Tales from the road: 'The King' and I and a 'Harvest of Death'

Bob Kalasky explains a detail in "The Harvest of Death" image.

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On a deep-blue sky afternoon, roughly 150 yards from the Old Alms House Cemetery on the Gettysburg battlefield, I stand in a bean field with Bob Kalasky, a 60-something licensed massage therapist from Ohio and Civil War-era photographs obsessor.

“Watch out for ticks,” warns the author of Shadows Of Antietam, a well-received book on images taken in 1862 on that bloody battleground. “I hate ticks.” My gawd, will short-pants me be ravaged by those nasty, little bloodsuckers?

On this glorious day, we’re here on the Day 1 field, within site of Barlow’s Knoll and the 17th Connecticut monument, for Kalasky to persuade me that this is indeed the spot where Timothy O’Sullivan photographed United States Army dead in the aftermath of the battle. The location of (in)famous “A Harvest Of Death” photograph has eluded historians and others. Over the years, 40 locations have been identified as the spot, but none of those investigations have led to a consensus among experts.

The ghastly Gettysburg photograph known as "The Harvest of Death."
(Library of Congress)

"The King" with a blow-up of "The Harvest of Death" photo.

Kalasky — whom I fondly call “The Shadow King” or simply “The King” — is convinced we stand at the location. I consider him a friend, although our association led to brief tension/unintended hilarity with Mrs. B, who as de facto family chief financial officer oversees nearly all of my purchases topping, say, 40 bucks.

True story: Weeks after buying Kalasky’s book, Mrs. B spotted “massage” on my credit card bill. Gulp. It took all my vast powers of persuasion to convince her of the legitimacy of the purchase.

"The King" and I.

In the bean field, Kalasky comes armed with tools of his trade: a protractor, enlargements of “A Harvest Of Death” images and a vision of 1863. He points out the location of old fence lines and subtle undulations in the ground, farmer David Blocher’s wheat field long ago. “Damn, if that doesn’t all fall into line,” he says as he shows me a blowup and points to the battlefield.

“This is nuts!”

His research and interpretation of it seem good to me, but I’m no expert.

“Look at that horse’s ass,” Kalasky says of O’Sullivan’s photograph. Is it a grand clue or merely a false lead?

What we both know for certain is that we stand on hallowed ground. Union soldiers from the 11th Corps, including those from Kalasky’s Ohio, fell in this unremarkable field on July 1, 1863.

“Those poor bastards,” I say of those men.

“Oh, absolutely,” says “The King. “Absolutely.”

Kalasky traipses over the Day 1 battlefield at Gettysburg, near Barlow's Knoll. where
he believes Timothy O'Sullivan created his famous "Harvest of Death" photo.

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LISTEN to Kalasky on our "The Antietam And Beyond Podcast."