MARK MARITATO - A HISTORICAL ARTIST'S BLOG

Culp's Hill Requiem
Culp's Hill - Aftermath of the battle of Gettysburg Pennsylvania
July 4th, 1863

This recently finished painting was inspired by the vivid description of Corporal Charles Teasdale of the 14th Brooklyn (14th New York State Militia) as he cautiously moves about the devastation on Culp's Hill where his regiment fought. The details of this scene are taken directly from his dairy entry of July 4th 1863, the morning after the battle. More information on the painting or prints available here

Gettysburg
July 4th 1863
The boys all seemed to know by instinct, not from knowledge received that the Rebels had left our front. First one, then another and soon after by the dozens jumped over the breastworks to the front. I think I was one of the first for I moved cautiously and half afraid I should be gobbled and saw very few of our boys for some time. When it began to grow lighter I saw more and I had not got far in front of our line of breastworks and just at the bottom of the hill, the evident indications of the Rebel Line showed themselves. the wooden cartridge boxes some empty and some half filled lay along the line by the scores. These were the boxes usually carried in the ammunition wagons to be served out by the Ordinance Sergeant. The Rebs here had dispersed with that formality and had slung the boxes across the backs of mules and horses and dumped them along the line so that the infantry in the lines of battle could help themselves. Now I saw the fearful carnage the rebels had been subjected to. The boulders in this part of the field being so large and numerous they concealed themselves behind them and the trees from our front fire but could not do so from the enfilading from our right by reason of the bend in our line of breastworks here. In every direction the dead lay thick and overlaying each other in large numbers especially behind the boulders. Some of the dead looked calm, others not so. All seemed nearly barefooted and ragged and poor and appeared to be soon after death to be badly discoloring. One middle aged man who was very stout built had a head which to me looked almost as large as a peck measure and nearly black in the face as well. This place was in its half dark lonesomeness, a veritable horror spot. So many ghastly evidences of violent and painful death abounding here. I had to pick my way and stand still surrounded by the dead and look to select a spot to put my foot before stepping to avoid treading on the dead. As I walked further away from our lines the dead became fewer in number and I came to a spring. Not far from this spring lay a Rebel who I first though was dead. he was very poorly clad in ragged butternut clothing and he had a piece of cotton cloth tied about his ankles. His head and shoulders was partly raised and laid against a good sized tree as he laid on his back apparently dead. I could see no wound or any visible cause of his death and as I stood looking at him another comrade or two came up and were talking of yesterday's fight and concerning this man laying before us and the other Rebel dead laying on the field, when I though I saw a movement of a muscle in the mans throat. I tried to give him a taste of water and he swallowed it and we were surpassed to hear the water gurgle in his throat. A Lieutenant came to the spot just now and we gave the man another mouthful of water. He partly opened his eye and began to vomit. We turned him over on his face and this seemed too much for the poor fellow. He vomited a little and was evidently getting weaker. Now we saw that the lower part of the back of his head where it joins the neck had been almost shot away. and was all blood and mashed bones and hair soaked with the poor fellows blood. One of the boys ran back to the line and got a blanket and carried him off to an ambulance some of us were now appearing. I saw him no more. The poor fellow could not possibly live. Soon I returned to my position in the line and later in the day I went to another part of the Rebel ground namely the spot on our right where the Rebels had worked their way on the night of the 2nd Days fighting. Here again the ground was covered with the dead but they were better dressed than those I was looking at in the morning. Their grey uniforms trimmed with red edging looked new and neat. One young officer lay there on his back looking as calm and as if enjoying his sweetest sleeping scores besides. At one place down in a depression in the ground along with a dozen more or so of the dead, lay a most handsome man with a long dark beard and mustache and his black horse dead there beside him. What a fearful sight. This officer was said by Union officers present at the awful looking spot when I was looking at him to be Genl. Ewell's Adjutant General. He was a splendid looking officer. Some prisoners told us he rode up to the lines urging on the Rebels in the hope of capturing us and our position when he and his horse were both shot dead. His feet were not out of the stirrups as he lay there behind the rock dead. We lay all day behind our rifle pits. At one time I went to an another part of our line a little to our left to see a group of Captured Rebel flags which stood there. One especially handsome flag of thick blue silk had the following motto "Dulce et Decorum set Pro Patvia Mori" in guilt letters upon it. A most elegant flag. Toward night we had a very heavy thunderstorm. Cannonading heard by us toward evening. Supposed to be our cavalry in pursuit of the enemy who is reported to have fallen back in full retreat. Our rations scarce but we got some tonight from the 5th Corps train.