Snowy dawn, East Cemetery Hill - Gettysburg

Snow coats the many monuments, including equestrian depictions of Union Generals Howard (left) and Hancock, at dawn on East Cemetery Hill. (Click image for larger view).

'The Only Position' - Howard at Gettysburg

The monument to Union Major General Oliver Otis Howard stands atop Cemetery Hill at Gettysburg, on the location where Howard placed his reserve during the first day of fighting. Howard understood the hill, which commanded the landscape south of Gettysburg, would be a critical fall back position should the hard-pressed First and Eleventh Corps need to retreat. "This looks like a good position," Howard, speaking of Cemetery Hill, told an aide. "It is the only position, general," was the t0-the-point reply. Obvious or not, the hill became an anchor of the Union line for the next two days of fighting along Cemetery Ridge. (Click image for larger view).

West Virginia at Gettysburg

The monument to Union Major General O.O. Howard shares space with the 7th West Virginia Infantry monument on East Cemetery Hill at Gettysburg. The 7th was part of the brigade sent to the hill as darkness fell and a Confederate attack crested there on the second day of fighting. Carroll's Brigade swept lingering rebels from Cemetery Hill in the confusion of night and smoke, the attack having almost reached its goal but unable to hold its gains. (Click image for larger view).

O.O. Howard - Gettysburg

Union Major General Oliver Otis Howard is honored in a statue on East Cemetery Hill at Gettysburg. His XI Corps did not fare well on the first day of fighting, driven back to the hill and remaining there for the rest of the battle as part of the main Union line. His corps had already suffered an embarrassing setback in allowing a surprise attack at Chancellorsville, but Howard, who lost an arm earlier in the war, survived to continue a long and varied career in and out of the military. He found more success in the army following Gettysburg while fighting in the West, and went on to a number of high-profile post-war positions, including heading West Point and presiding over the Washington, D.C. university he helped found and to which he lent his name. (Click image for larger view).

Two Generals on East Cemetery Hill - Gettysburg

Equestrian monuments to Union Major Generals and corps commanders Oliver Otis Howard (left) and Winfield Scott Hancock stand within shouting distance of each other among a handful of other markers on East Cemetery Hill in Gettysburg. When the pair first met at Gettysburg, on this hill commanding the town, Howard was in charge of an army that was scrambling to get to the rise after rough handling on the first day of battle. Hancock arrived with orders to take command, despite Howard's seniority. The awkward result was remembered differently by the two generals. Howard later claimed the two split command, Hancock felt and acted as in charge. "General," Hancock rebuked a subordinate who didn't jump to his orders, "I want you to understand I am in command here." (Click image for larger view).