A Hero at the Gettysburg Peach Orchard: The Story of Anna Etheridge
➡️ Help history. 2 minutes for 7 questions 🫡
The episode revisits July 2, 1863 at Gettysburg’s Peach Orchard—one of the battle’s deadliest spots—and highlights Anna Etheridge (“Gentle Annie”), a rare woman on the front lines in skirts, armed with pistols, riding a horse with medical supplies, and tending the wounded under fire.
Scott and Jenn explain how Etheridge began serving with her husband in the 2nd Michigan as a laundress, shifted into nursing as combat intensified, and stayed with Michigan units even after her husband deserted, remaining with soldiers from early battles through Appomattox. They discuss testimony describing her as “cool and self-possessed,” her injury (shot in the hand) while continuing to aid others, and her recognition with the Kearny Cross (one of only two women to receive it).
The episode notes her later Congressional pension, work in Washington, DC, and burial with full military honors at Arlington, and suggests she deserves a Gettysburg monument.
00:00 Chaos at Peach Orchard
01:28 Show Updates and Reviews
02:42 Why Anna Matters
05:36 Early Life and Enlistment
08:14 Kearny Takes Notice
09:54 Anna's role and why Jenn Flew Helicopters in the Navy
14:37 Gettysburg Angle Explained
16:33 Arlington Legacy
18:51 Vivadieres and Soldierhood
21:02 Final Reflection
📍 Google Maps to the peach orchard
🎥 Video version of this podcast
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