The Warner weekly sun. (Warner, Brown Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1885, 1883-11-17
TIE FIRST DAY AT GETTYSBURG.

From Harry M. Kiefer's 'Recollections of a
Drummer Boz" in January st. Nicholas.
Colonel, close up your men and move
on as rapidly as possible"
1t is the morning of July l, and we are
crossing a bridge over a stream, as the staff
officer, having delivered this order for us,
dashes down the line to hurry up the regi-
ments in the rear. We get up on a high
range of hills, from which we have q mag
nifcent view. The day is bright, the air is
fresh and sweet, and the sun shines out Of
an almost cloudless sky, and as we gaze
away off yonder down the valley to the left
look! Do you see that! Aputf Of smoke
In mid-air!! Very small and miles away, as
the faint and long-boming boom" of the
exploding shell indicates, but it means that
something is going on yonder away down in
the valley, in which, perhaps, we may have
a hand before the day is done. See! An
other, and another! Faint and far away
comes the delayed "boom!" "boom?" echo
ing over the hills as the staff Off Ger dashes
along the lines with orders to double
quickl double quick"
Four miles of almost constant double.
quicking is no light work at any time,
least of all on such a day as this memoir
able first day Of July, for it is hot and
dusty. But We are in our W state now,
boys, and the battle is opening ahead, and
it is no time to save breath. On we 60,
nov up a hill, now over a stream, now
checking our headlong rush for a moment,
for we must breathe O little. But the word
comes along the line again, double quick"
and we settle down to it with a right-good
will, while the cannon ahead seem to be
getting nearer and louder. There's little
said in the ranks, for there is little breath
for talking, though every man is busy
enough thinking. We all feel, somehow,
that our day has come at last-as indeed it
has!
We get in through the outskirts OF Get
tysburg, tearing down the fences of the
town lots and outlying gardens as we go;
we pass a battery of brass guns drawn up
beside the seminary, some hundred yards
In front of which building, in q strip of
meadow-land, We halt, and rapidly form
the line of battle.
General, shall we unsling knapsacks2"
shouts some one down the line to our di-
vision general, as he is dashing by.
Never mind the knapsacks, boys; it's
the state nowl"
And he plunges his spurs up to the row.
els In the TANKS OF his horse, as he takes
the s~take-and-rider fence at q leap and is
away.
-unfurl the flags. color.guardl"
Now forward, do ,"
"Colonel, we're not lc4,ted yetl'
A laugh run along the line as, at the
command LOAD at will-load" the ram
rods make their merry music, and at once
the word is given. forward, double
quick" and the line sweeps up that rising
ground with banners gayly flying, and
cheers that rend the ARA sight once seen,
never to be forgotten.
We drummer boys sit on our drums, and
watch the line goingin with cheers. Forth
with we get = smart Smelling, for there is
evidently somebody else watching that adj
vancing line besides ourselves; but they
have elevated their gums a little tod much,
so that every shell passes quite over the line
and bfows up the meadow sod about as in
all directions.
Laying aside our knapsscks, we 90 to the
seminary, now rapidly filing with the
wounded. This the enemy surely cannot
know, or they wouldn't shell tie buildins
SO hardl We get stretchers at the ambu.
lances, and start out for the line Of battle
We can just see our regimental colors wav-
ing IN the orchard, near a log house abou,
three hundred ahead, yards and we star,
sut fcr It'll on the lead and Daney behind
There is one Of our batteries drawn up e
our left q short distance as we run. It is
engaged In q sharp artillery duel with ont
OF the enemy's, which we cannot see, al.
though We can hear 1t plainly enough, anc
straight between the two our road lies. So
We 60. Daney and ], ct o lively trot. dodg,
ing the shells as best We can, till. painting
tor breath, we set down our stretcher I'M
der an apple tree in the orchard, in which
under the brow Of the hill we find the regi
ment lying, one or " skirmish lines
ahead.
/ count SIX men Of Co. G lying youder in
the grass-kil'ea, they say by q single shell.
Andy calls nae away for q moment to look
after some poor fellow whose arm is of al
the shoulder; and it was list time | 60
away, too. for Immediately q shell plunged
ing MY stretcher to tatters and blowing up
great fnrrow under d OF the boys VIII,
had been sitting immediately behind me
and who thinks THAT was rather close sha
vsng, wasn't it now2" Tie bullets whis
thing overhead make pretty music will
their ever-varying Zip! zi-p"t and W
could imagine them so many bees, only the,
have such a terrible sharp sting. They tel
ms, too, Of d certain cavalry mar tDenni
Bnokiey. 9th Michigan cavalry 1t was, as
afterward learned-let history perserve tn
travo boys nama) who, having had hi
horse shot under him, and seeing that first
famed shssl explode in Co. @ with sue
disaster, exclaimed, That il the compan
<7r mel' BE remained with the regimen
iii dav dDino psa>a service with his carhin,