Before The Charge
124th New York Monument on Houck's Ridge
"Before The Charge" 124th New York Monument on Houck's Ridge
Image Size 12" x 18"
Release Date: September 2005
Edition size 124: 12 A/P: 6 P/P
Price: $150: Unframed
$10.00 shipping fee automatically added at checkout.
Price framed: $300.00 plus $50.00 shipping UPS shipping fee automatically added at checkout
Image Size 12" x 18"
Release Date: September 2005
Edition size 124: 12 A/P: 6 P/P
Price: $150: Unframed
$10.00 shipping fee automatically added at checkout.
Price framed: $300.00 plus $50.00 shipping UPS shipping fee automatically added at checkout
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“ BEFORE THE CHARGE”
The 124th New York Infantry Monument In calm repose He waited In stoic grandeur Just before the charge. Headlong across the wall Into the shrieking field Roaring through rocks and fire In calm repose In stoic grandeur. Forward Into his final charge. Paul R. Martin III “Roaring Canon, Crashing rifles, screeching shots, bursting shells, hissing bullets, cheers, shouts, shrieks and groans.” Capt. William Silliman 124th New York Infantry The 124th New York Infantry Monument has a full size sculpted portrait of its commander, Col. A. Van Horne Ellis.[1] The unit was organized in Goshen in Orange County, New York.[2] They were nicknamed his “Orange Blossoms” by Col. Ellis and wore orange ribbons on the lapels of their uniforms.[3] On July 2 they were positioned on the crest of Houck’s Ridge in front of an area known as “the triangular field”. Around 3 PM the unit was attacked by an assault from the 1st Texas of Robertson’s Brigade of Hood’s Division. The Texans charge up the triangular field and the 124th fired a devastating volley from their position on the crest. Col. Ellis stood with his arms folded, surveying the melee, giving orders and encouraging his men with his calm demeanor. The Texans reached a point only yards away but the Orange Blossoms continued to hold them off. Major James Cromwell asked Ellis several times to order a charge but Ellis said no. Eventually Ellis asked for the officers’ horses to be brought up. He and Cromwell mounted their steeds and took positions just behind their line. Captain Silliman protested to Ellis that he was in too much danger to be on horseback in such a battle, to which Ellis calmly replied “The men must see us today”.[4] After a brief wait, Ellis nodded his head to Maj. Cromwell, who touched his spurs and with a wave of his sword ordered “Charge”! Cromwell charged into the field, followed closely by the fixed bayonets of the entire 124th line. Ellis then followed his regiment into the fray. The charge broke the Texan line who fell back down the slope. They recovered and fired a devastating volley that dropped about one-quarter of the New Yorkers in the open field. Cromwell waved his sword and urged the men forward. Soon his body jerked backward and he fell from his saddle, shot through the chest. Col. Ellis saw Cromwell fall and shouted, “My God! My God, men! your Major’s down, save him!” Ellis inspired his men forward and they crashed into several other Texas lines. At the far end of the field fresh reinforcements from Benning’s Georgia Brigade entered the battle and they proved to be too much for the already battered Orange Blossoms. Col. A. Van Horne Ellis was shot from his saddle.[5] “We see his proud form rise in his stirrups; his long, sharp sword is extended upward. A half-uttered order escapes his lips, when suddenly his trusty blade falls point downward. His chin drops on his breast and his body with a weave, pitches forward, head foremost among the rocks;..... Capt. Charles H. Weygant 124th New York Infantry “ The 124th New York lost its Colonel and Major. Col. A. Van Ellis was one of those dashing and chivalrous spirits that we frequently read of, but seldom encounter in real life. He fell while gallantly leading his men in a charge. Brig. Gen. J. H. Hobart Ward “We lost all our field officers- Colonel Ellis and Major Cromwell killed,..... Ellis is a soar (sic) loss to us. While he was with us, I consider, we had a father. A braver man never lived.” Private J. Harnett 124th New York Infantry The viewpoint of the drawing is from the Texan’s perspective, looking up the triangular field toward the 124th line. The large rocks in the foreground are described in the battle reports and near where Ellis, Cromwell and many members of the 124th fell. “Before The Charge” attempts to express the contradiction between Ellis’ calm appearance and the destruction and chaos going on around him, much the same way the tranquil beauty of the Gettysburg Battlefield belies the horror, carnage and sacrifice that took place there. The image is intended to honor the courage of Col. Ellis and his beloved “Orange Blossoms”. Paul R. Martin III ©1998 by Paul R. Martin III. Published by SILENT SENTINEL STUDIO, PO Box 551, Yorktown Heights, NY 10598. (914) 245-8903 [1]Hawthorne, Frederick W. Gettysburg: Stories of Men and Monuments. Hanover, PA: The Sheridan Press, 1988. p. 61 [2] Dyer, Frederick C. Compendium of the War of the Rebellion. Reprint. Dayton, OH: Morningside Press, 1978. p. 1453 [3] Pfanz, Harry W. Gettysburg: The Second Day,.Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press, 1987. p. 185 [4] Ibid. p. 187 [5] Ibid. pp 186-192 |
