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Hi, my name is Michaelshane Gherrity

and I'm a civil war enthusiast, reenactor and living historian. I became fascinated with Gettysburg during my first trip there in 1974. Ever since, I have had this urge to keep returning and learn more about it with every passing year. I have watched several battle reenactments there over the years, along with the usual touring of the battlefields. I enjoy portraying Private Patrick Dunn from the 27th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry, Company D, who was mortally wounded during the second days' battle of "The Wheatfield" and is buried in the National Cemetery. I have reenacted with two different Infantry units, and two Artillery units and currently reenact and serve as Captain with The Keystone Regiment.

All the units I associated with fought at Gettysburg on

July 1, 2 & 3 1863. I am a proud member of the

Col. Crowther Camp #89 Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW) from Tyrone, PA., and a member of the Sons of Veterans Reserve (SVR) Company A of the Potomac Guard, 2nd Military District.

In The Wheatfield

Gettysburg Battlefield

Gettysburg, Penna.

Nov. 2004

140th Anniversary Gettysburg Battle Reenactment

Aug. 2003

As the Carpet-bagger

Elixir Salesman

As U.S. Senator

from Penna.

Ode to a Civil War Soldier

By

Michael S. Gherrity Sr.

You lived a life of a farmer man in your New England home,

Came a call to arms from across the land, you knew you had to go.

The Blue and Gray, they took up sides, so you fought for the North,

To preserve the Union at any cost, into battle you marched forth.

The cold steel musket bullets soared,

The ground shook as the cannons roared,

The clash of bayonets filled the air.

The bodies all around you fell,

For hours on end you fought like hell,

Sometimes you thought you were really there.

Blood flowed like water through the fields on that fateful July day,

When you joined your comrades on the ground,

When a bullet came your way.

The Blue survived, but you did not,

And so your body fell,

To fight a war in eternity,

In a place that they call Hell.

And when the three day battle ended,

The Killer Angels had descended,

And took away more than fifty thousand souls.

And now this story's final words,

You met your end at Gettysburg,

But in your mind the battle rages on.

And now you lay 'neath an old elm tree,

Near where the ghost of Mr. Lincoln speaks,

Forever restless in eternity.

And as I stand here looking down,

Upon this Sacred, Hallowed Ground,

I weep for you, and all that died that day.

As I touch your grave with my fingers,

The memory of that war still lingers,

Which I know will never go away.

Michael S. Gherrity Sr.

July 5, 1995

This Award winning poem was published in the Famous Poets Society poetry book:

"Today's Famous Poems, On the Wings of Pegasus"

December 2003.

The Fields of Fredericksburg

By

Michael S. Gherrity Sr.

‘Twas a cold December march into the lands of South,

as we walked and talked of many a fight, a taste of powder in my mouth. 

Across a mighty river cold this Army of mine, so brave, so bold.

To “take that hill” so we were told, this Army of mine began to fold.

The Union Blue, and Johnny Gray, we were a mighty force,

‘twas Burnside’s folly, that he‘d insist, into the slaughter we stay our course.

Up Mayre’s Heights we fought and climbed, to face defeat every time.

There was no reason or no rhyme, why must we follow this insane mind?

We pushed and struggled towards that stone wall,

as I watched my comrades, one by one, they fall.

Not a single one had made the quest to that damned wall, we tried our best.

“Attack again”, we heard them say, “come follow me boys, this is the way!”

Again and again, we fought all day, until the light had slipped away.

Darkness now has fallen and so I might rest here awhile to face my plight.

As I listen to the screams in the night and stare at a sky bathed in strange green light.

What is it now that begins to creep on this still night, so cold, so deep?

The reality of why I now rest begins to creep here in my chest.

A different color upon my breast, has taken from me my very best.

The red stain begins now to flow, which I can see under this strange green glow.

Oh God, is it my time to go? I realize it’s death that creeps tonight for me, I know.

For now I’m feeling weaker and my eyes are getting dim,

laying on the fields of Fredericksburg my life is growing thin. 

I dream of home and the times I’ve missed, this war has taken away,

a part of my soul I left once there, in a land I thought I’d stay.

And to my wife and family, thank you for the love,

my time on earth is fading fast and I must be with the One above.

Remember me to my love my Lord, in a passing prayer,

for I shall forever love her, and in my thoughts she’ll always be there.

The time has come for me to go as I lay here in the cold,

remembering my love and how we dreamed of together we’d grow old.

Goodbye cruel world, as I must say, this war is done for me,

to be with my Lord now, at ease, in peace…. to rest, for eternity.

Michael S. Gherrity Sr. 

December 25, 2004

  I also portray 2 civilian roles, one as a carpetbagger elixir salesman, and one as United States Senator.

I have written an award winning poem about Private Dunn of the 27th Connecticut which has been published in a poetry book. Click HERE to read the poem about Pvt. Dunn and a second poem about the Battle of Fredericksburg. I participated in the 140th, 142nd & 145th anniversary Gettysburg Battle Reenactments in 2003, 2005 & 2008.

It was amazing to re-create the events of July 1, 2 & 3 1863 and to witness what happened from a first-person point of view on the battlefield. The sheer courage of those brave men is mind boggling.

My continuing trips to Gettysburg have inspired me to create this website for your (and my) enjoyment.

I hope that I have done justice in telling the story and photographing the magnificence of the area.

It is a beautiful and solemn place.

We must NEVER FORGET what happened there, and why it happened. I hope you have come away from this site with some knowledge and education about the Battle of Gettysburg.

              Thanks for visiting !

Meeting President Lincoln

Gettysburg, Penna.

Nov. 2005