The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1913-07-01
THE GETTYSBURG REUNION.

Today is the Jubilee Anniversary Of
battle at Gettysburg. between the
Union and the Confederate forces. On
the field OF that battle are gathered
some $4,000 Of the survivors on both
sides, this assemblage. however, being
made up not Of Gettysburg surviv
ors alone They are there largely as
the guests Of the Nation and of their
respective States. They meet IN peace
whereas before they met in war. They
meet as fellow citizens, whereas for
merly they met as warriors Of the
Union on the one side and of pseudo
opposing nation on the other. The
fifty wears since have been years Of
reconstruction, of the healing wounds,
and the fusing Of all into a common
citizenship, in which all are proud and
in which all are now firmly held. In
war, as in peace, the Nation is one
throughout all its borders and embrac-
ing all its citizenship; a happy CON
trast to the awful carnage which oc
Cured on the Gettysburg field during
the three days battle. the first day of
which was fifty years ago.
It was n battle which neither COM
mander wished to fight, or intended TO
fight, at that place. General Lee is
sued orders for the concentration Of
his army ut Cashtown, northwest Of
Gettysburg. General Meade intended
to fight at Pipe Creek on line south
cast of Gettysburg. It is curious
thing to recall, in this day of swift
and certain communication, that nei-
ther Lee nor Meade had any definite
knowledge Of the location of the forces
Of the other. General Meade had been
appointed to the command of the army
but three days before the battle. Gen
eral Hooker, who had the command be-
fore him, was reaching ont in an
effort to ascertain where Lee was, but
without success. The maneuvering for
about two weeks was such AS fairly
might be called blind, each force NOV
ing in general way, supposedly so as
to get the advantage of the other. but
neither knowing just how to do it or
just where to strike.
The beginning of the battle was
finally precipitated by General Buford,
commander of a division of cavalry in
the Union Army. He unexpectedly came
in contact with Heth s division of
Hill IS corps of the Confederate troops,
Buferd could Of course, make no head
way against the masses of infantry
that We're thrown against him, He
called for reinforcements. and was sup
ported by Reynolds, Doubleday, How
in the afternoon. Heth. in like man
ner, was reinforced until he was sup
ported by the whole right wing Of
Lees army The Union forces were
driven back, but took up strong po-
sition along Cemetery Ridge. General
Meade came up to the line of battle,
arriving that night about midnight, and
decided to fight there.
The fight of the first day was a des-
perate melee, in which Major General
Reynolds Of the Union forces was killed,
and the slaughter was terrific. The
left wing Of the Union army was no
match for the masses OF Confederate
troops that were hurled against it,.
The position OF the Union left was,
in fact, extremely precarious, and it
is probable that if Longstreet s advice
to make the main attack at that point
had been followed at the first. and the
advantageous positions which were
then unoccupied had been promptly