Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-07-05
Flashed by Veteran FIagmen
From Seminary Ridge to
Little Round Top.
GETTYSBURG GATHERING
IS BROUGHT TO AN END
Men in Blue and Gray Desert Bat.
tlefeld for Their
Homes.
BY EARL GOODWIN.

BY EARL GOODWIN.
GETTYSBURG. Pa, July 5.-A nice
rosy-faced veteran clambered to a rock
on Seminary Ridge early today, and
while he was unwrapping an old time
signal flag, another veteran In blue was
peering at him through field glasses on
Little Round Top. The man on Round
Top was sergt. Charles D. Marcy.
formerly Of the United States Signal
Corps in the battle OF Gettysburg, and
the other one was Lieut.. George Carr
Rounds.
He is ready" said Marcy finally to
a group of veterans with him. Then
he started to wigwag with an old time
signal flag. Lieut. Round was reading
1t through his glasses, as well as every
one Of the veteran signal men with
him, and he set it down in his dispatch
book Peace on Earth. Good Will to
Men" was what Marcy sent to him.
That was the initial message Of good
bye to Gettysburg from the old time
signal men Of the United States Army.
who meet every year. There were a
hundred of them today. divided between
Seminary Ridge and Little Round Top,
to watch this signaling, in all probable
ity the first time that the flashes of
the war code have ever been used to
wave from ridge to ridge the words of
the angels which heralded the coming
of the Prince Of Peace
Seminary Ridge Answers.
Seminary Ridge then lay down its
glasses and picked up the wig-wag kit.
Glory to God in the highest" read the
signals.
Then from Round Top came the an
swer:
Let US have peace which was Grants
fervent wish.
reverently signaled the words of Gen.
kee-a monument to him is in plain sight
across the field where Longstreet's men
fought-"Duty is the sublimest word in
our language"
And then from the two heights these
hundred men stepped slowly down, in the
spirit OF men who have felt their souls
pray to God in the sanctuary of heaven
itself.
aThey. were sa2fssiGnals cpsps nueza~ef-sthe
afmy or a day when a wireless field out
MT was not thought of in the widest
dreams and who sent their wig-wag code
risk OF their lives. Their organization
elected president today, George Carr
Round Of Manassas. who did the signal
ing from Seminary Ridge.
elimination Of the Reunion.
This prayer. tagged over the stretch
Of the battlefield. is the elimination Of
the peace reunion. and marks the end of
the unparalleled meeting at Gettysburg.
Even while the messages were being in
scrifed in the dispatch books thousands
upon thousands of veterans We're board
Ing the outgoing specials, totally OBJ
| lfvious of the last words of the signal
men.
When 1t began TO appear that the re-
union actually is over there was load
lifted from the shoulders of executive
officers around here that made them
soar to the heights of jubilation. There
was saturmalia Of turkey trotting around
headquarters, which for a half hour made
colonels, generals. veterans, moving pic
ture photographers and Boy Scouts all
minsle together in one common bond, as
If they all belonged to the same church.
To celebrate further Lieut. Saunders,
who has been feeding the headquarters
multitude had ordered a dinner of Penn
sylvania chicken. which did much to help
along the general good feeling. Every
one OF the $1,000 or 10000 veterans in
camp also had chicken and ice cream for
dinner. and grumbled only because they
could not take the cream home
souvenir
Washington veterans. as a delegation,
did not share in the chicken dinner,
because most Of that camp had left. Not
one Washingtonian will be left there by
this afternoon.
The veterans are going around posing
for photographs with their new-found
friends, the regulars. They like the idea
Of the Photographic combination of the
blue of '6S and the khaki of '13: and
| the regulars don't mind IL bit. There
| is a veteran named Hull from somewhere
| In New York who wears the most mag
| nificent set of whskers i'm camp and
ic finQ oil rid
ing picture men and photographers have
been hauling him and his whiskers about
| in high-priced automobiles just for the
| sake of having him and his patriarchal
beard right there somewhere in the fore
ground. He Is a real veteran, too.
Make-believe Vet. Hooted.
| On the other hand, there is an en-
| terprising moving picture firm which has
prepared a Gettysburg reunion moving
picture film drama. taking the scenes
here. 1t has imported a German actor
with gold teeth from New York to play
the part of the Union veteran. There
being $1,000 real veterans in camp, the
play actor veteran is greeted with loud
outlaws wherever he appears. I'm his wig.
/ Now that the reunion is over the humor
| is coming to light. The thing that strikes
every one right in the face today is the
enormous number of men who fired the
| first shot at Gettysburg. There are about
900 of them each one assuring you that
he was ii and willing TO take you to the
spot. Should you be down town i'm the
dusty city square, veteran will ask you
for a match.
Its been a long time since | was
here" he'll say, as he pulls reluctant
flame through corn cob. YES a long
time. l ft it all over this town Yes.
Yes. / guess l was the fellow that fired
the first shot. Yes. Yes. Leastways, |
haven't heard any one dispute it,
Up the street at Tiptons place. where
a car load of souvenirs Is being sold to-
day, you will find man in blue looking
at the bullets they made into paper
weights.
Young man, how'd you like to have
one of them things buzzing after you
Hey? Well, l fired one o them things
fifty years ago. l guess I'm the first man
that ever fired a shot in the battle. Al
any rate, l amt ever heard any one dis
pute it"
Claimant From Scotland.
\ group of men in dark riding uniforms
members of the Pennsylvania state con.
stabulary, are in the middle of High