The Gauntlet of Union Retreat and Aftermath

The Gauntlet of Union Retreat and Aftermath. . , By 4:30 p.m. on July 1, 1863, the Union line had been penetrated and broken along Seminary Ridge. A scene of chaos and confusion ensued as Union artillery galloped along the Chambersburg Pike past the fleeing infantry., Suddenly, South Carolinians made their appearance on both sides of the Seminary building on top of the ridge. For better security the retreating soldiers crossed over the pike to the other side of the unfinished railroad embankment, only to find that the Southerners were closing in from that direction also. The converging Confederate forces created a "gauntlet" that none of the soldiers would ever forget. According to one survivor "The bullets were flying from each side in a perfect shower. The air seemed so filled that it seemed almost impossible to breathe without inhaling them.", -Matthew Brady's Photograph- , Of all the attention given to the Lutheran Theological Seminary by photographers over the years, the most famous, and arguably the earliest view was recorded by the firm of M. B. Brady. Recorded from a position along the Chambersburg Pike, the view portrays the Seminary just two weeks after the battle, at a time when it was filled with wounded soldiers.