Double Canister at Ten Yards

There are monuments all over Civil War Battlefields that have unique things incorporated into them. This happens especially at Gettysburg. There are quite a few. This one in particular is for Andrew Cowan's First New York Independent Battery near the Angle and the Copse of Trees.

There is almost always a significant story behind these unique inclusions. Read a book about Pickett's Charge and you're likely to come across the experiences of Cowan and his battery ramming the barrels with two rounds of canister and letting loose at the overflow of Confederate soldiers that swarmed the area. Some even got as close as ten yards, hence the words "Double canister at ten yards" being engraved on this monument.

Repulse

Throngs of Gettysburg visitors flood the areas on the southern portions of Cemetery Ridge and the area of The Angle (in the middle of the photograph). The northern sectors of the ridge are quite less-visited. The Ziegler's Grove area is now as close to the way it looked in 1863 for the first time since the old Cyclorama building was completed.

The surrounding field was held by Gen. Alexander Hays' division of Winfield Scott Hancock's II Corps. These troops also assisted in the repulse of Confederate troops on July 3. They faced elements of gen. AP Hill's Confederate Corps. Ironically, those Confederate soldiers are easily forgotten to have participated in the assault known as Pickett's Charge.