The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1902-06-14

BSkTTLE
Of Gsttysl 'urs, and Many Other
In cidents Thereto
DESCE 2IBED LETTER
By Mr.. William Ray Toombs. Of
Wash sington, Who Visited
sths Backgrounds.
For the Times.

] Gettysburg, Pa, May 80.
| | sto cd IA little while ago upon the
heights of Gettysburg, and.looked out
upon t'7le greatest battlefield in Ameri-
can hi; story. The Battle of Gettysburg
was equal in magnitude, desperation,
and iYn the supreme question which
could be decided only by the result, to
any r ecorded in history; it was the
turn ing point in the great civil war,
whic sh, beginning at Sumter, ended at
App iomatox.
E'c Or three long days the two armies
con tended for supremacy, drenching
wit h their life blood the only spot
norsth o, the Mason and Dixon line on
VIII ich a general engagement between
tht,s Union and Confederate forces took
pI, ace, 1t has been gene ally conced-
ed that the skill displayed in the Penn
sy lvania campaign, by both the Com.
N nder tJf the Army of Northern Vir-
ginia and S&.thYa genera in CON mand OF
the Army Of the Potomac, ha 8 never
been surpassed in any other cs-mpaign
in the annals of warfare.
The trip from Washington to Getty
burg is delightful one, The baltl-
more & Ohio skirts the Potomac to
Harpers Ferry and then turns up the
Cumberland Valley. If Abraham ID
Lot had had their separation at this
point LOT would have no doubt
set his teuts in this beautiful valley
and he could not have chosen a spoil
where nature seems to spend Itself
with more profusion. Hagerstown is
the last stop of interest to US before
Gettysburg is reached. 1t Is said that
when our army passed through thls
thriving little town on its way into the
enemy country, a bevy OF young girls
stood laughing as the "Rebs" " passed,
Just as our Southern girls would have
ieered the ..Yanks''. They had kept
this up all the morning until up the
street came Lee and his staff. "Oh,
wish he was on our side" said one Of
the girls. Perhaps she echoed the
wish of few million more oil her Fed ,
eral friends.
AS one stands and looks over into !
that peaceful valley today, the scene Is
very much the same as II was thirty
nine years ago when our triumphant
army, having left Stuart to hold HOOK
er, moved up the Cumberland
Gettysburg, the Mecca Of American
Reconciliation, is thriving little
town of about four thousand inhabi-
tants The battlefield covers an area
Of twenty-five square miles. The bat
lie occurred on Wednesday, Thursday
and Friday, the Ist, 2nd and Bird days {,
Of July, 1863. The first days battle
was fought west and north OF Gettys-
burg: the second and third days bat
les. east southeast south and south
vest of it. Within this territory over
me hundred and eighty Thousand
soldiers we're engaged, forty-two thou
and of whom were stricken down,
The incidents which let to the bat
lie are too we'll known to require re-
,etition. Suffice it TO say that the !
southern army, greatly encouraged by
q numerous Victories and especially
" the Overwhelming defeat Of the
Union + army al Charlottesville, in
.Iav 1858, decided to extend the war in .
s Northern Territory. capture Harris !.
,urQ. the capital Of Pennsylvania, and
I'VE on to Philadelphia, Baltimore