The
Cheshire Historical Society
43 Church Drive, Cheshire CT 06410
NEW
- Photo Captions Added!
Bob O'Brien of Hamden, a retired lawyer, Civil War buff and Society member,
will present his research on the battle and the monument dedication, which took
place over the July 4th weekend
|
On April 23, 2012, the Cheshire Historical Society hosted
Member Bob O'Brien who presented: "The 20th Connecticut Volunteers,
Gettysburg and Private George Washington Warner." Mr. O'Brien recently
spoke in Milford and Shelton, however this talk was the first time he
had some of the Warner descendants in attendance. Mr. Don Steele, a Cheshire
resident (located to center right in this photo, seated to the right of
the window). Also in attendence was Mr. George Geer, the president of
the Housatonic Civil War Roundtable. The event was very well attended
with standing room only.
Handouts from the Evening
|
 |
 |
Members of the audience at the April 23rd Talk. Don Steele
of Cheshire, at left, is George Warener's great-grandson and Molly Solbak,
Lancaster, PA, in the front row left is Warner's great great granddaughter.
Also in attendance were Warner's great grandson Charles Warner of West
Haven and great great grandson Mark Marganski of Naugatuck
|
| Photo right: Bob O'Brien with display case
containing reunion ribbons from 20th Connecticut Volunteers and Admiral
Foote GAR Post # 17 reunions. George Warner was a very active member of
the Foote GAR (Grand Army of the Republic) Post. |
 |
 |
Photo Left - Cheshire Historical Society President,
Diane Calabro, Bob O'Brien, and Christine Pittsley, Cheshire Historical
Society Board Member |
| Don Steel discussed his family
history with Ed Kania, CHS Treasurer, and others during reception after
the talk. |
 |
Below is a photograph of the 20th Connecticut veterans at Culp's
Hill at Gettysburg on the occasion of their monument dedication on July 3, 1885.l
George Warner can be seen seated on a rock on the left side of the monument.
He was chosen by his fellow veterans to have the honor of unveiling the monument
and this was done by attaching a pulley to a nearby tree and tying the rope
around Warner's waist. He then walked backwards from the monument raising the
flag that can be seen in the background to uncover the monument. Private Warner
lost both his arms to "friendly fire" on the molrning of July 3, 1863
as his regiment fought to retake trench works on Culp's Hill. He would later
remark to the regimental surgeon, "Why surgeon, I've lost my right arm
too...I thought I had only lost my left." (Photo A below)
An
enlargement of the center are of Photo A shows a close up view of Warner on
what is still known as "Warner's Rock." The regiment's commander at
Gettysburg, Lt. Colonel William Wooster, is shown standing to the right of the
monument facing the camera (Photo B below)
To help support his family after the war George Warner sold
books. He also sold what are commonly called CDVs (cartes de visite)
or "visiting cards" which were small photo cards. These are pictures
of four of the CDVs Warner sold. There are at least nine different Warner CDVs
we are aware of. (In the table, Photo C / Photo D, and
below them, Photo E / Photo F)
This photo (below) of George Warner appears in the book "Gettysburg
- Stories of Men and Monuments" by Frederick W. Hawthorne on the page
devoted to the 20th Connecticut's monument. Photo H (right) is how it appears
in the book. It would seem that the negative was reversed when it was printed
as his hair is parted on his right and some hair stocks out over his right ear
while in all other photos of Warner his hair is parted on his left. We have
reversed the photo in Photo G which is how it should have been printed (also
see Photo I).
(Photo G / Photo H below)
Below is a George Warner CDV that was used in an article about
the 20th Connecticut at Culp's Hill at Gettysburg in the July 1997 issue of
Gettysburg Magazine (Issue #17) authored by Jeffrey and Loree Kowalis. The article
includes the story of how Warner was injured during the battle and of his unveiling
the monument in 1885. (Photo I below)
This is another of the CDVs of George Warner
(Photo J below)
Below is an interesting portrait of George Warner taken late
in life. From viewing this photo, you would not be aware f his disability that
is so obvious inj the other photos (except Photo I) that we have seen of him.
Note he is proudly wearing his GAR medal. (Photo KL below)
Warner Family CDVs (c. 1870s) These
photos are Warner family CDVs taken around 1870 by two different New Haven
photographers. The baby in the pictures, Ruby, was born in 1869. These pictures
show George and Catherine (Doherty) Warner with six of their children. They
had five children when George enlisted in August of 1862 and three more
after he returned from the war. Two of the children had died before these
photos were taken. In Photo N (right) you can see that Catherine is holding
a small cannonball in her right hand; probably of the type that caused George's
injuries at Gettysburg. (Photo M / Photo N) |
 |
 |
A picture of George
and Catherine Warner probably taken in their yard at 230 Edgewood Avenue
around 1910. Catherine would die in 1913 and George's death in 1923 was
reported by the New Haven Register with a page one obituary. As you can
see Warner has his empty sleeves tucked into his coat pockets. This is a
a vivid childhood memory that Dan Steele has of his "Grandpa Warner."
(Photo O) |
These photos show the "Faces of the Battle" Wall in
the museum at the new Visitor's Center at Gettysburg. In photo Q, you can see
a good part of the wall - tyhe photos to the right of the dividing molding are
Union soldiers and to the left are Confederate soldiers. The wall shows some
men from both sides who were killed or wounded at Gettysburg. Photo P shows
most of the Union pictures and in the row on the extreme right you will find
George Warner is the fourth picture from the bottom. Photo R shows a close up
of Warner's photo on the wall. (Photo P, Q, R - detail)
Please stop by and visit this page in future. More photos and text will be
added as available.
Thank you.
Bob O'Brien
###
Return to Cheshire Historical Society home page
