Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1884-02-14
FROM CHICAGO.
The Battle Of Gettysburg on Canrsss-A Famous
Painting-The Worlds Great Singers, In
GLIDING Sembrieh.
Especial Correspondence of Tnr HrRALD.)

write short description of that wonder
full battle-picture now hung in great
building in Chicago, representing the
third days fight of the battle of Gettys-
burg; and do so because | know that
reference to the subject must possess
interest to many of the old soldiers of
Grant county, who now have in their
minds vivid memory of the awful
reality of that day of death and carnage.
| have witnessed it twice-once with
the present proprietor of THE HERALD
who was foraging with Sherman at that
time in 1864; and once with Gen'l Ed.
Bryant, of Madison, now editor of the
Daily Democrat, who was stationed
with his regiment on Culp's Hill when
Pickett moved out with his rebel army
of $4,000 men to attack the federals,
and who pointed out to me the various
positions of the corps and divisions, and
stated that he could hardly believe but
that he was on Pennsylvania soil and
looking over the battle ground in fact.
Could be as successful in word
painting as Paul Phillepoteaux with his
brush in representing this battle field.
am sure / could put a picture before
my readers with almost as much dis
tlnctness as if the beautiful hills and
fields of that historic spot were spread
before us. The artist has woven on cam
vass most enchanting delusion, so far
as the perspective and color can charm,
and over this fair page has wrought the
grim forms of war and battle terrible
CHASTITY and pathetic.
As to the mechanical parts of the
picture:
1t is fifty feet in height by four hun
dred feet in length, ranged round a
circular building, made purposely to
accommodate it. The top of the build
ing is convex and becomes part of th e
picture, being painted to represent the
sky. Spectators view the scenery from
raised platform in the center and look
abroad over the green hills and waving
grain fields of Gettysburg. 1t is i'm
possible to dispel the illusion that you
are looking out for many miles in the
distance, while around you the battle is
going on. 1t is fearful realism that
brings to the eyesomething of the horrors
of war. The colors are life-like. Part
of the surroundings of the picture, lead
ing to its foot, are natural such as
broken trees, tlamped grain, dismantled
guns, wrecked caisons, &c, but YOU
cannot tell where the natural ends and
the brush of the artist begins-the line
of demarkation cannot be seen by the
eye. So real is the distance, though q
radius from the center would be scarce
sixty feet, that field and opera glasses
are naturally brought to the eye to
sweep the distance.
This painting, as before stated, repre-
sents the last great effort on their final
day at Gettysburg, between the two
armies for victory, when Pickett charged
across the open plain for a mile into the
rain of fire that poured into them from
the Union line. 1t was portentious
moment, upon which hinged great is
sues. For three days tho great armies
struggled for supremacy and now was
reached the final catastrophe. At one
O'Clock on that day signal gun ushered
in the artillery fire, and one hundred
and fifty Confederate cannon opened
fire against about an equal number. In
the words of General Bryant, s'the
noise nearly drove one crazy" The
aim of the Confederate fire was to break
the northern lines and prepare the way
for Pickett's charge. But the northern
lines stood firm. At three O'Clock the
firing ceased. A terrible suspensive
lull! And then, ''the rebels are comingr'
White lips repeated the cry, but it was
not the lspings Of towards A mile
away columns of rebels poured from
the woods-on they came, ragged as
Lazarus at Dives gate, but brave as
the hosts of Cesar, for they had been
triumphant Half way across the plain
the battle was begun by the Unionists.
and in little while the gray and the
blue mingled in the conflict of death.
Unionists came to the rescue of Union
lists, brigades We'd with each other in
leading charges. What thavoc! Cush-
ing's battery No. of the u. S. Artil-
lery, and Browns battery, Rhode Is
land. on his left were completely des-
troyed. The horses were killed, the
officers, with the exception of one, only
were struck with fragments of shell, and
Gushing had but one serviceable gun
left. When Pickett's advance came
very near the line, young Gushing, NOR
tally wounded in both thighs, ran his
last serviceable gun down to the fence
and cried, webb. will give them one
more shotl'' He did so. and fell dead.
Webb sent new batteries to replace the
two disabled ones. Gen. Armistead
crossed the stone wall and REACHED the
guns, and the battery was, for a few
moments, in his possession and the
Southern flag floated triumphantly in
the Union lines. But Webb was very
near, and facing Armistead and eneour-
aging his men, He led the 72d regi-
ment of Pennsylvania against Pickett,
and posted line of wounded in the rear
with orders to shoot all men who de-
serted. A party of the list Pennsyl-
vania, behind stone wall al the right.
made a very murderous fire at the flank,
while party of the 69th Pennsylvania
and the remainder of the list made an
energetic resistance at the left from be-
hind a clump of trees. near the spot
where the Southerners had broken the
Union line, and where the Northern
men were fighting with the Southern
muskets touching their breasts. At this
moment two regiments conducted by
Colonel Hall made splendid charge
and passed completely across Webb's
line to engage with the Southerners in
a haud-to-haud conflict a,n,;,a