San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1896-10-25
BLUE RIDGE LETTER.
VISIT TO FAMOUS OLD GETTYSBURG
BATTLE GROUND.
Government Improvements Have Beauti.
fed the Park and the Loyal States
Monuments Have Done the Rest.
Special Correspondence.

Special Correspondence.
Blue Ridge Mountains, Pennsyl-
vania, Oct. 15.-The ride to Gettys-
burg is a very picturesque one.
You are for So miles swinging
round Horse Shoe Bend and dart
ing down into the valleys with
rapidity that is apt to make you a
little dizzy. The gold and red Of
autumn are now lighting up the
hills, and are no less beautiful
than summers greenness. The
little town of Gettysburg is neither
pretty nor interesting specially.
What every one goes to see are the
battlefield and the national bury
ing ground. There are seven OF us
in the party, and the first thing is
to get team big enough to hold
rs all and guide, who drives,
and then proceed to take in the
sights in sections. The battle of
Gettysburg took place in 1868, July
IL and 3. The field is divided into
the first, second and third days
fight, which are gone over syste-
matically by the tourist.
The Fifty-third congress has
passed en- act to make this immor-
tai land mark of American history
national park. An immense
sum of money was appropriated
and has been spent on improve
ments. A further sum is being
spent yearly. The roads are in
splendid condition, and when en-
tirely completed there will be up
wards Of 20 to 80 miles OF the finest
"telforized" driveway in the world.
The monuments erected by
the various union states
to their, dead who fell
at Gettysburg number about 400 in
all. The majority are very large,
beautiful and costly. There are no
two alike in design. In one short
column Of newspaper it would be
quite impossible to even attempt
to go closely into details as to the
monuments themselves or the spe-
cisl events and people they i'm
mortalize. 1 can only speak OF a
Few notable ones.
Just as we turn out Of the main
streets of the town to go to the
battle field we pass Christ's Luthe-
ran church, and on the steps lead
ing to the main entrance is placed
a lecturn with an open Bible in
stone, marking the spot where
Chaplain Howell, Of the Goth Penn
sylvania volunteers, was shot dead
as he was about to enter the church
to minister to the wounded and
dying, for the church had been
turned into a hospital pro tenn.
Not far of is the bronze statue Of
youth, representing the "Emer-
gency Regiment" Of young volun-
teers, mostly college students, from
the Lutheran Theological semi.
nary and other colleges near by.
The house of John l.. Burns, "the
Hero of Gettysburg" is pointed
out. He was 70 years old at the
time of the battle, but he shout
dered his gun and started into the
fight. Three times he was wound
ed and once was left on the field
for dead. However he pulled him
self together and did not die till
some years after the war was over.
The state of Pennsylvania has a
number OF very fine statues and
other memorials to her dead, yet
for splendor and beauty New York
state ranks first in this respect,
hers being altogether the hand
soonest, one having cost as high as
$4,000. The state OF Pennsylvania
appropriated 100000 for the erec-
ton OF three special memorials to
Generals Meade, Hancock and
Reynolds, two of which have al
ready been put up. At the base of
the fine bronze statue erected to
Gen. Buford are four cannons, one
bearing the inscription as the first
to be fired at the opening Of
the battle Of Gettysburg. In mat
ter OF detail and likeness one Of
the best executed monuments on
the field is that which stands for
the Seventeenth Pennsylvania
cavalry of the Army Of the Po-
tomac, being the figure in relief of
a cavalry man and his horse.
Every detail Of equipment is said
to be perfect. The man who posed