Elizabeth daily monitor. [volume] (Elizabeth, N.J.) 1868-1880, 1873-09-10
NOTES By THE wAYs1nE.
GErrYsRuRa. PA..

here, led by their greatest captain, and
by Longstreet, Hill, Hood and all their
most distinguished corps commanders,
that the confederate forces sustained a
reverse they never recovered from, and
that proved the beginning of series of
disasters to their arms that ended in the
capitulation at Appomattox. 1t was here
that union and rebel soldiers alike illus
trated by ten thousand examples the in
born hei oisnh of the American character
and it was here that they filled the
full measure of their devotion to the
causes for which they persisted. For
ages to come the patriot pilgrim will
come here to learn anew lessons of de-
votion to the union and constitution of
his fathers, and to the great principles
of democratic liberty.
Here fell some of their bravest cham
pions-here, after performing prodigies
of valor, they were stretched by thous-
ands upon one bloody acaldama--and
here their bones repose-not in neglect
ed and dishonored graves, but in ground
baptized, in many instances, by their
own life current, and consecrsted by
the national gratitude as their place of
sepulture. g In the freshness and full
ness of their young and manly life, with
sweet memories of father, mother, bro
Their and sister, wife and children, maid
en- and friends" they died for their
country and for us, and it is meet we
should honor and cherish their dust
"Life's fitful fever over, they sleep
we'll "
How happy in their homes the noble
dead!
The seal is set on their majestic fame
Earth has drunk deep the generous
blood they shed,
Fate has no power to dim their stainless
name p
The vast extent of the battle field is
the first feature to strike the beholder
as he stands on the rocky summit Of
Round Top mounta n, and looks out on
the broad valley below, with its ridges,
its gentle undulations, its deep forests,
its green and level pastures, its streams
and rocky ravines. broader and more
beautiful landscape we have never be-
held. Away off in front of you is Semi
nary ridge, on which the Lutheran
theological seminary is located, and
from the cupola of which Lee could
command an almost unobstructed view
of the entire northern half of the field
and of the operations of his forces. 1t
was just over this ridge, while dismount-
ed and recommending the enemy in the
edge of grove and from behind an oak
tree, that the gallant Reynolds was shot
through the head. The place was
marked, we are told, by one of our SER
geants who saw him fall, and who sub
sequently took an axe and chopped
away a portion of one of the partially
exposed roots of the tree, and afterward
pointed out the spot to number of Off
GERS of She First army corps. The
marks left by the sergeants axe are dis
tinct and prominent, and our guide
broke large knife in obtaining us a
chip from the root to preserve as q me-
mento. The body of the dead hero was
carried to an old one-storied stone cot
tage on the Taneytown road, perhaps a
mile and half away, and no great dis
tance from Cemetery ridg, where our
troops maintained their stand from first
to last, during the last two-days' fight
and after the final line of BATTLE was
formed. No truer man. and no more
accomplished, faithful and valiant sol
der than John F. Reynolds fell in bat
tie during the war. He was highly val
ued by the government, beloved and es-
teemed by his fellow-officers and idoliz-
ed by his corps, who were always ready
to follow where he led.
Along seminary ridge and around the
seminary building the most of the first
days desperate fighting was done,
which ended in the Union troops being
outfanked on the right and left by
nearly quarter of a mile, when, over
whelmed by numbers, they were forced
from the field, "and in great disorder
retreated through the town to the
Heights of Cemetery HILL" and "the
confederate lines entered and took pos
session of the town, making prisoners
of large numbers of Union troops"
From the northern face of Big
Round Top" bold shoulder pro-
trudes, separated from the parent mount
by gradual depression, heavily wood
ed. This latter hill is called Little
Round Top. Plumb run, a small stream,
runs along the western base of these
hills, and drains marsh iu front of Lit
tie Round Top. Between the two noun.
tains there is narrow gorge or rayine,
filled with immense boulders and yawn-
ing chasms, where the sharpshooters
lurked during the last two days of the
battle. From Little Round Top the
ridge is depressed. but rises to the north
until it reaches Cemetery hill, where,
O. INSTRUCTED by some unseen cause, the
ridge was hurried back to the east, and
in convulsive throbs expanded its force
in the formation of Culp's hill, thus
leaving broad, extensive basin north
ward from the cemetery hill in which,
upon gentle elevation, is situated the
village of Gettysburg" Rock creek
separates CUPS hill, from Wolf hill,
and was the eastern boundary of the in
fantry operations. This ridge, then,
with its elevations and depressions from
Big Round Top to Rock creek, was the
Union line of battle, and was, in our
humble opinion, infinitely superior to
the confederate position, and much
easier defended. In many places it was
the next thing to impregnable, as the
various and unnvailing assaults of the
rebels clearly demonstrated.
The extent of country covered by the
contending hosts during the three days
fight would astonish any of your readers
who could4 survey it. Not only every
field for miles, "but every forest, hill
and dale, and even the town of Gettys-