Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1863-08-06
@OrtestGr Daily SPY
THE DAILY spy.


truthful light the inhabitants of the town
and ncighborhood of Gettysburg, insomuch
as their conduct relates to the treatment of
our army and loyalty to our cause. Gettys
burg is TO be one of the famous spots of his
tory. To it the impulses Of patriotism, alike
with the cravings of curiosity, will turn the
. steps of thousands through the coming cen,
turtles. So long as remnant of our people
shall retain so much as tradition of their
history, this name will be uttered to stimu-
late noble action. In view of the future,
therefore, it is as well the impulse of every
generous mind, as the dictate of common JUS
tice, to endeavor to relieve from slanderous
imputatons and false accusations the people
who are to be so intimately associated with
this sacred spot.
Shorty after the battle, there appeared in
the New York Times letter over the sigma
turc of l.. l.. Crounse-the chief correspond
ent of that paper in the army of the Potomac
which contained Wholesale denunciation
of the population of Gettysburg and vicinity,
as ''meoa," "cowardly," and uapatriottc,"
with two or three exceptions. Sweeping state
ments were made as to the general cowardly
abandonment Of property and family, and of
universal apathy as to the issue of the battle.
Instances were given of such intense mean
ness as to exhibit only general desire to
take advantage of the desperate circumstances
of our men to eXt0rt money. This state
ment has been copied by great number of
journals through the country, and has gone to
create in the minds Of many unfamiliar with
the facts, and trusting the general in
tegrity of SO respectable a sheet, en-
frnlV false ituurpSSsippS Ia
illustrate the general spirit Of tie people
by the statement that cold water was
sold to furnishing men; that the men returned
from cowardly abandonment of their fami-
lies and homes only to present with indecent
haste enormous bills for damage done; as
closing their hearts and homes against our
hungry, wounded soldiers; as refusing Miss
Dix and her lady nurses board; as being cal
most entirely uncourteous > and this ''plainly
arising from lack of intelligence and refine
ment." All this and more is arrayed as a
just exponent Of the character and actions Of
the majority of the people of that town and
vicinity. What could have induced this cor
respondent to present to the country IL state
ment SO utterly false and slanderous it is diff
cult TO conceive. He may have been unfor-
tunate in his iteni-gathcrng. He may not
have received the attention he imagined due
to his distinguished self Git is at least certain
that he did not receive the attention which
would be heartily awarded him on second
visit. But most probably it was the common
curse OF correspondents, namely, 1ghoT@H@
of facts. A residence of half a dozen years i'll
that town, terminating at no remote period,
and a fortnights labor in the hospitals since
the battle, have gwen me Il fair opportunity of
knowing both the general character of the
people and the facts as to their spirit and con-
duct at the time of and since the battle. There
are some rude and ignorant people III that
town and neighborhGod; but, then, where are
there not? There are some cOpperhe?Hs
there. | saw several myself who seep~u 10
be in IL state of chronic irritation. TLtle WAS
an editor of copperhead newsprri "liesteu
for disclosing the places of t'"Te'l'lN"t Vi
Union soldiers, and sent tc wy III ie"' anu
let out again, instead Of 'Iie i''' M y" tlio
snot AZ he should i-Ne oeeh. mere were
49, +,,,, Il The ,cnae sex; but. then, where
am -. .iii,,,nity be found which has not
s o.'n these wretched creatures?
IsGrG have been cases of meanness and
.urti0n, but where on earth can you find Il
population which has not some individuals
who will take advantage of the necessities of
their tcllow-men? But is Il whole community
to be condemned tor the conduct of IL few?
Would it be just to measure the disciples of
our Lord by Judas? or the spirit of the north
be to denouncc the whole community of Get
tysburg on account of the action of few.
The cases mentioned by Mr. Crounse Gf such
ever occurred, for it is difficult to credit state
mentS made for the specific purpose of estab-
fishing general falsehuod) are such as to
shock the people of Gettysburg as much as
anywhere in our whole land, and they should
be estimated by the sririt Which governed the
mass of the population, rather than be con-
demncd as "mean," ''cowardly," 'unpatriot-
ic," from the actions of a few.
First, selling water to furnishing men is
cited as an instance of the characteristic
meanness of the people generally. In con-
versation with a very intelligent Ohio captain
who was wounded i'll the first days fight, he
mentioned. as one of the causes of the enthu-
siasm with which our weary troops went into
that battle, the heartiness with which they
were greeted by the citizens OF Gettysburg in
their passage through the town; who were at
their door with buckets Of water, and in some
cases of lemonade, cheering them by word
and action to the conflict This was the pre-
vailing spirit, and also characterized them on
their retreat through the town in the evening.
As to abandonment of their homes and fami-
lies, it was done by comparatively few who
were not i'll duty compelled to leave on ac-
count of their official responsibility, as the
postmaster and county officers; whilst of the
farmers through ali that region, their chief
fault was that they did not leave sooner and
more generally with their horses and cattle,
instead OF allowing them to go to swell the
plumber of the invader, at the expense of the
government-whist to offset any acts of COW.
ardice, there are examples of heroic patriot
ism; ciuzens aiding i'll the midst of the battle
to carry off the wounded even old men en-
tering our ranks and shedding their blood in
L a., and,
gentleman, after firing twelve or fifteen rounds
and being carried off the field wounded, uui-
etlv remarked that he ''saw four drap." As
TO Miss Dix and her nurses being refused
hoard. she herself states that She obtained it
, without any trouble, and that to my knowl
edge in the best mansion in town. Almost
the entire town and neighborhuod was used
for hospital purposes, whilst the majority OF
the peoule. setting aside the claims OF bus-
ness, devoted themselves to the care OF our
wounded men. Their memory will be cher
ished by thousands OF our wounded men,
they have been blessed by hundreds Of the
dying. Many of the most prominent ladies
and gentlemen of the place have devoted their
entire time since the battle to unceasing la
bors for our soldiers. The best store rooms
have been furnished for the use of the Chris
tian and sanitary commissions. Many mem
bers of these commissions have been boarded
at a merely nominal price, and this IN town
which, with its whole vicinity. had been SO
plundered by Lees army, that for days many
tba oon,mouaSt of life could