Geochemistry and Organic Contaminants in the Sedimeonft sG reat ...
&REAT CAPTJUi ETTYSBUI1& - Chronicling...
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-- & .. TnB p Ji73&nC!HWWFm-a3CSTLfttTi?.JlMMBWfifc- WMEiiifl !jfa Sa -- frPiirni Ifetmtrnl 2jg Eritat "TO CARE FOR HIM WHO HAS BORNE THE BATTLE, AMD FOR HIS VIDOW AND ORPHANS." ESTABLISHED ISTr-E- W" SERIES. WASHINGTON, D. 0., THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 1886. - L. V--NO. 26.-WH- OLE NO. 234. THE MC ? Vm $ ml &REAT CAPTJUi Ben. Dent Gives Some Personal Recollec- tions of Grant. "HIS COMMON SENSE" The Secret of His Uniform Sue-ce- ss in His Campaigns. THE EEsAL SURRENDER. Graphic Portrayal of the Clos- ing Scene at Appomattox. BY GEO. A. EOBEUTSON. " CI "want you on. tlic General's staff,' said Mrs. Grant to rue, 'so that iu case anything happens to hira some member of the family may be with him to look after him.' was hesitating about accepting the request, which Gen. Grant had mane of me to take the place, and this decided me. I yielded my com- mand at once and served on his staff till the close of the war." The speaker was Gen. Frederick T. Dent, brother of Mrs. Grant. He now living quietly in this city, having received stroke of paralysis during President Grant's last VsM) SMZl ? term, which unfitted him for service. The period to which he referred was that critical moment in the affairs of the Nation when the people had demanded the successful sol- dier to command their armies, and the Ad- ministration had appreciated that Gen. Grant was the successful soldier that was required. Gen. Dent had not been with Gen. Grant in the West, but ho was closer to him in some ways anyone else from the moment he was placed in supreme com- mand. To be sure Gen. Rawlins was the Chief of Staff, but Gen. Dent was the brother of Grant's wife. They had roomed together at West Point. They had messed together in the field. It was on a visit to young Dent that young Grant had met the girl five and a half years younger than himself who after- wards became his wife. No one knew Grant's plans. He never talked the essen- tial points of them over with anyone. Bnt Dent knew them as well as, or better than, anyone else. "What do you consider the great, essen- tial point in Gen. Grant's character that made him successful?" asked. "His common sense. Grant never seemed to me like Washington. He may have been a greater man and history may place him higher, but to me he was my friend and brother. He was such modest, common, unassuming man. He would tell anything in the same plain, quiet way that school- girl would address her mother. I think Gen. Sherman gave TnE REST ESTIMATE of Grant's generalship, when he said that Grant always took the common-sens- e view of things. Gen. Sherman said that most Generals were constantly wondering and troubling themselves about what the enemy was doing that they could not see; what strategic move would be made, and all that, Not with Grant. He saw what wa3 be- fore him. He took care of what the enemy in his front was doing. He waited till the strategic movement or the flank movement actually occurredand then he met it. This, together with his absolute coolness on all occasions, made him successful. This latter point is well illustrated in the supreme mo- ment at the battle of the Wilderness. Ev- erything seemed to be in confusion. The Army of the PoLomac had so often retreated that it had formed the habit The retreat had begun. All the officers thought the only thing to do was to cross the Rapidan and move in as good order as possible to- ward Washington. It was the turning point in our fortunes, and, in my opinion, the greatest moment in Gen. Grant's life. He had come East to command the army that had the precedent of defeat Gen. Meade advised that a retreat, in as good order as possible, be begun. Gen. Grant was absolutely unmoved. In a low, quiet tone of voice he gave his orders to his Aids: 'Ask General So-nnoV- So to reform his line!' To another Aid: 'Ask Gen. So-and-- to advance rap- idly to the right! ' etc. "When he had given gome half-doze- n orders in this way he re- marked : ' Didn't I hear some one say din- ner was ready ? Let us eat it' We did eat the dinner. It was of pea soup and boiled meat. He never was a hearty cater. A small piece of steak as large as my two fin- gers would generally suffice him. But he ate as much as usual on this occasion, and when he had finished he lighted a cigar, and strolling, a few rods away seated himself at the foot of large oak tree on the ground and began to WHITTLE A PINE SHINGLE which he had picked up. I can vividly see him sitting there now, the most unconcerned and least imposing man in the vicinity. lie wore a coinmon soldier's blouse. There were no shoulder-strap- s or any other indica-catio-n of his rank. On his head was a slouch hat, pulled down pretty well to- ward his ears. In short time the lines had been reformed and the battle was joined more fiercely than ever. Silting quietly at his tree Gen. Grant seemed to take in the whole situation. Hearing hard firing in certain direction he would conclude that the General in command in that locality was having a hard time of it, and would order reinforcements sent ; and so on through the whole desperate struggle. "At one time an officer high in rank came to Gen. Grant apparently in great fear and remarked : "Lec, I am satisfied, is trying to get around behind us between here and Wash- ington.' " ' That's exactly where I want to get him,' quietly remarked Gen. Grant. "'Yvhy, how is that?' asked the excited officer. "' "With his supplies cut oil and our army ? 1 I a MI a a I is a than I a a so a a a pi III fs fifes Lee's Surrender to Grant at Appomattox. between him and the Confederacy, we would make short work of him. But do not bo alarmed ; Lee is too good a General to do any such foolish thing as that' " On one occasion I said to him : ' General, I will take 10,000 men and go and capture Richmond.' a " ' You could easily do it with 5,000. But I don't want Richmond. I want Lee's army. With that I have not only Richmond, but the entire Confederacy.' "And so he carried out his thoroughly common-sens- e course of action, letting slip all the little side issues until he had made the supreme point! " "Were you present at the surrender of Lee at Appomattox? " I asked of Gen. Dent ' " I wa3. And I wish to 8iiv hat all the f7ik l ntfNS?S4Li? Gen. Grant and pictures that have been made of that great historical event, so far as I have seen, are in- correct in very many respects." "How is that?" " Well, in the first place, there were not nearly so many persons present as are gen- erally represented. In all the pictures Meade and Custer and Sheridan are represented. Meade was more than two miles away at the time and Custer was at least a mile and a half away. Sheridan came to the door after the capitulation had been signed." "Yrho were present on that great occa- sion?" " On the Confederate side there were only Gen. Lee and his Aid, Col. Marshall. On the Union side there were present the follow- ing officers: Gen. Grant and his Chief of Staff, Gen. Rawlins; Gen. Sabcock, Col. Parker, Col. Bowers and myself. Just at the mo- ment when the capitulation was about to be sigued Gen. Rawlins whispered to me : "'Tnis is history; make a sketch of it' He knew that 1 possessed some skill as a draftsman. I stepped to one side and on the bottom of a pasteboard box I hastily marked the exact location of every man in the room. I then made a sketch of the positions in which they sat, and after- ward I drew their portraits roughly." Have you that picture here?" "No. It is in the possession of my daugh ter, who resides in the "West. A complete and accurate picture of that scene is now being painted by an eminent artist. At the mo- ment when Gen. Rawlins spoke Gen. Lee was speaking and Gen. Grant was leaning back in his chair in the attitude of a listener. After the surrender had been signed Gen. Sheridan came to the door." " 'There are several of your old West Point comrades here who would like to see you?' said Gen. Grant to Gen. Lee. "' There are several of your old army ac- quaintances here who would like to meet you,' said Gen. Lee to Gen. Grant. "And there were just as cordial greetings among those officers as though they had been a parcel of "West Point boys who had been separated only during a short vacation. All the boys at West Point used to have their pet nick-unme- s. Lee was always known as 'Massa Robert,' because he had been the owner of slaves, I suppose, and Grant was called ' United States ' or ' Uncle Sam.' The old nick-nam- es were resorted to immedi- ately, and hearty hand shakings and con- gratulations were indulged in all around." "Do you think Gen. Rawlins was such an important element in Gen. Grant's success as has sometimes been claimed?" " I think Gen. Rawlins was one of the very best Chiefs of Staff that overlived. Ho was a valuable assistant. But that is all. Grant's wonderful qualities and his wonderful suc- cesses were as much in tho way of surprises to Gen. Rawlins as they were to the rest of us. No one can account for them except on the ground that they resulted from HIS GREAT COMMON SENSE. "A little incident occurred during Gen. Grant's second term as President, that made great impression on my miud. Several gentlemen and army officers drove out with Gen. Grant and myself to look over some of the old battlefields. An old colored auntie came running out a3 we were walking along by her cabin, and said: " ' I wants to see Gen. Grant, the man what freed all tho cullud folks and whipped out ole Gineral Lee?' " I plucked the General's sleeve, and said : Gen. Grant, here is an old auntie who wants to ecc you.' "Auntie." "The General stopped, and walking to- ward her held out his hand. She took ifc, and looking him over in astonishment she said: " ' Is you Gineral Grant? ' "'Yes, auntie, I am Gen. Grant' "'Lor' a massa, you look jes' llko any udder man. And you is Gineral Grant?' "'How did you expect Gen. Grant looked?' asked tho General, somewhat amused. " ' Why, I thought he war a great big man seben or eight feet tall; dat he wore a great, high cap ; dat he hab great, long mustache stickin' out, and great big whiskers, and dat ho war cohered all over wid brass, and dat he babe a great big aword, and dat he speak wid great big voice. I hab hear how he whip out all de rebels, and I don't see how you do it I ' "Gen. Grant smiled at the astonished auntie and passed on. Her notions of a great Gen- eral are not far different from those of many other better informed people. Ho muet be all fuss and feathers, and appear a good doal like an avenging demon. All who formed that sort of an opinion of him were certain to be disappointed when they Baw him. No one ever know what ho was going to do, but he frequently supposed cases and asked in m ferior officers what they would do in certain contingencies. He told me that he often got opinions and suggestions FROM A SECOND LIEUTENANT that he made his own. I remember that he once asked an officer of considerable promi- nence how he would attack the advancing column of tho enemy. " ' I would assault the enemy vigorously in the center,' said the officer. "'Then the enemy would closo around your flanks,' said Gen. Grant. " He was constantly questioning his offi- cers on various j)oints in a very modest way, and never saying much himself. In this way he formed his opinion of the men he had to deal with, and knew who could do certain work best And, finally, when he made up his mind to write of his campaigns, he told it all in the mestrnodest and simple stylo that has been employed in writing of great events since the day when Cesar wrote his commentaries on the Gallic war. He tells in two lines what many men would require a page for. It seems to me that his grand, siraplo qualities are shown as much in his death a3 in any of his great victories. He wrote all the while almost to the hour of his death. These scraps and notes will be care- fully edited and eventually published." For Tun National, Tribune. THUS OUK CHANGING MOODS AltE MOLDED. by J. n. "WATfnit, ar. r. Tinkle-tinkl- e, pnttcr-pntlc- r, Merrily upon the roof Falls the rnin with ceaseless clatter. Weaves a tale in warp and woof; Tells of olden lime a fctory How, in long forgotten years, ne went forth in search of glory Leaving her in fear and tears. And the rising storm-win- d siglfing, Sobs and moans o'er brave knights dying; And the waving willow boughs Weep above their pallid brows. Trees are bending swaying riven, And the lightning's blinding flash Lights the darkly lowering heaven, And tho thunder's deafening craHh Wakes the cchos far resounding Pictures mo the battle strife, With its cannon's deadly poundinj And its ebb of gallant life. But a little rift, appearing In the cloud, shows sign of clearing; And a single golden beam Flashes through the opening scam. Presently the clouds pass over And the sunlight. Hoods the earth. Now I sec tho warrior lover Home returning to the hearth. Where a waiting maid sits smiling, Well content that war is o'er, With this thought the hours beguiling "lie shall leave me novermore." So our changing moods arc molded; Thus our day dreams arc unfolded; Antlour lives aro swaged, the while. By a thoughtless frown orsaiile. Center Bridge, Fa., Jan. 1, 18SG. ANTI35TAM. BY SHEIUIAX D. niCnAKDSOS-- . I'vo wandered o'er Antictam, John, And stood where foe met foo Upon the fields of Maryland So many years ago. The circling hills rise just the snmo As they did on that day. When you was lighting Blue, old boy. And I was lighting Gray. II. The winding stream runs "ncath the bridge Where Uurnsido won his fame; Tho locust trees upon tho ridgo Beyond are there the eamc. Tho birds were singing 'mid the trees 'Twos bullets on that day When you was lighting Blue, old boy, And I was fighting Gny. III. Ieaw again rho Dunker Church That stood beside the wood. Where Hooker mode that famoii3 charge That Hill so well withstood. 'Tis scarred and marred by war and time As wo are. John, to-da- y, For you were fighting Blue, old boy, As I was fighting Gray. IV. I stood beneath the signal tree Whore I that day was laid, And 'twas your arms, old boy, that brought Me to this friendly shnde. Tho' leaves aro gone, and limbs aro bare. Its heart is true to-da- y As yours was then, tho' fighting Blue, To me, tho' fighting Gray. V. I marked the spot where Mansfield fell Whcie Riehardfeon was slain With Stark and Douglass mid the corn, And Brand amid thegrain. Their names arc sacred to us, John; They led us in the frny. When you were fighting Northern Blue, And I the Southern Gray. VI. I thought of Burnside, Hooker, Meade, Of Sedgwick old and brave ; Of Stonewall Jackson tried and true That strove the day to save. I bared my head, they rest in peace, Each ono has passed away, Death musters those who wore the Blue With thoso who woro the Gray. VIX. Tho old Pry Mansion rcaro its walla Bcaido Antietnm'a stream. And far away along the south I aeo tho tombstones gleam. They mark each place where Little Mac And Robert Leo that day Made proud the South, tho' wearing Blue, And North, tho' wearing Gray. VIII. Yea, John, it gave mo jo3' to stand Whore wo onco fiercely fought. The Nation now is ono again Tho lesson has boen taught. Sweet peace doth fair Antictam crown, And wo can say to-da- y We're friends, tho' ono was fighting Blue And one was fighting Gray J The American Rural Home. Austin Court Scene. Texas Silings. " Jim Webster stand up. It is charged that you have been drunk for a wholo week. Even now you are under tho influence of liquor. What mitigating circumstauco is there in your caso?" "'Taint my fault, boss. It's my poverty what am ter blame." "Your poverty?" "Hit coats heaps of monoy ter make mo drunk of I let's myeclf get sober. Can't afford it. Was your Honor obcr drunk ? " "Never." "Den yor can't preshiato my case. Ycr can't onderstand how much jhifc costs ter get drank. Hit takes four dollars wulT ob whisky tor fill mo up. When I gets drunk onct, hit don't take much whisky ter keep mo fullcrn a gooso, but if I lets my myself get sober I hasn't got dor means ter get drunk agin. Dat's why I can't 'ford ter let myself get sober. 'Taint my fault dat I'so poor. Hit's de fault ob de Jay Gouldaesses and do odder mernopolums.'.' AT..--- ETTYSBUI1& The Splendid Work Done by Smith's Battery. THE GALLANT CHARGE Of the 124th N. Y. and 99th Pa. upon Longstreet. THE STORY AS TOLD By Comrades of those Gallant Regiments. TIIE lS4tli NEW YOTITC. BY MAJ. TUOS. W. BRADLEY, NEW YORK. Smith's battery has not received iu history full credit for tho heroic and valuable work done by its members at Gettysburg. I was at that time First Sergeant of Co. II, 124th N. Y. I saw the battery come down Rock Run Glen. The guns were unlimbered at tho foot of Rock Ridge and hauled up the steep acclivity into position amid the rocks on its crest, and the battery was soon en- gaged in a hot duel with the rebel batteries on the bights beyond tho Peach Orchard. Under cover of the Confederate fire Long-street- 's Corps, massed in battle-line- s eight or ten deep, moved in confident, rapid attack on our position. The battery changed from Bhell to canister and, working as I never saw gunners work before or since, tore gap after gap through the ranks of the advancing foe. All this time the gallant Captain and his men were exposed to the direct fire of Long- - j Capt. James E. Smith. street's sharpshooters and his front line. Every round of ammunition had to be carried from the foot of the ridge. Man after man went down, but still the exhausting work went steadily on, the officers tirelessly falling in to fill out a working detail for the guns, nnd keeping up a well-directe- d fire until the enemy was at tho base of the bights and the guns could no longer be depressed to reach him. Then, knowing that the greatly-superi- or force would overwhelm us and capture the guns unless checked, Col. Ellis, of tho 124th, after a few rapid words with Maj. Cromwell, ORDERED A CHARGE. It was immediately responded to and as quickly repulsed. It was again made in the face of a withering tire that left killed and wounded two-fift- hs of the regiment. Flanked at the Devil's Den by tho turning of our line at that point, we were swept from the position, and the crest and guns were for a brief time in possession of tho enemy. Mean- while Capt. Smith had removed horses, caissons and ammunition, rendering the guns useless to the enemy, whose hold on the posi- tion was so short that ho could not remove them. The remnant of our force was never routed but falling quickly back, steadily reformed on the woods at our right, while thesnpports marching rapidly down the glen formed con- nection with the " liucktails," and then, like a flash almost, established a new, strong lino, with the Round Top for its left flank. Longstreet did not charge this line with much vigor, save at the extreme of the Round Top. His determined charge, now so famous in history, was so dauntlessly met by our single line of battle on the crest of Rock Ridge, his force so terribly broken by the merciless firo of Smith's canister, and tho fierce grapple amid the rocks of Devil's Den, with the bitter fire from the reserves on Round Top, that he was spent nnd exhausted. The ridge he had taken WAS AT ONCE SO UNTENABLE before the fire from Round Top and the woods to the right that he sullenly with- drew, leaving our guns in position, the great charge repulsed, and Meade's left flank se- cure and impregnable. The foregoing account is my recollection of Gettysburg, July 2, 18G3. It may be faulty ; it was more than 22 years ago, and I was but 19 years of age then. The business cares and thoughts of an active life have como in between. I was seriously wounded in tho second charge, and my memories of the last part of the contest are confused with tho agony of wounds, of being trampled un- der foot, carried and placed helpless beside a rock on the other slope between both fires, hoping as I lay there that I might livo long enough to see our side win, which I did, thank God! I recovered and returned to duty. During the last of my service I was a Major and Aid-de-Ca- on tho staff of the Third Division, Second Corps. This division was formed of the remnant of the old Third Corps left alive after Gettysburg. I managed to get "plugged "a couple of times after that and yet see and take part in some pretty active fighting, but I never saw such a gallant rush " into the jaws of hell" as was made by our little regiment that July day ; or a battery worked and fought with such coolness and Bkill, such tireless devotion, and with such terriblo havoc to the enemy. I have not the pleasure and honor of Capt. Smith's acquaintance, but I shall always think proudly of him. If he lives to write the history of that terrible hour on the crest of old Rock Ridge I trust his modesty will not ba SO GREAT AS HIS COURAGE, and that ho may pay to the noble men of his command the full tribute so well deserved. Nor will he go amis3 should hs call the old " Orange Blossoms " by name for their work at that time. I have often thought over the seeming recklessness, and as I at one time though! uselessness, of our charges that day. In the last years of our service we would not have been called on to make them. We would not have been 20 minutes on that ridjee be- - LoNGsrnsETS Corps. jFToods JJia. t i i i 'Jtefore "the cfiarge: 3Zbcl Chats. $1 W"? Hcb cUBaiterg. V A OZrneBoasDitr. A tjr 4- - t- - 3F ft f v IT r fif 14 A L 4. & tft i'i ift !r.A-n-- i 5-v- ft Ii & JwoV HIS 19 "! 7-- T T2 Ave- - 'V t, A 'VJ7 1.C I -- fc.C rt vV .V t a. t i .i. Mi? W ) !VvNVt-iSrlZr- p': - mi-- ? :mmvm?m Kr wv?4Xi&- - Smith's Battery and Its Support. fore its rooks would have been piled up, and we behind a formidable breastwork. We should have been more interested in prepara- tions for defense than in the result of an artillery duel. But we fought then accord- ing to our experience, and heroes of several great battles as we were, we counted our- selves veterans. In contrast with the white collars and fresh faces of the Maryland and Pennsylvania militia we passed that morn- ing on our way to the front, I imagine we were veterans. At any rate, we felt that day as we never felt before or after, that on us, the veterans of the Army of the Potomac, rested in the coming fight the future life of the American Republic, and every man was ready to die that day to save it. If ever he shirked before or after, he was the soul of sacrifice in that battle. Referring to ourcharge, it was a merciless order one line of battle, stretched out thin and slender, ordered to charge the compact force of Longstreet's advancing Corps massed at least eight lines deep; the order twice repeated and twice obeyed without murmur or hesitation. No wonder we were wrecked and broken ! Ellis and Cromwell WENT DOWN GALLANTLY, and no word from them will ever explain the sacrifice. They were brave, cool officers, intelligent and careful of their men. I believe they counted the cost, deliberately deciding on the sacrifice that Capt. Smith might save his guns, or if not his guns, hi3 caissons and horses. None of our dead went more fear- lessly to the sacrifice than they. Give them only the laurel ! "Without that charge and the work of Smith's battery, our left would have been more seriously turned; but now, in the light of after experience, as I think of it, what a mad act it was. One regiment a mere handful at that with no order back of its Colonel, charging from its base in line of battle to lock arms with Longstreet. This good it did, it gave pluck and steadi- ness to the men at our left, who were need- ing it and who fought like heroes, as the slaughter-hous- e in the Den abundantly at- tested. THE 90th PENNSYLVANIA. BY ADJ'T TETER B. AYAES, WILMINGTON, DEL. How glad I was to read in your la3t issne an account by Comrade Tucker, of the " Or- ange Blossoms" (124th N. Y.) at Gettysburg. Often have I scanned the columns of your truly good soldier paper, hoping to see some- thing from the pen of some comrade con- cerning that old brigade (Ward's), for surely no regiment fought better, suffered a greater loss, or achieved better results on that his- toric field than did the 124th and 40th N. Y., 20th Ind., 3d and 4th Me., 2d Berdan Sharpshooters, and the 99 th Pa., which composed the brigade commanded by Brig.-Ge- n. J. Hobart Ward at Gettysburg. Like Comrade Tucker, of the 124th, I shall speak particularly of our own old regiment the 99th Pa. The morning of July 1, 18C3, found us in bivouac in rear of the little town of Em-mittsbu- rg, Md. I remember that the farms, buildings, fences, etc., everywhere presented quite a different appearance from what we had been used to seeing farther sonth. There everything was desolation nnd disor- der, while here the land was under a splen- did state of cultivation ; the buildings and fences were well cared for. There had been war with all its destruction, while hero no enemy as yet had trodden. "While the boys were engaged in making coffee which, by the way, was all they had, and precious few of them had that the DISTANT BOOM OF CANNON came echoing o'er the hill-top- s, and instantly all was bustle and expectation. Overyear was strained to catch the sound, and if pos sible determine whence it came. A few mo- ments after the first sounds reached U3 the clear notes of the bngle sounded the old familiar call to "Pack up.' Little trouble this to the members of that old corps (the Third), the majority of whom had followed the fortunes of McClellan on the Peninsula, Pope at Bull Run, McClellan again at An- tictam, Burnside at Fredericksburg and the "stick-in-the-m- ud march," Hooker at Chan-cellorsvil- le, and now was under Meade for the first. time. The "horses had been swapped crossing the stream," and subse- quent events proved the wisdom of the "swap." Now began one of the hardest marches it was ever ojir lot to be engaged in all the way from Emmittsburg to Gettysburg, 12 miles, with the thermometer certainly up among the nineties, with only one stop, a breathing spell of about 15 minutes. Men fell by the roadside by the score from the effects of the terrible heat The water in the canteens was almost steaming hot, and I only remember of having passed one small stream in all that march. We reached Get- tysburg, as Comrade Tucker says, just after dark, and immediately went into line of battle, facing south and east, from the Peach Orchard down through the edge of the wood3 towards Devil's Den. Here we rested all night, as completely "played out" a lot of soldiers as I ever saw. Early the next morning the formation waa changed by placing the 40th N. Y. on the right of the brigade, the 20th Ind. next, joined by the 3d and 4th Me., all in the woods to the right of Devil's Den. Next came the 124th N. Y. ("Orange Blossoms") at the edge of the Theatfield, and then our own old 99th Pa. on the left, directly across Devil's Den, and towards Little Round Top. This formation had hardly been completed before the TERRIBLE CANNONADE COMMENCED from the rebel batteries on the crest or range of hills in our front, and under the cover of which was thrown forward Gen. Hood's Di- vision of rebel veterans in three solid col- umns. Flushed with the victory of the day before, they now advanced as though on pa- rade. Our batteries in the Wheatfield and along the crest of the ridge to the right and left did splendid service ; but ou came these terrible battalions, close up to the very muz- zles of our cannon. Now came the command, " Up and charge ! " and right royally was it responded to. One volley, and with a dash we were into tho thick of the fight. Above the crack of the rifle, the scream of shell and the cries of the wounded, could be heard the shout for "Pennsylvania and our homes!" Talk about the rebel army winning at Gettysburg; two such armies could not have wrested that position from the Army of tho Potomac That grand old army had always fought well, and I had questioned whether it could ever better the record of its fighting quali- ties that it had made on many Southern battlefields. Nevertheless, it had often been worsted, but now at Gettysburg the thought of home nerved every man FOR A GREATER STRUGGLE than ever before, and he felt that death was preferable to defeat. Many poor fellows laid down their lives on that 2d day of July, 1863, in Devil's Den, a sacrifice on the altar of their conntry and their native State. Our regiment will erect a monument on this spot July 2 next that will bear the names of 107 brave boys and 11 officers who were killed and wounded out of 310 men who went into action that morning. The Regulars, as said Comrade Tucker, relieved us after three hours' hard fighting back and forth over rocks and brushwood until we were nearly exhausted. That night the regiment drew rations they so much, needed, and found new mates to share their blankets. Many a brave man who went through that fight without a tremor, now was not ashamed of the tear that came to his eye in telling how his " chum " was killed or wounded. The next day the 3d and 4th Me. and the 99 th Pa. were double-quicke- d through that terrible cannonade on Cemetery Hill to the support of the Philadelphia Brigade, arriving there just in time to assist in the destruction of Pickett's Division of Virginians, the regi- ment charging up the hill through the dis- mantled Battery A, 4th U. S. Art., and into the thick of the fight at the stone wall. Members of the 99th and 72d Pa. afterwards removed a part of this battery to make room for Battery G, oth U. S. Art., which swung into position and commenced rapid firing at the retreating rebels. That night our regiment was placed out on the Emmiltsbnrgroad on picket duty, and was the first in the morning to note the re moval of the rebel armv from our front. FK03I C03IKADE TDCKEK. The following i3 an extract from a pri- vate letter to Capt. James E. Smith of Smiths famous 4th N. Y. battery, now of Washington, D. C from A. W. Tucker, 124th N. Y., Dallas City, Pa., author of the article on the "Orange Blossoms," in The Na- tional Tribune of Jan. 21 : "You are right in your conclusions why we did not bring off your guns. Your one supposition that we were too few in num- bers when relieved, is partially correct; and again, that we did not occupy the same ground as when tho fight opened. By the loss occasioned during the battle we had kept closing to the right, so that when re- lieved, my company, which was on the left of the regiment, was where the right of the regiment was when the fight opened. Hence-- , we were at least 100 yards to the right of your guns. I do not know what troops were in the vicinity of the guns, but think it must have been the 99ih Pa. I am glad to be able to clear up the mystery why we failed to bring off your guns. I was at Get- tysburg two years ago, July 1, 18S4, at the unvailiug of our monnment, and met many of the boys I had not seen for 21 years. I had but little difficulty in recalling the events of that memorable time."
Transcript of &REAT CAPTJUi ETTYSBUI1& - Chronicling...
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.. TnB p Ji73&nC!HWWFm-a3CSTLfttTi?.JlMMBWfifc- WMEiiifl !jfa Sa-- frPiirni
Ifetmtrnl 2jg Eritat"TO CARE FOR HIM WHO HAS BORNE THE BATTLE, AMD FOR HIS VIDOW AND ORPHANS."
ESTABLISHED ISTr-E- W" SERIES. WASHINGTON, D. 0., THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 1886. - L. V--NO. 26.-WH- OLE NO. 234.
THE
MC ? Vm $ ml
&REAT CAPTJUi
Ben. Dent Gives Some Personal Recollec-
tions of Grant.
"HIS COMMON SENSE"
The Secret of His Uniform Sue-ce- ss
in His Campaigns.
THE EEsAL SURRENDER.
Graphic Portrayal of the Clos-
ing Scene at Appomattox.
BY GEO. A. EOBEUTSON.
" CI "want you on. tlic General's staff,' saidMrs. Grant to rue, 'so that iu case anythinghappens to hira some member of the familymay be with him to look after him.' washesitating about accepting the request, whichGen. Grant had mane of me to take the place,and this decided me. I yielded my com-
mand at once and served on his staff till theclose of the war."
The speaker was Gen. Frederick T. Dent,brother of Mrs. Grant. He now livingquietly in this city, having received strokeof paralysis during President Grant's last
VsM) SMZl ?
term, which unfitted him for service. Theperiod to which he referred was that criticalmoment in the affairs of the Nation whenthe people had demanded the successful sol-
dier to command their armies, and the Ad-
ministration had appreciated that Gen.Grant was the successful soldier that wasrequired. Gen. Dent had not been withGen. Grant in the West, but ho was closerto him in some ways anyone else fromthe moment he was placed in supreme com-
mand. To be sure Gen. Rawlins was theChief of Staff, but Gen. Dent was the brotherof Grant's wife. They had roomed togetherat West Point. They had messed together inthe field. It was on a visit to young Dentthat young Grant had met the girl five and ahalf years younger than himself who after-wards became his wife. No one knewGrant's plans. He never talked the essen-
tial points of them over with anyone. BntDent knew them as well as, or better than,anyone else.
"What do you consider the great, essen-tial point in Gen. Grant's character thatmade him successful?" asked.
"His common sense. Grant never seemedto me like Washington. He may have beena greater man and history may place himhigher, but to me he was my friend andbrother. He was such modest, common,unassuming man. He would tell anythingin the same plain, quiet way that school-girl would address her mother. I thinkGen. Sherman gave
TnE REST ESTIMATEof Grant's generalship, when he said thatGrant always took the common-sens- e viewof things. Gen. Sherman said that mostGenerals were constantly wondering andtroubling themselves about what the enemywas doing that they could not see; whatstrategic move would be made, and all that,Not with Grant. He saw what wa3 be-
fore him. He took care of what the enemyin his front was doing. He waited till thestrategic movement or the flank movementactually occurredand then he met it. This,together with his absolute coolness on alloccasions, made him successful. This latterpoint is well illustrated in the supreme mo-
ment at the battle of the Wilderness. Ev-
erything seemed to be in confusion. TheArmy of the PoLomac had so often retreatedthat it had formed the habit The retreathad begun. All the officers thought theonly thing to do was to cross the Rapidanand move in as good order as possible to-
ward Washington. It was the turningpoint in our fortunes, and, in my opinion,the greatest moment in Gen. Grant's life.He had come East to command the armythat had the precedent of defeat Gen.Meade advised that a retreat, in asgood order as possible, be begun.Gen. Grant was absolutely unmoved.In a low, quiet tone of voice he gavehis orders to his Aids: 'Ask General So-nnoV-So
to reform his line!' To anotherAid: 'Ask Gen. So-and-- to advance rap-idly to the right! ' etc. "When he had givengome half-doze-n orders in this way he re-
marked : ' Didn't I hear some one say din-
ner was ready ? Let us eat it' We did eatthe dinner. It was of pea soup and boiledmeat. He never was a hearty cater. A
small piece of steak as large as my two fin-
gers would generally suffice him. But heate as much as usual on this occasion, andwhen he had finished he lighted a cigar, andstrolling, a few rods away seated himself atthe foot of large oak tree on the groundand began to
WHITTLE A PINE SHINGLE
which he had picked up. I can vividly seehim sitting there now, the most unconcernedand least imposing man in the vicinity. liewore a coinmon soldier's blouse. Therewere no shoulder-strap-s or any other indica-catio-n
of his rank. On his head was aslouch hat, pulled down pretty well to-
ward his ears. In short time the lineshad been reformed and the battle was joinedmore fiercely than ever. Silting quietly athis tree Gen. Grant seemed to take in thewhole situation. Hearing hard firing incertain direction he would conclude that theGeneral in command in that locality washaving a hard time of it, and would orderreinforcements sent ; and so on through thewhole desperate struggle.
"At one time an officer high in rank cameto Gen. Grant apparently in great fear andremarked :
"Lec, I am satisfied, is trying to getaround behind us between here and Wash-
ington.'" ' That's exactly where I want to get him,'
quietly remarked Gen. Grant."'Yvhy, how is that?' asked the excited
officer." ' "With his supplies cut oil and our army
? 1 I a MI a a
I
isa
than
I
a
a
so
a
a
a
pi IIIfs fifes
Lee's Surrender to Grant at Appomattox.
between him and the Confederacy, we wouldmake short work of him. But do not boalarmed ; Lee is too good a General to do anysuch foolish thing as that'
" On one occasion I said to him : ' General,I will take 10,000 men and go and captureRichmond.' a
" ' You could easily do it with 5,000. ButI don't want Richmond. I want Lee's army.With that I have not only Richmond, butthe entire Confederacy.'
"And so he carried out his thoroughlycommon-sens-e course of action, letting slipall the little side issues until he had madethe supreme point! "
"Were you present at the surrender ofLee at Appomattox? " I asked of Gen. Dent '
" I wa3. And I wish to 8iiv hat all the
f7ikl ntfNS?S4Li?
Gen. Grant andpictures that have been made of that greathistorical event, so far as I have seen, are in-
correct in very many respects.""How is that?"" Well, in the first place, there were not
nearly so many persons present as are gen-
erally represented. In all the pictures Meadeand Custer and Sheridan are represented.Meade was more than two miles away at thetime and Custer was at least a mile and ahalf away. Sheridan came to the door afterthe capitulation had been signed."
"Yrho were present on that great occa-
sion?"" On the Confederate side there were only
Gen. Lee and his Aid, Col. Marshall. Onthe Union side there were present the follow-ing officers: Gen. Grant and his Chief of Staff,Gen. Rawlins; Gen. Sabcock, Col. Parker,Col. Bowers and myself. Just at the mo-
ment when the capitulation was about to besigued Gen. Rawlins whispered to me :
"'Tnis is history;make a sketch ofit' He knew that 1 possessedsome skill as a draftsman. I stepped to oneside and on the bottom of a pasteboard boxI hastily marked the exact location of everyman in the room. I then made a sketch ofthe positions in which they sat, and after-ward I drew their portraits roughly."
Have you that picture here?""No. It is in the possession of my daugh
ter, who resides in the "West. A complete andaccurate picture of that scene is now beingpainted by an eminent artist. At the mo-
ment when Gen. Rawlins spoke Gen. Lee wasspeaking and Gen. Grant was leaning backin his chair in the attitude of a listener.After the surrender had been signed Gen.Sheridan came to the door."
" 'There are several of your old West Pointcomrades here who would like to see you?'said Gen. Grant to Gen. Lee.
" ' There are several of your old army ac-
quaintances here who would like to meetyou,' said Gen. Lee to Gen. Grant.
"And there were just as cordial greetingsamong those officers as though they had beena parcel of "West Point boys who had been
separated only during a short vacation. Allthe boys at West Point used to have theirpet nick-unme- s. Lee was always known as
'Massa Robert,' because he had been theowner of slaves, I suppose, and Grant wascalled ' United States ' or ' Uncle Sam.' Theold nick-nam- es were resorted to immedi-ately, and hearty hand shakings and con-
gratulations were indulged in all around.""Do you think Gen. Rawlins was such an
important element in Gen. Grant's success ashas sometimes been claimed?"
" I think Gen. Rawlins was one of the verybest Chiefs of Staff that overlived. Ho wasa valuable assistant. But that is all. Grant'swonderful qualities and his wonderful suc-
cesses were as much in tho way of surprises
to Gen. Rawlins as they were to the rest ofus. No one can account for them except onthe ground that they resulted from
HIS GREAT COMMON SENSE."A little incident occurred during Gen.
Grant's second term as President, that madegreat impression on my miud. Several
gentlemen and army officers drove out withGen. Grant and myself to look over some ofthe old battlefields. An old colored auntiecame running out a3 we were walking alongby her cabin, and said:
" ' I wants to see Gen. Grant, the man whatfreed all tho cullud folks and whipped outole Gineral Lee?'
" I plucked the General's sleeve, and said :
Gen. Grant, here is an old auntie who wantsto ecc you.'
"Auntie.""The General stopped, and walking to-
ward her held out his hand. She took ifc,
and looking him over in astonishment shesaid:
" ' Is you Gineral Grant? '"'Yes, auntie, I am Gen. Grant'"'Lor' a massa, you look jes' llko any
udder man. And you is Gineral Grant?'"'How did you expect Gen. Grant
looked?' asked tho General, somewhatamused.
" ' Why, I thought he war a great big manseben or eight feet tall; dat he wore a great,high cap ; dat he hab great, long mustachestickin' out, and great big whiskers, and datho war cohered all over wid brass, and dathe babe a great big aword, and dat hespeak wid great big voice. I hab hear howhe whip out all de rebels, and I don't seehow you do it I '
"Gen. Grant smiled at the astonished auntieand passed on. Her notions of a great Gen-eral are not far different from those of manyother better informed people. Ho muet beall fuss and feathers, and appear a good doallike an avenging demon. All who formedthat sort of an opinion of him were certainto be disappointed when they Baw him. Noone ever know what ho was going to do, buthe frequently supposed cases and asked in
m
ferior officers what they would do in certaincontingencies. He told me that he often gotopinions and suggestions
FROM A SECOND LIEUTENANTthat he made his own. I remember that heonce asked an officer of considerable promi-nence how he would attack the advancingcolumn of tho enemy.
" ' I would assault the enemy vigorouslyin the center,' said the officer.
"'Then the enemy would closo aroundyour flanks,' said Gen. Grant.
" He was constantly questioning his offi-
cers on various j)oints in a very modest way,and never saying much himself. In thisway he formed his opinion of the men hehad to deal with, and knew who could docertain work best And, finally,when he madeup his mind to write of his campaigns, hetold it all in the mestrnodest and simple stylothat has been employed in writing of greatevents since the day when Cesar wrote hiscommentaries on the Gallic war. He tellsin two lines what many men would requirea page for. It seems to me that his grand,siraplo qualities are shown as much in hisdeath a3 in any of his great victories. Hewrote all the while almost to the hour of hisdeath. These scraps and notes will be care-
fully edited and eventually published."
For Tun National, Tribune.THUS OUK CHANGING MOODS AltE
MOLDED.
by J. n. "WATfnit, ar. r.Tinkle-tinkl- e, pnttcr-pntlc- r,
Merrily upon the roofFalls the rnin with ceaseless clatter.
Weaves a tale in warp and woof;Tells of olden lime a fctory
How, in long forgotten years,ne went forth in search of glory
Leaving her in fear and tears.
And the rising storm-win- d siglfing,Sobs and moans o'er brave knights dying;And the waving willow boughsWeep above their pallid brows.
Trees are bending swaying riven,And the lightning's blinding flash
Lights the darkly lowering heaven,And tho thunder's deafening craHh
Wakes the cchos far resoundingPictures mo the battle strife,
With its cannon's deadly poundinjAnd its ebb of gallant life.
But a little rift, appearingIn the cloud, shows sign of clearing;And a single golden beamFlashes through the opening scam.
Presently the clouds pass overAnd the sunlight. Hoods the earth.
Now I sec tho warrior loverHome returning to the hearth.
Where a waiting maid sits smiling,Well content that war is o'er,
With this thought the hours beguiling"lie shall leave me novermore."
So our changing moods arc molded;Thus our day dreams arc unfolded;Antlour lives aro swaged, the while.By a thoughtless frown orsaiile.
Center Bridge, Fa., Jan. 1, 18SG.
ANTI35TAM.
BY SHEIUIAX D. niCnAKDSOS--.
I'vo wandered o'er Antictam, John,And stood where foe met foo
Upon the fields of MarylandSo many years ago.
The circling hills rise just the snmoAs they did on that day.
When you was lighting Blue, old boy.And I was lighting Gray.
II.The winding stream runs "ncath the bridge
Where Uurnsido won his fame;Tho locust trees upon tho ridgo
Beyond are there the eamc.Tho birds were singing 'mid the trees
'Twos bullets on that dayWhen you was lighting Blue, old boy,
And I was fighting Gny.III.
Ieaw again rho Dunker ChurchThat stood beside the wood.
Where Hooker mode that famoii3 chargeThat Hill so well withstood.
'Tis scarred and marred by war and timeAs wo are. John, to-da- y,
For you were fighting Blue, old boy,As I was fighting Gray.
IV.I stood beneath the signal tree
Whore I that day was laid,And 'twas your arms, old boy, that brought
Me to this friendly shnde.Tho' leaves aro gone, and limbs aro bare.
Its heart is true to-da- y
As yours was then, tho' fighting Blue,To me, tho' fighting Gray.
V.
I marked the spot where Mansfield fellWhcie Riehardfeon was slain
With Stark and Douglass mid the corn,And Brand amid thegrain.
Their names arc sacred to us, John;They led us in the frny.
When you were fighting Northern Blue,And I the Southern Gray.
VI.
I thought of Burnside, Hooker, Meade,Of Sedgwick old and brave ;
Of Stonewall Jackson tried and trueThat strove the day to save.
I bared my head, they rest in peace,Each ono has passed away,
Death musters those who wore the BlueWith thoso who woro the Gray.
VIX.
Tho old Pry Mansion rcaro its wallaBcaido Antietnm'a stream.
And far away along the southI aeo tho tombstones gleam.
They mark each place where Little MacAnd Robert Leo that day
Made proud the South, tho' wearing Blue,And North, tho' wearing Gray.
VIII.Yea, John, it gave mo jo3' to stand
Whore wo onco fiercely fought.The Nation now is ono again
Tho lesson has boen taught.Sweet peace doth fair Antictam crown,
And wo can say to-da- y
We're friends, tho' ono was fighting BlueAnd one was fighting Gray J
The American Rural Home.
Austin Court Scene.Texas Silings.
" Jim Webster stand up. It is charged thatyou have been drunk for a wholo week. Evennow you are under tho influence of liquor.What mitigating circumstauco is there in yourcaso?"
"'Taint my fault, boss. It's my povertywhat am ter blame."
"Your poverty?""Hit coats heaps of monoy ter make mo
drunk of I let's myeclf get sober. Can't affordit. Was your Honor obcr drunk ? "
"Never.""Den yor can't preshiato my case. Ycr can't
onderstand how much jhifc costs ter get drank.Hit takes four dollars wulT ob whisky tor fillmo up. When I gets drunk onct, hit don'ttake much whisky ter keep mo fullcrn a gooso,but if I lets my myself get sober I hasn't gotdor means ter get drunk agin. Dat's why Ican't 'ford ter let myself get sober. 'Taint myfault dat I'so poor. Hit's de fault ob de JayGouldaesses and do odder mernopolums.'.'
AT..--- ETTYSBUI1&
The Splendid Work Done by Smith's
Battery.
THE GALLANT CHARGE
Of the 124th N. Y. and 99th Pa.upon Longstreet.
THE STORY AS TOLD
By Comrades of those GallantRegiments.
TIIE lS4tli NEW YOTITC.BY MAJ. TUOS. W. BRADLEY, NEW YORK.
Smith's battery has not received iu historyfull credit for tho heroic and valuable workdone by its members at Gettysburg. I wasat that time First Sergeant of Co. II, 124thN. Y. I saw the battery come down RockRun Glen. The guns were unlimbered attho foot of Rock Ridge and hauled up thesteep acclivity into position amid the rockson its crest, and the battery was soon en-
gaged in a hot duel with the rebel batterieson the bights beyond tho Peach Orchard.Under cover of the Confederate fire Long-street- 's
Corps, massed in battle-line- s eight orten deep, moved in confident, rapid attackon our position. The battery changed fromBhell to canister and, working as I never sawgunners work before or since, tore gap aftergap through the ranks of the advancing foe.
All this time the gallant Captain and hismen were exposed to the direct fire of Long- -
j
Capt. James E. Smith.street's sharpshooters and his front line.Every round of ammunition had to be carriedfrom the foot of the ridge. Man after manwent down, but still the exhausting workwent steadily on, the officers tirelessly fallingin to fill out a working detail for the guns,nnd keeping up a well-directe- d fire until theenemy was at tho base of the bights and theguns could no longer be depressed to reachhim. Then, knowing that the greatly-superi-or
force would overwhelm us andcapture the guns unless checked, Col. Ellis,of tho 124th, after a few rapid words withMaj. Cromwell,
ORDERED A CHARGE.
It was immediately responded to and asquickly repulsed. It was again made in theface of a withering tire that left killed andwounded two-fift- hs of the regiment. Flankedat the Devil's Den by tho turning of ourline at that point, we were swept from theposition, and the crest and guns were for abrief time in possession of tho enemy. Mean-
while Capt. Smith had removed horses,caissons and ammunition, rendering the gunsuseless to the enemy, whose hold on the posi-tion was so short that ho could not removethem.
The remnant of our force was never routedbut falling quickly back, steadily reformedon the woods at our right, while thesnpportsmarching rapidly down the glen formed con-
nection with the " liucktails," and then, likea flash almost, established a new, stronglino, with the Round Top for its left flank.Longstreet did not charge this line withmuch vigor, save at the extreme of theRound Top. His determined charge, now sofamous in history, was so dauntlessly metby our single line of battle on the crest ofRock Ridge, his force so terribly broken bythe merciless firo of Smith's canister,and tho fierce grapple amid the rocks ofDevil's Den, with the bitter fire from thereserves on Round Top, that he was spentnnd exhausted. The ridge he had taken
WAS AT ONCE SO UNTENABLEbefore the fire from Round Top and thewoods to the right that he sullenly with-drew, leaving our guns in position, the greatcharge repulsed, and Meade's left flank se-
cure and impregnable.The foregoing account is my recollection
of Gettysburg, July 2, 18G3. It may befaulty ; it was more than 22 years ago, andI was but 19 years of age then. The businesscares and thoughts of an active life havecomo in between. I was seriously woundedin tho second charge, and my memories ofthe last part of the contest are confused withtho agony of wounds, of being trampled un-
der foot, carried and placed helpless besidea rock on the other slope between both fires,hoping as I lay there that I might livo longenough to see our side win, which I did,thank God! I recovered and returned toduty. During the last of my service I was aMajor and Aid-de-Ca- on tho staff of theThird Division, Second Corps. This divisionwas formed of the remnant of the old ThirdCorps left alive after Gettysburg.
I managed to get "plugged "a couple oftimes after that and yet see and take part insome pretty active fighting, but I never sawsuch a gallant rush " into the jaws of hell"as was made by our little regiment thatJuly day ; or a battery worked and foughtwith such coolness and Bkill, such tireless
devotion, and with such terriblo havoc to theenemy. I have not the pleasure and honorof Capt. Smith's acquaintance, but I shallalways think proudly of him. If he lives towrite the history of that terrible hour on thecrest of old Rock Ridge I trust his modestywill not ba
SO GREAT AS HIS COURAGE,
and that ho may pay to the noble men of hiscommand the full tribute so well deserved.Nor will he go amis3 should hs call the old" Orange Blossoms " by name for their workat that time.
I have often thought over the seemingrecklessness, and as I at one time though!uselessness, of our charges that day. In thelast years of our service we would not havebeen called on to make them. We wouldnot have been 20 minutes on that ridjee be- -
LoNGsrnsETS Corps.jFToods JJia.
t i i i
'Jtefore "the cfiarge:3Zbcl Chats.
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:mmvm?m Krwv?4Xi&- -Smith's Battery and Its Support.
fore its rooks would have been piled up, andwe behind a formidable breastwork. Weshould have been more interested in prepara-tions for defense than in the result of anartillery duel. But we fought then accord-ing to our experience, and heroes of severalgreat battles as we were, we counted our-selves veterans. In contrast with the whitecollars and fresh faces of the Maryland andPennsylvania militia we passed that morn-ing on our way to the front, I imagine wewere veterans. At any rate, we felt that dayas we never felt before or after, that on us,the veterans of the Army of the Potomac,rested in the coming fight the future life ofthe American Republic, and every man wasready to die that day to save it. If ever heshirked before or after, he was the soul ofsacrifice in that battle.
Referring to ourcharge, it was a mercilessorder one line of battle, stretched out thinand slender, ordered to charge the compactforce of Longstreet's advancing Corps massedat least eight lines deep; the order twicerepeated and twice obeyed without murmuror hesitation. No wonder we were wreckedand broken ! Ellis and Cromwell
WENT DOWN GALLANTLY,
and no word from them will ever explainthe sacrifice. They were brave, cool officers,intelligent and careful of their men. I believethey counted the cost, deliberately decidingon the sacrifice that Capt. Smith might savehis guns, or if not his guns, hi3 caissons andhorses. None of our dead went more fear-
lessly to the sacrifice than they. Give themonly the laurel !
"Without that charge and the work ofSmith's battery, our left would have beenmore seriously turned; but now, in thelight of after experience, as I think of it,what a mad act it was. One regiment amere handful at that with no order backof its Colonel, charging from its base in lineof battle to lock arms with Longstreet.This good it did, it gave pluck and steadi-ness to the men at our left, who were need-ing it and who fought like heroes, as theslaughter-hous- e in the Den abundantly at-
tested.
THE 90th PENNSYLVANIA.
BY ADJ'T TETER B. AYAES, WILMINGTON, DEL.
How glad I was to read in your la3t issnean account by Comrade Tucker, of the " Or-
ange Blossoms" (124th N. Y.) at Gettysburg.Often have I scanned the columns of yourtruly good soldier paper, hoping to see some-
thing from the pen of some comrade con-
cerning that old brigade (Ward's), for surelyno regiment fought better, suffered a greaterloss, or achieved better results on that his-
toric field than did the 124th and 40th N. Y.,20th Ind., 3d and 4th Me., 2d BerdanSharpshooters, and the 99 th Pa., whichcomposed the brigade commanded by Brig.-Ge- n.
J. Hobart Ward at Gettysburg. LikeComrade Tucker, of the 124th, I shall speakparticularly of our own old regiment the99th Pa.
The morning of July 1, 18C3, found us inbivouac in rear of the little town of Em-mittsbu- rg,
Md. I remember that the farms,buildings, fences, etc., everywhere presentedquite a different appearance from what wehad been used to seeing farther sonth.There everything was desolation nnd disor-der, while here the land was under a splen-did state of cultivation ; the buildings andfences were well cared for. There had beenwar with all its destruction, while hero noenemy as yet had trodden. "While the boyswere engaged in making coffee which, bythe way, was all they had, and precious fewof them had that the
DISTANT BOOM OF CANNON
came echoing o'er the hill-top- s, and instantlyall was bustle and expectation. Overyearwas strained to catch the sound, and if pos
sible determine whence it came. A few mo-ments after the first sounds reached U3 theclear notes of the bngle sounded the oldfamiliar call to "Pack up.' Little troublethis to the members of that old corps (theThird), the majority of whom had followedthe fortunes of McClellan on the Peninsula,Pope at Bull Run, McClellan again at An-tictam, Burnside at Fredericksburg and the"stick-in-the-m- ud march," Hooker at Chan-cellorsvil- le,
and now was under Meade forthe first. time. The "horses had beenswapped crossing the stream," and subse-quent events proved the wisdom of the"swap."
Now began one of the hardest marches itwas ever ojir lot to be engaged in all theway from Emmittsburg to Gettysburg, 12miles, with the thermometer certainly upamong the nineties, with only one stop, abreathing spell of about 15 minutes. Menfell by the roadside by the score from theeffects of the terrible heat The water inthe canteens was almost steaming hot, and Ionly remember of having passed one smallstream in all that march. We reached Get-tysburg, as Comrade Tucker says, just afterdark, and immediately went into line ofbattle, facing south and east, from the PeachOrchard down through the edge of the wood3towards Devil's Den. Here we rested allnight, as completely "played out" a lot ofsoldiers as I ever saw.
Early the next morning the formation waachanged by placing the 40th N. Y. on theright of the brigade, the 20th Ind. next,joined by the 3d and 4th Me., all in thewoods to the right of Devil's Den. Nextcame the 124th N. Y. ("Orange Blossoms")at the edge of the Theatfield, and then ourown old 99th Pa. on the left, directly acrossDevil's Den, and towards Little Round Top.This formation had hardly been completedbefore the
TERRIBLE CANNONADE COMMENCED
from the rebel batteries on the crest or rangeof hills in our front, and under the cover ofwhich was thrown forward Gen. Hood's Di-vision of rebel veterans in three solid col-umns. Flushed with the victory of the daybefore, they now advanced as though on pa-rade. Our batteries in the Wheatfield andalong the crest of the ridge to the right andleft did splendid service ; but ou came theseterrible battalions, close up to the very muz-zles of our cannon.
Now came the command, " Up and charge ! "and right royally was it responded to. Onevolley, and with a dash we were into thothick of the fight. Above the crack of therifle, the scream of shell and the cries of thewounded, could be heard the shout for"Pennsylvania and our homes!" Talk aboutthe rebel army winning at Gettysburg; twosuch armies could not have wrested thatposition from the Army of tho PotomacThat grand old army had always foughtwell, and I had questioned whether it couldever better the record of its fighting quali-ties that it had made on many Southernbattlefields. Nevertheless, it had often beenworsted, but now at Gettysburg the thoughtof home nerved every man
FOR A GREATER STRUGGLE
than ever before, and he felt that death waspreferable to defeat. Many poor fellowslaid down their lives on that 2d day of July,1863, in Devil's Den, a sacrifice on the altarof their conntry and their native State.Our regiment will erect a monument on thisspot July 2 next that will bear the namesof 107 brave boys and 11 officers who werekilled and wounded out of 310 men whowent into action that morning.
The Regulars, as said Comrade Tucker,relieved us after three hours' hard fightingback and forth over rocks and brushwooduntil we were nearly exhausted. That nightthe regiment drew rations they so much,needed, and found new mates to share theirblankets. Many a brave man who wentthrough that fight without a tremor, nowwas not ashamed of the tear that came tohis eye in telling how his " chum " was killedor wounded.
The next day the 3d and 4th Me. and the99 th Pa. were double-quicke- d through thatterrible cannonade on Cemetery Hill to thesupport of the Philadelphia Brigade, arrivingthere just in time to assist in the destructionof Pickett's Division ofVirginians, the regi-ment charging up the hill through the dis-
mantled Battery A, 4th U. S. Art., and intothe thick of the fight at the stone wall.Members of the 99th and 72d Pa. afterwardsremoved a part of this battery to make roomfor Battery G, oth U. S. Art., which swunginto position and commenced rapid firing atthe retreating rebels.
That night our regiment was placed outon the Emmiltsbnrgroad on picket duty, andwas the first in the morning to note the removal of the rebel armv from our front.
FK03I C03IKADE TDCKEK.
The following i3 an extract from a pri-vate letter to Capt. James E. Smith ofSmiths famous 4th N. Y. battery, now ofWashington, D. C from A. W. Tucker, 124thN. Y., Dallas City, Pa., author of the articleon the "Orange Blossoms," in The Na-tional Tribune of Jan. 21 :
"You are right in your conclusions whywe did not bring off your guns. Your onesupposition that we were too few in num-bers when relieved, is partially correct; andagain, that we did not occupy the sameground as when tho fight opened. By theloss occasioned during the battle we hadkept closing to the right, so that when re-
lieved, my company, which was on the leftof the regiment, was where the right of theregiment was when the fight opened. Hence-- ,
we were at least 100 yards to the right ofyour guns. I do not know what troopswere in the vicinity of the guns, but thinkit must have been the 99ih Pa. I am gladto be able to clear up the mystery why wefailed to bring off your guns. I was at Get-
tysburg two years ago, July 1, 18S4, at theunvailiug of our monnment, and met manyof the boys I had not seen for 21 years. Ihad but little difficulty in recalling theevents of that memorable time."
