"It seemed so awful..."
During the retreat on July 1st by the Union 11th Corps, this area was a mass of demoralized troops and military vehicles frantically trying to escape pursuing Confederate rifle fire. Captain Fred Winkler, 26th Wisconsin Regiment, stood here and paused to emotionally reflect upon the scene: "It seemed so awful... It was the most humiliating step I ever took."
The sketch shown here is the only 1863 contemporary view of the town north along Carlisle Street known to exist. The scene created by artist Alfred Waud of Harper's Weekly clearly depicts the railroad station and Sheads and Buehler's hardware warehouse in the right foreground. McConaughy's Hall and the Washington Hotel buildings are seen on the left. Only the railroad station still stands.
The center is dominated by a barricade thrown up along the railroad tracks across Carlisle Street by Confederates. It was one of several constructed across north-south streets to protect against a Union attack from Cemetery Hill.
Marker is at the intersection of Carlisle Street (Business U.S. 15) and Racehorse Alley, on the right when traveling north on Carlisle Street.
Courtesy hmdb.org
