Camp Harding was a 1922 United States Marine Corps temporary encampment on the Gettysburg Battlefield for the[1] Marine Expeditionary Force which conducted maneuvers and a reenactment of Pickett's Charge for President Harding on July 1, and again for a crowd of more than 30,000 visitors on July 3.[2] The camp was on the east slope of Seminary Ridge[3] and used the area between the Emmitsburg Road and West Confederate Avenue (a large open air theater was at the Virginia Monument).[4] A modern battle was staged on the Gettysburg battlefield on July 4 for 50,000 people.

Simulated battle

At 10:30 a.m. on July 4, 1922, Camp Harding Marines from the 5th and 6th regiments of the U.S. Marine Fourth Brigade conducted a simulated battle that was "in many respects a simulation of battles fought in the Great World War rather than a reproduction of Pickett's charge", carried out "as the Marines would make it today" with two tanks (one with machine gun, the other with 1 pound rifle) advancing on a machine gun nest, four airplanes, and a hydrogen balloon which was shot with an incendiary round (the observer dropped from the basket using a parachute).[3] An artillery duel was also conducted.[5] The advance…stopped at the roadway…At 11:20…assembly call was sounded by the bugler … staged on last Saturday for the President… Medal of Honor ribbon, Capt Robert C. Carter…in the defense of the [Cemetery] Ridge…Marines camped on the side of Seminary Ridge.[3]

References

  1. ↑ "Out of the Past". Gettsburg Times. July 5, 1972. p. 4. Retrieved July 9, 2013.
  2. ↑ "Continued Rain Followed Battle". Gettsburg Times. July 5, 1922. p. 2. Retrieved July 9, 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 "Modern Battle Waged by Marines Before Immense Throng of People". The Gettysburg Times. July 5, 1922. pp. 1, 3. Retrieved July 9, 2013.
  4. ↑ "Camp is Being Shaken Down". The Gettysburg Times. June 27, 1922. p. 1. Retrieved July 9, 2013.
  5. ↑ "Warding and Pershing View Re-enactment of Pickett's Charge". The Gettysburg Times. July 3, 1922. pp. 1, 3. Retrieved July 9, 2013.
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