The Moon at Sunrise

The moon at Sunrise casts no shadows.

Sunrise on Sunday of Labor Day weekend is 6:34 a.m. and I am on the road at 6:39 – 5 minutes late. Riding the unfortunately named Babylon Road, I anticipate the Sun peering over the horizon to set the farmland of Carroll County MD and Adams County PA a glow in the rich oranges and yellows of early sunlight.

These counties are the very definition of “gently rolling hills” and Big Red purrs at 1,000 RPM. Destination: East Calvary Field in Gettysburg, PA.

I pass through the appropriately named Littlestown and eventually turn right on, given my destination, the appropriately named Storm Shore. Next is the crossroads at the lovely named Square Corner.

Two miles east of the Gettysburg Battlefield, East Calvary Field is the moon to the Battlefield’s Sun. Compared to the masses that attend the Battlefield, East Calvary Field is distant and lonely - Gettysburg unplugged. You enter East Calvary Field on Gregg Avenue - a Z shaped mile long 1 lane road. At 7:30 a.m. I am alone on the field.

I stop at the grass covered Custer Lane to view the Michigan Cavalry Brigade Monument. I turn off Big Red to human silence - no chatty humans, whirring cars, or buzzing air conditioners. Battlefield as Cathedral.

The silence and monument take me back to July 3, 1863, when George Armstrong Custer made a name for himself (the first time). Confederate General Robert E. Lee ordered Jeb Stuarts Calvery around the Union flank. Stuart was to attack simultaneously with what was to become Pickett’s Charge on the main battlefield. Lee hoped Stuart could ride to the rear of the Union and divert reinforcements from reaching the center of the Union line.

After an initial attack by Stuart pushed the Union back, Custer counterattacked, famously shouting, “Come On you Wolverines.” The two Calvary forces collided at a gallop to a horrific roar. The cavalry fought 40 minutes before Stuart withdrew. Stuart was no help to Pickett and the Gettysburg battle was a Union victory.

In the silence, walking along Custer Ave toward the monument, I can see and hear shouts and cries of the Calvary men and the pounding hoofs and snorting horses. Just how horrible it must have been?

Looking up at the cavalryman atop the monument a nearly full moon shines in the daylight. East Calvary Field is a small satellite to the Sun that rose from Gettysburg.

As Lincoln said at Gettysburg, “the world… can never forget what they did here.”

How about you? How do you celebrate the holiday? Share a story.

2nd Helping

At the East Cavalry Field, George Armstrong Custer had 2 horses shot out from under him. Days before the East Cavalry Field clash he was promoted to Brigadier General to become one of the youngest generals in the Union army at age 23.

Getting there - Gettysburg National Battlefield is made up of three parts, the main battlefield, East Cavalry Field, and South Cavalry Field. the battlefield surrounds the town which has many tourist attractions, shops, restaurants, and lodging. Take the time to see East Calvary Field - it is never crowded and it like it was in 1863 - farmland. The main battlefield and National Cemetary are wonderful places to walk. Best done in early morning to the beat the tourists or evening to beat the heat.

Civil War Freedom Tour - Summer of 2023: