Members of the Fort Concho Artillery will be participating in the Gettysburg 150th Anniversary Battle Re-enactment this Friday through Sunday near the original 1863 battle site in Pennsylvania. More than 15,000 living historians are expected to take part in what organizers are calling one of the largest battle re-enactments in modern history.
Chris Morgan of the fort staff will be directing the trip that will bring Fort Concho’s 3-inch ordnance rifle, camping gear and equipment, and 11 participants in a three-vehicle caravan that left the Fort on Monday.

Participants include Chris and Sandy Morgan, Dan Walker, Mike Bitner, King Walker, David Johnson, Ron Hartman, Tony Castro, Jim Kerbow, Henry Crawford and Bruce Johnstone. Many of these volunteers have been working with the gun crew at the fort since its creation in the early 1990s.

“We considered this an opportunity of a lifetime, and we are grateful that so many of our volunteers can attend,” Fort Manager Bob Bluthardt said.

At the battle site, Morgan will be a section commander at the rank of lieutenant, overseeing two guns that will be part of a larger contingent representing Gen. Longstreet’s Corps at the July 1-3 original battle. Because of logistical concerns and the availability of the land for the event, the re-enactment will be a few days earlier. Since the original battle site cannot accommodate the event, this battle will take place on a similar landscape not too far from the 1863 battlefield.

The artillery crew is funding a portion of the trip, with a larger share covered by the Fort Concho Foundation. San Angelo residents are invited to wish the crew well and good luck at their departure from the fort near the intersection of Henry O. Flipper and Burgess streets. They will return by Wednesday, July 3, and the gun and several of the Gettysburg veterans will be working at the fort on July 4 for the holiday salutes.

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