Harvard in blue and gray
One was reading a Dickens novel. One stood up to look around. Another was running across a meadow. In the first three days of July 1863, in Gettysburg, Pa., death or a fatal wound could come at any time. And in great numbers: There were 51,000 casualties during the epic battle that marked the second and last and furthest penetration into the North by a Confederate army. On the Union side, Gettysburg claimed more sons of Harvard than another other battle. In all, Harvard lost 14 men during the battle. Eleven fought for the Union side — and three for the Confederates. In many cases, the Crimson dead, both blue and gray, fell during the same engagements. The events around and during Pickett’s Charge on July 3, for instance, claimed the lives of three Union soldiers from Harvard, and two Confederates. First Lt. Henry Ropes, Class of 1862, was reading the Dickens novel in...