Cats in Art: 15th Massachusetts Monument at Antietam

From my continuing weekly Sunday series of cats in art. I am using some ideas from the coffee table book, The Cat in Art, by Stefano Zuffi. In this case I am departing widely from the book and using some real-life stuff from near my home.

The bride and I were traveling on MD Route 65 past nearby Antietam National Battlefield the other day, and we passed this monument.  Unfortunately, we were on a schedule and could not pause to take photos.

But...part of the Google Machine is Google Images, where it was but a few seconds' work to obtain some photos of this monument and to identify it as belonging to the 15th Massachusetts Infantry:

Image credit The History Tourist, here.  

The 15th MA got pretty much wrecked in the battle; the site lists casualty information for the regiment as follows (I did not independently corroborate these data):

The 15th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry had the highest casualty rate of any Union regiment.  Of the 606 men in the regiment, 75 were killed and 255 wounded.  Another 43 later died of their wounds.   Dedicated in 1900, their granite monument is of a wounded lion and it stands where they were positioned the morning of the battle, where most of their casualties happened.  The monument is inscribed with the names those who were killed, and in the foundation is a roster of the entire regiment.

And from another site, a close-up image of the front of the lion:

Image credit John Banks, here. 

The lion is referred to as a "wounded lion"; I can't verify that, but want to observe that to me the first image seems to project defiance more than anything, while the second image emphasizes fierceness.  I obviously don't know the sculptor's intent without a bunch more research, but those are the immediate reactions I have to the lion from two different perspectives.

I really need to stand there in person and see how the sculpture affects me then.  As with any art, being there is waaaay different from viewing 2-dimensional images in a book or on a screen.

This was particular brought home to me the very first time I ever saw a van Gogh painting in person.  It was a seaside painting, and Vincent really slopped on the paint: it was literally 1/4" deep, an effect that you can never get from a photo of it.  Absolutely amazing!

Which brings me to one final point on art and art appreciation.  Diana, a representative of the web site Artsy, recently contacted me about adding a link to their page here on Mister Tristan (the blog, not the 7-year-old human being).  I have checked out Artsy and see that it is a valuable resource for anyone wanting to dig deeper into a particular art-related topic.  So I heartily endorse it here and am adding a link to my right-hand sidebar (note I have no financial interest or connection to Artsy, it's just a great site).

I'll let Diana explain their mission, with an example included:

We strive to make all of the world’s art accessible to anyone online. Our Vincent Van Gogh page, for example, provides visitors with Van Gogh's bio, over 70 of his works, exclusive articles, as well as up-to-date Van Gogh exhibition listings. The page even includes related artist and category tags, plus suggested contemporary artists, allowing viewers to continue exploring art beyond our Van Gogh page.

I’m contacting certain website and blog owners, and asking them to help us achieve our mission by adding a link to Artsy.   

So now you have another tool with which to better enjoy and understand your art.  Scope out Artsy, where I am certain you will be entertained and enlightened!

More Photos of Potomac River Crossing

Yesterday's post focused on the American Civil War angle of recreating Confederate General A. P. Hill's famous forced march to save the day at Antietam.  That route involved me fording the Potomac River as Hill's men did some 150 years ago.

I also took some natural history shots to contrast with the death and destruction.  I love history, but I love nature more.

As you can see, the Potomac River is clean and healthy.

Underwater grasses...tons of them!

 

The riverbed holds a nice population of clams

 

 

Great Blue Heron on the MD side as I finished crossing the ford

 

 



Typical view along the wonderful C + O Canal

 

Ultrarunning 150 Years After the Battle of Antietam

Yesterday (Monday 17 Sep) was the 150th anniversary of the battle of Antietam in the American Civil War.

1. First, a quick historical recap: The battle is considered the single bloodiest day in American history, in which some 23,000 Union and Confederate soldiers were killed, wounded, or missing. The battle is regarded as a tactical draw in that both sides remained on the field, but as a strategic Confederate loss since General Lee then abandoned his first invasion of the North and withdrew his army back to Virginia...and the war dragged on for another two and a half years (good battle summary here).

During the battle, the outnumbered Confederates were on the brink of disaster at various points during the day. The final Union attack came when Union General Ambrose Burnside finally was able to put his corps across the bridge that bears his name, and threatened to collapse the Confederate right flank. Just in the nick of time, Confederate reinforcements in the form of General A. P. Hill's Light Division completed their 17 mile forced march from Harper's Ferry (where they had received the surrender of the Union garrison) and fell upon the exposed left flank of Burnside's advance, crushing it and saving the day (again) for the Confederates.

2.  Second, the Ultrarunning part: I've twice on foot retraced the route of A. P. Hill's division from Harper's Ferry to Antietam, complete with fording the Potomac River at historic Boteler's (or Pack Horse) Ford. I blogged about my 2010 run here.  Last year (2011) the river was too high to attempt the crossing.

3.  So....that brings us to my 2012 iteration of the memorial run.  I've not been training well over the summer, so I knew that a 28 miler would be too much of a stretch.  So I ran a route that only included the fording of the Potomac River piece of General Hill's route.  I parked along the C + O Canal just downstream of the Rt 34 Bridge between Sharpsburg, MD and Shepherdstown, WV; ran back upstream and crossed the river on the highway bridge; ran thru the streets of Shepherdstown (a charming little college town!); German Street becomes River Road after leaving town; River Road to reach the WV side of Boteler's Ford; forded the river; headed back upstream on the C + O Canal to my car.

This route was some 5 miles or so.  The bank of the WV side at  the actual ford is on private property, so as I described here I entered the river a bit upstream and waded down to the actual ford.  The river was quite low--at the ford, where Hill's troops crossed, the water depth was literally not over knee deep.

Here are a few shots of the run:

C + O Canal Lock 38 from Rt 34 bridge

 

 

Limestone mounting step along German street in Shepherdstown

 

 

Historic marker on WV side of ford

 

 

Midriver, looking back to WV side

 

 

Midriver, looking ahead to MD side

 

 

Typical water depth in the ford

 

 

I'll post a couple natural history type shots tomorrow.

 

 

Confederate General A. P. Hill...and Ultrarunning

This past weekend I lured a running buddy to accompany me on my second annual General A. P. Hill Run. Friday, 17 Sept, was the 148th anniversary of the battle of Antietam in the American Civil War. The battle is considered the single bloodiest day in American history, in which some 23,000 Union and Confederate soldiers were killed, wounded, or missing. The battle is regarded as a tactical draw in that both sides remained on the field, but as a strategic Confederate loss since General Lee then abandoned his first invasion of the North and withdrew his army back to Virginia...and the war dragged on for another two and a half years (good battle summary here).

During the battle, the outnumbered Confederates were on the brink of disaster at various points during the day. The final Union attack came when Union General Ambrose Burnside finally was able to put his corps across the bridge that bears his name, and threatened to collapse the Confederate right flank. Just in the nick of time, Confederate reinforcements in the form of General A. P. Hill's Light Division completed their forced march from Harper's Ferry (where they had received the surrender of the Union garrison) and fell upon the exposed left flank of Burnside's advance, crushing it and saving the day (again) for the Confederates.

The Ultrarunning part: I wanted to retrace the route of A. P. Hill's division from Harper's Ferry to Antietam, complete with fording the Potomac River at historic Boteler's Ford. Hill's forced march, arriving just in the nick of time, is legendary in Civil War lore, wherein some 3000 men from his division marched 17 miles in 8 hours, to arrive at the battlefield just in time.

We parked along the C + O Canal just downstream of the Rt 34 bridge at Shepherdstown and ran downstream approx 11 miles to Harper's Ferry. The stretch of the C&O Canal represents roughly miles 18 thru 29 of the JFK 50 Miler route, only run in the opposite (downstream) direction.

The downstream leg along the C&O Canal towpath, in the cool of the morning, was awesome as it usually is for me. Many JFK runners complain about the so-called flat, boring canal section, and I always think, "Are you nuts? Sure, it's flat, but you're running in the woods, you have the river right beside you, you're passing all this historic archeology in the form of canal locks, lock keeper houses, and engineering feats, seeing deer, great blue herons, etc...."

At Harper's Ferry, we crossed the river on the combination Appalachian Trail/railroad bridge. Immediately after crossing the bridge, you bear right along Potomac Street, parallel to the railroad tracks, to pick up the A. P. Hill route.  This now was a run along rolling secondary roads approx 12 miles up to Boteler's Ford.

Here is where we actually forded the Potomac River (this is a mile downstream of Shepherdstown). There was a house immediately opposite the actual ford, complete with at least 2 big, noisy dogs (fenced), and the river bank was heavily posted with No Trespassing signs. We didn't want to trespass, especially with these noisy dogs calling attention to the runners on the road, so we kept going upstream a couple hundred yards until there was a non-posted path some 100' to the riverbank at the site of an old cement mill from the canal era.

We got walking sticks for balance, waded into the water, and headed back downstream to the actual ford. We were far enough away from the dogs that they, perhaps regarding us as fishermen, paid no attention. Plus legally (per my understanding) we were not now trespassing, this being a navigable river and we were out in it.

So we headed across the river via the ford. It was generally knee deep or less (thigh deep at the most) and was not the slightest bit risky or threatening. Just being there was exhilarating for me as a semi-serious student of American Civil war history. The bottom was rock outcrop, with a few loose rocks, no mud. The water was clear, aquatic grasses abounded, with many clamshells--all evidence of a healthy river. The ford was perhaps 150 yards wide and the water was not cold. I know, because I managed to fall twice on the slippery bottom, both time emerging laughing.

Once across to the MD side, we returned the remaining mile to the car, electing not to continue on to Antietam battlefield proper (as I had done in 2009). All in all, it was some 24 miles.

A great day of running, of history, and I guess of spirituality.