The Billings herald. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1882-1885, 1885-03-07
AFTER GETTYSBURG.
A REPORTERS ADVENTURES M
SEARCH OF WAR NEWS.
Telegraphiny Under Difficulties The
Strange Signal TX. Ia Hasty Dis
patch-What Lincoln Told Cen.
Meade q Few Days Later.
iCroffut's New York Letter, |

| Inc NOrW0lx, Conn, dIZEt., who has be on
an a tache cf congress for the last thirty
year,. Durin, tiree years of tie VIZ be
servcl The New York Tribune as Washing
ton and field CORE pold,nt, AMI I often left
tae quart,rml t.rs accounts t. Look out
for .em elves and lent him hanl
Lincoln is always in orler," l suggested.
II know what he thou hit about the battle
Of Gettysburg" sa d Byington. "Eut it
worl Int do to rint it. Though, havin. a
newspape: of my own that is always hua. r.
for gos ip / have never ven:urel to air IL
As rrel .minary t. what Lincoln said per-
hap, had Letter recall the heat gos on
the other new papers in rep,rtin the battle
of GETTYSBURG"
! We agreed, AMI he sailed ahead. ut wa,
the latt.r part of June, lSi;3. that l got dis
! p;tch from Culpepper court house, to hurry
out there, Tor our army was on the move.
went at once, but the army had already
s.arte nor.h at a rapid pace, trying to keep
between tee r,bel army anl Washington
Hook was il command. l went to tho
headquarters; of Meade. who was statione
at G os, ere k. lie told me there was going
to G battle. but my best way was to 60
back to Washington and hurry up to
Har. err, Ferry. ami there woull hal OF
recticut, whose quarterma,ter had oao Of
my EorseS
when got t. Harper's Ferry I found
Hooker in fum,. soon learned that he
had demanded t. lave the 10, OOJ inactive
men Oh oliver heights attached to his own
army for the latt g with Lee, and that Hal
leck hal 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 o. the Coanecti uf'
brigade was there, and he took my map and
marked a red ring around on it on the Penn
sylvania line. AMI said, Within few days
there woul b, within that circle one Of the
biggest fights the world ever saw. Co
around to BaltimOr. and head it OF at
York, Pa
"Agein l followed directions 1 tried
Baltimore, Tut news came there that the
retel' had burnt the bridges anil torn up
tn, track. l finally went to Phila-
delph;a all got to York by way Of
Lancaster, determined to be tn, first re.
porter Oh the ground. TIE track was torn,
up, lut got mini ter to carry m, twelvs
miles in his wagon. j. T. B. Stuar-'s reSal
cavalry had Leen to York, gu.tel the
provision stores and taken $50, 900 from the
bank. Occasionally heard gun go off in
TIE southwest ] hir,l buggy, telling the
owner to charge it to The Tribune if never
came back, and drove in the direction Cf the
cannonading
Il drove away twelve miles, cncounterinS
some rebel cavalry on the way, and got to
Hanover. There la been severe cavalry
fight there. The town had q disorierly
-, A.. =.
houses, and tie debris OF arms and accoutra--
ments lay along the roads. The wounded
were gathered in the church. Tele,rapk
wires were broken and strewn around.
~ stopped at the hotel and ask ID the lan;l-
lord if there was no telegraph operator
there. Yes, there he is, sal | he poi ltins:
out a little hunch ack named Tone. l a>ket
him where his battery was. AT homs
under the bed, he sail. The wires are all
cut, snd there is no use trying to tel graph
After considerable parleyin5 got some men
to 60 out on hand-car AMI fix the wires, I
paying the men AMI making my ELF re-
sponsible for the value of the car. Tnea th,
battery was brought out and we got Balti-
more, tie operator promising all absolute
Of tn, wire for two days.
"Thcn l hurried to the battlefield some
FIVE miles off Before reaching Tiers rles
Gen Howard, and lie tod me cf tie firss
days fight, ef Reynolds death. snl many
other things; l tould j. r. Sypher,-
whtm l lad engaged at Lancaster
to follow m,, ani we sent off by our
private telegraph wire an account of tie
tight of the first two Gays. 1t was a magni-
fcent feat. No other accounts got through
that night, AMI between 9:3) and Midnight
The Tribune sold $1,000 copies on tie street,'
of the city.
Tone kept getting the stran se signal 'k.L,',
*. l. What tie dickens does K. l. meanr
be askel. Pm afraid the rebs have tappeI
our wire. Finally he founl out that it was
the war department at Washington. we
have got Eyingtoas first DESPATCH sal
Stanton, 'and it is our first news SEMI along
more. We are i,teniug' For two daysI
giving ali particulars Of tie great battle,
lorse,. telegraphed that the railroad was
whole from Balt;mor, to Hanover, and tho
government sent out trains for our wounded
ien. Siikles' life.
"After the battle l got a horse and
hurried IL after the rebe.s, wondering that
Up and dcmoraliZed, tie roadside strewn
With sick men, with dead horse' and aban-
loned weapons. Next day / came up with
Lees main army. 1t was huddled together
n horseshoe-shaped Lend of the Potomac
in valley surrounded by hills on en- side
md by the swollen and rushing river on the
thcr. 1t wcIld have been easy to a, them
il. Their fight was fatally interrupted.
he pontoons they had eros ell on were swept
way, and they had no means to recros..
BY a friend who had accompanied me sent
'ack to President Lincoln and The Tribune
he somewhat too previous dispatch: We've.
ot Lees army tight. It cannot escap'.'
AFTER waiting there while turned back
o meet Meade's army, which / supposed
uust le rapidly approaching up the road.
n vain l looked and waitel. 1t dill not
cave in sight. Well, you know the rest.
II was at Washington when Meade came
0 report after the La tie of Gettysburg !
sked Gid Welles, secretary of the navy,
bout the interview. ! was present in the
abinet,' he said, when Gen. Meade came to
sll about the hattie, and take counsel about
he situation. 'Doyou know, general, Mr.. Lin
ON u idenly broke out, with laugh. what
our attitude toward Lee for week aft,r
ne battle Of Gettysburg reminded me of:'
10, Mr.. President, what is it? asked Mea lie.
rll be hanged if l could think Of anything
Sc, said Lincoln, than all old woman try
,g to >boo her geese across the creek!
liter that Meade never quit, recovered con-
dence."
Toccoa Ga.,) News: Not long since O..
ldy advised her "hetter half" to attend q.