GDG- "The Loop"

[Ginny Gage]

Kevin,

Caught my name on your last post as Ginny and I are packing for a trip to
the ŒBurg.  

The following is quick and cursory.  I¹ll get a better answer when I get
back if someone hasn¹t already given it to you.

The area that the ³loop² travels on has been known by most as the ³Stony
Hill.²  The ³loop² is a part of, obviously, Sickles Avenue.  The thing that
bothers me is who named it and when did they name it.  I have read it some
place, I think, but don¹t have time to check it right now.  A comment about
the action there is that no other place on the field are the flank markers
more congested than they are there.  Read the dedication speeches of the
140th PA and the 118th PA to get a sense of what happened there.  The
following is a quote from the 118th PA dedication Sept. 12, 1889.  The
address of James P. Holt, Esquire:

³The whole field was in a twirl.  The frequent changes of front and
direction had resulted in a general intermingling, not only of friendly
commands, but of the rival lines.  Regiments were in some instances
separated from their brigades and brigades from their divisions...the
fighting in this contracted space has been denominated the whirlpool of the
battle.²  

This description of the melee that occurred here comes straight from the
horse¹s mouth.  Oft times the best source.

Sorry I don¹t have more detail.  Will finish it up when we get back from the
ŒBurg.  

Best Regards,

Lew Gage