The National tribune., 1909-08-05
CHARGE OF THE LoUIsIANIANs
A Brilliant Description of Terrible
Conflict

1
A Brilliant Description of Terrible
| Conflict.
Editor National Tribune: nave been.
very much interested lately, and sometimes
amused, at the controversy in your columns
IN regard to the celebrated charge of the
Louisiana Tigers on the evening of July
=, 1868, at Gettysburg When there are
so many lightning changes" at n time
like that, half dozen descriptions may
be given. all different, and yet all may be
right. What may have been 30 minutes
actual. time seemed like five minutes to
one man, a whole hour to another. So
that. III years afterward, to make positive
assertions as to time, places, distances.
and names seems unreasonable. "a
| was gunner of No. 2 piece, Ricketts,s
| Battery (F), list Pa l.. A. We went
| INTO position on the morning of July 2,
| facing the town. with the cemetery in our
rear, but only remained there a few min
utes, when we were ordered to relieve Bat
| terry Il of our regiment, which had been, in
the fight since the morning of the day
before tJuly They pulled out. and we
went INTO position In the earthworks they
| lBattery 81 had thrown up the day be-
fore. What became of them after t3at
| can't say--but one of. their men left his
hand behind, and if he is yet alive, and
| should see this, it may afford him some
| satisfaction to know that | buried the
| hand in the top of the second lunet from
| the stone wall (the one in which my gun
was stationed. and no doubt the bones are
resting quietly there yet, slss thesJunets have
been nicely sodded over,-making an ideal
grave. Our position now va snon the brow
of the hill, in front of the Cemetery
/ gate, tour 23-ton monument marks the
| spot, with Wiedrich's B,EsteryaOn our left
| a sionewaH between US :; ahehtDwn wa.s. also
on our left. During thai day the 2ti) we
had quite a pretty artillery duel with
| Confederate battery om' Seminary Ridge
| directly in front of.sus. aid. -as usual we
Knocked them out. WeG certainly could
| shoot straight. AnOtheS incident during
| the day was the pickinei1Of effour horses
| by a sharpsheofer in tosfn,. whom we fin
! ally located by puff of .Stnoke looming out
| of the end of a brickscnouss Gunner
| Frank .Brockway tour 1ieutl a3foekways :
| younger brother) was drdereafto stop it,
/ which he did by putting!a a she'll thru the
| house right where :weE1saw awsffIae puff; of
smoke coming from. Ehat aopped the
"sniping." After the battle, on the 4th,
some of us visited the house. and found n
third-story room, and rifieman had stood
on it. knocked a brick out, making a loop
| hole, thru which he was picking off men
and horses at his leisure, till Frank
| Brockway picked him off.
But to return to our "Tiger" story.
| since tHe war nave reid many uiScTlp-
| tions of that famous charge, but none so
near the truth. nor so well written. as that
by "Balch." which reads as follows:
The Desperate Charge.
Just as the sun was disappearing in
| the red West, and the soft gray shadows
| of twilight were gathering like ghostly
army, the defenders of Cemetery Hill saw
| emerging from behind an eminenee long
| line of infantry formed for assault. /, The
| line was formed of the brigades of Hays
and Hoke. and led by the famous 'Louisi-
ana Tigers. The moment they came in
| sight they faced the test of death.
Stevens opened on them with every gun !;
Wiedrich and Ricketts, joined in the
chorus. The slaughter was Immediately
terrible: men fell dead before the iron
storm at the rate of dozen a minute.
The guns of Ricketts, were charged with
canister, and they fired every ID seconds.
Stevens's Battery, enfilading the Confeder-
ate line, wreaked furious destruction upon
the storming column, which, thru it all, in
the face of the very hell of war, kept on
their upward way. As the. Tigers came
within musket range of the crest of Gene
tery Hill, Howardis infantry. hidden be-
volley into the faces of the wild-hearted
and maddened men. But the eyes Of two
armies are on the Tigers They carried
the guerdon of fame that they had never
failed in charge. They could not halt
now, the hour Of their hardest trial. Over
Stevens was obliged to cease firing, for
fear of killing friends. Wiedrich is unable
TO stand the shock; his supports and his
men are swept back, together, before the
force of the human tornado Ricketts,
quailej not; the full strength of the storm
falling upon his devoted men falls in vain.
His left piece is taken. The Tigers are
within the cage. The remaining guns are
: still served with admirable discipline and
courage. drivers and officers taking the
places OF the dead cannoneers. A struggle
takes place for the guidon it is in the
seizes stone, hurls it full at the head Of
the soldier, which fells him to the ground,
and in a moment the "riger' is slot with
his own mushet by Serg't Dick Stratford
The widest confusion e4 betlam of ter.
rorl now ensues. The, rapidly gathering
darkness makes friends andi foes indis-
tinguishable. The men at. siie batteries
are being overpowered byst their desperate
, and maddened assailantt1Ij btn still they
i cling to their guns with 4anilspikes, ram
, mers and stones they defend their posi-
, ton; the moment is critieal.sthe fate o'
, the issue is near at handt AS this instap.
Carrolls Brigade rushesa in to- the rescue
! With wild shouts they Btirst upon the al
5 most exhausted foe. Tiey I&aver. they
/ turn, they retreat in confasioh.a Ricketts,
men fly to their guns, double-shot them
: and fire deadly parting. saiutes at the de-
i feated Tigers. TheiI charge is oyer
J their LOO are left deatl AMI dying. Il
: has been indeed bloody halfZhOur's work
They passed down the hill ;35nt into the
' tory" u ~
, Had l tried to write description Of
r the "Charge" myself. could not have
a come nearer to the facts. and am sure
could not have clothed them in such vivid
/ wording. Perhaps some of the old batter.
5 boys will see this and add some incidents
: anent the charge that will be interestin!
7 to the rest of US.
Trusting have not trespassed too mucl
I on your time and space-L. T.. C. Moore
: Captain, Battery G, 1st Pa. L. A.
a Bayonne, N. j.
3 The 18th Mich.
Q Editor National Tribune. I enlisted II
the 18th Mich, Co. II, and lost my left