The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1892-06-07

| OF Lhe Dr1gadler general, and knew by
| the color that a cavalry officer had been
| slain. He was taken to where Gen.
Farnsworth's body was lying, and upon
examining some papers was able to
! identify him. He said that Farnsworth
had several wounds upon his body, any
one OF which might have proved fatal,
| and that he held in his hand his pistol.
and that the shot in his head had evil
IDENTIFY been self-inhicted. Be this as it
may, no drawer nor nobler officer ever
laid down his life on the battlefield
than this gallant son of Illinois. Thst
his ambitious charge was ill advised no
one doubts, for even in that day mount
ed cavalrymen with sabers had no more
chance at close quarters with infantry
and artillery than at this tiIne-which
is absolutely nil.
One of the most interesting citizens of
Gettysburg that I met during my visit
was Mr.. D. fMcConaughy, venerable
lawyer, who was born in the heart of
the town and who has lived there every
day of his life. He is now burgess, an
Office equivalent to that of mayor. He
makes it his business to look after Wis
itors to the battlefield, and his courtesy
and graciousness is very much appre-
ciated. had from him number of in
teresting stories in relation to the great
contest. Mr.. McConaughy was one of
the first burghers of Gettysburg to rec
ognize the Importance of the battlefield
from a commercial standpoint, and he
organized the movement which resulted
in the purchase of Little Round Top
within week or two after the battle.
When Gen. Buford first reached
Gettysburg Mr.. McConaughy met him
and gave him a lot of valuable Informal
ton touching the movements of Lees
army to the west of the town. This in
formation had been brought to him by
young men of the neighborhood who
had been acting as voluntary scouts and
messengers. The old gentleman was in
Gettysburg town during the entire three
days battle, apart of the time occupying
a good point of observation on the roof
of his own house. He had quite an expo
rience with the officers and men of
Lees army, who occupied the town
during the three days fighting. His
theory is that Gettysburg would have
been reduced to ashes but for the fact
that the courthouse, all the churches
and nearly all the houses in the town
were filed with confederate wounded.
He had a somewhat unpleasant expe-
rience with Gen. Early, and he related
to me story about Gen. John B. Cor
don, of Georgia, which seemed almost
incomprehensible. He said that after the
fighting of the first day Gen. Gordon
delivered in the public square of the
town a fiery harangue to number
of frightened q Gettysburgers, Eduring
which he INDUCED in most awful
threats against everything and every
body connected with the union cause.
He announced that it was the intention
of Lees armies to defeat the army of
the Potomac, to march on Philadelphia,
Baltimore and Washington, and SO
great was his enthusiasm and SO
strong his belief, that he almost con-
'verted the Gettysburgers to his way of
thinking. Gen. Gordon to-day is one of
the most loyal and conservative men of
the south. He was splendid fighter
during the war. It is possible that his
fiery temper led him away at Gettys-
see that speech in print now, for, since
the boastfnl performances of the
French leaders at Agincourt, there has
been nothing quite SO ridiculous as a
general officer on a battlefield talking
of the great deeds about to be per-
formed.
A visitor to Gettysburg will, of course,
find there an exhaustless stock of relics
This fact amused very much Mr.. J. M.
Bailey, the quaint humorist of the Dan
bury News, who accompanied us on this
excursion, and who was participant
in the fighting nearly thirty years ago.
Bailey insists that the business of man
+ufacturing and planting relics on the
battlefield is one of the established oc-
equations of Gettysburg, and he cannot
be made to believe otherwise. The cit
liens all declare that the relics are
growing scarce and the prices, there
fore, are steadily advancing Aside
from the regular collectors who have
shops 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
offer for sale. Good-natured visi-
tors patronize them, more, think, be-
cause of their necessitous appearance
than because of any desire to possess
relics gave one freckled-faced
aenemic little chap rs cents for the butt
end of a rusty old bayonet. The price
was somewhat out of proportion, but it
enabled somebody to indulge in the
witticisrn that this was one of the most
remarkable bayonet 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 a trench
with all his accoutrements, and the only
thing which was in fair state of pres
ovation was the saddle and buttons
of the soldier. The latter indicated
that the skeleton was that of south
ern soldier.
must reiterate that visit to Gettvs-
burg is well worth the time. Even peo-
pie who were born since the war,
and who have read little about it and
Il.