Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-11-11

moving forward out of tho timbered woods
previously referred to. comes large mass
of cavalry, Hampton's and the balance of
Fitzhugh Lees brigade General Gregg
says Right gallant did they Come sweep
ing on with such well -lined2fronts and with
such tremendous pace, 1t seemed as though
nothing could stand against them" They
charged in the close column of squadron.
and directed their courses ito the Spangler
house.
ga grander spectacle than their advance
has rarely been witnessedd They marched
with well-aligned fronts apd steady reins.
Their polished saber blades rdazzled in the
sun ALI eyes turned upon them. Chester
on the right, Kinney in thsIeenter and Pen
nington on the left opened fire fgith well d.
rected aim. Shell and shrapnel met the ad
vancing confederates and tore through
their ranks. Closing the gaps as If nothing
had happened. on they came AS they drew
nearer, canister was substituted by our ar
tilIerymen for shell, and horse latter horse
staggered and fell. Still they came on.
The Michigan Cavalry.
sour mounted skirmishers rallied and fell
into line; the dismounted men fell back.
and a few of them reached their horses.
The LIST Michigan, drawn up IN close column
of squadrons near Pennington's battery.
was ordered by Gregg to charge. AS the
two columns approached each other the
pace of each increased When suddenly a
crash, like the falling of timber. betokened
the crisis. So sudden and violent was the
collision that many horses were turned end
over end and crushed their riders beneath
them. The clashing of sabers. the firing of
pistols, the demands for surrender and cries
of the combatants now filled the air. At
this moment two squadronstof the LIST New
Jersey Cavalry, stationed on the extreme
right Of our line. formed for charge and
came down on the flank and rear of the
charging columns. This flank attack de-
moraliZed the confederate column, many of
their men had fallen, Hampton was wound
ed and they turned and swept back to the
starting point. and the fight was over.
THE charge Of the LIST Michigan was not
exceeded by any regiment then or on any
heroes. every one of them. 1 had been
with them in many engagements; they
never hesitated, never wavered when the
fight was on.
Effect of the Fight.
General Stuart should have won the
fight. He had with him the strength and
flower Of the confederate cavalry, led by
their most distinguished commanders His
force consisted of four brigades. Hampton's S.
Fitzhugh Lees. Jenkins and w. H. F..
Lee's-in all twenty regiments and battal-
ions. with three batteries of artillery, Nc
Griffin's I'd Maryland General Gregg's
force consisted Of eleven regiments. Only
seven were in action. The 1st Brigade, Col
onel McIntOshs, consisted of the Sd Penn
sylvania, list New Jersey and LIST Maryland;
Clusters brigade consisted Of the 1st 9Th,
9th and 7th Michigan, with three batteries
Of light artillery; Handols, Penningtons
and two sections of Battery H. Sd Penn
sylvania General Gregg in his report says
Of these batteries:
1.-The fire of the artillery during this
enga cement was the most accurate l have
ever seen, and there can be no question but
that they did much toward defeating the
cavalry charge of Hampton and Fitzhugh
Lee
"Stuart's avowed object was to strike the
rear of the federal army in cooperation
with Pickett's grand attack upon its center
We cavalry men have always held that
we did much to save the day at the most
critical moment of the battle of Gettys-
burg-the greatest battle and the turn
ing point of the war of the rebellion.
know that it has not been the custom
among historians to give us credit for
having done so. nor, except very recently,
to give us credit for having done any,
thing. So fierce was the main engage
ment, of which the infantry bore the
brunt, that the fighting on the part of
the cavalry passed almost unnoticed yet
this was the only battle of the war in
which the three arms Of the service
fought in combination, and at the same
time each within supporting distance and
within sight of the other and each in it's
proper sphere. The turmoil incident to
an active campaign allowed US no oppor-
tunity to write up our achievements, and
no news correspondents were allowed to
So1Ourn with US. to do 1t for u.s. But now
that the official records of the campaign,
both Union and confederate, have been
brought together and for the first time
been made accessible and the official map
of this field had been prepared the great
historian OF the war, asi yet unknown and
perhaps unborn. will have at hand ma
terials which have been denied to others.
He will see the importance of the fight
which I have attempted to describe and
will give 1t the credit due it. Had Stuart
succeeded in his weH-laid plan, and. with
his large force of cavalry, struck the
Army Of the Potomac in the rear of It's
etts magnificent and furious assault in
Its front, when our infantry had all 1t
could do to hold on to the line of Gene
terry Ridge. and but little more was need
ed to make the assault a success-a now
Ice in the art of war can readily tell what
the result would have been. Fortunately
for US. fortunately for the Army of the
Potomac. fortunately for our country and
the cause Of human liberty, he failed"
More Speeches and Music.
After Gen. Estes had retired from the
platform the Burnside Post Glee Club
rendered annie Laurie" In a most eff
fective manner and addresses were made
by Messrs Albert Eastman, G. C. Potwin
and L. P. Williams. Mr.. Eastman's adj
dress was of particular interest. as 1t
dealt with the sensations of a man struck
down on the battlefield and left for dead.
Such was the speakers experience. The
Burnside Post Glee Club was called upon