The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1888-01-04
A NOTABLE RETREAT.
Imboden Leads His Noun
taineers from Gettysburg.
SERVICE THAT WINS REWARD
One of the Most Interesting Remt-
niscences of Great His
toric Event. 0aIIg


night in the corridor of the Continental
Hotel, says the Philadelphia Times, and
talked with smaller man. with pair
OF thin whiskers and suit of yellowish
Scotch cloth. The large mans features
were rugged and eather-beaten. He
had large aquiline nose, heavy, brown
mous tache and shaggy eyebro Ms. and a
soft felt hat, corresponding in shape to
that worn by the southern officers dur
ing the war, surmounted his full, ruddy
face. It was General Imboden, formerly
of the Confederate army. and he was
telling how, in '63, with scarcely more
than 1900 cavalry he conducted 1000
wounded men and the Confederate
army. train from Gettysburg in safety
back to Maryland. 7 81 Ell .vit
For nearly three-quarters of an hour
the general recalled the memorable oc-
currence on the afternoon and night OF
July 4, 1868. A colored porter came to
say that Mrs. 1mboden was waiting f,r
him, but fifteen minutes went by before
he needed the message, so interesting
was he in his "reminiscences. The story
was told over, however, with great
quletness and deliberation. .sl
"Late on the night of the 3D., he said,
II got my orders from General Lee. 1t
was sad interview. He brought me
message from q near friend, General
Kemper, whom he had left wounded ON
the battlefield. At Chambersburg not
long before, Kemper prophesied that he
would die in battle. The message was
to remind me of that prophecy and to
say it had fallen true. [ never saw Lee
SO overcome as he was that night. He
was q man of wonderful eQuanimity
and rarely lost his calmness. At Chan
cellorsville once, when our side had lost
ground, he became excited and wanted
to lead Wilcox's division into the fight.
The men refused to charge until he re-
tired to the rear. But when he spoke to
me in the dead OF that night. of Pickett's
grand charge, every muscle Ia his body
quivered. The charge failed, undoubt-
eddy, through the shortcoming of Long
street, who was jealous of his superior
and did not carry out his orders,
think. as he should have done. General
Lee told me he was about to intrust tue
wagon train and all bis wounded to me.
He would send me additional artillery,
but could spare no more men. He Or
dered me emphaticany to keep the
column going at all hazards, and warned |
me- that would probably be attackeds 81
had about 2,l00 men, all mounted, a |
command hai raised myself around |
my home in the mountains of Wis inia. |
All were hardy mountaineers. There /
were about 2 500 w CONS, % 900 horses.
and 1000 wounded men. | statioue.i /
of my cavalry about every |
quarter mile throught ut the train.
every fourth body being more numer /
ous and carrying artillery.
sin the van, wher l expected to meet |
most opposition placed my bro'ier
Colonel Imboden, with quite large I
orce of the Eighteen Virginia cavalry. ]
FULLY realized ttaS 10 lose toe supply !
wagons meant ruin to the army. and /
earins to leave even the details of ar +
TO my staff. | stayed in
until the whole train Was in
notion to see that my orders we're ex
,ctly carried ont. The column extended
seventeen miles. At O'Clock IN the
afternoon of July a in, dretching
rain. started with my staff, about six
4. mum her, to gallop to the heads Of the +
train. | have served in plenty OF bat
lies, but never before bad [ realiZed the
horrors OF war as L did that night
From every wagon we passed came the
cries, shrieks, and means of the |
wounded. General Lee had kept sE
the regular ambulances for use with the
able bodied men in the contingency oil
another battle, and not wagon he'd
springs. Many had no5even stray. In,
places the road was rocky, and the mea
we're jolted frightfulIy every moment
Some swore, some prayed in al agoniz-
ing voice for stop that I could never
order. .laIs1 u \
80 narrow was the road that lin
places the legs of our horses were bruised
BY the wagon wheels. On either side, as
well as could judge, were dense woods.
The darkness was so intense that +
mainly the instinct OF the horses en-
abled US to keep the road. Now the
storm would increase in violence so
that we co1ld not hear each others
voices, again the cries OF the wounded
must, and I ordered the men as passed |
along to abandon and throw aside any |
wagon that Eecame disabled so as NOT
to delay the others. My brotner III lnr !
van had instructions tocharge au,! drive
forward at all cost any force enccun-
tered.
/ 1.-The road led up the cas- face of
South mountain and over the brow. The |
descent on the other side was extremely
rugged. The rain continued III descend
in torrents until day reak. The mouth
tain streams were rivers which had to
be forded. In otherplaces the mud was
knee deep. The horses struggled
through it almost to their bellies and
several times the escort had to help III
extricating cannon mired nearly to the
hub. Among the wounded [ mad twoi
generals, Scales and Fender The
former is;now governor OF North Caro-
lima. Fender was killed little later st
Winchester. These two were near the
head of the train. Except them ! hal
no officers higher than colonel Start
ing by the Chambersburg road, we pre-
sently fanked it and led off to the left
along country by-road. About mid
night, while riding with my staff, was
taken with congestiye chill, brought
on, think, as much by the horrors |
bod UNDERGONE sc the nYnOsnrn NV