Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1894-06-22

stands. This ridge is nearly parallel with
Cemetery Heights and Ridge, and distant from
them from one-half to three-quarters of
mile. Here the party began to come upon the
many appropriate and costly monuments that
mark the positions and perpetuate the name
and fame of the Federal troops who fought
that day-infantry artillery and cavalry
each regiment and battery having its position
defued by its monument, and Ranking stones,
while here and there some special stone or
tablet marked the spot where some gallant
officer-such as Reynolds or Barlow-was
killed OF wounded.
Tie forenoon was spent in tracing these
lines along which parts of A. 2. Hills and
Ewelis corps fought against the First and
Eleventh corps and Bufords Cavalry and
swept them back to Cemetery Heights. While
we listened to Guide Minnigh's vivid descrip-
| tions of charge and counter charge, OF the hu-
morous comments of our irrepressible friend
of the 47th, who could see, but did not then go
to the spot from which his regiment charged
on July 1st, 1863
After dinner, the lines upon Cemetery
Heights and Culp's Hill around to the ex
treme right of the Federal position were Wis
ly at different times during the End and 3rd
days battles and Capt. Coiner was able to
find the place where he and his command had
fought. Here, too, as indeed along the whole
line the thick standing monuments told not
only of the valor of the troops who held them,
but also of the heavy odds against which
Ewell hurled his corps over ground, much of
it SO steep and rugged as to make it difficult
and laborious for one to pass over it, even
now, when no iron ard leaden tempest is
beating upon it such as ragged in these fateful
days of July, 81 years ago, and whose traces
are still SO plainly visible on the rocks and
trees over and through which it swept.
On their return, the party dismissed the wag
ons and walked through the National Ceme-
tery-a beautiful and we'll kept spot just
West of the Citizens Cemetery, and in which,
grouped by States, in concentric circles
around stately and magnificent Nationa
Monument, lie 1915 of the Federal dead,
among them 97S with the sad and pathetic re-
cord, "Unknown. Here, too, is the splendid
New York State monument and fine statue
to Gen. Reynolds.
After a stroll through the streets of the
town noting the marks of the bullets and
shells upon the houses, the party returned to
the Hotel.
Very soon after reaching Gettysburg in the
morning, the party had been waited on by a
messenger from the Government Commission
ers charged with locating the positions of the
Confederate troops upon the battle fields,
with request that they would call at the
Office of the commissioners and give them
any aid they could in their work. They did
! so and DR.. Finley found in one of them, Col.
/ John b. Batchelder, with whom he had held
a long interview some years ago in Washing
ton city, on the subject of Pickett's charge.
His associates were Coils. Nichols and Cope,
who received and treated us very courteously
| and arranged for some Of their number to
meet us on the battle grounds the next day to
fix the positions occupied by those who were
present in the battles.
After nights rest and good breakfast,
with bright and bracing day before them,
| the party set cut for the scene of the I'd and
Sd days battles on the centre and right of the
| lines
| Driving out on the Emmittsburg pike a
mile OF more and turning to the right Messrs.
| Finley, Gulley and Fielding were soon busy
going over the ground about Spangler's house
and woods on which their commands were
posted during the terrific artillery fire that
preceded the assault of Longstreet's column
on the Sd. There was very little change in
the general aspect of the place since they last
| saw ia few trees cut down here and there
and fence OF two running across the fields
were all they observed. About 400 yards
| no yvit itc ,Jx,d a6p
| line, was the ridge which they with their
comrades assaulted and captured and for a
little while held Here stakes were set by
Guide Minnigh to mark the positions of the
| It'll and 18th regiments, while Ordnance Ser
geant Gulley pointed out the field behind the
woods in which the ammunition wagons were
parked.
Returning to the Emmittsburg pike. we
were driven along Sickle's lines to the famous
Peach Orchard where McIaWs with his gal
| liant Georgians, broke over the deadly oppo-
sition and swept the shattered lines of infan-
try and artillery to the rear and right in the
direction of the Round Top. From the orch
ard they followed the winding and doubled
lines of monuments which told how fierce
had been the conflict that hurled Scl1le's and
the troops that locked TO his support back
through the bloody "wheatfeld," the ragged
| "Devil's Den" up to the crests of "Littl e
Round Top and Cemetery Ridge" The
ground ON most of Devils Den, a lame given
to singular opening among the boulders of
this ridge and by which it was known long
before the battle, is such as to make it almost
incredible that any soldiers could have
marched or fought over it. Stunted cedars
spring up among huge boulders lying singly
OF heaped upon each other from to 90 feet
high and of all shapes and sizes, with deep
clefts between them in which the bodies of
many killed Or wounded during the fight
rolled and were not found until days after
the battle Yet here the Confederate sharp
shooters gained positions from which they
rained death upon Federal lines on Little
Round Top. Far up near the crest of Little
Round Top among its rocky crags stands 9
pine tree that marks the point to which Col
/ Oates led his gallant Alabami ans and pressed
back the Federal lines until they were strong
Iy reinforced by fresh troops
From Little Round Top magnificent pam
Drama, including almost every part of the
battlefield and stretching away to the South
West and North is spread out, and it is no
wonder that Gen. Warren saw, as soon as he
rode upon its crest, that it was the key to the
Federal line and must be held at all hazards.
And yet it is now known that if Col Oates
could only have been sent upon it few
hours, OF even an hour, earlier than when he
made his brilliant assault, lie could have oc-
cupied it almost, if not quite without strug-
gle. That little vale at the foot Of the slope
how called the Valley Of d through
which runs small stream that was crimsoned
on that July evening with the blood of tie
hundreds who lost their lives in striving to
gain the hill, is a silent but strong witness
how 'some one had blundered. y Leaving this
place where every rock is a monument to Fed
| eral and Confederate valor, we were driven