Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1894-04-12

9ul inspiration. The general is n crippled
Union veteran. lie spoke ON behalf of a
Uu.ou veteran and found it unnecessary
- do more than tell a true war story and
place his hero in it, The audience arose
at The recital. for it treated of Gettysburg
aud Cemetery Ridge, of Hancock and Sic
Ele5' Peach Orchard battle, of Il wild Con
Tolerate charge and its bloody repulsc by
handful Of soldiers. cheered on by "Tha
superb. The handful was composed of
Minnesota boys and of them Lochren was
one. Had the orator let fly all of the am
muuitiou which lies in that episode of the
! irst Minnesota g dash for the colors-2G2
msu charging > .0O0 and leaving 2l5 dead
" disablcd on the field. not single one
.irr"ndering until hors de combat by
wounds, only - coming ont unscathcd
ard Lochrcn one Of the 4i-the eloquence
e old time giants of the forum would
Lave been pJli to the blush.
1t is true hat General Black depended
~" his material upon hcarsay evidence, but
q is unsafe 10 conclude that he gave free
't;n 10 his imagination in order o make
.trong plea Below is the story Of a sur
'iFor Of the ~ as j., was beard ON the field
ii'riuS the ceremonies of unvciing u mon
"rent to the dead who fell in that charge.
end yet, after adding this speech TO Cen
ral Black :. il can he said that the half
was never told.
The story Of the disaster of the second
lay of the battle when General Sickles'
rhrd corps was overwhelmed at the Peach
Orchard, is familiar to every one. Sicklcs
h'll the extreme left. with one corps $50
lated. and was attacked at time when
hr could not be withdrawn, and the only
hing to do. as General Meade expressed
i. was TO stand and fight it out The bat
lie ragged for hours with terrible fiercencSs,
and division after division was sent to the
siccor of he Third corps. llancock's Sec
ond corps was on Sickles' right and con
n"cted his line with the main army on
Cemetery Ridge. From this line detach-
wents had been made until there was bare
t." Il skirmi-h line left to support the bat
t"ries, which We're the mainstay of the pO-
si;ion. The turning point of Sickles' fight
was when the angie oi his line was broken
in and his troops forced to retreat.
AT this moment the Confederate com
mander ordered forward Anderson : divi-
sion to pierce the interval betwe Sicklcs
md Hancock. When Mt last il was seen
that the Third corps must fall back,
Meade ordered up rc-cnforcements from an
other part of the field 10 support Hancock.
nnd Hancock himself went toward Sickle,'
field to see what could be done TO aid the
stricken corps. Lieutenant Naginnis of
the First Minnesota told the story of Han
cock and his regiment as follows:
"Whca Sicklcs advanced. eight compa-
rics of or regiment We're placed as a re-
serve support tou section OF nited States
artillery. Below and before us on the plain
the battle was fercely raging. Soon the
view became more obscured, for, though
the sun shonc brightly, the air was damp.
and the smoke hung heavily over the fight,
sometimes in rolling. cloudy masses. and
again like well defined wall, conforming
10 the line of battle. Through this could
he seen the charging battalohs, the dark
ened forms Of the cOmbatantS and the ban
ners wildly tossing TO and fro above the
struggling iuasses, looming gigantically
i'm the maze between us and the declining
Hun. Again the sulphurous pail would
hide everything from view, save when the
flashes cleaning redlv through the dark
ness revealed the position Of the batteries.
We would intentiy listen. cndeavorinc to
tell from the yelling ana the cheering,
which came mp from the chaotic turmoil,
to which side the advantage leaned while
the rattle Of small arms aud the deep bass
If the artillery made the music Of the bat
tie, and Round Top rc-echocd the grand
diapas"n. Then the breeze would roll ND
the smoky curtain, and none could repress
n shout of Joy Ia stC that orr men were
croWdin" the liget, and that our flag was
stll there,
AT length Sickic~ angle was broken.
Our troops IL front gallantly crdeavored
ID check the enemy iii still fresh battal-
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