Independent, proud, and fiercely patriotic, he was born during the Civil War in which his father fought. Will's middle name, afterall, was Grant. He is our great grandfather,
We have inherited a picture of him saluting next to a cannon on the battlefield at Gettysburg. The picture is small and damaged. No one remembers much about it -- so much is lost in the passing of generations.
But we have plied our PhotoShop skills, and learned a little from the partial plaque. We know it's Gettysburg, because the handwriting of a great aunt says so. And this week, thanks to the help of a licensed battlefield guide, we found the spot where he stood.
We did the same. We photographed. We rendered the result in black-and-while, blurred it a little, and attached it to an e-mail to our own son. Below we wrote, "Dad at Gettysburg, 2010."
We hope it's the second in a series of images of independent and proud Pennsylvanians saluting on Culp's Hill, and that 77 years need not pass before the next one.
copyright 2010 J. O'Brien, all rights reserved
