The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1884-01-03

globes of blood. OF the battle
at this point, Longstreet says that for
two hours it was the most desperate
fighting he had ever seen. Still farther
to the left he came to the Devils Den,
where the battle ragged with a ferocity
worthy OF all the tiends below. 1t is a
dismal hollow, strewn with huge rocks
and curtained by growth OF oak and
naples. Step by step through this glen
of death the Union forces fell back. and
from each covert in the gloomy area
sprang the rifles flash and sped the
nurlarous bullet. Four weeks after
the battle bodies were found wedged
an,ong the rocks where the men fell,
and do not know but in the black
inches which abound there might yet be
found the moldering skele o1s of some
poor fellows who 'lwled into the ccev-
ices to die.
Imme i,tely above the Devils Den
rise the bold faces of Little Round Top,
and its comp.nion peak. Hound Top
which bore so important part "A the
battle on the left Once in possession
and they only missed it by the barest
chance the Confeder ties would have
commanded the whole field, and Get
tysburg would have ended in disaster to
the Union troops. This was the extreme
left flank of the army OF the Potomac.
1t was impregnable, as Longstreet
found to his sorrowful cost when he
essayed to scale its ruggel sides in the
face Of the Union force. Turning to the
right of the Union position we came
down the hill, locating the Massachu-
sets men as We passed along. About
the centre board announces that Gen.
Hancock was wounded here July B,
1863. This was the crucial point, and
within few yards is the copse of trees
where, as has been written, the re-
bellion reached its high water mark.
To me there is nothing so pathetic
about this whole field as little piece
of board. within few feet of the spot
where Picketts charge was repulsed in
bloody wreck, bearing i'll lead-pencil
these words:
GEN. ARMIsTEAD FELL HERE.
This is the foreground of Rothermel's
celebrated picture. This is the little
edition of hell on earth, where bayonets
clashed against bayonets before they
were plunged into quivering bodies;
where mems breath was exhausted by
the terrific muscular struggles, and
they glared into each others eyes with
the hate of fiends where friend and foe
fell thick as autumnal leaves. and the
wounded were smothered, strangle1 by
the bodies and blood of the dead above
them. This was the point where the
tiercest, widest, almost successful lunge
of the Confederacy was made, and here
Armistead fell-the rebel who had the
honor of climbing higher toward the
lie of the Union than any other Confed-
crate general officer. From the cupola
of the seminary just across this shallow
valley Lee looked on the destruction Of
his last hope, and one can easily imagine
that until AppomattoX came, with its
hopeless surrender, the Confederate
commander saw no sadder moment than
this. Success meant the possession of
Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia,
perhaps New York. paralyzed north,
RECOGNITION by Europe-everything.
Defeat here on this little Gods acre
was tie ruin of the south. SO. torn by
the pGnCs of useless regret, he gath
cred together his shattered army and
departed forever.