GDG- RE: Strong Vincent's Position

[GEODEUTSCH at aol.com]

In Issue 6, Jim Semler asked the following: "Where are the best references  
re: Strong Vincent being taken to the Jacob Weikert farm, before being moved to 
 the Bushman farm?"
 
The Vincent biography "What Death More Glorious" by James Nevins and  William 
Styple covers the locations of Vincent's hospitals thoroughly in  Appendix 
VII, pages 120 & 121. The authors quote two eye witnesses as  placing Vincent 
first at the Jacob Weickert house first before being moved to  the Bushman farm. 
Those sources cited are A. Pierson Case in "Notes on the  Taking and Holding 
of Little Round Top at Gettysburg" published in 1866 and Dr.  Clinton Wagner, 
XI Corps Chief Surgeon (but no specific work cited).
Unfortunately the two contemporary historians from the 83rd, Amos  Judson and 
Oliver Norton, only mention the Bushman farm in their works. That  makes 
sense since both specify visiting Vincent after the fighting on the 2nd  was over. 
Vincent was moved from Weickert to Bushman while the fighting was  still 
going on.
 
On a related subject, Jim Lamason wrote: "I was in the Gettysburg from  
Thursday through Sunday about midday..One of the things I did notice is that  
SOMEONE has filled in the words on top of the Vincent Wounding boulder in Black  
paint. You can now read it plainly. I have conflicting emotions about that  
btw.."
 
BLACK PAINT? I have very conflicting emotions about this. 
Over a decade ago, my pre-teen daughters used some chalk to fill in those  
letters in order to take a picture of the inscription. Later that day, a Park  
Ranger friend of mine told me that the NPS considered even that pretty benign  
act was defacing the Park and could lead to increasing deterioration of the  
inscription. 
I believe that anyone, no matter how well meaning, who would apply paint to  
ANY memorial in the Park has done quite a disservice to our sacred  heritage. 
Most monuments in the Park have information carved in their  bases. Sometimes 
you have to get up close to read those inscriptions. Should we  paint in all 
those inscriptions to make them easier to read? I don't think so  and I 
seriously doubt the NPS would be favorable to such a plan. Everyone  should leave the 
Battlefield exactly as they find it and only with the NPS  support and 
supervision should anything be changed.
 
George Deutsch




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