Cumberland Township near Gettysburg in Adams County, Pennsylvania — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

A Father's Loss

July 1, Afternoon

— Gettysburg National Military Park —

A Father's Loss Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Karl Stelly, January 25, 2021

1. A Father's Loss Marker

Inscription. Here on Barlow's Knoll, Lieutenant Bayard Wilkeson, 19, directed Battery G, 4th US Artillery, from horseback. While dueling with Confederate batteries, an enemy shell mangled his right leg. He bound his leg, and amputated it with a pocket knife, as shot and shell fell around him. He died that night at a makeshift hospital. Samuel Wilkeson, Bayard's father, a correspondent for the New York Times, was traveling to Gettysburg when he heard his son had been wounded. On July 2, he located his son's body and penned a piece which appeared on the front page of the Times. "My pen is heavy," he wrote, addressing those who had given the ultimate sacrifice. "Oh, you dead, who at Gettysburgh have baptized with your blood the second birth of Freedom in America...."

Erected 2021 by National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Cemeteries & Burial Sites • War, US Civil. A significant historical date for this entry is July 1, 1863.

Location. 39° 50.737′ N, 77° 13.582′ W. Marker is near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, in Adams County. It is in Cumberland Township. It is on

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East Howard Avenue 0.4 miles east of Biglerville Road (Pennsylvania Route 34), on the left when traveling east. Located near the crest of Barlow Knoll, close to the monument to Battery G, 4th U.S. Artillery. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Gettysburg PA 17325, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in South-Central Pennsylvania. It is also in the American Northeast,

in the Mid-Atlantic,

in Appalachia,

and specifically in Northern Appalachia. Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy

and also one of the original Thirteen Colonies.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: 153d Pennsylvania Infantry (a few steps from this marker); Battery G Fourth U.S. Artillery (a few steps from this marker); Francis Channing Barlow (a few steps from this marker); 17th Connecticut Volunteers (within shouting distance of this marker); Driven Back (within shouting distance of this marker); 25th and 75th Ohio Infantry

Photographed by Karl Stelly, January 25, 2021

2. A Father's Loss Marker

This view looks toward the north.

(within shouting distance of this marker); Gordon's Brigade (within shouting distance of this marker); First Division (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Gettysburg.

Another marker is no longer nearby. Union Collapse at Barlow Knoll (was here, next to this marker but has been replaced with another marker now near it).

Also see . . . Gettysburg National Military Park. National Park Service (Submitted on May 1, 2022.)

The Crest of Barlow Knoll image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Karl Stelly, January 25, 2021

3. The Crest of Barlow Knoll

This view looks toward the east. The monument to the 153rd Pennsylvania Infantry and the monument to Battery G, 4th U.S. Artillery can be seen.

Credits. This page was last revised on February 7, 2023. It was originally submitted on April 30, 2022, by Karl Stelly of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. This page has been viewed 822 times since then and 63 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on April 30, 2022, by Karl Stelly of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.