Took a little spin on the battlefield today and stopped by the Sherfy House and barn. Some time ago I was corrected by a pompous know it all. I told the story of the barn burning with wounded soldiers in it. Pea brain told me in front of a number of customers that I was incorrect and that the barn never burned down. I was so hurt and embarrassed. I wonder what the descendants of these boys would think about this? I may not know a lot, but I know about my Zouave boys! One soldier from the 77th New York Infantry who observed it wrote, “As we passed the scene of conflict on the left was a scene more than unusually hideous. Blackened remains marked the spot where, on the morning of the 3rd, stood a large barn. It had been used as a hospital. It had taken fire from the shells of the hostile batteries, and had quickly burned to the ground. Those of the wounded not able to help themselves were destroyed by the flames, which in a moment spread through the straw and dry material of the building. The crisped and blackened limbs, heads and other portions of bodies lying half consumed among the heaps of ruins and ashes made up one of the most ghastly pictures ever witnessed, even on the field of war.” The Sherfys cleaned, replanted, and rebuilt, and for years sold peaches from the famous orchard. It was a popular destination for the men who had fought in its fields, and one wall of the house was reportedly covered by photographs of veterans who had fought there. The farm today is owned by the National Park Service and the house is rented out.
Posted on: Thu, 13 Nov 2014 19:10:29 +0000
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