{"id":1191,"date":"2019-07-03T21:34:01","date_gmt":"2019-07-04T01:34:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rufusyoungblood.com\/blog\/?p=1191"},"modified":"2020-01-20T11:41:06","modified_gmt":"2020-01-20T15:41:06","slug":"nixons-gettysburg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rufusyoungblood.com\/blog\/nixons-gettysburg\/","title":{"rendered":"Nixon&#8217;s Gettysburg"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>Upon the anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg &#8211; fought during these three days of July in 1863 &#8211; I recall the story of former President Nixon\u2019s great-grandfather who was among the soldiers who fought and died during historical this battle.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"text-align:center\"><strong>_________________________<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The war-weary men of the 73<sup>rd<\/sup> Ohio Infantry Regiment had served almost half of their three-year enlistment by the time they had reached Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on July 1, 1863.<g class=\"gr_ gr_22 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_disable_anim_appear Style replaceWithoutSep gr-progress\" id=\"22\" data-gr-id=\"22\"> <\/g>(1) After several hard-fought battles, including the Second Battle of Bull Run and the Battle of Chancellorsville, the 73<sup>rd<\/sup> had pursued Confederate troops through Virginia and Maryland to Gettysburg. (2) One of the men among them was Private George Nixon of the Regiment\u2019s Company B.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>At 41-years-old, George Nixon was one of the oldest members of his regiment, old enough to be the father of many of the group\u2019s boys. In fact, Nixon and his wife, Margaret, already had a family of three daughters and six sons when he had mustered into the Army. Throughout his time in the Army, Nixon maintained a solid service record.<sup>(3)<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-1 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"840\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rufusyoungblood.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/George-Nixon-Nixon-Library-840x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"1209\" data-link=\"https:\/\/www.rufusyoungblood.com\/blog\/?attachment_id=1209\" class=\"wp-image-1209\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rufusyoungblood.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/George-Nixon-Nixon-Library-840x1024.jpg 840w, https:\/\/www.rufusyoungblood.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/George-Nixon-Nixon-Library-246x300.jpg 246w, https:\/\/www.rufusyoungblood.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/George-Nixon-Nixon-Library-768x937.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rufusyoungblood.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/George-Nixon-Nixon-Library.jpg 984w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 840px) 100vw, 840px\" \/><figcaption>George Nixon, circa 1860. Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The Battle of Gettysburg began on July 1<sup>st<\/sup> with fighting north of the town on Seminary Ridge. Confederate troops penetrated the Union lines held on Seminary Ridge. As the engaged Union soldiers retreated through Gettysburg, the 73<sup>rd<\/sup> defended the west side of Cemetery Hill along Taneytown Road, preventing Confederate forces from taking the strategic location of Cemetery Hill, located south of town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-1 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-2 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rufusyoungblood.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/DSCN3083-e1562173864590-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"1197\" data-link=\"https:\/\/www.rufusyoungblood.com\/blog\/?attachment_id=1197\" class=\"wp-image-1197\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rufusyoungblood.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/DSCN3083-e1562173864590-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rufusyoungblood.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/DSCN3083-e1562173864590-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><figcaption>The 73rd Ohio\u2019s Monument is located in the modern-day Soldiers\u2019 National Cemetery Annex cite of the Battle of Gettysburg, June 18, 2019. Author\u2019s photo.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>During the morning of July 2<sup>nd<\/sup>, Private Nixon and his company on Cemetery Hill skirmished with the Confederate soldiers stationed in Gettysburg, creating a \u201cno man\u2019s land\u201d between them. During the fighting, Private Nixon was struck twice, in the right hip and the right side, and was trapped in the \u201cno man\u2019s land<g class=\"gr_ gr_36 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_disable_anim_appear Style replaceWithoutSep\" id=\"36\" data-gr-id=\"36\">.(<\/g>4) As night approached, Company Bugler Richard Enderlin could hear Private Nixon suffering from his wounds and volunteered to rescue him. Enderlin crawled out to Nixon\u2019s position, put his wounded comrade onto his back, then crawled back to the regiment with him. Nixon was then transported by ambulance to the Eleventh Corps\u2019 Hospital at the George Spangler Farm, but he could not be saved. He died from his wounds on July 14<sup>th<\/sup> and was buried on the farm. His remains were later moved to the Ohio Plot (Row C, Grave 4) of the Gettysburg National Cemetery<g class=\"gr_ gr_26 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_disable_anim_appear Style replaceWithoutSep\" id=\"26\" data-gr-id=\"26\">.<\/g><sup><g class=\"gr_ gr_26 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_disable_anim_appear Style replaceWithoutSep\" id=\"26\" data-gr-id=\"26\">(<\/g>3)&nbsp;<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rufusyoungblood.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/DSCN3089-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1220\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rufusyoungblood.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/DSCN3089-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.rufusyoungblood.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/DSCN3089-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.rufusyoungblood.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/DSCN3089-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption><em>Gravesite marker of George Nixon in Gettysburg National Cemetery, June 18, 2019. Author\u2019s photo<\/em>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Immediately upon returning from his daring rescue, Enderlin received a promotion to Sergeant for his selfless actions. He then served for the duration of the war. Although he was wounded in the right foot during the Atlanta Campaign of the following year, Enderlin survived the war. Outside of the Nixon family, the world took little note, nor long remembered George Nixon and his death at Gettysburg until September 11, 1897, when Richard Enderlin received the Medal of Honor when he \u201cvoluntarily and at his own imminent peril went into the enemy&#8217;s lines at night and, under a sharp fire, rescued a wounded comrade.\u201d(4)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Almost a century after the Civil War, George Nixon was connected with a new chapter of American history. In November 1952, Dwight Eisenhower was elected president with Richard Nixon, George\u2019s great-grandson, as his vice president, who would himself later become the 37th President of the United States. During Richard Nixon\u2019s numerous visits to Gettysburg and the Eisenhower Farm (at least 12 times during Eisenhower\u2019s second term alone), he would often stop to pay his respects to his great-grandfather who had given his life in service to his country.(5) Some of these visits would be private, but others were publicized. During a trip to George Nixon\u2019s grave on July 1953, the National Park Service photographed Vice President Nixon and others laying flowers at his great-grandfather\u2019s marker. This photograph first appeared with an article written for The Gettysburg Times when President Nixon passed away in 1994. These pictures of Richard Nixon at his great-grandfather\u2019s gravesite remind us that history is more than dates, names, and places \u2013 it\u2019s about our ancestors who connect us to the past.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"779\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rufusyoungblood.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Ernest-Pat-Richard-Nixon-779x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1212\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rufusyoungblood.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Ernest-Pat-Richard-Nixon-779x1024.jpg 779w, https:\/\/www.rufusyoungblood.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Ernest-Pat-Richard-Nixon-228x300.jpg 228w, https:\/\/www.rufusyoungblood.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Ernest-Pat-Richard-Nixon-768x1009.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.rufusyoungblood.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Ernest-Pat-Richard-Nixon.jpg 913w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 779px) 100vw, 779px\" \/><figcaption>Ernest Nixon of Pennsylvania State College, Mrs. Pat Nixon, and Vice President Richard Nixon, 1953. Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"text-align:center\"><strong>_________________________<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Special thanks to the Adams County Historical Society, the Gettysburg National Military Park and the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum for their assistance in writing entry.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><sup>1<\/sup> \u201c73<sup>rd<\/sup> Ohio Regiment Infantry.\u201d <em>Civil War Index<\/em>, 2010, <a href=\"http:\/\/civilwarindex.com\/armyoh\/73rd_oh_infantry.html\">civilwarindex.com\/armyoh\/73rd_oh_infantry.html<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><sup>2<\/sup> Heiser, John. \u201cRe: [EXTERNAL] Richard Nixon&#8217;s visit to great-grandfather&#8217;s grave.\u201d Received by Joseph Lankard. 26 June 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><sup>3<\/sup> \u201cMargaret Ann Trimmer Nixon.\u201d <em>Find a Grave<\/em>, 2011, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.findagrave.com\/memorial\/80619403\/margaret-ann-nixon\">www.findagrave.com\/memorial\/80619403\/margaret-ann-nixon<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><sup>4<\/sup> Richard Enderlin. <em>Wikipedia<\/em>, 2019, <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Richard_Enderlin\">en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Richard_Enderlin<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><sup>5<\/sup> Neil, W. &#8220;Nixon\u2019s Gettysburg visits traced at Eisenhower Farm.&#8221;&nbsp; <em>The Gettysburg Times.<\/em>&nbsp; 27 Apr 1994.<br><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Upon the anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg &#8211; fought during these three days of July in 1863 &#8211; I recall the story of former President Nixon\u2019s great-grandfather who was among the soldiers who fought and died during historical this battle. _________________________ The war-weary men of the 73rd Ohio Infantry Regiment had served almost half &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rufusyoungblood.com\/blog\/nixons-gettysburg\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Nixon&#8217;s Gettysburg<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1215,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[265],"tags":[260,262,175,264,261,62,263],"class_list":["post-1191","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-president-richard-nixon","tag-civil-war-battles","tag-george-nixon","tag-gettysburg","tag-medal-of-honor","tag-ohio-regiment","tag-president-eisenhower","tag-richard-enderlin"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rufusyoungblood.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1191","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rufusyoungblood.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rufusyoungblood.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rufusyoungblood.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rufusyoungblood.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1191"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/www.rufusyoungblood.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1191\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1299,"href":"https:\/\/www.rufusyoungblood.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1191\/revisions\/1299"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rufusyoungblood.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1215"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rufusyoungblood.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1191"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rufusyoungblood.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1191"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rufusyoungblood.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1191"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}