River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1913-05-29

for the ertertainment of the visiting
veterans, and the thousands of persons
who will accompany them. Hospital
ity is to mark the days. Fifty years
ago Pennsylvania aided in the work OF
repelling the visitors from the south.
In early July next the same state will
have its arms wide open in welcome
to the men wearing the gray. Enter
tainments of various kinds Will be Of
fered the visiting veterans, but 1t is
pretty well understood that their deep
interest in revisiting the scenes where
they fought, Little Round Top. Oak
Ridge, Cemetery Hill, Culp's Hill,
Rock Creek, the Stone Wall and other
places will hold them largely to the
pleasures and to the sadnesses of per-
sonal "reminiscences. Arm in arm with
the Union soldiers the Confederate SOL
diers will retramp the battle-ground.
They will look over the field of Pick
ett's desperate charge. They will re-
trace the marching steps of Long
streets corps. They will go to the
place where Meade had his headquar-
ters and to the place from which Lee
directed his southern forces in battle.
Pennsylvania is going to make
great celebration of peace of this fif-
tieth anniversary of what probably
was the decisive battle of the war. al
though 1t was fought nearly two years
before the war ended. Other states
will help Pennsylvania in its work, and
from every section of the country,
north, east, south and west, the vet
Grams will assemble, most of them
probably to see for the last time in
life the field upon which they were
willing to die for the sake of their re-
spective causes.
The veterans will not be directly en-
camped in the Gettysburg park, which
is dotted with monuments to the vari-
GUS commands which took part in the
fight and which is laid out in approved
park fashion, with fine drives and
beautifully kept lawns. There will be
two camps, known as No. and No. 2.
No. will cover 149 acres and No. 2
will cover A. acres. The layouts Of
these camps are based on the use Of
conical tents, each of which will, with
out crowding, accommodate eight per-
sons. Inasmuch as accommodations
are to be furnished for 10000 visitors
5000 tents will be required to give
quarters to the visiting hosts.
The quartermaster general in re-
port says: at is assumed that the
meals will be served to the visitors
in a manner similar to that used by
the regular troops when in camp for
short periods; that is, by having each
man go to the kitchen with his mess
kit to be served there and dining in his
tent or other convenient places"
Visitors to Be Cared For.
Every possible care is to be taken
of the visitors. The sanitary arrange
ments which have been made are said
to be the best that are possible and
they are the result Of careful study by
medical officers Of the service. All the
experience Of the past has been drawn
upon to make it certain that the health
of the veterans will be conserved while
they are in camp.
With SO many thousands of old sol
diers in attendance, and taking into
consideration the probability that the
weather will be warm, it is expected
that there will be sickness, but the
United States government and the
state of Pennsylvania are preparing
for hospital service which shall be
adequate to any contingency. There
will be hospital corps detachments
present ready to render first aid to
the injured, and there will be many
field hospitals with surgeons in at
tendance, where the sick can receive
instant attendance.
1t is said that this contemplated re-
union has induced more interest
among the old soldiers of the north
and the south than any event which
has happened since the day that the
war closed. There is today at Gettys-
burg a great national park, in which
is included a cemetery where thou
sands of soldier dead are buried The
United States government and the leg3
islature of Pennsylvania worked to-
gether to make a park of the battle
field and to mark accurately every
point in 1t which has historic interest.
When one goes to the field he can tell
just where this brigade or that bril-
gade was engaged, Just where this
charge or that charge was made and
just where the desperate defenses of
positions were maintained until the
tide of battle brought either victory or
defeat to one OF the immediate COM
mands engaged.
1t was in 1895 that congress estab-
lished national park at Gettysburg
and gave the secretary of war author
ity to name commission Ito superin-
tend the opening Of additional roads,
mark the boundaries, ascertain and
definitely mark the lines of battle Of
troops engaged, to acquire lands which
were occupied by infantry, cavalry and
artillery, and such other adjacent
lands as the secretary Of war may
deem necessary to preserve the impor-
tant typographical features of the bat
tlefield."
When the Union and the Confeder-
ate veterans reach Gettysburg on June
80 next they will find on the scene of
the old conflict between FIVE and six
hundred memorials raised in comment
Grafton of the deeds of their COM
mands on the great fields of the Penn
sylvania battlefield. There are, more
over, 1000 markers placed to desig-