Twilight over Barlow's Knoll

Twilight falls over Barlow's Knoll at Gettysburg, putting the statue of Brigadier General Francis Barlow in stark relief to the dimming sunset.  Barlow was in command of XI Corps troops stationed on the knoll during the battle's first day when these troops were overwhelmed by Confederates.  Barlow was wounded and captured in the fight; he was released and recovered in time to participate in the 1864 Overland Campaign.  Barlow was one of the few men who entered the Civil War as an enlisted soldier and ended it as a general; the men of the XI Corps, however, bore the shame of consecutive retreats at Chancellorsville and Gettysburg for the rest of their lives.

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