The Keota news., 1913-06-06
WILL HOLD REUNION ON GETTYs.
BURG BATTLEFIELD JULY 1.
Forty Thousand Men Who Wore the
Blue and Gray to Gather on Ground
Made Memorable by His
toric Conflict.
BY EDWARD B. CLARK.

Gettysburg, Pa, during the first four
days Of July will again be the scene
of meeting Of the Blue and the Gray,
but this time they will meet in amity
and affection. A half-century will
two great American armies met on
this northern field. Then they were
face to face in deadly conflict, for the
Issue, it was we'll understood to both
cOntending forces, was the success Of
the southern cause, or the beginning
of its defeat, to be followed by the res
toration Of the Union as it had been
before the first shot was fired at Fort
Sumter.
The United States government and
the government of nearly every state
In the Union have combined to make
the Gettysburg reunion Of the soldiers
of the North and South one of the
q eat peace events of the century. The
state of Pennsylvania some time ago
appointed q "Fiftieth Anniversary of
the Battle of Gettysburg Commission"
to make preparations for the four
days reunion, at which Pennsylvania
as q state was to act as host to the
veterans of the war between the states
and to the thousands Of visitors who
would follow their march to the field
OF battle, and appropriated $50. 900 for
the purpose of entertaining the vet
Grams.
It is expected that 10000 veterans
o. the war, not all of them, however.
survivors of the Gettysburg battle. will
be found encamped upon the field
when reveille sounds on the morning
Of July /. 1t will be a different re-
veille than that which the fife and
drum corps of the two great armies
pounded fifty years ago. The call to
awakening will be call to peaceful
celebration, while the call to the
weakening in July, 1853, was a call OF
armies to conflict and, to thousands of
men, q call to death.
For years the veterans have been
looking forward to this reunion. 1t is
probable that there will be present
many thousands of survivors of the
Lattle. The United States government
under an act of Congress has appro-
2riated money for the preparation OF
the camps and for the messing of the
soldier visitors. The average age OF
the men engaged in the Civil War was
only 18 years, but fifty years have
Eassed since these soldier boys fought
at Gettysburg. and so If the computa-
ton of age was true one the aver
age years of the veterans who will
meet in Pennsylvania in July will be
about 68 years. Many of them, of
course, will be much older and good
many of them, men who entered at
ages ranging from IA to II years. will
be younger but all will be old men as
the world views age.
Many of the states of the Union,
North as we'll as South, have made ap-
plopriations to send their veterans to
the Gettysburg reunion and to pay all
ether expenses. The battle of Gettys-
burg is recognized as the turning point
Of the war between the states. 1t has
teen called time and again one Of the
decisive battles Of the world. Gener-
ally it Is recognized that Gettysburg
decided the great conflict, helped in
the decision probably by the fall of
Vicksburg on the Mississippi, which
took place virtually at the moment
thct the conflict on the Pennsylvania
field was decided in favor of the north
ern arms.
The preparations which the govern
ment is making to care for the veter-
ans at Gettysburg are interesting.
They have been under the charge of
James B. Aleshire, Quarterma ster gen.
eral of the United States army, and
Henry G.. Sharpe, commissary general
Of the United States army. Two years
ago last March $4,000 regular troops