The Washington times., 1913-08-17
THE TIMES DAHL
THE PATRIOTS
The Story of Lee and the Lost Hope

, pacter blue lines to the far east, tht
| combat had ceased as il by unanimou!
consent. There was a concentration o.
interest where there was a concentra
| ton of force.
| Those Virginians of the valley, tht
knightliest race upon the continent
| were about to attempt a deed which
| should be celebrated in song and story
! which for hardihood and courage was
! never to be surpassed. They were go-
| ing 10 charge and Ereak that waiting
| blue line. The fate OF the Confederacy
| was TO be determined then and taere.
With these brave men under the stars
ard stripes brushed aside. routed, driven
| heaGlong in defeat. with that splendid
army crumpled ana crushed. the result
would be certain. New York. Phila-
delphia. even Washington itself. would
be at the disposal of Lee. II the Vir-
giniSns failed, all the desperate fight
ing of two years which had gone before
would have been unavailing. II would
all have to be begun over again, and
begun under circumstances and condi-
tlons which held little promise OF sue
cess. Failure wrote a doom sentence
large upon the wall which the prescient
alone might reed-a doom sentence no
less accurate because the millions
could not, or would not, understand.
Yet the soldiers who were there did
dimly and in part discern the meaning
OF lne moment, inc Jesuit lOI WHICH
they so proudly endeavored.
Ordinary troops detailed to lead a
charge like that would have seen only
the immediate issue to the effort, but
those Virginians were different As
they realized what success meant they
saw. in part at least. the meaning Of
failure. They were not going to fail! 1t
was a forlorn hope perhaps. but they i'll
tended to convert 1t into a real thing.
To achieve the impossible-they were
accustomed to do that!
There was some hesitation at first
Not hesitation among the men. Oh, no!
They. were like eager hounds held in
leash with the quarry before them. The
great soldier who commanded the corps,
better Judge than the rank and file,
hesitated to give the order which de-
voted the 5000 Virginians to annihila-
ton, as he saw 1t. Their own Virginia
general, stark. strong. his auburn hair
falling on his shoulders. his cap raked
over his ear. looking the dashing cava
lier that he was on his great black
horse. rode up to the tall bearded man
standing with his staff in advance If
between them. Would Longstrreet give
the order. the order which must be
given? MOI He stood silent Wiser
than the rest, he recognized here an i'm
possibility 20 which even the Virginians
were unequal
general" said Pickett. Longstreet's
lips could not frame the fatal command.
but he bowed his head, and Pickett
turned away and rode to the front of
his division.
A quiver ran along the line. The
watching Federals a mile away heard
the cheering-the old-time rebel yell
marked its rise and fall and die away.
The ranks stood Immobile "Atten-
tion! Another word of command. The
guns crashed against the shoulders.
Forward" The long gray line stepped
crowding. no haste. They had both a
stage and an audience. those men, Cor
their grim play-the greatest Of trage-
dies. They were determined to show
to the largest assembIage Of spectators
ever gathered together on the conti-
nent to witness a drama OF life and
death that they were as proficient IN
the nicely of the soldiers art as they
were striking exemplifications Of its
manhood and valor
Taking direction from the guiding
regiment, the men, their arms at a right
shoulder, coolly dressed their lines upon
the battle flags as II on parade. Some
of those banners tapped broadly in the
gentle breeze, others were mere shreds
of color from splintered stafrs. They
had been torn to pieces on many a
battlefield. In three long lines. each
brigade forming one. Garnett in the
lead, Armistead in the center. Kemper
bringing UP the rear, the gray-clad men
of Virginia softly descended the hill.
One hundred and twenty thousand /
pairs of eyes stared at them as they
left their places in the line. They made i!
a front about 400 pards long. To the |
left of them were two divisions of sup
porting troops. mainly North CaroIin- |
ians, with brigades Of Tennesseeans and |
and another Virginian |
brigade with two Alabama regiments !
under Pettigrew and Trimble. They had |
fought and suffered severely in the bat !
ties of the days before, but with spirit |
undaunted, emulous of the Virginians, |
too. dressed their lines and moved con- /
fdently toward the enemy. In rear of
either flank of the long lines marched /
Jrigades in solid column. There was no |
ruffiing OF drums or blaring of bugles. |
Even the commands were given in an
ordinary tone of voice, as IL the occa-
sion was quite an everyday affair. The