The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1913-08-31
THE HIGH TIDE
AT GETTYSBURG,

! We had thin picket line on the
! crest OF the ridge. and now we marched
| III that direction, hating in line of
battle perhaps 800 feet from this crest.
! iic'" we lay hnr on tire ground am;
soon cur artillery began to take posi-
tion Oh ine nil! crown. the pickcIs re-
/ tiring To their places in line. The ar
! ti!lety did not at once commence fir
; ms but their appearance invited the
attention OF the enemy, and then en-
! sued a dosultory duel; hnaily, when all
{ our guns were in place. there were
nearly 40 cannon ranged in front OF
the fifteen Virginia regiments which
constituted Pickctt's Division on that
day. being tn" Brigades OF Garnctt Ar.
! instead and Kempcr.
| Midday had now come and the sun
was oeaming straight down on US,
| though the heat did not seem to be OPP
| pressiVc. for we were hardened beyond
the danger of sunstroke or exhaustion
soon the peals OF thunder from our own
guns became more frequent, and this
| provoked like answer from the other
SIDE. and for two hours nearly 400 guns
/ cf the largest size then known to field
| service belched forth streams of flre
! ana whistlng shot as fast as skilled
runners could serve them. The gran
I deur OF that artillery duel has per
! haps never been cqus.cd IN any battle
| VI history.
1 Captain Linthicum. General Garnett's
/ tojutant- general, passed along our line
! 'ilo warned us that cessation of firing
/ by our guns would mean that the com
( inand forward would Immediately fol-
| COW. This was a caution that would
/ enable us 10 act promptly and in uni
/ son.
The Order to Charge.
! Now hush came TO our hot guns
! End then in clarion tones as he stood
/ erect in his stirrups. Pickett sang out
a sfrf
command, az did each brigade com
( mander, then each regimental leader
"choed the same, and in turn every
/ company commander. The men rose
/ from the ground at once, and in an
ether instant the word march set the
jdlVision in motion, and line a half
mile long and as beautiful as II for
dress parade marched gaily forward.
We passed through the artillery and
/ cur comrades then uncovered their
heads ana uttered farewell prayer
! FOR our success. We were now passing
over the crown OF the hill and tha pic
| iure which we had not previously be-
held was before us Garnett and KEN
! per- with their ten regiments. a thin
! line jus. two men deep. formed the
front. Armistead. with five regiments.
came behind as a reserve. and this was
our all. Before field OF wheat
ready for the sickle. fences roads and
washes. More than half mile of this
; dllu lNen lines OF infantry IN blue,
1 having the protection OF fences and of
stone walls and others out in the open
reid. Behind them parks of artillery
and UP on the high ground more artil-
| iery. The task set pour little thin line
/ was to destroy all Mis- There was no
| man in all our ranks who had he stop
/ ped 10 think, would not have known
J that he was marching TO his death but
4 mere was no man amongst us who had
/ not faced death many, many times be-
fore. perhaps with not such odds
against MS as this time. but we were
! flushed with many victories and with
Il confidence in our leaders that because
they ordered us TO perform a task we
| could perform it.
! 1.-THE High Tide"
! Never hestating, never faltering
I the little thin line went steadily on
! We were soon far enough down the
slope that our own artillery could
safely fire over our heads. and they fol-
lowed us continually. The enemy's big
guns were now loaded differently, and
they tore great gaps through our
ranks. Their infantry. too had better
rifles than we had, and they fred on
us before we dared to waste our pre-
cious ammunition: but on we marched.
| leaving many OF our comrades stretch
cd on the golden wheat dead or wound
ed Just midway on the march our
whole line was moved to the left
oblique, and then steadied and aligned
under the CALLING fire which was con.
stanly poured on And now we
are within range that our old guns
VIII be effective and the order to fire
is given. The men who are left close
all The spaces to the centre, they fight
on without fear or oven excitement
! each ono striving for the front and TO
load and shoot as rapidly ag possible;
and they pour well-aiE,cd deadly vol
ieys into The faces or our bluecoated
| tg tr.
) rapid succession, and we drive line
arteS line back from their positions
and silence the FIST linc OF batteries.
i Eac'e't mas been Killed. Kemper has :,
+ leg shot away. and the command IS
. all ArmisteGds row. and smaller in
mum Der shan had been his own brigade
IN the beginning; and our little thin
! line which only little while ago
marched gaily over the crest Of the
! NIL half 4 mile away and beyond the
wheat field. has grown thinner and
thinner and thinner, the survivors be-
ms just those whom the bullets and
tho Craze and the canister had 10.
/ yet found. 1 was orc OF these unt,l
/ two bullets left 40 halpless beside n
! gun carriage.
An incident of the battle is related
o3 General Kress. OF the Federal ARM.
now retired anG living in st. Louis.
ne was serving then m Mcado's stair,
! 80 ~ @NSfi ~ BO9u IcIloW That In
inc nexe war he is going to be n John
ME. lie witnessed the entire march
across tho helda Of Picketts Division.
ne was we-stricken with it's horror
aho grandeur At many times the
smoke or tho Confederate volleys com
pictely enveloped the men, but above
inns sea OF smoke and seeming to be
implanted In it, fioated the fifteen Con-
federate battle flags.
"Double Canister mt Ten Yardxn
Cowan's New York Battery, N bronze
,ablet' on which bears this legend:
double Canister at Ten Yards. july q
1858 That tells where Pickett's sur
tiVors had reached and what still con
! f:onted them: then Armistoad was
! killed Our whole line was now less
! IMAM an ordinary skirmish line, further
resistance was n trngic comedy, and
tho battle OF Gettysburg was done
! victory did not perch on tho banner
l or either side. The morning OF July 1
found &eads in possession of tho town