AOH 32 Junior Division Tours Gettysburg

The Charge of the Famous Irish Brigade at Gettysburg
Re-enacted by the AOH 32 Junior AOH & LAOH Divisions
from Bishop Canevin High School

On Wednesday, March 25, 35 members of the AOH 32 Junior AOH and LAOH Divisions from Bishop Canevin High School went on a trip to Gettysburg to visit the sites where the famous Irish Brigade fought. They left at 4:00 a.m. and watched the movie Gettysburg on the way in order to get some insight into the battle.

When the Junior AOH and LAOH arrived at Gettysburg they saw the movie narrated by Morgan Freeman and the newly restored Cyclorama at the new National Visitor Center.

After lunch, they were met at noon by the resident Irish Brigade expert/tour guide, Rich Kohr Jr. He led them on a tour of some of the battle sites of Gettysburg, including, the “Wheat Field” (which is the most famous battle site of the Irish Brigade at Gettysburg), Devil’s Den, Little Round Top, and the end point of Pickett’s Charge.

At the Wheat Field, Mr. Kohr aligned our group as the 116th Pennsylvania Regiment of the Irish Brigade would have been arranged as they entered the battle.
Students were assigned numbers and when Mr. Kohr called out their number they had to fall to the ground to simulate the casualties sustained by the Irish Brigade.

The Jr. AOH got to see the Irish Brigade Monument, which depicts a life sized Irish wolfhound lying at the foot of a Celtic cross.The walking tour concluded with the group surveying the battle field from Little Round Top. They then boarded the bus to see the Pennsylvania Monument and the Union side of Pickett’s Charge.

The students had a wonderful time and fulfilled one of the goals of the Jr. AOH and LAOH which is to cultivate an appreciation of Irish tradition and history. The students look forward to similar experiences in the future.

Many thanks to AOH 32 brother and Junior Division Leader
Jim "Bear" O'Connell for organizing and supervising the tour
and for providing this story and pictures.

Note about the Irish Brigade and Pennsylvania Monuments:
The green Quincy granite monument to the 63rd, 69th and 88th New York Infantry regiments of the famous “Irish Brigade” is one of the most handsome monuments on the Battlefield. These units fought with valor in the Wheatfield on the second day of the battle. The bronze and granite base, which supports a carved Celtic cross, features traditional Irish symbols. The Irish wolfhound lying at the base represents the faith and devotion to duty, as exhibited by the soldiers in the brigade. The monument’s designer, William Rudolf O’Donovan (1844-1920) had no formal training as an artist and, in fact, served in the Confederate Army. Following the war, he moved to New York City, where he opened an art studio and made his name as a well known sculptor of memorial pieces.

The Reverend Father William Corby was the chaplain of the Irish Brigade at Gettysburg. Father Corby was known to administer the last rites on the battlefield while under fire. His statue on Hancock Avenue, designed by sculptor Samuel A. M. Murray (1869-1941), is mounted on the identical boulder from which he gave absolution to the brigade on July 2, 1863 — the second day of battle. Following the war, he served as president of the University of Notre Dame. An identical statue of Father Corby can be found on the South Bend, Indiana campus, standing on a rock taken from the Gettysburg Battlefield.

The Pennsylvania Monument is the largest and most complex memorial at Gettysburg National Military Park. This tribute to the Pennsylvania soldiers who fought at Gettysburg includes 90 bronze tablets at its base that contain their names. Designed by New York architect W. Liance Cottrell (1868-1964), the monument features sculpture by of a number of artists, including sculptors Lee Lawrie (1877-1963), Otto Schweizer (1863-1955), W. Clark Nobel and Cyrus Dallin (1861-1944). On the dome stands Winged Victory, the work of Samuel Murray, who originally studied painting and shared studio space with Thomas Eakins, one of America’s greatest painters. The Pennsylvania Monument is composed of 1,252 tons of cut granite, 1,410 tons of steel, 740 tons of sand, 366 tons of cement, 50 tons of steel bars and 22 tons of bronze.