Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1913-06-25
GEN. SICKLES TELLS
OF TERRIFIC BATTLE
WHICH COST HIS LEG
Only Living Commander Of
Great Gettysburg Fight Re-
calls Incidents of Conflict.
BY MAJ.-oEN. D. E. sIcKLEs

| BY MAJ.-GEN. u. (. SlONLG0
| Copyright. 1913. by the Newspaper Enter
prise Association
! Editorial Note-Here is General Dan
| Sickness own story of the part he
| played in the decisive battle of the
! war.
The fffieth anniversary of that bat
| tie Is to he celebrated at Gettysburg
next week by the reunited Union ana
| Confederate veterans. and the Ieaaiht
| figure Mt the reunion will be @encra'
| SicI<les himself, on erutches, 93 years
old, the only surviving general VINO
fought on that bloody field.
There he will tell his old comrades
rs here he tells Evening Star readers
| of the gallant Peach Orchard fight, in
w hIch he lost his leg; OF his remarA-
able tnIk with President Lincoln after
| ward, and of his friendly adventure
later I'm Atlanta with his old Gettys-
burg enemy, General Longstreet'
The senli-centennial ceremonies OF
the battle of Gettysburg appeal with
compelling power to me because OF
the part which fate deereed that l
should play in the great conflict, pc
cause l left my leg on that bloody
field and because am the only gen
eraI of either side who has been
spared through the fifty years tnae
have interviewed.
All the others, of both the north
ern and southern armies, have gone,
1 alone, at the age of 80, remain.
1 have been asked by the editor of
the Evening Star to tell how l lost
my leg at Gettysburg, and | am
happy to comply, and l will also tell
how 1 lost my head at Atlanta
thanks to General Longstreet and
hot Irish whiskey punch.
never knew what sort of missile
hit me, but the surgeons believed
it was a fragment of a shell.
L was struck about o'clock in the
evening of July 2, after having taken
my advanced position in the peach
orchard and having fought for hours
with the command of General Long
street opposite me on the Confederate
side, to prevent the enemy taking
the Round Tops which were just to
my left. I was mounted on fine
black stallion and was standing I'M
der an apple tree when the missile,
flying alongside my horse, struck my
right leg.
It was a terrible wound, and panied
me intensely, but it did not knock
me from my horse or make me lose
consciousness. nor did it touch my
horse. I dismounted by myself and
was helped onto a litter by my aides.
The report flew up and down my
lines that I had been killed and Of
ficers came running to get the facts.
They reported that my men were
so I directed my aides
to carry me the whole length of my
lines, that my soldiers might see me.
I was losing a great deal of blood
and felt weak, but had my head
and shoulders raised. and as I was
carried along the line l held my hat
in my hand and waved 1t to the
boys. They saw had not been killed
and they cheered me and took heart
for the fighting.
1t seemed to be the logical, sensible
thing for me to do at the time, and
I was surprised later, when for that
service was given the Congressional
gold medal of honor for bravery.
Ny leg was amputated Immediately
in the field hospital, Thursday, July
2, and I was taken to Washington,
early. Sunday morning. 4
was carried to a house where quar-
tiers had been obtained for me, on
the same stretcher on which I was
laid at Gettysburg. The landlady
was not up yet and we waited a few
minutes outside her door. AS it was
warm ! had laid a handkerchief over
my face. SEEING me the landlady
said:
He is dead"
ooh, no." I replied, removing the
handkerchief, "only doing a little"
How LIncoIn's Prayer Was Answered.
Soon after I reached my apartment
President Lincoln came to see me.
After he had given a touching ex-