Friday, August 09, 2013

New and Noteworthy---Gettysburg's July 1 No Man's Land: The Emanual Harmon Farm On Willoughby's Run

Beyond The Run: The Emanuel Harmon Farm At Gettysburg, Andrew I. Dalton, Ten Roads Publishing, 126 pages, 14 maps, 97 illustrations, 3 appendices, end notes, index, bibliography, $11.95.

The Emanuel Harman Farm property, located on Gettysburg's July 1 battlefield, is now protected as part of Gettysburg National Military Park. The Gettysburg Country Club and Golf Course went bankrupt a few years ago and the Adams County Conservancy purchased it.Situated between the Chambersburg Pike and the Fairfield Road, and bordered on the east by Willoughby's Run, the farm today is bisected by the Old Mill Road. It became the Confederate assault path for the brigades of Archer, Brockenbrough, Pettigrew, Scales, Lane, and Perrin as they engaged Gamble's, Stone's Meredith's and Biddle's brigades.

Andrew I. Dalton in Beyond The Run: The Emanuel Harmon Farm At Gettysburg relies upon the Gettysburg National Military Park's library holdings, in particular the Harman Farm reports of Kathleen G. Harrison, Donald R. Heiges, Jacob M. Sheads and many letter collections.  He has consulted the manuscript collections of the Adams County Historical Society, 16 assorted newspaper archives, and dozens of books and articles. The farm's history is told in well organized segments: the 1790-1863 farm, the July 1863 battle and destruction of the farm, the 1865-1947 Katalysine Springs Bottled Water and Hotel industry, and the 1947-2011 Country Club of which President Eisenhower was a member.

Beyond The Run: The Emanuel Harmon Farm At Gettysburg's strengths include its reliance on Amelia Harman's recollections of watching the battle, being ordered from the house as it burns, and her reliance upon Confederate charity during July 2-4.  Confederate soldier's recollections of their assaults through the farm and across Willoughby's Run are frequently offered. Dalton offers an insightful description of post-battle and post-war Gettysburg whose residents quickly embraced visitors to the historic fields. Overall, Dalton's work is a fine example of local history done well.

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