The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-07-16
By DOLLY DALRYMpLE


 | A MoNG the pleasant experienced | A\ during the war that have come = my way, none has been of greater interest than the correspondence I have enjoyed with two of our B.f-
 mingham boys, Charlie C. Grove and Charlie D. Erard, who are with the tank
 corps up at Camp Colt, Gettysburg, Pa.
 These nice soldier boys have sent me a wonderful picture of our Alabama men
 in the tank corps, which we'll see a bit later in our pretty Rotagravure section. and the following is the interesting let ter they have sent me :
 Dear Dolly Dalrymple We are send | ing you a picture of our Alabama boys in the tank corps at Camp Colt, which we hope you'll like. In the background of the picture stands the Virginia mon- ument, erected by the state of Virginia | in honor of her sons who fought at Get | tysburg, surmounted by the figure oi Gen. Robert E. Lee, one of Virginia s | most illustrious sons, mounted on his fa- nous war horse, Traveller. It is placed on West Confederate avenue, overlook ing the scene of Piclett's charge.
 The equestrian statue of General Lee and the seven figures grouped about the base representing two infautrymen, and artillerymen at the right. A cavalry standard bearer in the center and two infantiymen and a bugIer at the left. The memorial was designed by the scup- tor, Mir. Frederick Sievers and caste in bronze at Tiffany's studio. It cost ap- proximately s50,000 and is one of the finest specimens of art on the battle field
 Our barracks and training grounds are situated right in the center Of the bat tlefield. The battlefield of Gettysburg is general term embracing the village of Gettysburg and that portion of the surrounding country occupied by the con- tending armies during the battle. The operations covered about 9 square miles
 For three days about 1s0,005 armed men contested in desperate and deadly strus- 2les for supremacy. There is erected along this battlefield nearly 400 monu- ments and tablets to commemorate the heroic deeds of those who were willing to sacrifice their lives that this nation might again become united and be one country under one flag
 Gettysburg was founded by Gen. James Gettys on the 10th day of January, 17Sd He made a plot of the town and gave it the name 1t now has. Gettysburg was created into a borough in 1896. For many years Thaddeus Stevens, the great cham pion of freedom, was citizen of the borough.
 The battle of Gettysburg was fought Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, July |, and 5, 1865. The Union army, com manded by General Meade, numbered from S0,o00 to 90000 and the Confederate army commanded by Gen. Robert r. Lee, numbered at about 5000 to S5,ooo The Confederate losses were 20,451 and the federalists 23,o03, which were terrific losses, but think of the losses of today $ war. The English are said to have about 100000 men in France Their losses have averaged some weeks as high as D 900 men. There are no such averages maintained today as there during the three days battle at Gettysburg. A man has more chances now than he had then notwithstanding all of the powerful instruments and machinery devised since the battle of Gettysburg. Captain Eisen- hover, our commanding officer, says he hopes that we find some battefields like this one over in Germany when We get to going toward Berlin.
 Captain Eisenhower's contrast is that the batteries that hurled their grape and | canister from Seminary Ridge to Ceme- tery Ridge and vice versa, as against | the 70-nlile guns which the Germans bombarded Paris!
 ] The cavalry of Stewart and Buford l that scattered out the positions of op- | posing forces as against the winged cav 1 airy of the air that fit miles above the Marne and the Grey in duels of the cloudsi
 | The carbines with which Hoods sharp shooters picked off Warren's men in the lcragged dells between the two Round Tops against the automatic rifle of the camouflage sharpshooters of today. l One can speculate at length in this modern tank camp as to what Pickett might have done in his charge up Ceme- tary ridge had the Virginians been led | by big tanks equipped with automatic rifles and Lewis machine guns.
 1 There is lots of difference in this old l battlefield of today as compared to July 1 1863. Our barracks house men who are 1 +s< !, J,ra