The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1864-01-07
THE PACIFIC
Commercial Advertiser.
THREE WEEKS AT GETTYSBURG.
What we did N Gettysburg.

Few good things can be said Of the Gett ysburg
farmer, and | only use Scripture language in
calling them evil beasts" One of this kind
came creeping into our camp three weeks after
the battle He lived FIVE miles only from the
town, and had q never seen q rebel tie heard
we had some of them, and came down to SEE
them. Boys we said marching, him into the
tent which happened TO be full of rebels that
day waiting for the train Boys, here's q man
who never saw a rebel in his life. and wans 70
look nc you - and there he stood with his mouth
wide open, and there they lay in rows, laughing
at him., stupid old Dutchman. "And why
haren't you seen a rebel? Mrs. --s aid ;
why didn't you take your gun and help to
drive them out of your town. "a Teller
might'er got hit I"-whieh reply was quite too
much for the rebels, they roared with laughter
ct him, up and down the tent
One woman, we saw, who was by no means
Dutch, and whose pluck helped 10 redeem the
other sex. She lived in a little house close up
by the field where the hardest fighting was done,
. red-cheeked, strong, country girl. " Were
E~u frightened when the shells began flying Z
Well. no you see we was all a baking bread
round here for the soldiers, and had our dough
a rising. The neighbors they ran into their
cellars. but i couldn't leave my bread When
the FIRST she'll came in at the window and crashed
through the room, an officer came and said, you
had better get out of this, but | told him | could
MOI leave my bread, and | stood working IL till
the third shell came through. and then L went
'lO WI clltT III u ANN H. 10
in the oven.'' And why didn'1 you go be-
fore % ..,Oh, you see, if 1 had, the rebels
would a come in and daubed the dough all
over the place; And here she had stood, at the
risk of unwelcome plums in her loaves. while
great holes, which we saw, were made by shot
aud shell through and through the room in
which she was working.
The streets of Gettysburg were filled with the
battle People thought and talked of nothing
else even the children showed their li:.le spites
- liz D." A.nb arhar 70 Hara unl rphol ~
and mere scraps of boys amused themselves with
percussion caps and banners Hundreds OF old
mr. lets were piled on the pavements, the men
who shouldered them a week before lying under
ground row, or helping TO fill the long train of
smbulances on their way from the field. The
private houses Of the town were many Of them,
hospitals; the little red flags hung from the
upper windows. Beside our own men at the
Lodge, we all had soldiers scattered about
whom we could help from our supplies and
nice little buildings and jeilies, or an occasional
chicken, were . great treat to men condemned
by their wounds to stay at Gettysburg and
obliged to live on what the empt5 town could
provide. There was a colonel in { shoe-shop, a
captain just up the street. and a private round
the corner, whose young sister had, possessed her
self Of him, overcoming the military rules in
some way, and carrying him off t.sa little room,
ell by himself, where I found her doing her best
with very little. She came aftesward TO our
tent and got for him clean clothes, Snd good food.
AA4 al nC out-A dH4 uaS ~ hdRpI ~
being his cook, washerwoman, meScal cadet and
nurse. Beside such as these, we oeS asionally car
ried from our supplies something t. the churches,
which were filed with sick and sounded, and
whore men were dying-men whsse strong pa
thence il was very hard to bear-dying with
thoughts of the old home far awsy, saying, as
last words, for the woman watching there and
waiting with a patience equal IL It's strength,
"Teil her l love her,"
Late one afternoon too late fr the cars, a
- -.srn % 49,. doc 18th
over one hundred wounded rebels, . be cared for
through the night. Only one among them
seemed too weak and faint to tIke anything.
He was badly hurt, and failing. { went to him
after his wound was dressed, ard found him
lying on his blanket stretched over the straw-a
fair-haired, blue-eyed young lieutenant, 4 face
innocent enough fer one of our New England
boys. 1 could not think of him as i rebel, he
was too near heaven for that. He wanted moth
ing, had not been willing to eat for days, his
comrades said but l coaxed him to try Il little
milk Cruel, made nicely with leruCn and brandy.
and one of the satisfactions of our three weeks is
the remembrance OF the empty cup i took away
a~fterward. and bis perfect enjoyment of that
supper. 1T was 50 good, the best thing he
had had since he was wounded, - and he THANKED
Ine SO much, and talked about his 81 good supper
for hours. Poor creature, he had had no care,
and il was I pleasure to find himself thought of;
-, in a pleased, childlike way. he talked about
1t till midnight, the attendant told me-, as long
IN ne spoke Oh anything, TOT Ut IniuniSnl the
change came, and from that time be only thought
Of the old days before he was 4 soldier, when he
sang hymns III his fathers church. He sang
them now again, in a clear, sweet voice. Lord,
have mercy on me - and then songs without
words-a sort of low informing. His father was
a Lutheran clergyman in South Carolina, one of
the rebels told us in the morning when we went
into the tent, To find him sliding out of our care.
All day long we watched him, sometimes fighting
his battles over, oftener singing his Lutheran
chants, till in at the tent door, close to which
he lay, looked a rebel soldier, just arrived with
other prisoners. lie started when he saw the
Lieutenant, aud quickly kneeling down by him,
called, Henry. Henry" But Henry was
looking at some one q great way off, and could
not hear him. "Do you know this soldier ~
we said. Oh, yes, ma'am and his brother is
wounded and q prisoner, too, in the cars now"
Two OF three men started after him, found him,
and half carried him from tile cars to our tent.
" Henry did not know him, though and he
threw himself down by his side on the straw,
and for the rest OF the day lay in q sort of
apathy, without speaking, except to assure him
self that he could stay with his brother, without
the risk of being separated from his fellow pris-
oners- And the brothers lay, and there we
strangers sat watching and listening to the
strong, clear voice, singing " Lord, have mercy
upon me-" The Lord had mercy, and at sunset
i put my hand ON the Lieutenant's heart, to find
1t still. All night the brother lay close against
the coffin, and in the morning went away with
his comrades, leaving US To bury Henry, having
80 confidence" but first thanking US for what we
had done, and giving US all he had to show his
gratitude. the palmetto ornament from his broth
er's cap and a button from his coat. DIR. W.
read the burial service that morning at the grave,
and - wrote his name on the little head
board Lieut.. Rauch, i4th Regt. S. Carolina
VOL