The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1903-07-10

] "NffA AhWs
Nearly forty years ago on the morn.
ing Of the first day Of July, 1863 these
words We're spoken by a Confederate
officer, and lanky, beardless youth
clambered down from his perch in the
top branches OF cherry tree, with
rife still smoking in his hands.
simultaneously, and only 800 yards
away, a gallant Union general, an
army corps leader, on whose shoulders
cleaned the stars betokening his rank,
fell from his horse with a bullet hole
In his head, and be died before his
aids could reach his side
This is the story Of The death Of
Major-Gen Reynolds, Pennsylvania
beloved soldier son, at the opening Of
the first days battle at Gettysburg
told by the sharpshooter who had laid
him low, and now published for the
first time, The incident has been hith-
erto almost unyoiced, for the man who
when only a boy OF 16 years fred the
fatal shot has bitterly repented Of it.
His name is Benjamin Thorpe, and
be is now. at the age of Sc, what he
was in the war, the crack shot Of
North Carolina, and he still lives on
his ancestral acres just outside the
village of satterwhite
Ben Thorpe is not proud Of his
achievement and only to his more in
tinate friends will he talk of the shot
fired from the treetop that July morn
ing years ago. When he does speak
Of it there is poisnant regret in his
tone. He regretted it the day he
learned who the distinguished target
which his bullet struck was, and he
has never ceased to regret it,
Lonely he lives upon his big planta-
tion, his only companionss except for
Northern visitors. beins aalf score
Of negro hands and twenty gaunt and
ferocious looking deerhounds, He has
never married
All day on the Both Of June, 1868,
the legions Of Lee, Longstreet and Hill
had been sweeping up from the South
ern plains in the direction OF Gettys-
burg intent upon destroying the Union
army Of Hooker and Meade and open.
ing up the fairest and richest valleys
and most populous cities Of the North
to pillage.
In the van were the Confederate
brigands Of Pettigrew and Archer, of
Heath's division, Hilrs corps. and
swinging up the Chambersburg road
this force, on the morning OF July l,
had taken up a commanding position
just below Seminary Ridge. In Nc
Pherson's woods and about an old
farm house which stood just beyond
them lay the Twenty-sixth North Car
olina infantry, each man a sharpshoot
er, trained by long practice to pick
squirrel from the top Of a tall tree.
And a hundred or more Of these
sharpshocsers lay snugly hidden in the
tops Of the trees under orders to sin
gle out Union officers as their quarry.
Facing them and holding a command
ing position on the crest of Seminary
Ridge were the Union artillery and
cavalry under Buford.
Thus matters stood at o'clock on
the morning OF July /, when Gen.
Reynolds. then commanding the First
Army Corps and holding the left Of
the Union line. came galloping along
the Emmetsburg road from his head
quarters in advance Of Wadsworth's
division, in which were included the
Fifty-sixth Pennsylvania regiment and
the Second Wisconsin. the famed
"Iron" brigade quickly he formed his
plan Of battle. and as soon as the Sec
ond Wisconsin arrived upon the field
west Of the Seminary he ordered them
TO charge the northern end Of McPher.
sons woods. where Archev's Confed
crate brigade lay hidden and capture
the position.
They obeyed and carried out the
order given. but some idea Of the cost
may be gained from the fact that the
Second Wisconsin left 23S dead in the
woods The death roll Of the Twenty.
sixth North Carolina in that same
bloody ARRAY was 5SS
AS the gallant charge was made
Gen. Reynolds sat upon his horse on
a small eminence near the northern /
end Of the woods. issuing orders to his
aides for the movements Of ether
troops He had just turned his head
70 look for his supporting columns and 4
hasten them on when rife baN
struck him in the back of the head 1
Freed from the firm hand upon the 1
rein. his horse plunged a few rods
forward before its stricken rider fell +
10 the ground dead
And. 500 yards away. the Confeder-
ate officer seeing him fan. lowered the
glasses he had held TO his eye and
gfimly said. ben. it did its work"
Ben Thorpe had heen one Of the
hundred sharpsh0oters selected from
the Twenty-sixth North Carolina. de-
spite the fact that he was but is
years old. and the position assigned to
him was in the top Of a cherry tree
which commanded the low ground or
swale over which the Union troops
must make their way to reach Nc.
Pherson's woods. What followed is
best told in his own words:
Il had been IN the tree top perhaps
half an hour when Che Wisconsin regf-
nent came charging across the low
ground toward the woods and had
made a couple Of shots. when the par
BY Of oficers rode up on the little knoll
and halted.
u vas trying % make up my mind