Omaha daily bee., 1896-02-14
a GALAXY OF SOLDIERS.
General Gibb0n's Place Among the
DISTINGUISHED of Pennsylvania.

DISTINGUISHED of Pennsylvaniu
Philadelphia Inquirer.
| 1t was the confederate general. d. H. Maury.
| who said not long ago that Pennsylvania and
Virginia had produced more great soldiers
| than any other states of the union. No list
has ever been drawn together of all the
| soldiers who by birth or residence might be
claimed as Pennsylvaniaas and who rose TO
| the rank Of general officer during the civil
war The task of compiling such list would
be OF slow performance, because Pennsy-
vania generals entered the service from
| many states and served with distinction in
every army. In the public eye the identity
OF many Of them with this state has been
lost. The Pennsylvania soldier to when
Sherman sgnaled the message Hold the
fort" was subsequently associated in the
public mind with Boston and Massachusetts,
A comparatively few Philadelphians know
that Andrew A Humphreys was great
soldier. "a master OF logistics" Francis A.
Walker calls him, while still fewer think of
him as a Philadelphian, and General John
Gibbon. who died the other day In Baltimore
had been soldier for SO many years, ever
since 1S47. that while the Pennsylvanians of
this later day knew vaguely something of
his career, 1t is probable that few of them
knew him as a Pennsylyanian.
And yet there are many reasons why Penn
syyana iyI, n,,s should keeeP fresh the memory of
had few more faithful or capable soldiers.
When a youth of 3elhe was already a veteran
OF the Mexican war. A successful Indian
fighter in later years, bis greatest distinction
wal won in the civil war, and the record
which he made I'M that long series of bloody
battles, Second Bull Run, South Mountain
Antietam, Fredericksburg and Chancellors-
vile, would aoneli ibs- sufficient to keep his
name high upon the roHs of heroes who were
patriots well as professional soldiers.
There, when HahcorH was wounded, this
other Pennsylvania soldier succeeded him In
the command of the Second corps. only to be
wounded in his turns and he had also COM
manded the corps on the first day. After
the Wilderness caippaisp General Gibbon was
placed in comm3Id 0Df the Twenty fourth
corps, high comipa1df of such responsibility
in time Of actual war that 1t counted for
more than any rank obtained by General
Glbbon subsequently, In the regular army.
The great struggle was nearly over. Thou
sands of officers and men mad fallen by the
way through death or disease and some
through incompetency. After the seyerest
sorting out process to which men could be
subjected, Meade. of Philadelphia. was still
commanding the army: Hancock, OF Mont
gomery county. his veteran corps; Hum
phreys, of Philadelphia, the Second corps;
Parke of Chester county, the Ninth corps;
Gibbon, OF Philadelphia. the Twenty fourth
corps; Gregg. his division OF cavalry, and
Hartranft and Crawford their divisions Of
infantry. Porter. Of Delaware county, was
about 10 gather the largest fleet the world
had ever SEEN and Dahlgren, of Philadelphia
was commanding the South Atlantic block
aiding squadron. High upon this roll of dis
tinguished defenders Of their country among
these survival OF the fttest, stands the name
Of General John Glbbon.