, 1885-01-20
AFTER GETTYSBURG.
REPORTERS ADVENTURES IN
SEARCH OF WAR NEWS.


IAN0NA , wow US 49,
Snow it's your turn to toll a story" 1 said
10 a gentleman who had hitched up from
the other end Of the car and listened. The
newcomer was A. II. Byington, editor OF
The Norwalk, Conn, Gazette, who has been
an attache Of congress for the last thirty
years. During three years OF the war he
served The New York Tribune as Wishing
ton and field correspondent, and l often left
the quartsrmnsters' accounts to look out
for themselves and lent him a hand
ALincoln Is always in order" / suggested
IL know what ho thought about the battle
OF Gettysburg" said Byington- "But it
wouldn't do 10 print it Though, having a
Newspaper of my own that Is always hungry
for gossip, / have never ventured to air it
As preliminary TO whit Lincoln said per-
haps, I had better recall the bout l got on
the other newspapers In reporting the battle
Of Gettysburg"
We agreed, and he sailed ahead. ut was
the latter part OF June, 1858, that Igot a dis
patch from Culpepper court house, TO hurry
out there, for our army was ON the move. l
went at once, but the army had already
started north at a rapid pace, trying to keep
between the rebel army and Washington
Hooker was in command l went to the
headquarters Of Meade, who was stationed
at Goose creek He told me there was going
10 be a battle, but my best way was to go
back to Washington and hurry up to
Harper's Ferry, and there I would head off
the army and find the Seventeenth Con-
n~ecticut, whose quartermaster had one OF
my horses
aWhen 1 got to Harper's Ferry I found
Hooker in a fume. l soon learned that he
had demanded to have the 10000 inactive
men on Boliver heights attached to his own
army for the battle with Lee, and that Hal
leck had refused. Hooker resigned that
afternoon, and Lincoln commissioned Meade
to command the army Of the Potomac. The
Seventeenth Connecticut was still ahead of
me. Gen. Bob Tyler OF the Connecticut
brigade was there, and he took my map and
marked a red ring around on it on the Penn
sy1vania line, and said, Within a few days
there would be within that circle one of the
biggest fights the world over saw Go
around to Baltimore and head it oil at
York, Pa
again 1 followed directions I tried
Baltimore, but news came there hat the
rebels had burnt tho bridges and torn up
the track. 1 finally went TO Phila-
dolphin and got to York by why of
Lancaster, determined TO be the first re-
porter on the ground. The track was torn
up, but l got a minister to carry me twelve
miles in his wagon ]. f. B. Stuarts rebel
cavalry had been to York, Quilted the
provision stores and taken 10000 from the
bank. Occasionally 1 heard a gun go of in
the southwest. 1 hired q buggy, telling the
owner to charge it to The Tribune il l never
came back, and drove in the direction Of the
c~annonading.
81 drove away twelve miles, e-ncountering
some rebel cavalry on the way, n got to
Hanover. There had been a severe cavalry
fight there. The town had a disorderly
Appearances; people stayed close in their
houses, and the debris OF arms and accoutre-
ments lay along the roads. The wounded
were gathered in the church. Telegraph
wires were broken and strewn around.
II stopped at the hotel and asked the land
lord il there was no telegraph operator
there. Yes, there he is, said he, pointing
out a little ~hunchback named Tone. asked
him where his battery was. AT home
under the bed, he said. The wires are all
cut, and there is no use trying to telegraph
After considerable parleying l got some men
to go out on a hnnd-car and FIX the wires, 1
paying the men and making myself re-
sponsible for the value Of the car. Then the
battery was brought out and we got Balti-
more, the operator promising an absolute
monopoly Of the wire for two days.
Then ! hurried to tho battlefield, some
five miles off. Before reaching there 1 met
Gen. Howard, and he told me Of the first
days fight, of Reynolds death. and many
other things; 1 found J. r. Sypher,
whom / had engaged at Lancaster
to follow me, and we sent off by our
private telegraph wire an account Of the
Eight OF the first two days. 1t was a magni-
hcent feat. No other accounts got through
hab-night, and between $50 and midnight
The Tribune sold $1,000 copies on the streets
Of the city.
~fopa kept getting the strange signal sK-L-,'
x L"What the dickens does K l. meanf
he asked. I'm afraid the rebs have tapped
eur wire. Finally he found out that it was
the war department at Washington. We
have got Byington's first despatch said
Stanton, sand it Is our first news Send along
rhorN. We are listening For two days l
sent exclusive dispatches over my wire,
giving all particulars of the great battle,
while The Herald was running relays of
horses. l tsle graphed that the railroad was
whole from Baltimore to Hanover, and tho
government sent out trains for our wounded.
The sufgbon told me that that railroad saved
Gen eickles' lie.
After the battle 1 got a horse and
hurried on after the rebels, wondering that
Meade did not pursue. They were all broken
up and demoralixed, the roadside strewn
with sick men, with dead horses and aban-
doned weapons. Next day l came up with
Lees main army. 1t was huddled together
In a horveshoe-shaped bend OF the Potomac
lin a valley surrounded by hills on one side
and by the swollen and rushing river on the
other. It would AVE been easy to bag them
all Their flight was fatally interrupted
The pontoons they had crossed on were swept
ava and they had no means to recross-
By a friend who had accompanied me / sent
back to President Lincoln and The Tribune
the somewhat too previous dispatch: We've
got Lees army tight. It cannot escape
after waiting there a while l turned back
to meet Meade's army, which / supposed
must be rapidly approaching up the road
In vain 1 looked and wnited- It did not
heave in sight. Well, you know the rest
IL was at Washington when Meade came
to report after the battle Of Gettysburg. !
asked Gid. Welles, secretary of the navy,
about the interview. 4 was present in the
cabinet, he said, when Gen. Meade came to
tell about the battle, and take counsel about
the situation 'Doyou know, general, Mr.. Lin
coin suddenly broke cat, With q laugh, what
your attitude toward Lee for n week after
the battle of Gettysburg reminded me Off
No, Mr.. President, what is itf asked Meade.
Tn be hanged II l could think Of anything
else said Lincoln, than an Did woman try
ing to shoe her geese across the creeki'
After that Meade never quite recovered con-
hdence.n
Toccoa GAL News: Not long since a
lady advised her Hbetter haif7 to attend a
dancing school in order to appear grpceful
In a prayer meeting.
Ch~;a Ma,,ys hoe ,a,ooro1 HE h,Lar, 90