New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-07-01
AFTER GETTYSBURG.
PURSUING LEE To THE POTOMAC.
THE EXPERIENCES OF VERMONT vHrERAN-A
BRILLIANT sXIRMisH.

So many have told the story Oh 1ettS SUITE, s@i"
a veteran the other day, that there can hardly DC
anything 10 say about IT; but the gathering OF
the survivors Of the Army OF the Potomac ard o.
Northern Virginia in friendly reunion on the ground
where, twenty-five years ago. they met as enemies
and fought one OF the most desperate battles In the
world mus. bring up "reminiscences of that time IN
minds of the veterans, many Of them interesting ana
worthy Of preservation. Only small portion OF our
corps, the Sixth engaged In the battle, u haVlhs
been fortune this time To be on the wrong end Oh
the line. 1t something TO us, too, Tor we
had rarely had any such experience. 1t was knd
Of surprise party but my story must begin where the
others leave of.
"On the Fourth OF July everything was quiet
During the day we drew ratons for three days, and
afcrward moved little farther UP toward the rlsht'
and the night Of the Fourth wore trying our best
to keep our AMMUNITION dry for It did rain In tor
rens-iust seemed to pour right down. MY tent
mate succeeded I'm getting half dozen rails from
some quarter and, laying the ends up on a rock we
put few boughs them TO take the edge OH the
corners and spread rubber blanket over them Ihen'
taking our second rubber blanket cover US, we lay
down using cartridge boxes for pillows, and putting
our rifles between and slept as only an ola souier
sleep. Morning came after awhile, ana the ram
had stopped-that is the down-pour had inc SKY
still cloudy and an occasional shower Kept Us
wet down The hardest thing for US. however, was
solid mass Of mush the hard tack all soaked TO dough,
and the salt pork sugar and ground coffee ono nasty
mixture. We'll, this meant a three days fasti as
there was no chance to get anything now. We were
Just starting after friends, the enemy Our
haversacks were made OF canvas, covered with Kind
cf black paint and that supposed to be water
proof-ordlnary It so-but in rain such as iol-
lowed Gettysburg well painted tin roof would
have been tested at every joint. We hung them up
off the ground, but everything soaked. We got
one breakfast out Of the mess they contained, and
saved the pork and coffee.
CHASTITY SIGHT NEAR BURIAL TRENCH.
"starting out. moved across the battlefield Here
and there, long. low ridges Of fresh dirt could De
seen, probably twenty-five to thirty feet long and
about seven feet wide These were freshly covered
graves, where the dead laid, side by side, iii
the trenches full. Then all were covered Pass
ing one Of these trenches that partly filed with
Confcderates, halted for few moments ana
noticed young Confederate a South CaolinIan- who
had been hit Just the right eve. The bail or
piece Of shell had torn away piece OF the skull about
two inches square, laying bare the brain over the eye
back to the temple. lie lay there motonless but
was he dead The brain pulsated regularly, as
though with every beat Of the heart, but no othcr
sign Of life could be discovered The boys wouldn't
put him IN the trench. l thought What II he be
conscious, and hears what we sayP The thought
-,
party and resumed march across the field I'LL We
struck the Farchrd road down which tramped.
About o'clock we halted in appleOrch hard.
Some Ct the apples large as hens egg We got
together many Of these a. our frying pans would
hold and fried them with pork. This made
paatablc supper, but IT was our last mouthful CT
ratons, and to add to comfort It was again rain
ing steadily. 1t seems that We mad run down Lees
rear guard this point and s.opped for orders. AZ
any rate lay here that night and all the next
day. Then We started for Emmettsburg, reaching
there tho morning Of the 7th wet, muddy, tired and
hungry wolves Our officers succeeded in getting
one days raOns Of hard bread for us there, but IL
has always been somewhat OF mystery 10 me TO
know how the Quartermaster ever got wagon-train
through and II the reader has never been without
anything TO ear for couple Of days. he can hardly
appreciate how hard work Il TO keep from ealing
that days ration right down at one meal
OVER THE CAToCTIN MOUNTAINS.
"Afer cup OF hot coffee and three or four hard
CRACKERS cleaning and oillng our rifles was tho next
move. That soon accomplished, and the boys
lay down and quickly forgot In sleep the mud and
rain ard long nights march, only 10 wake and find
were In for another night. this one worse, If pos
snle, than its predecessor We Obliged TO give
up the roads 10 artillery and wagon trains and wcrc
led by what said was bride PATH but l
don't think that anything that ever wore bride
could get over H. unless fl a goat The way led
over the Caoctin Mountains. 1t raining heavi-
ly and the night darker than pitch. Climbing
mountains over rocks and stones was nothing especial
ly to Vermont men, but that nights march
tried our patience as well endurance. When we
had nearly reached the top, the man ahead Of mo
suddenly moved TO the right, and l ran smack up
against 4 rock tried step OYER 1t or around It,
but could Finally. after two or three attempts
lost my balance ard fell over log al the side Of tho
path, and down the side Of the mountain, striking
arrrh
hauscd that simply pulled my cap over my face to
keep the rain Oft. and went TO SLEEP
When | awoc 1t had stopped raining, and must
have been o'clock Ny rife was lying near
me on the brush, and l found that probably owed
my life to the fact that had been 50 exhausted as 10
lie stl II had tried in the darkness to get our,
as soon as got of this friendly brush heap should
have gone scventy-Gve a hundred feet down among
the rocks, and ended my small part OF the campaign
right there.
About an hours tramp brought TO the top of
the mountain, where found MY regiment cncamped
Here black raspberries were thick AMI they made an
excellent sauce 10 our hard crackers. After getting
this frugal breakfast found time 70 admire the
be.uty Of the scenery before US Down in the valley
was Mlddleown, right under The beautiful green
Of tie meadows and the rich golden yellow Of the
wheat fields, with orchards here and there, made
scene not altogether strange TO us, and know made
many a noble fellows heart ache for a pcment "a 1t
carried him home to scenes many Of his comrades were
never. to look upon again.
CAMPING IN THE VALLEY.
Resting here till about noon we started down the
mountain In a somewhat better track perhaps day
light made 1t seem So We had not gone far before
it was found that could cut across The fields and
save a long march; 50 the head OF the column was
turned across splendid wheat field, much TO the dis
gust of farmer whose protest did not seem to DO
much good. more than 10 create laugh at his ex-
pense We left him scowing and DO doubt swearing
as long as there Yankee in sight Perhaps he
is at it yet Reaching the valley in a short time we
encamped for the da.. Wet, muddy, foctsore and
hungry we were In sad need Of days rest There
Is little romance 10 tie eycy day vors Of an Infantry
man short time after gonS into camp got per-
mission to 90 to Mldclctown and went into the village
thinking mainly OF getting something 10 eat in civil