The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1913-07-02

l Potomac, July 3rd, 1863-
 Northward from Gettysburg run roads to Harrisburg and south ward from 1t run three good roads, the principal and best of which is the Bal tinore turnpike. For any movement | toward it's own border therefore the possession of these roads toward the. south was necessary for the southern army and these roads once in our pos-I session the situation of the southern I army became critical, for should Lee attempt to retire by any other roads than those we should have a shorter l line to any point on his route and could consequently hit him wherever we might choose; while if he should fight us without these roads and win; he would win but little more than a way to get out and if decisfvely beat en his dedefat would be very disaS- trous.
 General Meade, therefore. began from the first to mass his forces in such manner as would enable him to hold these roads to the best ad- vantage. South of the town the coun- l try is very generally hilly; but there are three little hills that deserve es- pecfal mention, as they form the points on which our line was drawn Cemetery hill, is the southern edge of theN town; a nameless hill half a mile to the east of Cemetery hill and Sug- ar Loaf hill directly south from Cerne- | U from 1t. Between Cemetery hill and Sugar Loaf mill the country is open l and level and our men in that position faced directly west from Cemetery hill to the nameless one; we faced the north and between the latter and Su- gor Loaf hill you looked to the south east.
 Our position there was a somewhat irregular triangle and it's peculiarity was that practically it had no Hanks; for in case of necessity the line could have been swept around so that the extreme right and left would meet on the turnpike. Our line from Cemetery hill to the night was on a rocky ridge, very thiclly wooded: and here during the early part of the day some direction of Generals Williams and Geary of the Twelfth corps which was posted at this place.
 Though many who constructed these defences thought they would like countless others, amount to very little l when the fight came, they proved eventually to be of the utmost value
 General Steinwehr occupied Ceme- terry hdII which commands the town, while the fight ragged on Wednesday and at the close of the dayrs battle 1.-the remnants of the F9rst and E1ev- enth corps were posted there and a little down the line to the right and the left, and there they remained on Thursday at the commencement or the second battle. On the open coun- try to our left lay the Second and Third corps and the Fifth was so massed as to fill up the third line. The Sixth was put near to the Fifth when it came up. l On Cemetery hill we had several batteries, and, indeed every point that l could possibly conanond a fire was crowned with battery; for, in ad-' l dition to the guns regularly attached | to the corps, we had up the reserve artillery. Throughout the wide extent Iof lines ambulances and ammunition 1 trains were packed and it proved they were all under fire, for the field of fire of the rebel guns oppoFite our l left in this enclosed space, and shells 1 exploded every where and round shot l hurled through the air in every di- rection. l After what had taken place on 1 Wednesday and with the knowledge l of the force that had come up, there l was good reason to believe, and all l in the camp did believe, that the day would be ushered in with the noise of battle Day broke in quiet, however, and breakfast taken at ease Now 1 and then there were little disputes i between dhe enemy'S pickets and 1 in the streets of the town, for we held part and they held their part and some 1 times a gun in one of our batteries | I ward the enemy's lines.
 f The enemy through all this kept l nnarve1ously shy and did not fire a 1 shot, which, it was thought, indicated that he was short Of heavy amm muni- i tion.
 During the early part of the day 1 very little was known of the enemy's movements, but 1t was thought to be 1 clearly made out that he was naseing
 his forces on our extreme right In
 of this additional preparations were
 made to meet whatever might come in
 that direction But there were some who thought from the first that the
 movements of the enemy toward our I right were made only for show and
 to distract attention from more inn portant points; for such was the na- ture of the country that had the en-. 1 erny really wished to mass his forces
 there he could have done it without I making a man visible.
 1 About twelve o'clock skirmishing
 commenced on our left centre and was l kept up quite briskly by the sharp l shooters on both sides. General Rob- 1 inson remarked that this was only 8 I feint of the enemy and that he would
 soon appear in force somewhere else.
 True enough, about four o'clock can.
 nonading and smelling commenced
 moderately on our extreme left where
 the Third corps, General kSickles. and the Second corps, General Hancock
 were stationed, and in the course of
 an hour increased to most terrific degree, accompanied by repeated on- sIaughts of their infantry who yelled like so many hyenas. Their intention was undoubtedly to
 turn our left to accomplish which
 purpose they had as usual massed
 their full forces on our left. General
 Lee conjectured that our ammunition
 trains were parked in that quarter
 and he wished to capture them; but ] General Meade had taken the pre- ! caution to place his old corps-the
 gallant FYfth-there in reserve to
 guard any such surprise.
 Between five and six o'clock the
 Third corps having withstood with
 frightfuI loss many charges of the
 eneny's infantry of many of their