Penelope and A.L. Coble

The next time you take a trip to the battlefield, see if you can find this autographed rock!
I'm a bit of a romantic and loved reading about this soldier who revisited the battlefield after the war. His name was A.L. Coble from the 1st NC. He carved his name in a rock right where he had been fighting. His full name was Augustus Lucian Coble, and he was from Alamance County, NC. I can't imagine what it must have been like traveling back to the very spot where you previously were fighting for your life-What an interesting way to spend the day in Gettysburg-taking a step back in time and searching out this special place where this soldier once stood. My youngest daughter reminds me that not only are there witness trees on the battlefield, but witness rocks, too-and here is the perfect example. When our family finally finds this hallowed stone I'm sure I will have a desire to trace the letters of his name, or make a rubbing of it-somehow doing things like this always makes me feel more connected to the individual. I also tried to do a google search because I'd read somewhere that A.L. Coble had actually been photographed in front of this rock-his rock,but I didn't unearth anything, much to my disappointment.

To find this special marker, park your car on East Confederate Avenue across from Spangler's Meadow. The carving is in a large group of boulders about 100 feet or so from the parking area. Go around to the right and look in between the rocks for a flat area with the carving. It should be down on the level, flat surface of the boulder near where there is a large "cut" between the rocks.


Another very interesting fact I came across was "Penelope." This was an ancient cannon which had been fired after the Democratic election victories until 1855 when its tube ruptured after such a celebration. Its final resting place is located outside the former office of the Compiler newspaper at 126 Baltimore Street:
Please say "hi" for me when you visit old Penelope-tell her I'll be by to see her soon.