The National tribune., 1903-07-30
OPENING THE BATTLE.
A Cavalryman' RecoIlections OF the First
Days Fight at Gettysburg.

EDITOR NATIONAL TRIBUNE: | have
been importuned by many persons for
many years to write what l know of the
battle of Gettysburg, but ] can only write
when the spirit moves me. SO reading
what the comrade OF the 9th y. y. Cav.
and the Cannoneer say in the late mum
bers of our paper moves me.
As private soldiers We see some things
we know and some things we think we
know. 1t is so with the Cannoneer.
/ was very much interested in his book
and i'll the serial in The National Tribune.
| got out the old number this morning
containing his account of their coming up
10 the fight. and it is very natural.
Writers differ about the time of the
opening of the battle. The Canno2eer
is nearest right.
We tour rcgiment) marched through
Gettysburg between > and ! o'clock p. m,
June 30. past the Seminary to near the
creek. Willoughby's Run, and went into
camp The citizens of the town brought us
out lots of good things to eat, and some of
them invited us to come to town to sup
per- | cleaned my horse, washed myself,
and went. | had Il good supper, and was
invited back to breakfast. l got up early,
fed and cleaned my horse, jumped on him
with just the halter on, and rode down to
the creek to water him: but he would not
drink that water. He was very particu-
lar horse, and l never knew him to tire.
So | rode out the pike to IL large old road
hN,-Is Of hp
pike. and thought the water ran into it.
as many of them do in that country. He
drank heartily. | had been looking past
the corner of the house, and SAW the sun
Just rising, which will fix the time for
July l. The horse had just raised his
head and looked around, when. over to my
right, on the north side of the pike. |
thought about 100 yards, l heard Bang
then Bang! Bang" and as l looked up
the pike | saw few struggling .Iohnnies
Just rising the hill. | turned and went
back to camp as fast as | could, and yell
ed to Co. L to saddle up; the Johnnies
are coming; but before we got saddled
the bugles blew Saddle and Mount all
through the camps. Our company being
the first to form, was rushed over the
bridge and down to the house where |
had watered my horse. Then we We're de
plOycd, and skirmiShed with the ,JohnnicS
as we could. Our orders were to hold
them back. | suppose other companies
were to help our company, but / do not
know.
There has been much talk of a white
horse. John HOag rode Il milk-white horse.
One of our boys was shot, and we put
him on Hoag's horse to take him back.
The blood gushed over him so that it near
ly turned the horse red. Park Story and
of hot .ian npb
/ don't know which one was put Oh the
horse. Boyd lived. Bairey Pierson. of
Co. f. also had a white horse on that
SkirmiSh line. i'
We held them a long time, but finally
we had to 20. and when we came back
across the bridge we found the artillery
and men, dismOunted, all in one line, ~
ing down on that rise where Buford's $
statue new is. | remember well the set
look on the faces of the boys as they lay
in that line, knowing the crash was now
coming on them. We reported in the
woods south of the pike, and were there
when Gen. Reynolds came up before his
infantry. He was killed there. Then We
were sent over near AIillerstown road to
support battery, and were there when
the infantry came up. They halted in
front of us and unslung knapsacks. Each
company put theirs in Il pile and spread
pOnchOS over them. They left Il man
from each company to guard them. and as
the bullets were coming pretty thick, the
guards crawled into the pile of knapsacks.
have often wondered if they lay there
until they were captured.
Here q curious thing happened, men-
toned by Gen. BufO!d. Reports of the
War, Vol. q, page 927.) When the in
fantry advanced, Will Rea, Col. Chap
,f
company (E), joined them, and there was
a surprise. Our line was in low ground,
advancing, and the Johnnes came up to
the top of the rise. Both seemed sur
prised. They halted and commenced fir
ing, and men fell as if they were mown
down. All at once l heard Matt Glen
ber's Dutch voice, yelling, 'Scharge!
Scharge the -r' They rushed up the
hills and the rebs threw down their guns
Matt was on Belle Island with me and
Geo. Middleton, of Chicago dime museum
fame, the Winter of '63 and '64 After
the war he went home to Madison, Ind
drifted to the Black Hills, and drove stage
there in the troublesome times. He died
there.
l met Will Rea few years ago, and
asked him if it was pure bravery that got
them to 90 with the infantry. He said
NO. There was an artillery horse up
there that was not killed and Matt wanted
it, as his had been killed, and l wanted
a fine saddle and revolvers off Of an Off
GERS horse, that had been killed" They
thought the infantry would go far enough
so that they could get them. Matt got
the horse, and his experience with it was
remarkable.
After this we were moved near the
Seminary, but still on the south of the
railroad cut. Then we We're moved north
of the cut, in the edge of the timber near
the cut, when the CannOneer's battery
came up, and were to support them. When
it got 50 hot there we We're moved little
back over the rise. My horse got hit here
and jumped the fence, but rallied and came
up, with his head over the fence, where
our company formed in two lines, open
order, and we We're there when the first
shell came from Oak Ridge, passing be-
tween our lines and hitting Il boy. Two
of the men of my company were carrying
him to the college. l looked back just as
the shell passed, and it cut through the
thick part Of his hips like n big gOuge. 1t
was so quick the blood did not start, and
it looked like raw meat and he said, I'll
be -. if they don't kill me yet"
/ don't recollect how long we were here.
but sometime, looking at the desperate fight
ing, and more infantry coming up, we
were moved to the other side of the Sem
mary just as the crush came. When the
break came our company went down
Forth of Seminary Ridge TO where the
r