Charlie Weaver’s Carvings on Display
June 24, 2013Charlie Weaver’s Carvings On display at:
Soldiers National Museum
777 Baltimore Street
Gettysburg, PA 17325
Who was Charlie Weaver?
Clifford Charles Arquette
(12/27/1905 – 10/23/1974)
Cliff, born in Toledo, Ohio was a comedian, actor, pianist, composer, songwriter, wood carver and Civil War buff; however, he was best known for his role as Charlie Weaver.
His family got their start in show business largely due to his career (His son Lewis, and his grandchildren Patricia, Rosanna, Alexis, Richmond, and David Arquette).
Cliff Arquette’s Soldiers Museum opened in Gettysburg in 1959.
Due to professional obligations in California, he sold the museum to Leroy Smith who continued operating it as Charlie Weaver’s American Museum of the Civil War with Cliff’s blessing.
These carvings are a selection of the 57 figures that Charlie did.
For Charlie, it was a labor of love, requiring 25 years of research and careful work to ensure that everything about the figures was perfectly reproduced.
He made them entirely by hand starting by sawing the white pine block, down to every last stitch in the uniforms.
Charlie made all of the accessories, including making custom molds to cast each of the trigger plates and hammerlocks on the painstakingly reproduced guns.
Abraham Lincoln: Did Lack of Security Lead to his Death?
February 8, 2013
Abraham Lincoln, who was assassinated in April of 1865, was the first American president to be killed in office.
In some ways, his murder came as no surprise. There was no Secret Service at the time and he’d been receiving death threats since he was first elected, and the nation was at war with itself.
The one man assigned to protect the president at Ford’s Theatre that fateful night, John Frederick Parker, was not at his post during the show. He spent some of his time watching the show from a different part of the theatre and spent the intermission at the saloon next door, which is where he was found when the president was shot.
Unfortunately, this wasn’t unexpected. Presidential security was, at the time, scattered at best and hampered by Lincoln himself.
There were elaborate security precautions at the inauguration but they were quickly dropped for Lincoln’s first term—at his insistence.
Republican Inaugural visitor from Iowa, Charles Aldrich, wrote about the March 4, 1861 event:
I went across the street… The area in front of this northeast corner of the Capitol was filled with spectators to the number of many thousands. Just before the appearance of Mr. Lincoln, a file of soldiers, doubtless regulars, came into the area, and marched along in front of the platform, slowly making their way through the crowd. From where I stood I could see their bayonets above the heads of the people. There was at that time serious apprehension that the President might be shot when he appeared to make his address, but this small company of men was all that was in sight in the way of defense. It was quietly understood, however, that several hundred men were scattered through the crowd armed with revolvers.
But shortly thereafter, even the mounted and foot guards posted at the White House gates were dismissed.
In late 1862, two companies were assigned to protect the President — the Union Light Guard of cavalry from Ohio and the 150th Pennsylvania Regiment of infantry- at the insistence of various military leaders.
The special cavalry division, the “bucktails”, were assigned to escort Lincoln, who was prone to riding alone. Their efforts were met with marginal success.
Lincoln rode particularly often between the White House and the “Soldier’s Home”, an area in the Northeast part of the city, that was country-like and where the Lincolns had a small cottage. It was approximately a three-mile ride. He also changed his travel schedule at will.
Lincoln also frequently walked from the White House to the War Department—where the staff was under strict orders to make sure that he was escorted home.
In August of 1864, while Lincoln was riding to Soldier’s Home, he was fired upon. The shot startled his horse, which bolted, causing Lincoln to lose his hat.
It also forced Lincoln to take security more seriously, and allow for both a police guard and to accept the cavalry escorts.
It wasn’t until November, 1864 that the police force in Washington, D.C. created a four man team to act as private body guards to the president.
John Frederick Parker was one of those men. And his actions that fateful day in April let down a man, and a nation, struggling for security.
The Oldest Union Commander
November 20, 2012The Civil War brought this military man out of retirement—25 years later!
General George Sears Greene lived a fascinating life—he might just be the most interesting Civil War figure that you’ve never heard of. Second in his class at West Point, he stayed on for four years as an assistant professor in mathematics and engineering, and his students included a certain cadet named Robert E. Lee. In 1836, Greene retired from the army and that was the end of his military career…until 1862.
General Greene was 62 when the crisis of the Civil War drove him to re-enlist, making him the oldest Union commander in the Army of the Potomac. “Pap Greene,” as they sometimes called him, led with an aggressiveness that surprised many, and he applied the ingenuity that had brought him success as a civil engineer. The pinnacle of his military career was the Battle of Gettysburg: Greene and his command of 1,350 New York soldiers defended the peak of Culp’s Hill against Confederate troops that outnumbered them 3 to 1.
That was when Greene’s civil engineering influences proved not just beneficial, but decisive in the outcome of the battle. Prior to the confrontation, he insisted that his men prepare by building strong fortifications on the field of battle—an idea that his superiors showed no interest in. Those fortifications allowed Greene and his regiment to hold off multiple attacks and defend the vital Union supply line that ran along the Baltimore Pike behind them. Greene’s stand played a crucial, but often underestimated, role in the Battle of Gettysburg.
After the War, Greene returned to civil engineering and is remembered as one of the founding members of the American Society of Civil Engineers and Architects. He died just shy of the turn of the century, at the age of 97. A 2-ton boulder was transported from Culp’s Hill to Greene’s grave in Warwick, Rhode Island, where it marks his burial spot. On September 26, 1907, the State of New York honored General Greene with a portrait statue on the Gettysburg Battlefield, which you can find atop Culp’s Hill, gazing down the slopes that Greene once defended.
The Gettysburg Battlefield is home to an incredible number of breathtaking monuments and memorials! Read about some of them here!
The Lonely Mural
August 15, 2012What if we told you there was a Gettysburg memorial worth a quarter of a million dollars–$250,000!–and that you’ve probably never seen it? Would you believe us? Well, it’s true! And unless you’re a diehard Gettysburg groupie, chances are that you haven’t even heard of it.
The Coster Avenue Mural in Gettysburg was designed by artist, historian, and Civil War descendant Mark H. Dunkelman, who painted it with the assistance of mural master Johan Bjurman. Dedicated on the 125th Anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg, the mural depicts the clash between Union Colonel Charles R. Coster’s forces (27th Pennsylvania, 134th & 154th New York Regiments) and the Confederates led by Brigadier General Harry Hays & Colonel Isaac Avery.
Coster’s Brigade made their stand behind a fence-line in Kuhn’s Brickyard, taking what little shelter they could from the wooden fence posts, but mostly exposed to enemy fire. The Confederates, who far outnumbered the Union soldiers, descended upon the fence so quickly that Coster’s men only had time to fire six to nine shots each before the fight broke into clusters of hand-to-hand combat. Confederate forces overwhelmed the smaller contingent of Union soldiers, taking many of them prisoner and pursuing others nearly to Cemetery Hill. All told, it was a brief, brutal assault that took the lives of 563 of Coster’s men, while the Confederates lost 200 of their own.
National Park personnel report that Coster Avenue, the site of this breathtaking mural and monument, is the least visited portion of the battlefield. Overlooked, unknown, and often alone, it’s a sad truth that this memorial to American soldiers is not often remembered.
Will you be the exception? Will you remember the forgotten soldiers, who fought and died in Gettysburg?
The Amos Humiston Memorial
June 20, 2012On July 1, 1863, an unidentified young soldier of the Union Army was mortally wounded on the Gettysburg Battlefield. Dying, he clung to the only memento he possessed–an ambrotype (a kind of photograph) of his three small children. We don’t know what he experienced in those final moments, but in one of his final letters he composed a heart-wrenching poem that expressed how deeply he missed his family (published in 1999 in Gettysburg’s Unknown Soldier). With his thoughts dwelling upon them, he breathed his last…and that’s where the story begins.
A local girl discovered the ambrotype in the soldier’s hand and took it to a local tavern, where Dr. J. Francis Bournes saw it and took up the cause of finding the now-bereaved family. She sent a description of the children in the picture to the newspaper (they didn’t have the technology to reprint the image yet) and the story swept across the Union. Copies of the image were made and sold for charity as everyone searched for the family.
The story found its way to the American Presbyterian, a church publication, in Portville, New York, where Phylinda Humiston happened to read it. It was October, and her husband had not sent a letter since the Battle of Gettysburg–she feared the worst. She contacted Dr. Bournes, who sent her a copy of the ambrotype, and then Mrs. Humiston positively identified her three children, Franklin, Alice, and Frederick, as those in the picture. The unknown soldier had a name: Sergeant Amos Humiston.
Dr. Bournes made a special trip to NY to return the original ambrotype to Amos’ widow and children. The story had become so famous that there was an outpouring of sympathy donations, which were used to establish a Soldiers’ Orphans’ Home in Gettysburg in 1866. Mrs. Humiston moved to Gettysburg to serve as the first matron of the orphanage, Amos’ body was moved to the Gettysburg National Cemetery, and a monument now marks the spot where he died. You can visit it on Stratton Street, beside the firehouse.
The End
…or is it? Phylinda’s successor was not as kind-hearted to orphans– learn more about the horrific abuses Rosa Carmichael brought upon the orphanage and tour the dungeons today!
Hike with Ike
May 11, 2012Hiking and storytelling have always gone hand-in-hand, so we know you’ll love this guided walking tour of downtown Gettysburg! And did we mention it’s free? Meet a Park Ranger at the Gettysburg College gates (the corner of North Washington and Water Streets) and prepare for an enthralling adventure! The hikes will be offered weekly on Thursdays at 7:15 PM, starting June 14th through August 16th.
Call 717-338-9114 or visit www.nps.gov/eise today for more information!
The Role of the Railroad in the Civil War
April 4, 2012It’s easy to take trains for granted in this day and age, so it’s important to remember that, in Civil War times, they were cutting edge. In fact, at the beginning of the War, we hadn’t quite figured out the military applications of the railroad beyond basic supply delivery. Although they had fewer tracks at their disposal, the Confederates were quicker to learn their value, using trains to speedily provide reinforcements that made the difference at battles like Bull Run. As the War progressed, both sides developed greater strategic dependence on the railroad as they realized its potential.
An army without supplies is not much of an army, so large forces typically stayed close to the tracks. This allowed them to protect the railways and trains, as well, since the newfound significance of the tracks made them targets for the enemy. A common practice was to plant pressure-sensitive “torpedoes” (essentially landmines) that would explode and derail the first train to roll over them. That led to precautionary tactics like sending an empty car ahead on the tracks. Trains were also susceptible to sharpshooters, who would try to puncture the boiler or take out the crew.
In spite of such weaknesses, locomotives were a powerful tool. You wouldn’t think of a train as a good scout vehicle, but a single engine could be sent on a reconnaissance mission into enemy territory, quickly reverse, and speed away at 60 mph. That might not seem like much to us, but it was fast enough to escape the cavalry that would pursue them. On top of that, they could be mounted with heavy artillery or loaded with riflemen, they could be used to ram enemy trains or set fire to their bridges, they could even be used as decoys to draw out concealed enemies. Trains were a true force to be reckoned with over the course of the Civil War.
We’ve barely scratched the surface of this fascinating subject—it’s really worth a visit to the Lincoln Train Museum to learn more!
The Bucktail Brigade 2.0
March 21, 2012In 1861, the 13th Pennsylvania Reserves made a name for themselves through both their gallantry and their skill as sharpshooters. It became their trademark to each wear a deer’s tail on their caps, as well as to mount one upon their flagstaff, which led them to be called the “Bucktail Brigade.” Their renown was such that the Secretary of War requested a second Bucktail Brigade from Colonel Roy Stone. Col. Stone was happy to oblige, and recruited twenty companies from ten counties in less than twenty days. They were organized into the 149th and 150th Regiments of the Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry.
The 149th, or the “Second Bucktails,” were recruited in the summer of 1862 and were ordered to the front in early 1863. They first served in Chancellorsville, VA, before being advanced to Gettysburg.The regiment was positioned by Chambersburg Pike, on the ridge beyond the seminary, when the Confederates mounted a major assault. Colonel Stone was severely wounded and the entire Brigade was showered with heavy artillery fire. It was then that their color guard showed their true colors, so to speak, by moving their flags away from the fighting men and drawing the fire upon themselves. Their heroic sacrifice was a success, and the rest of the regiment was able to fall back to a better position.
A monument now stands in honor of the Second Bucktail Brigade, just off of Chambersburg Pike where they made their stand, near the McPherson Barn. The statue features a soldier who, if you follow his line of sight, gazes upon the spot where the valiant men of the color guard carried out their distraction. Out of 450 men engaged in the Battle, 53 were killed, 172 were injured, and 111 were missing, but the casualties would have been much worse if the flag-bearers hadn’t intervened. They are remembered as heroes.
The Battle of Gettysburg saw many examples of courage and heroism. Read more of them here.
The Full Package
February 19, 2012Our Packages are changing for the 2012 season:
The Value Plan will consist of choice of Bus Tour and 3 tickets for 3 museums out of the following 8 locations:
1.Hall of Presidents & First Ladies
2.Soldiers National Museum
3.The Jennie Wade House Museum
4.The Lincoln Train Museum
5.The Gettysburg Battle Theatre
6.The Gettysburg Diorama
7.The American Civil War Museum
8.David Wills House
Cost: Adults $42.00 Children (ages 6-12) $24.50. 5-7 hours to complete.
The Package Plan will consist of choice of Bus Tour and 5 tickets for 5 museums out of the following 8 locations:
1.Hall of Presidents & First Ladies
2.Soldiers National Museum
3.The Jennie Wade House Museum
4.The Lincoln Train Museum
5.The Gettysburg Battle Theatre
6.The Gettysburg Diorama
7.The American Civil War Museum
8.David Wills House
Cost: Adults $53.00 Children (ages 6-12) $30.00. 7-9 hours to complete.
Tickets in the Value Plan/Package Plan can be used throughout your stay, they do not need to be used all in one day.
Learn more!
Tips for Terrific Tours
February 9, 2012With winter waning, soon to succumb to spring, many of our attractions are making their final preparations to reopen for a brand new Gettysburg season. That makes now an excellent time to talk about the best ways to have a safe and happy visit. Take the following advice and you can make sure your vacation doesn’t turn into a National Lampoon Vacation!
As with any outdoor attraction, you must protect yourself from the elements! Nature can be outwitted if you prepare. First of all, hydrate. Make sure you drink plenty of water, especially in the summer. It’s also wise to know where and when you can use the restroom. Sunglasses, sunhats, and sun block can protect you from our solar friend. Be wary of poison ivy (leaves of three, let it be!) and other poisonous plant species. Always check yourself for ticks after you’ve been on a hike. And on the off chance that you encounter a snake, try not to surprise it. Emergency first aid is available; contact a park employee immediately.
It’s a good idea to purchase your tickets online and early: tours sell out and you don’t want to leave that to chance! Plan to arrive 15 minutes before the scheduled time of the tour and know that tours typically last about 2 hours. Remember to lock your car and keep valuables out of sight. Leave any backpacks and large bags in your vehicle or motel room, they will not be allowed in the Visitor Center. Cameras, however, are highly encouraged. Get some great shots and then send them to us!
Why wait? Reserve your tour now on our website!