The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1884-01-03
TIE FIELD AT GETTYSBURG.
:jc-n" "reminiscences of the Battle
sii...."sted at the Recent Gathering
of thr Htuc and Gray.

~ 'i:...a'sten Ut ene akecPnt
OF thr niuc and Gray.
Twenty years after Pharsalia, when
PCmpey's star set to rise no more and
Caesars sun mounted t. the zenith,
Roman soldiers OF the contending fac
tions may have peaceablv met on that
hard-fought field to note the points
where they stood in the fierce struggle.
So now, when q score of years have
whitened the heads of those who Crap
pied with each other on this bloody
field, they come and in the friendly
clasp forget the hatred of the long gone
time, and remember only the heroic
acts which shall Shine like diamonds in
their sombre setting. They come;
some bent and broken By wounds and
suffering, some with an empty sleeve
dangling where once hung the good
right arm, and some whose crutches
bend and creak under the dead weight
of the shattered bodies they support.
To-day came the men of Massachu-
sets, who at Gettysburg showed their
defiance and hurled their leaden pro-
test across the narrow space which lay
between them and the gray-clad Zines
of disuninn and national ruin. Sprink-
led along the line here and there, in
the meadows, under the tree, and among
the rocks which dot the field, they
found the places where they had left
their dead, and with loving hands
planted the marks by which the Ameri-
can of the future may read their part
OF the history Of the fight of Gettys-
burg.
1t has three points of transcendent
interest, and by virtue of the dramatic
distribution of leading features which
makes this the battle of the war, each
of its three hot days has one. First is
the inauspicious opening of the fight in
which the gallant old First corps fought
two to one for hours, then, outfianked
end taken in the rear, changed front
and still fought on; overlapped again,
took a new position, and blazed back
the fire which crept so swiftly around
its unprotected TANKS, and only when
to remain was destruction fell back
stained crimson with its own best blood,
and again raised its colors on the front
to which victory came at last; though
when the victory came the ringing
cheers of his men could not reach the
ear of their dead commander, the gal
liant Reynolds. To-day looked on the
painted board nailed on q tree which
marks the spot where he died:
HERE FELL GEN. REYNOLDS.
July l, 1868.
It is q simple, plain epitaph, but
when the men who knew him as their
general read the words | saw their eyes
fill with tears. and they turned away
in silence. Such tribute from such
men is worth more than a mauso!eum
higher than pyramid. What Nc
Pherson was to the army of the west,
REYNOLDS was to the army of the Po-
tomac and although the Years that have
since swept by have washed out the re-
membrance OF many stirring events,
the memory of their gifted corps COM
mander Was still fresh and green in
their hearts.
Among the regiments who fought in
this desperate first days struggle were
the Twelfth and Thirteenth Massachu-
sets, the former one commanded by q
son of Daniel Webster. Having To-
Gated the position of the two regiments
the patty passed through Gettysburg
and out south on the Emmettshurg
road where the flag of the Second di-
vision, third corps, was seen flying from
q fence corner, and as the white dia-
mond came into view it was greeted
with cheer. This was the identical
flag flying on the identical spot where
it waved on the second day of the bat
tie, when Sickles was driven from the
advanced position which he occupied.
In the history of the fight, as published,
Sickles' action in locating his line here
is claimed to have been mistake, but
/ was assured to-day by party who
claimed to know that Sickles did it to
bring on battle, being under the i'm
preston that Meade would not fight
here unless forced. The conversation
between the two generals, when Meade
rode out to the exposed line, WIS ex-
ceodinglv concise Said Sickles: Il
will withdraw the line if you wish"
"D--n it," returned Meade, they
won't let You" And they did not, for
at that moment the shrill Confederate
yell was raised Immediately in front,
and Longstreet came down on the corps
like an avalanche.
just across the road from the corps
flag is log house with weather-beaten
shingles turned up in disgust at the
weather. One of the boys rummaging
about its shot-pierced walls suddenly
called out, Halo, boys, I'll be blamed
if here amt the very oven we cooked
our bread in that day and, true enough,
there was the old brick structure in
which the Eleventh Massachusetts, baked
bread, while the air was filed with fly