the ground. The young soldier scooped up the nest with one hand. Using his free arm, he climbed the tree. He placed the nest in in a hollow located where the broken branch joined the tree trunk. He then jumped to the ground, and fled back to the stone wall.
Two decades later, the survivors of the unit raised money to pay for a monument, to honor their comrades who lost their lives at Gettysburg. They placed the monument near the stone wall that sheltered them during the battle. They chose to tell a story with their monument. It is in the form of a broken tree, a cannon shell lodged in its trunk. Sitting on a branch of the tree is a bird’s nest, which shows a mother bird feeding her babies. Newly sprung ivy climbs the trunk of the dead tree. In 1863, the men of the 90th Pennsylvania Regiment spent three days at a place of unimaginable death. In designing their monument, they wanted to remind us that, even in a place of great death, life can be renewed. They also wanted to tell us that during war, when young people are told to kill, they will sometimes risk their lives so that others can live, even if those others are tiny and helpless.
At Gettysburg, there are stories of hatred and cruelty. But there are also stories about the goodness that can live within us, even in time of war. We must heed these stories. If we do, maybe we can insure that young Americans will not have to endure future Gettysburgs.
Columbia, MD 21044
ph: 410-842-3692
John
