The Democrat. (Scotland Neck, Halifax Co., N.C.) 1884-1896, 1891-09-03
The Gettysburg Battlefield.
IT'S "REMINISCENCES; ITS Grand
MONUMENTS; AND HOW THEY
APPEAR TWENTY EIGHT YEARS Ar Il
THE GREAT STRUGGLE,
san REFLECTIONS, &c.

Mn EDITOR How often ID this
lifa do we realize what we never
expected! How sudden are the
changes oflife! Sometimes bringing
sorrow ard sometimes JOY u the
besrt: 10th Of which are to be realized
IN this world. Al unexpected visit
to the historic battle field of Gettys-
| burg causes many emotions miog led
with both JOY and sadness, about
which | can hardly refrain IfoH
writing. For more than quarter oil
century l have talked much from
sad experience about this great
struggle; the hardest fought battle
of the late war, and now l wish to
write from late personal observation
Of only four hours.
Twenty.eight years ago last July,
when q mere boy of nineteen sum
mere. | followed r. L. Lee to this
noted battle field and participated il
It's last two days battle July, Fac
and Srd,) mounting stone walls, and
rocks and ascending hills that now
sppear impregnable; and ever since
| have heartily desired to revisit this
battle field and see i'm time of peace,
when not molested by powder and
BALI what | did not have time to see
when there under sAot and shell.
So on the twenty-second day OF
August, 1891, while in Baltimore
only ninety miles of, in company
with two Virginian Confederates and
one Ohio Union soldier, l decided to
run up to Gettysburg and for few
hours partially crafty my curiosity
Starting ct nine, a. N, and on through
Carol and Adam counties, Pa, and
through Gettysburg we reached the
battlefield about one o'clock, p ID.
The cars put US off at "Little
Round Top, a high rocky bill. over
looking the whole le,feld, and
the Valley Of Death. Upon this bill
we End large crowd Of eagel
spectators, as anxious to see anC
learn as we.
Upon this hill the Uaion army wa:
strongly fortified bota by nstsre snc
art, to fight Lees veterans just across
the wide valley OF death, which seem
now almost impossible, but acros:
which we had to charge amid sho
and shell that threatened uniyersa
destruction. While on this hill
standing on mammoth rock, viewlnt
the battle field, our Union friend,
handsome young man who Tough
against me at the age OF fourteen
years, sugge ted that we have GU
photo taken shaking hands across
large cannon, as picture of ''uniU,
and peace"-to which | agreed, AM
when through l said to him, an,
friend, Go you know that plctur
shows just what it ought an(
deserves-a Confederate victory
Yer, Confederate shaking hand
with a Union man on his own Uniol
grounds and scross his own Unioi
cannon. clearly Indicating q Confed
crate victory. am very we'll salts
) fed with its emblem: how are your
This seemed to tease him goot
deal, but he could not now alter il
besides it was done at his own SUI
gestion and be was too manly t
= recall it.
, Here Oh this bill now stand seyera
batteries of cannon, and sewers
costly Union monuments, anon.
which is General Warren, q Unio
civil engineer, with field glasses i,
bis hand viewing the battlefield So
from which he first discovered GU
General Hood coming mp the vale.
f OF death, passing many costly Unio,
monuments to place called til
: devils den." For some distanc
around this MOTEL spot 10 the vale
and on the hills, in the woods an,
fields stand hundreds Of costly mou
aments, Of ali styles. towering hig
10 the air, bespeaking only the gloI
OF tie Union army. On one Of ties
monuments we noticed UnlO
soldier giving 9 poor wounded Coz
fedeTate aoldier water from Iii
canteeu, which represented peac
and unity. From thence onr part
moved on to the notable stone wal
over which we mounted Oh J0lY SD
, 1868, and charged across q iarg
wheat field Up to Union batter
that belchsd forth death and destruc
ton st every FIRE, This battery stj
/ stands in position, having 10 tt