Tenor James Carpenter will join The Gettysburg Choral Society and perform “The Children of the Battlefield” in a pair of free concerts entitled “God Bless the U.S.A.” to be held on Friday, May 23rd at 7:00 P.M. in St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Hanover, PA, and on Sunday, May 25th at 3:00 P.M. in Gettysburg’s United Lutheran Seminary Chapel.
The work is based on the following historical event:
On July 1, 1863, the rolling hills surrounding Gettysburg became one of the most horrendous battlefields of the American Civil War. The tumultuous clash between Union and Confederate forces changed the dynamic of the war, resulting in a continued decline of Rebel prowess. By the fourth of July, General Robert E. Lee began an arduous retreat south with his battered army, leaving the previously tranquil farmland and hillsides littered with over 7,000 dead soldiers and 5,000 horses and mules—all victims of the unfathomable destruction.
Knowing that every battle might very well be their last, many soldiers attached their names inside their uniforms so, in the event of their deaths, their bodies could be properly identified. There are many sad stories of how the dying men writhing in pain cried out for their mothers and wives. Some wrote farewell notes as they took their final breaths.
Yet, following the carnage at Gettysburg, there was one story that probably generated more attention than any other. Among the dead, one soldier had an ambrotype clutched in his cold hand. The picture was of three little children. Following the battle, in a rather fortuitous meeting with the person in possession of the photo, Dr. J. Francis Bourne of Philadelphia obtained the picture and circulated information about it in publications throughout the North. The doctor made it his mission to find the family of this fallen hero. Finally, in November of 1863, after reading about the photograph in the American Presbyterian, a soldier’s wife in Portville, New York, confirmed to Dr. Bourne that she had sent her husband this picture of their children. So, at last, the 33-year-old Sergeant Amos Humiston of the 154th N.Y. Volunteers was identified as the slain soldier.
Throughout the north, there was a tremendous emotional response to this sad story. It illustrated the supreme sacrifice so many gave for the preservation of the Union. James Gowdy Clark (1829-1897), already a well-known poet and singer when the war broke out, immortalized the heart-rending event in a poem and song entitled “The Children of the Battlefield.” The money raised through the sale of his composition was designated for the education and support of Frank, Frederick, and Alice, the now fatherless children depicted in the photograph.
A monument to Sergeant Humiston is located next to the fire station on Stratton Street in Gettysburg. Humiston is buried in the New York Plot, Section B, Site #14 in the Gettysburg National Cemetery.
The Gettysburg Choral Society, Inc. is a nonprofit 501©(3) organization composed of auditioned singers who utilize their talents to pursue excellence in choral music performance. As always, the concerts are free and open to the public. Tax-deductible contributions are appreciated to help defray concert-related expenses.
For more information, please visit gettysburgchoralsociety.org
John McKay is co-founder and artistic director/conductor of the Gettysburg Choral Society. He is a former music critic/writer for the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
Charles (Chuck) Stangor is Gettysburg Connection's Owner, Publisher, and Editor in Chief. I would like to hear from you. Please contact me at cstangor@gettysburgconnection.org.