The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-06-05

humble cottage 10 the west of the to
HI had been in his day constahls ~
had incurred the displeasure Of mos saa
his fellow citizens by reason of his acv,..
siveness toward the stray dogs 81 ~
town. In fact. he had put to des,h zoe
many dogs that he was about as nnr.a.N
lar as a tax-gatherer in Ireland. H. pe'
sessions were small, one of the most
portant being COW. At the time ~
battle came on this cow was tetbe,.a
some of the open pastures alon, ~
Chambersburg road. The old man ~ ae
down TO secure his COW when the fgh,:as
began between Buford's and Archs.ss
men, but when he reached the animal -
found her dead from stray shot delivs,aass
from the Confederate quarter. This =
enraged him that he swore venYesnss
He kept blazing away until disahi.s
by shot in the hip. Wn;.
the old gentleman was not erscsIs
inspired by lofty, patriotic motives n.
was certainly s2>aged in deiendns
his Preside and rs COW. When Pres;Sss!!
Lincoln visited the battlefield. in Novsaa
Der. 1868, he called upon old John A. n.
cottage, sat upon his humble porch ana
had him tell the story of his part IN ~
battle. That settled Johns fame. Evs.s
visitor to Gettysburg called upon Mn
tial token of appreciation. The Door al
fellow was on the road to wealth and a..
when death cut him of. He will aIvs,s
be a part of the historic battle. becsn.s
Bret Harte's poem has canonized him srJ
placed him in the category Of fghine
saints.
My good friend. General Batchelder. n.
government historian referred 70. n ms
fair way TO earn the hostility of the stat.
of Pennsylvania. He has undertaken 4
fix the brand of cowardice and falsebood
upon one of the famous fighting re,.
ments of the state--the Seyenty..sc.
ond. of Philadelphia. This regimen,
belonged to the organization recruitsd
among the old volunteer firemen Of Phil.
delphia, and was known as the Fire Ri.
gade. 1t was supposed to be composed of
the very best fighting material extant. II
came upon the field of Gettysburg upon
the afternoon of the Sd, and went into no.
sition near the clump of trees which nov
marks the "high-water mark" which Gen.
eral Batchelder is so proud Of exploit
ing. Some time ago the regiment when
called upon to erect monument, selected
a spot very close to the famous stone wall
which General Armistead and his men
right of where General Batchelder ssys
the regiment was really stationed. As ia
apostle of eternal truth General Batch.
elder refused to sanction the erection Of
the monument upon the spot select
ed. The matter was carried into the
courts, and the supreme court OF the sta,s
directed the monument to be placed a
originally designated. There it stands To-
day, splendid thing in bronze, the figure
of q life-siZe soldier in zouave uniform, "a.
vancing to the front with dubbed muskes,
1t is heroic IN attitude and ferocious II
general aspect. General Batchelder SAW
it is a bronze lie, and every time he gets
q crowd of people together ct
the Bloody Angle he tells the story
of how the Seventy-second regiment re.
fused to advance to the stone wall when
ordered to do so, and how General Als1.
ander Webb nearly tore the coat of the
color-bearer of the regiment In vain
efforts to get him into the gap at the
front. The battlefield guides are all being
inoculated with the Batchelder story q
the cowardice of the Seventy-second regi-
ment and the falsehood which Its monu.
ment perpetuates. and very bitter feeling
is likely to grow out of this controversy.
My advice to the Seventy-second people
would be to remove the monument few
PAGES to the rear. So far as am able to
investigate, the facts are against them.
A visitor to Gettysburg will, Of courss,
find there an exhaustless stock OF relica
This fact amused very much Mr.. ]. N.
Bailey, the quaint humorist of the Dan
bury News, who accompanied Us on
this excursion, and who was :
participant in the fighting nearly thirty
uiutz <hak tho brsi
ness of manufacturing and planting relics
on the battlefield is one of the established
occupations of Gettysburg, and he cannot
be made to believe otherwise. The
citizens all declare that the relics
are growing scarce and the prices
therefore. are steadily advancing. Aside
from the regular collectors who haveshops
in the town, one meets at every point upon
the field and in the streets little children
with pitiful collections of bullets and
bits of shells, which they oder
for sale. Good-natured visitors pat.
ronize them, more, 1 think, because
of their necessitous appearance than b.:
cause of any desire to possess relics.
gave one freckled-faced @nemic little chsp
10 cents for the butt end of rusty old
bayonet. The price was somewhat ous
OF proportion. but ii enabled somebody 70
indulge in the witticism that this VA
one of the most remarkable bayo-
net charges that the field had known.
While we were in Gettysburg SOMEBODY
unearthed the skeletons of horse and
man. The horse had been thrown into
| trench with all of his accoutrements, ana
the only thing which was in fair state q
| preservation was the saddle and buttonl
| of the soldier. The latter indicated thai
the skeleton was that of a Southern
| soldier.
l must reiterate that visit to Getty
burg is well worth the time. Even psopl'
who were born since the war and vhi
| have read little about it and care lea
| are absolutely entranced when ono
| they come in contact with a record
| the momentous deeds done there apl
| which have now made il q halloweo
| Mecca for every true American, -
| gardle5s OF section or prejudice. The I'D
| pressions one carries away from there ~
| lasting: the lessons valuable. AviyidnsI
| and value would be additionally impaifet
to both if Gettysburg had a good moda1
! hotel. This the quaint old town needs
J and the battlefield itself should be ofus
mented with statues OF Generals Mesa
| Hancock and Buford.
5eA.--~Nb..s..sx1