Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1922-07-05
CEMETERY HILL
FAILS TO STEM
MARINE ATTACK
Ridge That Repulsed Gray
Clad Hosts Yields to
MOderns
THREE CASUALTIES
More Than Twenty-Five Thousand
Persons From All Parts OF Country
There.

Gettysburg Battlefield, Pa, July ..
Cemetery Ridge fell yesterday, the
blazing hills and knolls that hurled
back the Confederate Army's massed
attacks in 1863 were silenced by the
United States marines, sneaking like
Indians among the wheat shocks and
through the stubble and at fields,
while big guns pounded to pulp and
machine guns peppered to death t0e
fortresses that had held the old Union
Army safe 80 years ago.
Brig.-Gen Smedley d. Buffers ma
rines of the famous Fifth and Sixth
Regiments celebrated the Fourth OF
july of the nation here, showing the
world how war has changed in the last
half century. Having charged Monday
as Pickett's men had done, valorously
but foolishly, as the modern soldier
sees it. they advanced today as they
had at: Beleau Wood and won where
Pickett had failed.
Ii was not the brilliant spectacle
that Pickett'S charge was, yet 1t was
more thrilling. More than $4,000 peO-
pic from all parts of the country wit
messed both yesterdays old-fashlon-
cd battle and today'S modern one.
They saw Pickett's charge, but they
felt rather than saw the assault of
the marines.
The army that advanced upon
Cemetery Ridge yesterday was an un-
seen arHly-no battle flags, no gal
liant officers swinging Furnished
swords in the sunlight. no yells. The
audience heard only the thunder of
artillery, the eeaseless tat-tat-tat Of
machine guns and the crack Of rifles.
They saw little but puffs of smoke
and now and then a few men run
ming, only to disappear suddenly as
though the ground had swallowed
them.
More Spectacular things than these
occurred in the leaden skies that drip
ped rain throughout the "show," but
the battle on the ground was battle
between two invisible armies, one IN
visible. in fact because it was only
imaginary. and the other invisible
most of the time because that is the
way men fight in these days.
Cruel realism Sneaked in where the
marines had planned only a Snam
fight. There were three casualties.
Two of the victims were marines,
both of the Fifth Regiment, Private
b. X. Davis was wounded Just before
the end Of the battle. Moving-pictur
men on the field asked him to set of
one of the bags of black powder with
which the marines were Stimulating
shell-bursts from enemy guns. They
placed their cameras, prepared tc
grind and Davis ignited the powder
bag. But it went off too soon and the
camera men got picture of soldier
at the heart of a flameburst and a
cloud of white smoke. Davis fell, bad
" burned on the face and hands.
A big reconnaissance truck carry
ING the movie men and two women
spectators rushed him to the field hos
pital, careening like ship at sea over
the heavy fields before the crowd OF
thousands. Davis will lose his eye
sight temporarily.
Corporal {. G.. Clowers was injured
i'm the same way and to the same eX
tent. He was carrying on with th'
business of the attack, however, anC
not helping out the movie men.
Thousands of people swarmed upol
the field after the battle, searching
for empty shells and souvenirs Cnar
les +. Hardmau, of Greensboro, Ia.
picked up a fuse that had not entire
ly burned out. 1t caught fire IN MI
hands and Scorched his face and hands
He was carried TO the Gettysburg
Hospital, where they said his sigh
would be impaired permanently.