The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1894-08-30
HARD MARCHING.
Toilsome Travelling from the Monocacy to
UDiontOwn.

Toilsome Travelling from the Monocacy to
Uniontown.
EDITOR NATIONAL TRIBUNE: In all the
talk about Gettysburg few only remember
that it was preceded by weeks of hard march
ing through Virginia and Maryland. We
started under Hooker and fetched up under
Meade. When we got to Frederick City the
Second Corps, of which l am writing, took
the route to the Monocacy River, where we
halted over night. When we saw the river
at hand we were so glad to get the chance
to have swim that some of us didn't wait
to get supper, but took to the water like so
many ducks and had a good wash, and when
we got pack to camp / was too tired to eat.
/ had lain down but few minutes when
I heard an officer ride up and give the order
for our regiment to fall in and 90 with sec
tion of battery to guard a bridge. This was
soldier luck. We went, but such kicking
and growing as we made / never heard !;
yet, Col. Chapman (who afterwards fell in
the Wilderness) said it was the soldiers
privilege to grumble. We got chance to
sleep, however, and the next morning start
ed again on the march, and after two or
three miles of travel found ourselves back
near where we had been and the army on
the move.
This was our preparation for the greatest
march of the Army of the Potomac on the
29th of June, 1863, when thousand men
fell by the way overcome by the heat. Still,
the Second Corps kept marching on, and as
evening drew near we kept looking for some
signs of bivouac; but there was only an
occasional halt, and the men reported that
Hancock was going to keep on till we got
to Harrisburg.
Struggling had set in late in the afternoon
and got worse and worse till officers and
men were all marching to suit themselves,
and so it went on till midnight, when l
gave up the struggle. / found l had left
my canteen at one place where we halted /;
then at the next place | missed my rubber
blanket. That convinced me was getting
too stupid to go any further, and so, at the
next hating place, which was by the side
of a wood, already occupied by sleepers, L
remained the rest of the night.
At daylight we took to the road again
and found that the column had halted in
the next field beyond the woods. / heard
my name called and saw Alex. Lee beckon-
ing to me- There were the colors and Col
Chapman and 81 of the regiment in line
resting on a side hill. This was the forced
march from the Monocacy to Uniontown.
The Second Corps staid there that day and
until noon of the next day, when, as we
were watching from hilltop, we could see
far across the wales between little white
patches of clouds, and while we were wonder
ing at it's resemblance to artillery smoke,
an officer rode up with orders to march,
which we did right off.
When we got to Taneytown at dusk, we
heard that the First Corps had been desper-
ately engaged, and that Gen. Reynolds had
been killed, and found that the clouds we
had been looking at were the smoke Of the
first days battle of Gettysburg.
We kept on marching till midnight, when
we halted in wheatfield, and at dawn,
without waiting to eat, we started on again.
After few miles we reached place where
the army seemed to be in line, and solem n
hush pervaded all around. Here we halted
and stacked arms, and while some lay down
to sleep others commenced to cook their
breakfast, disturbed only by the sullen boom
of rebel battery now and then, for the
place we occupied then was called Cemetery
Hill, and is now sacred ground.
And the sights we saw there, and the
things we did, are they not written on the
page of history ?-GEoRGE KELLY, 57th
n Y, Meriden, Conn.