The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1908-12-26
bend and Culp's hill at the barb.

| taken by the COnfederates. In order
to face the entire Union line they al
so swung the northern end of their
| line to the east, forming an opposing
fish hook. The Union fish hook was
held by about $4,000 men, while the
Confederate one, which enveloped it,
contained perhaps 100000. This was
| the position of the two armies on the
third and last day.
These ridges are, by the way,
scarcely worthy of the name, being
merely gentle elevations. With the
exception of the three hills on the
Union line the country is almost level
and cavalry could maneuver at gal
| lop over any part of it. 1t is open
farming country, looking peaceful
enough today, but the long lines of
stately battle monuments stand as
eloquent reminders of those three
| terrible July days, when the army
of the Potomac and the army of
| Northern Virginia closed in a death
struggle and, as Bret Harte expressed
| it:
Round shot plowed the upland
glades,
Sown with bullets, reaped with
blades"
In driving over the fields we started
northeast of the town where the first
| days fighting occurred Here old
pieces of artillery were standing
| about on the same ground that they
had during the batle-not always the
| same identical guns, but always the
| same kind and pointing in the same
| direction. Numerous monuments line
the avenue showing where the differ
ent regiments were located. Many
OF them are beautiful works of art,
and it is remarkable fact that among
all the 500 monuments on the field
there are no two alike. Here the
bronze statute of a horseman marks
the spot where some general fell;
yonder the granite image of a bare
headed color sergeant holding the
| colors with one hand and extending
clinch fist at the enemy, stands where
some man was struck dead precisely
| In that attitude. But one of the most
touching of all is the statute of old
John Burns, the Gettysburg farmer.
standing bare headed and rifle in
| hand, where he stood and fought on
that terrible day while bleeding from
three wounds. To quote from an old
poem again.
He was the fellow who won renown
The only man who didn't back down
When the rebels rode through his
native town"
The first days fight went against the
Union, for the Confederates were
there in superior force and gradually
drove there adversaries back into the
town of Gettysburg. Here the fight
ragged in the streets, hundreds being
killed and captured, the Confederates
finally gaining possession of the town
and holding it through the three days
fighting
From the Burns statute the drive
extends southwark along the avenue
on Seminary ridge-the position held
by the Confederates on the second
and third days. Here a long line of
old guns marks the position of Lees
artillery. For perhaps a mile we drive
past battery after battery of these old
pointing straight east across the shall
low valley at the opposite ridge a
mile away.
On reaching the southern extremity
we start eastward across the valley
toward Round TOp-the eye of the l
Union fish hook. Half way across we /
come to clump of huge rocks. per- |
hasps an acre in extent, which is fam
Gus in history as the Devils den."
This was the position held by the Con-
federate Sharpshooters on the second
day and it was from here that they
picked of the Union artillerymen on
Little Round Top. 1t appears to be
good 400 yards away-rather long
range for the rifles OF that day, still.
SO deadly were there aim that they
-~~P No"A eAAV uT6 Uy
Ing every gunner that showed himself.
force of Union Sharpshooters on
Round Top replied to them and the
rocks at DEVILS den still show the
bullet marks. After the battle the crew
ices In the rocks were found filled
with dead men, lying in places thre
or four deep.
Between here and Round Top is a
boulder-strewn stretch of land known
as the Valley of Death This was
the scene of Longstreet's desperate
attempts to capture Round Top. Lee
had ordered him to attack at day.
break, but for some reason he did not
get started until o'clock in the after
noon. and by that time the Federals
had been heavily reinforced. The
Confederates rushed fiercely to the as