Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1872-08-30
No. /
WAR AND LIFE INSURAN(
(sToRY OF THE LATE WARY


1t was the morning of the Sd Of July,
1868, that my regiment moved up from the
position which we had occupied the day be-
! fore, in the rear, and deplOying by compa-
MES, formed line of battle on the right of
our brigade, which was near the centre of
that occupied by the corps to which We be-
| lOngeG, i. e. JacksOn's old {" foot cavalry
now commanded by General EWell, and
which formed the left wing of the Confed-
crate Army at Gettysburg" on the morn
ing of that terrible day. Our attack the
day before had been a complete success
| The enemy driven from every position, ha i
| given way en- nlGSse before us, and retired
| precipitately into and beyond the little vii
| lage which gave name to the great struggle
which was to follow; and which is des-
tined forever to live in story. Our halt late
| that evening, when the battle seemed COM
plelely gained, was fatal, for that night
both :" Round Top" and " Cemetary Hill,"
| the very keys to the position, were occupied
by the SPACIOUS Federal commander, and
when nom broke OIL the morning of the
Sd, instead of the debris of a beaten army,
we found before lis foe strongly entrench-
ed and evidently determined to prove a
Lion in the path" AS far as the eve
could reach, line upon line of the infantry
were seen massed, while upon every hill
grlnned their artillery, who seemed to NUT
Ter dehantly IS come on "-and the ss war
dogs of Lee" answered, "we are coming"
1t was beaut ful morning the sun ris-
ing as it did behind the distant hills, threw
rosy mellow light across the green land
Scape at our feet, SO soon to be criInSOned
10y the blood OF the brave, while here aid
there feathered sOngster could be heard
carrOlling his hymn of joy and thankful
ness to the Father of all good-Teg ardless,
apparently, of marching hosts, or of the ter
rIble scenes so soon to Ie enacted. | was
sitting on my horse near the head Of my
regiment, indulging in the thousand and
one fancies that crowd upon one at such a
moment, when my attention was diverted
~ the sound Of a heavy body Of men OIL
the march, Immediately behind me; turn
ed, and discovered for the first time, that a
fine brigade of Infantry, in light marching
order, were passing rapidly from our left to
right. A glance ut their colors told me that
they were part of LOngstreet's corps, while
ut the same moment All officer in staff uni-
form spurred from the ranks, and canter-
ing up to where | stood, called Out-s'Why.
H., old fellow, how are you by love, | am
as glad to see You as | would be to have a
good breakfast this devilish fine morning !;
and i'll moment | was slak ng hands with
my old friend and cOmrade, Harry Sinclair
late Lieut.. u. ). Army, but now by the
Grace OtGOd, "and plenty of hard knocks
Gas he himself expressed It,) a Major in the
Confederate Army, and fighting hard fOl
promotion.
AS Harry is the subject Of this sketch,
permit me here to say Il word or two COIL
cerning his history. lie was a Kentuckian
by birth, and entering West P,in the same
same year with myself, we had become i'll
Innate friends, and OH graduating had both
N he nd
had served together for several years on the
frontier, and i'll garrison duty. About Is
months prior to the breaking out Of the
war, however, he had been ordered into the
States on recruiting service, and had al
most lost sight of him. Shortly after ell
tering the Southern service my self, how
ever, received a short letter from him, in
forming me that he had taken the same
step, and was then attached to Brcckn-
ridges Division, in the Western Army, and
as L continued to serve i'll the Army OF
Northern Virginia, we consequently had
never met, and it was with sincere delight
that | once more looked into the brave hon
est face of my comrade-garnished though
it was, with beard of the most piratical
cut and dimensions, and Drowned and fur
rOwed by wounds and exposure, and list
ened to the hearty words Of welcome and
greeting that fell from his lips.
In answer to my hurried inquiry, as to
how he came there, he told me that he had
shortly before been ex' hinged Fl ON prison,
and sent to Richmond, and hearing that a
big battle was shorty expected, had OBJ
tanned permission to come up and serve on
Gen. ii s staff, for said he, laughing, 81
want to see whether you fellows in Nir-
q. ia fight any better than we Of the West"
Well, sad |, old boy, you've come at the
right time, for unless I'm mistaken, old
Meade is going to open ball for our amuse-
ment this morning, such as you never
danced at before. All right, rel lied he,
gaily; l promise you to cut the best figure
| can; then suddenly changing his voice,
he added: 81 see Gen. Ill. is beckoning to
me, so must say good bye | will
you up after this business is over.
DO SO, l replied, for l have thousand
things to tell you ; so shaking hands once
more he turned his horses head and gal
loped off to rejoin his command, while i,
in my turn, proceeded to occupy my own
position, as from the well known and un-
mistakable signs going on around me, |
perceived that the battle was about to open.
TO BE Continued