The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1903-07-30
Death Of Maior.oen. Reynolds.

When the eagle weds the beaver.
New York Sun.
Death Of Major-Gen. Reynolds.
Ben, II did Its work; you may come
down now"
Nearly forty years ago on the morn.
Ing Of the first day Of July, 1868. these
words were spoken by a Confederate
officer. and q lanky. beardless youth
clambered down from his perch In the
top branches Of a cherry tree. with a
rife still smoking In his hands.
simultaneously, and only 300 yards
away, gallant Union general, an
army corps leader, on whose shoulders
cleaned the stars betokening his rank,
fell from his horse with bullet hole
in his head. and he died before his
aids could reach his side.
This is the story of the death OF
Major.Gen. Reynolds. Pennsylvania
beloved soliier son, at the opening OF
the first days battle ut Gettysburg.
told by the sharpshooter who had laid
him low. and now published for the
first time. The incident has been hith.
erto almost unvoiced for the man who
when only boy of 16 years fired the
fatal shot has bitterly rcpented OF IT.
His name is Benjamin Thorpe, and
he is now, at the age of SO, 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.
innate friends will he talk OF the shot
fired from the treetop that July morn
ing years ago. When he does speak
OF II there Is poisnant regret In his
tone. He regretted II the day he
learned who the distinguished target
which his bullet struck was. and he
has never ceased to regret II.
Lonely he lives upon his big planta-
tion. his only companions, except for
Northern visitors. being half score
of negro hands and twenty gaunt and
ferocious looking deerhounds. He has
never married.
All day on the 30th of June. 1863.
the legions of Lee, Longstreet and Hin
ern plains In the direction of Gettys.
burg intent upon destroying the Union
army Of Hooker and Meade and open.
Ing up the falrest 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. Hill's corps. and
swinging up the Chambersburg road
this force, on the morning Of July /,
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 sharpshoot.
er. trained by long practice to pick q
squirrel from the top Of tall tree.
And a hundred or more of these
sharpshooters lay snugly hidden In the
tops OF the trees under orders 10 sin.
gle out Union officers as their quarry.
Facing them and holding command.
ing position on the crest Of Seminary
Ridge were the Union artillery and
cavalry under Buford.
Thus matters stood at 0 o'clock on
the morning OF July I. 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 q
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 Archer's Confed
crate brigade lay hidden. and capture
the position.
They obcyed and carried oat the
order given. but some idea of the cost
may be gained from the fact that the
Second Wisconsin left 233 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
small emlnence near the northern
end Of the woods issuing orders to his
aides for the movements of Other
troops. He had just turned his head
TO look for his supporting columns and
hasten them on when a rife ball
struck him IN the back Of the head
Freed from the Arm hand upon the
rein. his horse plunged . few rods
forward before its stricken rider fell
TO the ground dead.
And. 900 yards away. the Confeder
ate ofiicer seeing him fall. lowered the
glasses he had held to his eye and
grlmly said. Ben. It did it's work."
Ben Thorpe had been one OF the
hundred sharpshooters selected from
the Twenty-sixth North Carolina, de
spite the fact that he was but II
years old. and the position assigned tt
him was In the top Of a cherry tree
which commanded the low ground o:
ewale over which the Union troops
must make their way 10 reach Nc
Pherson's woods. What followed ID
best told In his own words:
II had been In the tree top perhaps
half IN hour when the Wisconsin regi
ment came charging across the low
ground toward the woods. and had
made couple of shots. whoa the par
~ Of oincers rode up on the little knoll
and halted.
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