Gettysburg veteran reunion tent tag belonging to Jacob Winslow of the 108th New York Infantry. Winslow, just 18 when he enlisted in the Union Army, saw nearly three years of hard service with his regiment. He was wounded at Gettysburg on July 3, 1863 and again at Laurel Hill in May of 1864. The Rochester native apparently returned to Gettysburg in the early 20th century for a reunion, this time flanked by his son Leon. This tag would have been given to the old man, directing him to their particular tent. Perhaps reflecting on his own age and the dwindling number of attendees, he wrote in a shaky hand:

“Come and tell me, where are the survivors?”

Returning to Gettysburg must have been a powerful experience for Winslow, who escaped death twice during his time there. He first survived a head wound during the repulse of Pickett’s Charge, which, according to period accounts, left him “paralyzed”. He was taken to the 2nd Corps hospital at the Schwartz Farm along Rock Creek, where he was laid on its banks to await medical help. While waiting, intense storms threatened to flood the creek and drown him. He credited his survival to his deep faith, and resolved there to become a minister. Winslow graduated from Oberlin Theological Seminary in the 1870s and served at times in Kansas and Nebraska, including a stint in Dodge City when Wyatt Earp was the sheriff. He died at the age of nearly 100 in Los Angeles, California. The tag is in excellent condition.




[Civil War, Union, Confederate]