News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1910-04-20
A SPECTACULAR BATTLE SCENE
Farnsworth's Great Cavalry Charge on the
Confederate Right at Gettysburg. First
Vermont Was There

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tysburg battle, which was written by 6
Confederate officer and recently printed
in paper at Atlanta, Ca, and fur
nished us by Geo. W. Currier, will be OF
much interest to our readers as the Isl
Vermont Cavalry owed much to this
vicinity for its membership
Among the many spectacular scenes or
the bloody battlefield of Gettysburg, Pa,
fought during the first three days OF
July, 1858, there was possibly none more
thrilling than the charge of the federal
cavalry brigade, under command of Gen.
Elon J. Farnsworth. Before entering up.
, on the details of this tragedy it is per-
haps well to tate that the confederate
troops assauIting Round Top consisted OF
Laws and RuberLson's brigade of Hoods
division, Longstreets corps, and after
the wounding of Gen. Hood was com
manded by Brig. Gen. E. Nj. Law, the
ranking officer. There were also several
other brig4des in the division. The three
Texas regiments, the First, Fourth and
Fifth, constituted what was known as
Hoods Brigade, name still retained by
the survivor, although Gen. Hood vacated
the command long prior to the close of
the Civil War and before its end had at
tanned the rank of lieutenant general. dy-
ing in the city of New Orleans late in the
'70s or early in the 1908 of yellow aver.
In the First Texas Regiment there was a
company from Galveston, originally
known as the Lone Star Rifles, which
was among the first Texas military orga-
nizations to reach Virginia and whose
regimental letter was l.. OF this COM
pany, so far as the knowledge of this
compiler goes, there are but two mem
bers of the original command now living,
William Schadt of Galveston and George
A. Branard of Houston. In the action at
Gettysburg Hoods Division suffered
greatly, losing some 1000 men and one
half of the regimental field officers. Gen.
Law contributed paper to the Century
War Series entitled Round Top and the
Confederate Right of Gettysburg" a
portion of which will be used in this con-
nection. In narrating the advance of
the division Gen. Law gives this Instance
of the GOODNESS and courage of one of the
Texans:
"The division continued to move for
ward, encountering, as it assembled to the
battery on the spur and the heights to
the right ard left of it. most determin-
ed resistance from the federal troops,
who seemed to be continually reinforced.
The ground was rough and difficult, brok-
en- by rocks and bouders, which render
ed an orderly advance impossible. Some
times the federals would hold one side of
the huge boulders on the slope until the
confederates occupied the other. In some
cases my men, with reckless daring,
mounted to the top of the large rocks in
order to get better view and to deliver
their fire with greater effect. One of
these, Sergeant Barber of the First Texas
having reached rock little in advance
of the line, stood erect on the top of it,
loading and firing as coolly as if uncon-
scious of danger, while the air around
him was fairly swarming with bullets.
He soon fell helpless from several wounds
but held his rock, lying upon the top of
it until the litter bearers bore him off,"
FEDERAL CAVALRY MAssED
On the afternoon of July 8, when the
grand artillery drill was in progress in
the center, and which preceded the charge
of Pickett's division on Cemetery Ridge,
the confederate right was threatened by
Kilpatrick's Cavalry, and the charge
made by is thus narrated by Gen. Law:
81 had just returned to the position &C.
cupied by our artillery, which was in an
angle formed by the main and thanking
lines, when Farnsworth's Cavalry Bril-
gade charged the line held by the First
Texas Regiment. 1t was impossible to
use our artillery to any advantage. owing
to the close quarters of the attacking
cavalry to our own men-the leading
squadrons forcing their horses up to the
very muzzels of the rifles of our infantry
That portion of the cavalry which GOV.
cred the front of the First Texas was
handsomely repulsed, but the First YER
mont Regiment, forming the federal
right wing, overlapped the First Texas
on the left, and striking the skirmish
line only, rode through it into the open
valley in rear of our main line on the
spurs of Round Top. When 1 first became
satisfied, through information from the
Texas skirmishers, that Farnsworth's
Brigade was massing in their front, the
Ninth Georgia Regiment was ordered to
the support of the batteries. Hearing
the firing, and knowing its cause. the
Ninth Georgia came up at run, just as
the First Vermont Cavalry rode through
our skirmish line, led by Gen. Farnsworth
in person. Instead of moving directly
upon our batteries the cavalry directed
its course up the valley toward Gettys-
burg, passing between the position of
our artillery and our main line. Watch
ing the direction they had taken, sent
Lieut.. Wade, of my staff, rapidly across
the valley in front of them. with orders
to detach the first regiment he should
come to, on the main line, and send it
down on a run to head them Off in that
direction. He was also ordered to follow
the line to the extreme right and direct
Col Oates Fifteenth Alabama) to
strengthen his thanking skirmish line
and to close up the gap on the left of the
First Texas where the cavalry had brok-
On in"
RIDING IN GALLANT STYLE
"Farnsworth and his cavalry in the
meantime were riding in gallant style
with drawn sabers and unopposed up the
valley. As they approached Slyder's
house, and as stood watching them,
saw ragged confederate battle flag flut-
tering among the trees at the foot of the
opposite ridge, and the men with it APP
peared, running out in the open ground
on the further side of the valley. It was
the Fourth Alabama Regiment, Laws
Brigade, which had been taken from the |
main line and sent down by Lieut.. Wade. |
The men opened fire as they ran. The
G0IlrSa IF he oh u,