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About The North Platte semi-weekly tribune. (North Platte, Neb.) 1895-1922 | View Entire Issue (July 4, 1913)
STOfflt FAMOUS CIKIL1B FIGHI Battle of Gettysburg Which Brought Credit to Both Blue and Gray. TURNING POINT OF CONFLICT Total Losses on Both Sides In Three Days' Fighting Over 50,000 Sev eral Generals Killed and Wounded. Dy EDWARD B. CLARK. pASHINGTON. It Is nosst- bio, some people would say probable, that the Battle of Gettysburg changed utterly the course of American his tory. It wis a great light between armies of Americans, for probably fully ninety per "nit. of the men who fought on tne two sides woro born datives to tho American soil. The bravery shown at Gettysburg was of the order which Americans have shown gn every Hold and which re flects credit upon the hardy and heroic ancestry of the men engaged, no matter from what raco they may bavo sprung. At Gettysburg tboro was nothing to choose between tho valor of the North and the South. Tho South lost tho fight, but It lost it honorably and with tho prestigo of its soldiery un dimmed. The charges mado on that field bavo gone down into history as assaults rendo under conditions which every man felt miht mean death at tho end. Tho defenses mado at Gettys burg wero of tho kind whlph It takes Iron In tho blood to make perfect. At Gettysburg Northerners and South erners replenished their store of re Bpect for their antagonists. The bat1 tlo marked the high tide of the war between tho states. After It the South largely was on the defensive, but Its defenao was maintained with fortitude and In tho face of privations which could not chill the blood of men fighting for what they thought was tho right. The Northern armies were persis tent In their attacks through tho cam paigns v hich after a tew months wero started aginst the objective point, Richmond. Bravo men hero and bravo men there, and after tho end came It was the qualities which keep com pany with bravery which made the soldiers of tho North and South so ready to forget and to forgive and to work again for the good of a com mon country. Tho great battle of Chancellorsville was fought not long before tho oppos ing Union and Confederate forces met on tho field of Gettysburg. Chancel lorsville was a Confederate victory. Tho Southern government believed that tho victory should bo followed up by an invasion of the North for, ac cording to its reasoning, If an Import ant engagement could bo won upon Ma J. Gen. George G. Meade. Northern soil tho chances of foreign Intervention or at least foreign aid to tho Southern cause, would be forth coming. General Robert E. Leo late lu tho spring of 18C3, mado his preparations to conduct his campnlgn Northward Into the state of Pennsylvania. Ho had under his command threo corps. General James Longstreet command" lng tho First, General Richard S. Kwell commanding the Second, and General A. 1 Hill commanding the Third. In tho Union army which aft erward confronted Leo at Gettysburg, there were seven corps, but tho num ber of men in each was much loss than that in a Confederate corps, the military composition of each being different. Tho Union corps comman ders who under Meade wero at Get tysburg, were Generals John F. Rey nolds, W S. Hancock, Daniel K. Sickles, Georgo Sykes, John Sedgwick, O. O. Howard and II W. Slocum. Forces Almost Evenly Matched. It novor has been determined be yond tho point of all dispute just how many men were engaged on each side In tho battle of Gettysburg. It is known thati tho armies were very nearly equal in strength, tho proba bilities being that tho Confedorato force was a fow thousand men strong- or than tho Unlou force, a difference which was balanced perhaps by the fact that tho Union armies at Gettys burg wero fighting In defense of their ySSSSSSShla land from Invasion, a condition whlrh military men say always adds a sub tle something to tho fighting quality which Is lu any mnn. Somo authori ties have said that thoro woro 100,000 men In tho Confederate forces nt Get tysburg to be confronted by 90,000 Union troops. Auothor authority says that the Confederate forco was S4.000 and tho Union forco 80,000. As It was tho armies wero pretty nearly equally divided In strength. In June, 1S03, General Robert K Leo began to move northward. Leo concentrated his nrmy at Wlncuostor, Va., and then started for tho Potomac river, which ho crossed to reach tho state of Maryland. Ho fully expected to be followed by General Hooker's army and so General Stuart with a largo forco of cavalry was ordered by Lee to keep hi front of Hooker's army and to check his pursuit of tho Con federates if It was attempted. Lnto In Juno tho Confederate force reached Hagcrstown, in tho stato of Maryland. It was General Lco'b In tention to BtriUo Hnrrlsburg, Pa., which was a great railroad center and a city where Union armies wero recruited and from which all kinds of supplies wero sent out to the soldiers In tho field While tho Southern com mander was on his way with a largo part of his forco to tho Pennsylvania capital another part of his command pemmtium.i yi' " Sx"'"',, mw m mmt !fe. r ,m 12 X hi, WWW Gen. Robert E. Lee. was ordered to make its way into tho Susquehanna Valley through the town of Gettysburg and then to turn. In its course after destroying railroads and gathering In supplies, and to meet the Confederate commander with the main army at Harrlsburg. It Was General Jubal A. Early of General Leo's command, who reached Gettysburg after a long hard march on Juno 2G. From there he went to tho town of Yoik and from thenco to Wrightsville. At this place he wa3 ordered by General Leo to retrace hlo steps and to bring his detachment back to a camp near Gettysburg. When Early ahd obeyed Lee's order ami had reached a point near Gettys burg ho found tho entire Southern force was camped within easy strik ing dlstanco of the now historic town. In tho meantime things were hap pening elsewhere. General Hooker In command of the Union army which had been depleted at Chancellorsville, had succeeded In out-maneuvering General Stuart In command of Loo's cavalry, had got around Stuart's com mand In a way to prevent the South ern general from forming a junction with the forces of hl3 chief comman der. Lee gave over tho proposed movement on Harrlsburg when no heard of Hooker's approuch and brought the different parts of his army together. Four days before tho Gettysburg fight began General Hooker resigned as commander of tho Union army. Hooker and General Hallock dis agreed upon a matter concerning which strategists today say that Gen eral Hooker was right. Threo days before the battle began, that Is, Juno 23, 18G3, General Georgo Gordan Meade was named as General Hook er's successor In charge of tho North ern army. General Meado at onco went Into the field and established his headquarters at a point ten or twelve mlies south of tho town of GottyBburg. Armies Meet at Gettysburg. It seems that General Leo on hear ing1 that Stuart had not succeeded la checking tho Union army's advanco had mado up his mind to turn south ward to meet tho force of Hooker, or as it turned out the force of Meado. Lee with his force had advanced north beyond Gettysburg, whllo Meado with his forco was south of tho town. The fields near tho Pennsylvania vil lage had not been picked as a place of battle, but there It was that tho two great armies came together and for threo days struggled for tho mas tory. On the last day of June, tho day before tho real battlo of Gettysburg began, General Reynolds, a corps commander of tho Union army, went forward to feel out tho enemy. Ho reached Gettysburg by nightfall. His corps, tho First, together with the Third and tho Eloventh Infantry Corps with a division of cavalry, com posed the Union army's left wing. Tho Fifth Army Corps was sent to Hanover, southeast of Gettysburg, and the Twelfth Corps was immedi ately south of Gettysburg at a dls tanco of eight or nine miles. Tills was on Juno 30, and tho Union forces were fairly well soparted, but thoy wero converging and Gettysburg was their objective. Goneral Reynolds of tho Union forces arrived at Gettysburg early on ? I V fi t 1 U ' vA' , ( ...M the morning of July 1 Ho dlspntchod a courier to Meado saj lng .that tho high ground nbovo Gettysburg was tho proper placo to moot tho enemy. Not long after this meBsago was sont to Mendo General Reynolds who dis patched It, was killed. Ho was on horseback near a patch of woods with his forco confronting a largo dotneh ment of Confedorato troops which wbb coming toward them. Theso troops of tho enemy woro dispersed by the Union batteries and Reynolds was watching tho successful solid shot and shrapnol onset when a bullet struck him In tho head killing him In stantly. General Abnor Doublcday succeeded Reynolds In command of the troops at that point of tho field. A brigade of Confederates, a Mississippi organi zation, charged tho Union forces, broko their organization and succeed ed in making prisoners of a largo part of a New York reglmont. Later theso men wero rechptu red and tho Missis sippi brigade was driven buck, n por tion of It surrendering. In tho tight on the first day at this point of the field or near It, ono Union regiment, tho 151st Pennsylvania, lost in killed nnd wounded 337' men out of a total of 440 In a little more than a quartet' of an hour's fight. General Doubleday fell back to Sem inary Ridge nnd extended his lino, Tho forces employed against him horo were greater than his own, and after hard fighting Seminary Rldgo was given up. Tho first dny's battlo was In effect and In truth a victory for tho Southern arms On tho night of July 1 General Hancock arrived and succeeded lu rallying tho Union forces and putting 'new heart into tho men. General Moade on that night ordered tho entire army to Gettys burg. Victory Not Followed Up, Fpr tomo reason or other perhaps unkhown to this day, what was virtu ally a Confederate victory on the first of July was not followed up by Gen oral Lee early on tho next morning, General Meade thcrcforo succeeded in strengthening his lines nnd In pro paring for tho greater conflict. Ono end of the Union line wnB somo dis tance cast of Cemetery Hill on Rock Creek, another end was at Round Top something more than two miles be yond Cometcry Hill to the south. Tho Confcdeiatc lino confronting It was somowhat longer. It is Impossible In a brief sketch of this battlo to give tho names of tho brigade nnd tho reglmontal comman ders and tho namc3 of tho regiments which wero engaged on both sides In this great battle. Meade, Hancock, Howard, Slocum nnd Sickles with their men wero confronting Leo, Longstreet, Hill, Ewell and tho other great commanders of tho South with their men. The lino of battlo with tho spaces In between tho different com mands was nearly ten miles. It was the Confederate general's Intention to attack at tho extreme right and left nnd at tho center simultaneously. It was to be General Longstreet's duty to turn tho left flank of tho Union army and to "break it." Longstreet's Intended movement was discovered In time to have It mot valiantly. Tho battlo of tho second day really 'be gan with Longstreet's advance. Tho mwmmiwM IwWIwwSSlI MaJ. Gen. George E. Pickett. Southern genernl did not succoed in tho plan which he lmd formed to g t by nig Round Top and to attack the Third Corps from a position of van tago In tho rear. General Sickles de fended Round Top and Longstreet could not tako4t. When ono visits the battlefield of Gettysburg ho can trace tho courao of battlo of tho second day where it raged at Round Top, Peach Orchard, Cemetery Hill, Pulp's Hill, and what is known ns Tho Devil's Den Tho tldo of bnttlo ebbed and flowed Lit tle Round Top was saved from cap ture by tho timely arrival of a brigade commanded by General Weed that dragged tho guns of a United States regular battery up to tho summit by hnnd. At tho end of tho second day's fight it was found that tho Southern at my had failed to break tho left flank of tho opposing forces, that it had failed to capturo Round Top and that tho right flank of tho Northern army, al though vigorously attacked, had not been bioken. Thoro was a tremen dous loss of life on both aides, and whllo In general tho day hud gono favorably to tho Northren cause Get tysburg wus atlll a drawn battle. Charge of Gen. Pickett. It was on July 3, tho third nnd last day of tho great battle of Gettysburg that Pickett's men mado their cbarce which hnB gono Into history ns ono of tho most hcrolo assaults of all time. It was forlorn hopo but It was grasped and tho men of Georgo Ed ward Pickett, Confedorato soldlor, went loyally and with full honrts to their death across a shrapuol and riflo swept field. When tho third day's fighting open ed It began with an artillery duel, hundreds of guns belching forth shot nnd donth from tho battorles of both contending forces. It Is sold that this was the greatest duel engaged In by field pieces during tho four years of tho war botween tho stntos. The Union guns nt ono tlmo censed firing, and It Is said that tho southern commnndor thought they had been silenced, nnd then It was that Long street's men mndc an assault and Pickett's men made tholr chnrge. Tho former general's objective was Big Round Top, but his forces wero driv en back. Picket formed his division In brigade columns nnd they moved directly across the fields over flat ground. They had no cover nnd they had no sootier como Into effective range than they woro met by such a storm of shot as novor before swept over a field of battlo. They wont on nnd on, and on clos ing In their depleted ranks nnd mov ing steadily forward to their death Those of Pickett's men who reached MaJ. Gen. John F. Reynolds. their destination had a short hand-to-hand encounter with tho northern sol diers. It was soon over nnd Pickett's cliaige, glorious for all tlmo In his tory, was a failure lu that which it attempted to do, but was a success as helping to show tho heroism of Amer ican soldiers. Tho losses at Gettysburg on both sides woro enormous. Tho Union army lost Generals Zook, Farnsworth, Wqed nnd Reynolds, killed; while Gra ham, Barnes, Gibbon, Warren, Double day, Harlow, Sickles, Dutterilold and Hnncock woro wounded. Tho totul casualties killed .wounded, captured or missing on the Union side num bered nearly 24,000 men. On tho Con federate side Generals Semmes, Pen dor, Garnet, Armlstead, and Darks dalo were killed, and Generals Kemp er, Kimbal, Hood, Hcth, Johnson nnd Trlmblo were wounded. Tho ontlre Confederate loss Is estimated to have been nearly 30,000 men. Tho third day's fight at Gettysburg was a victory for northern arms, but It was a hard won fight and tho con flict reflects luBtcr today upon the north and tho south. Leo led hla army back southward, later to con front Grant in the campaigns which finally ended at Appomattox. Forces Engaged and Losses. Tho forces engaged at tho Battlo ol Gettysburg woro: Confedorato According to, official accounts tho Army of North Virginia, on the 3lst of Mny, numborod 74.1G8. Tho 'detachments which joined ' num bored 6,400, making 80.SC8. Deducting the delnchmonts left in Virginia Jankins' brigade, Plckott'B division, 2,300; Corse's brigade, Plckott'B dlvl slon, 1,700; detachments from Second corps and cavalry, 1,300, In all 5,300 leaves nn nggrognto of 75,508. Union According to tho reports ol the 30th of June, and making allowanc for detachments tl,t joined In tho In terim in tlmo to tnlco part In tho bat tlo, the grand npgregato was 100.00C officers and men. Tho cuBunltles woro: Confedeiate First corps 7,53$ Second corps 5,031 Third corps 0,733 Cavalry 1,426 Aggregate 21,031 Union First corps 0,059 Second corps 1,303 Third corps 4,211 Fifth corps 2,187 Sixth corps . . ..' 2 IS Eloventh corps 3,801 Twelfth corps ,082 Cavalry 1.091 Staff 4 Aggregate 23,0 19 Distinctive. "Show mo nonio tiaras, please. J want one for my wife." "Yes, sir. About what prico?" "Well, at such a prico that I can say: 'Do you boo that woman with tho tiara? She is my wife." Poarson'a Weekly. Puzzled Mlssourlan. Will somo ono oxplaln why somo peoplo who aro Invariably late at church need no boll to call them to the inovlng-plcturo show on tlmo? SOUVENIRS OF 1776 Relics of the Revolution in the National Museum. Washington's Clothing and Camp Equipment and Other Eloquent Reminders of tho War That Won Independence. IS THE Fourth of July rolls nrouud each year tho story of tho winning of Ameri can Independence 1b told and rotold In all parts of of tho land. Tho heroism and suffering of that tor rlblo conflict aro im pressed upon tho public WWlJAvri forms of eelobrntion which characterizes that day Hut more lvld than any flush of ora tory, display of fireworks or patriotic parade Is a visit to that section of tho Nntlonal museum at Washington, I) C, whero aro preserved many not abol relics of tits War of 177G. ' Peoplo lending nomadic lives of to day can scarcely realize that dollcuto garments and costly laces of that period of 137 years ago have boon kept through so many HfotlmcB with dut damage or destruction. Yet no room for doubt Is loft by tho authen tic documentary evidence accompany ing theso preclouB souvonlrs of that colonial struggle. Not only Is tho uniform of Gon. Georgo Washington to bo seen hang ing thoro lu a glass caso, but nearby, In a similar enclosure, la tho hand embroidered robe tho Father of Ills Country woro when being chlrstoncd. The hurt of that full dross Continental uniform is as spotless as whon tho dignified Boldlor woro It with such pruco, and the blue of tho coat lacks even a suggestion of being faded. Gazing nt It in tho position of promi nence it occupies at ono end of tho old museum, ono can picture In mem ory tho ninny stirring scones and splendid cerumonloB through which that eostumo hnB pnsHcd. And such material evldonco of tho Revolution ninko It seem fur more real than could any school hlBtory or anccdoto. A reminder of days when times wero hard Is a sturdy trunk-shaped camp-chest used throughout tho struG glo by Georgo Washington. It con tains numerous tiny coinpartmontB and oach knlfo, fork, spoon, modlclno hottlo, cup, glnss and finale Is dis played Intact. Even tho powtor dishes ho nto from and had Ills cooking done In aro ui ranged about the chest and, most suggestlvo of tho wholo homo ly outfit, Is his Ilttlo bread toaster perched on ono end of tho chest hb If awaiting n long lifeless hand to lift It Into placo. Suggestive, somehow, of melancholy evenings Is tho lurgo braBS candlo stick nnd reflector used by Goneral Washington lu his tent and wherever ho happened to bo qunrtored during tho Revolution A perpendicular brass rod, with heavy round bnBo, supports two branches and back of thorn Hbos tho polished reflector, lly tho light from tnpers In this holder tho future first president porod over wcarlsomo plans for outwitting a poworfui foe. Also, Its rays foil athwart tho paper on which ho wroto his farowoll ad dress to tho army. Aftorward It was a cherished object at Mount Vernon and is in a collection including the general's arm chnlr nnd such relics. IIIb loathor letter caso Is well pre served and proves one of the moat IntorcBtlng bits of tho collection to visitors. Aside from nnythlug appertaining to Washington, porhnps tho moBt notable Revolutionary relic Is tho. famous John Paul Jones flag. This has long boon a source of controversy among atu dentn of hlBtory, somo of whom claim It 1b the samo tattered emblem of llborty which floated from tho HngBtaff of tho famous Hon Hommo Richard, whllo others Insist tho material or which It 1b mado was manufactured at a Intor period. Tho National museum authorities hnvo made no attempt to prove or con tiadlct Its genuineness. Hut placed Crude Cannon Ball and Pistol From a Revolutionary Battlefield. conspicuously besldo tho much worn homo-niado Hag, whoso stars nro sowed on with big, coarse stitches. Is an autographed letter stating that the Hag is what It Is claimed to bo. This yollow and aged, yet cuslly de ciphered, letted was written by the chairman of tho Marino committee of the Continental congress to Lieut. James Hnynrd Stafford lu 1784 Ho was an officer In tho United States navy during tho Revolution and displayed great courago und valor In holplnjc to rescuo tho crew from Paul Joncc' ship. Tho letter stutoi that he lu also to huo a cutlass and musket as mementos of tho naval battlo and theso are shown with tho flag. As well kept and glittering as though thoy had never dono work nuy moro deadly than reposing In a burg-lar-alarni-protcctod case aro tho vari ous service swords worn by officers and men of tho Revolution. Full dross swords, with hiyidHomo costly JMHHWI1 pipiimBwm IIWMIWmMHMI niliWHWiyili f i mini ,i,in.ifii. scabbards, presented lator by states and organizations In recognition of tho bravery of tho recipients, nro ar ranged In racks bo as to display their beauties of workmanship and tern poring. Illustrious among them Is tho sorvlco sword carried by Lieut. Ben jamin Wooers during two wars. Aftor fighting his wny through tho Revolutionary war with tho long, Blcn dor bladcd sword now so seemingly peaceful ho again used It In tho War of 1812. It wnB meant In ovcry way for "sorvlco" or use. Nothing ornato mnrr the practicability of its hilt and yet thoro is a suggestion of nervous forco In tho blue steel of its blade. Tho opaulots worn by Gen. William Smnllwood whon ho commanded tho 1 1 - & $ l A S3!L i fSSTfi isS Wooden Canteen, Insignia, Shoo Buckles or Charles Carrollton, nnd a Pair 61 Pistols Used In the Revolu tionary War. Maryland lino of the Continental army at tho Unttlo of Brooklyn Heights aro troasured thoro. And a largo metal tray, which has descended from fnther to bon slnco tho Revolution, l3 tho chief object of Interest In one of tho casuB. This has a dull brown surface against which a group of hand-painted peaches still rotnln tholr red coloring It wub onco used for Borvlng refresh ments nt an Important gnthorlng of Continental ofilcors near Concord, Mass., when ono of thu big movements of a battlo woro planned out. And ovon tho avorugo person who falls to thrill ovor lnnnlmato objects can scarcely look unmoved nt a wood en canteen which Is ono of tho humblest exhibits in tho display. It was tho property of John Paulding -ono of tho trio which captured Major Andro, of tho British nrmy. About tho oldest garment In tho sec tion of tho museum given ovor to such war relics Is n vividly rod cont. Us collar and cuffs and lnsot waistcoat aro of tho brilliant yellow, or deep buff. It Ib lavishly ornamented with Bllver braid and trimmed with silver buttons) nnd Is, altogether, bucIi a gaudy, conspicuous affair that a modern young man would rather fuco n regiment thnn wear It abroad. Its first owner, Capt. Ell Dagworthy, did both, appearing In it nB an officer In tho French nnd Indian wars prior to tho Revolution. Ho vwas older brother of n 'Dagworthy. who boenmo nn ofilccr In tho Continental army and nlso won distinction. But It Is not recorded that ho could over bo dis suaded from tho fascination of lib "rod coat." SWRBxagsssfB. ll((t f 1t N.tJUTtMX A 3TM1OYOUXC40UKD BOHrrmtuHitsumtuurcK BOTiritY MtAH,ta HWtAVMt ttsm.x,j.,.. .. FUG MADE BY WASHINGTON Qannqr Adopted From Hlo Family i Coat-of-Arms Floated Over His Headquarters, HlBtory records tho fact that, at tho signing of tho Declaration of In dapondenco, Charles Carrol added to his nnmo tho words, "of Carrollton," so thnt ho, tho signer, might bo onslly distinguished from all of tho other CurrollB In Amorlca. Chutiea Carroll has been commended for his personal courage, and vory propcrtly, too. But Georgo Washington ante-dated him in a display of personal responsi bility In that great struggle. Wash ington took his family coat-of-arms wh'lch consisted of threo bars run ning acroHs tho escutcheon and threo stars In the upper portion, nnd of that ho evolved our national omblom With splendid courago nnd doflanco ho took his heraldic family design and caused to bo mado a flag with 13 BtrlpcB, representing tho 13 colonloa. Instead of using tho stnrB of his creat lie Bot on tho bluo ground tho cross of St. Androw and St. George. This original flag, mado of his family coat-of-arms, ho floated ovor his hoadquar ters. Thus, on Jnnuary 2, 177G, Georgo Washington promulgated his Individual Declaration of Indepen dence and this was followed on July 2, 170, by tho olllclnl declaration or tho United Stntcs. The British soldiors. when thoy saw that flag, Imagined that It was a token of submission to tho king, whoso proclamation had JUBt been promulgated. Vory soon thoy discovered their error. The British RoglBter of 177G snya: "The rebels burnt tho klng'B speech and changed their colors from a plain red ground to n flag with 13 Btripes as u symbol of their union of 13 colonies." SQUIBS AND CRACKERS A man may exhibit a brdad flag and still be a poor patriot. if a man Ib honest thoro Ib no need to worry ubout his puttlotlsm. A dog hiding under n shed Is a poor Blgu of a Glorious Fourth. Next to n beautiful girl, the merl can flag Is tho prettiest, thing in the world, Every man ought to bo proud of Ma country, and no man should (bo' too proud to work for It. I flitf 'L?S m i2 r sJ MS SNJW.'-XMiri&TSj tie :u M? Jtf. V i ' "itt&fmtmrit
