The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1891-10-02
correspondence.

! In response to the call of the chairman
| of the committee on arrangements the l25th
T, Pennsylvania Volunteers held their second
| reunion on the battle field of Antietam.
in Maryland, on the 18th and 18th of Sep
| tember, 1891. This regiment was composed
| of four companies from Huntingdon coun-
~ and six companies from Blair county. in
Guiding a contingent of about fifty men
| from GallitZin and 81. Augustine. Cambria
| county. The veterans TO the number of
| seventy-four met in the old town of Sharps-
burg, Md, on the evening of September Is,
1891, near the same ground where they had
been twenty-nine years before, and on the
eve of which occurred one of the bloodiest
battles of the war of the rebellion. We
We're assigned quarters in the town, the
citizens not only preparing quarters for
our boys, but also for about a dozen other
delegations of veterans from different por-
| tionS OF the country. The number of vet
, Grams present was about 1000, which to-
| gether with the other visitors would run
the number up TO about l-JOO. The roar of
artillery. the hraying of bugles and fifes,
| the rattle of drums soon aroused the
old town from its RIP Van Wrinkle
| slumber II is a typical Maryland town
the railroad, and in the midst of a splendid
| farming county. The New York and
Maine regiments held their camp fire on
the evening of the 10th. But ! will limit
my remarks to the proceedings Of our own
regiment and shall pass the Others by.
The 125th p. V. met at the DunKer
church at 9 o'clock on the morning of the
18th. where we had the pleasure of listen
4. Il II
! General McCamant. After the ADDRESS we
proceeded to the house of Mr.. &. Lyon,
! about four miles distant, where the l25th
| bivouaced the night before battle. and
| followed a near "a we could the route
! taken on the day OF the battle by our regi-
J ment from, this point, over fields and fences,
through woods and raVines, from the east
woods to the west woods. across the Hag
| erstown pike to the right and rear of the
| bunker church, where We had our final
| wind-Ep Oh that eventful day. On the day
| of the battle we We're under the command of
General Mansfield, whose army corps, the
! 18th, consisted Of two divisions command
| ed respectively by General Williams and
| General Green. The right of Crawford's 5
brigade was the 125th p. V, commanded
| by the veteran Col. Higgins. The fighting
commenced at daylight, HOoker's men in
the advance. Mansield's men supporting
the rebels were gradually forced back un-
| til point was reached about midway be-
tween our bivouac of the night before,
and the bunker church on the right of the
Smoketown road, and to the right of the
big spring on ). Pottenberger's farm. Here
| Hookers troops We're repulsed, having lost
terribly in officers and men and Hooker
himself being badly wounded. His men
gave way. Mansfield's corps had TO re-
lieve Hooker, and stem the onward rush of
the eXultant rebels who, with loud yells,
were following up their success.
| Right here in front of strip of woods in
an old field to the right mot to the left of
the Smoketown road, during the deploy-
| ment of Williams division, our gallant
leader, General Mansfield, fell mortally
! wounded while examining the ground in
| front of our regiment and was carried to the
rear a short distance by Sergeant John
| Kohoe and Private Samuel Edmiston, of
Company h. After carrying the General a
! short distance TO the rear they were re-
! lieved by men of the 10th Maine, who now
| claim it was in front of their regiment and
to the left of the Smoketown road where
| Mansfield was killed, and have at this date
a tablet marking the spot. This tablet,
however. is a falsehood to the extent of 400
yards at least.
After the fall of Mansfield the command
of the 12th corps fell to our General Will
liams, who pushed his men rapidly forward
until our regiment on the right debouched
| on the Hagerstown pike, between the
| bunker church and the house of ID. L.
| Miller, on the pike. We had by this time
driven the Confederates about one mil
| from the spot where Mansfield fell and the
| key to their position on this part of the
| field was in the woods west of the pike, TO
| the right and rear of tho bunker church.
Our General determined to make a desper-
ate effort to carry this position of the enc
emy. Our regiment was the one selected
to make the charge. We made the charge
in the face of perfect blizzard of shot,