Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-10-12
HEROES OF THE
BLOODY ANGLE"
Veterans of the Philadelphia Bri-
gade Revisit the battle-ground
to Join in Honoring Gen.
eral Webb
By ELLIS RANDALL

TICA'Ah NHe veterans OF tne BlOOuy Anele
l. all that are able Of all that are left of
them-stand once again on the old battle
ground, hallowed by what they and their
comrades did there And the world remem-
bers what Lincoln said Neither the words
Of the martyred President nor the deeds of
the heroes OF Gettysburg shall be forgotten,
and with the dedication Of statue to Gen
eral Webb, whose philadelphia Brigade"
took the brunt OF Pickett's fierce onset, an
addendum is written in the history Of our
appreciation of the men who in peace and
war have served their country well.
In June of 1868 the nation was nearer a
dissolution than it had ever been before.
much nearer than we like to believe. Lees
army, flushed with success, rested awhile.
Then the commander moved on, hoping by
the bold plan of invading Pennsylvania not
only to defeat the Federal army on North
ern soil and to threaten and perhaps capture
Washington, but to secure the recognition
and open support of France and England
and to bring the war TO a close Then came
the battle Of Gettysburg, the most important
and most hotly contested battle of the long
conflict between the Federal Army of the
Potomac, numbering about $4,000 men, and
the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia,
numbering about $4,000 men, under General
Lee
And when it was decided to renew the
battle on the field Of Gettysburg on July 8.
1868, the stakes of the war game included
all that there was of a cause on either side"
So say the historians The greatest ar
tillery duel that had ever occurred was
fought that morning A thousand shells a
minute were launched upon their life-de-
stroying career. Then the desperate decision
of Lee to hurl his strength upon the Fed
eral centre. Then the gallant charge of the
$4,000, advancing across full mile of open
country in three columns, Picketts 5000 form
ing the middle column. In the face of a
terrific hailstorm of shot and shell the Con-
federates advanced They trampled down
the advance lines of the Federal soldiers,
pushed on with diminished ranks, but un-
diminished courage, and spent their last
ounce of energy in the hand-to-hand fight
at the Bloody Angle, to be driven back de-
feated after one of the gallantest endeavors
of military history. Two-thirds of Pickett's
men were killed, wounded or captured
In the thick Of the fighting at the crucial
point both as to time and place, of the
three days battle was the old Philadelphia
Brigade. It's commander was wounded while
leading his men. At the angle" he met the
charge of Pickett's heroes. Subsequently he
medal for distinguished personal gallantry
on that ever memorable field Webb was
flight mixer" He fought in many battles
and pretty sure to be found in the
hottest spot of all, regardless Of where his
rank might require him to be.
General Meade himself is the authority for
! the statement that no officer on the field
| of Gettysburg was the superior of General
! Webb-if his equal Had his conception of
his duties been wrong for an instant or had
his energy and determination wavered for
| the shortest space of time, the Federal line
would have been pierced irrevocably and
history might have been far different.
His foresight was most remarkable" Cen
| eral Meade said after the battle He ad-
vsed things that were not done because it
was not thought likely or possible that things
! would happen as he pointed out. We had
! cause to regret in many instances that we
| had not taken his advice as to the conduct
of the action in his section of the field. He
was head and shoulders over most Of his
associates in rank"
Brevetted Five Times
He was brevetted major, U. S. A., July,
| 1863, for gallant and meritorious services
at the battle of Gettysburg; lieutenant
colonel, October, 1868, "for gallant and meri-
| torious services at the battle of Bristoe Sta
ton; colonel, May, 1864, for gallant and
| meritorious services at the battle of Spottsyl-
vania''; brigadier general, March, 1866 for
| gallant and meritorious services in the cam
! pagn terminating in the surrender of the
! insurgent army under General Robert e.
| Lee; major general, March 1S, 1865, "for
| gallant and meritorious services during the
war" This is a record far beyond the aver
| age Of that made by even the bravest of
officers in the Civil War
General Webb was one of those distin-
| guished soldiers of the Civil War who We're
also accomplished in the arts of peace After
the war and a long service in command of
the First Military District he became pres
! ident of the College of the City of New
York and lifted that institution 10 a position
Of great influence. He came, however, Of a
family Of soldiers. His father as a boy of
! II ran away from home to enter West Point
Samuel Batchley Webb, his grandfather,
! Of Wethersfeld, Conn, was a first lieutenant
Of a Hartford company at the age of 22 and
fought at the battle Of Bunker Hill, falling
wounded at the head of his men.
THE NEW ORDER
Thank goodness Kings IN battle can still call
for another horse. How awful II would have