The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-02-12

aud all within reach we're actively en-
gagged with the enemy. That his men
did come to the wall was true; and
they were there slaughtered. and Il
great many captured. rs our double
shoited guns tore gaps through their
lines us they advanced IN that open
field. And. as at Antietam, Battery A,
First Il. L. l.. a.. with Smiths Bril-
gade. was the keystone at Gettysburg
against Pickett and had they broken
or allowed the enemy to break through
their lines. the day would have been
lost TO the Union cause. When Gen.
Lane says he came 10 the stone wall
he was 100 yards farther front toward
the Union lines than where Pickett's
men came to the low stone wall, and,
Us l have said from twenty to thirty
yards in advance OF Pickotts men
when they reached Cushing'S two guns,
which had been advanced some fifty
yards beyond the remainder of his
battery. and that of Battery y, First
X. I. l.. a., who were next on his right,
which was close TO the stone wall
reached by General Lanes men. II
was at This point of The charge Of the
Confederates that William Barker.
who was No on No. gun, and who
was as cool and as good Il soldier as
ever saw, stood with tho lanyard in
hand The gun double-siiottcd with
cauislcr. until his Sergeant. Amos w
c. Olney, four times gave him the
order TO fire before he obeyed;
BARKER seemed paralyzed at the
thought Of what damage that gun WAS
about to inhict upon the mass Of men
in front of it. and the SWath it would
cut in their ranks. pulled the lanyard
a. the fourth ordcr--aud who that saw
that shot ever forgot it; it was tho
TWenty-sixth North Carolina thar re-
ceived il. 1t was fortunate. perhaps,
for us that General Lane and his men
did not know that ii WAS the last shot
Battery a had, OF the situation might
still have been changed. and we
would have been driven back our
selves; for it was some moments be-
fore we were relieved by Weir'S Bat
terry Co. Fifth u. s.. who came in and
sheIled the fleeing troops Of Pickett
and PettgrcW. The latter general and
his men ] understand. never got credit
for their deeds 1T gettysburg. although
pcttigreW tried hard to have justice
done them. without avail; ana II is
said he died heart broken IN consc-
gucnce.
There are Two nonumcntS on the
field of Gettysburg designating The pc.
sition Of two batteries; they are on
the very same ground on which our
Battery A. First il. l. was located. III.
those two batteries fought there j. was
after the battle WAS over. There seems
to have been no lack of ignorance. no
presence of Judgment or the part Of
some one, on both the Gettysburg and
Antietam fields, where regiments and
batteries arc marked in wrong posi-
ticns. At Antjetam Battery \. First
k. /. l.. A., commanded ut that tIlhcI
by Capt. John "A. Tompkins, is halt a.
,nilc out Of place.
| again assert that although Lhe|
North Carolina troops did not cross
the Wall i'll our front they did come
farther on to the Union lines than
any other Confederate troops ut Gets
tysburg.
The report of Colonel Shepard. of
Archer's Brigade, is too silly to repeat
especially where he says that all the
flags captured except one were cap
tured within the enemy'S works, To
prove that this is not true ] will refer
any one to the history Of the Second
Corps. where 1t says that the corps
captured over 4 ,0Ge prisoners and thir-
ty-three battle flags. most of which
were captured by HayS's Third Divis-
ion. all to the left of where Pickett's