0
ADDRESS
DELIVERED AT P4T74108W,
- ON TELIC 2-1!'
NINETEENTH OF NOVEISTETIii
AT THE
CONSECRATION OF THE CEMETERY
PREPARED
,FOR TRR
•iNTIRME.Nt OF'THE REMAINS
OF THOSE -
Y l •
holell on The Ist, .2ntl, and and of July
I •
t THE BATTLE.% AT THAT PLACE.
BY EDWARD EVER ETT
, ---;11 was appointed by law, in Athens, that
*Alke Obsequies of the citizens who fell in bat-
Ate , should be performed at the public ex
.oense, and in the most honorable manner.
!Their bones_werecarefully gathered up from
the funeral pyre, where .their _bodies were
ognsumed, and brought licene to the city.
"Were, for three days_bethre the interment,
llerlay in state, beneath ' tents of honor, to
+deceive the, votive offerings of friends and;
;,,-dowers,—flowers, weapons, p precious orna•
- s tneots, painted vases (wonders of art, which
after two thousand years, adorn the museums
lintodern Europe,) the last tributes of sur
'ilirfvhig affection. 'ten cops of funeral cy
&press received the honorable deposit, .one for
lof the tribes of the city, and an, elev , .
i c ti in memory of the unrecogised, but not,.
unhonored„dead, and of those
Orliose remains could not berecovered. .Ou
kthe fourth' day the mournfcl procession was
formed ; mothers, ivives,•sisters, daughters,
the way, and to them it was permitted,
4 Ty'ihe simplicity of ancient manners, to ut
4er aloud their lamentations -for the beloved
ilind the lost. The.male relatives of the de
++Ned followed ; citizens and strangers (dos- -
as
* iid the train. Thus marshalled they moved
*ln' the place of interment in that famous
iVeramicus,. the most beautiful suburb 'of
-413bens. which had been adorned by Cimon,
,Itlr son of Miltiades, with walks -and foun
tains and columns ; whose groves were filled
* iiith altars, shrines, and. temples ; whose
fltitisdens were over green with streams fr
the neighborinm e' hills, and shaded wi '
trees sacred to Minerve, and eoev -
fourniation'of the city, when ' r
"the olive grov f Academe
Plato's retirement, where e
tluelt-trarb noto CM the mutineer big,"
-2110los e pathwaids gleamed with the . monu
av ments of the illustrious dead, the work of
c x.,•
most consumate ;masters that ever gave
• life to marble. There beneath the 'pverarch4
Aqg plane trees, upoii a lofty stage erected
tr the purpose, it was ordainony law that
'funeral oration shoal be pronounced by
some citizen of Athens,. in the presence of
4 - , t ike'assembred multitude. - .
,:fuch were the tokens of respect required
11cr law to be paid at. Athens to the memory
hilt. those who had fallen in the cause of their
pikinntry. To those'alone who fell at Mara
• thon a peculiar honor was reserved. As the
battle fought upon that immortal field vies
'-Itistinguished from - all others in Grecian his
'•'V ry for its 'influence over the fortunes of
liellas; as it depended upon thd event .of
N ithat day whether Greece should live a glory
f,iid a light to all coming time, or should
piie like the meteor of a moment; so the
--A-Jtoners awarded to its' martyr-heroes were
us were bestowed by Athens on no other
occasion. They alone of all he , r sans were
liattombed upon the spot, which they had for :
er' rendered famous. Their nanie:s were,
—inscribed upon ten pillars erected upon the
monumental tumulus which covered -their
ashes. (where; after six hundred years, they
' l, lotarelread by the; traveller Pauaanias;) and
[Although the columns, beneath the. hand of
jsarbaric violence and time,-have long since
tappeared, the venerable mound still marks
spot where they fought and fell:
"I‘ "That battle-field, where Persia's victim horde.
First bowed beneath the brunt of Rolla,' sword:"
And shall I fellow-citizens, who, after an
;taterval - of twenty-three centuries, n'youth
.4ll.ll pilgrim from a world unknown to ancient
14reece, have wandered over that illustrious
: , q„Oain, ready to put the shoes from 'off my
. 1 -;et, a one that stands on holy ground have
•'igaze4l with respectful emotion on the mound
'• ifhich still protects the remains of those who
.'h tilled back the, tide of Persian invasion, and
'-rescued the land of popular liberty, of-letters
• and arts from the ruthleis foe,fstand unniov 7
to* over the graves of our f dear - bretheren,
cx‘rho but
yesterday—on three of those all
•Omportantdays which decide a nation's hi -
~
.lory--days on - Whose issues: is depen6d,-
- "Orliether this august republican Union, fonn
:lled by some of the wisest statesmen that
trAiirsz lived, cemented with the blood of some
' isff; the purest. patriots that ever died, should
ierish or endure, rolled back the tide of an
:Invasion. not less unprovoked, not less ruth
less, than that which came to plant the dark
- "fanner of -Asiatic deSpotism and slavery on
' Atli free soil of Greece ? Heaven forbid !
7." And could "I prove ao insensible `to every
'prompting of patriotic duty and affection,
s'Atot.only would you, fellow citizens, gather
- ,44, many of- you, from distant States, wile
.. have Come to take part in there pious offices
it gratitude—you-xespeeted fathers, brethern;
84 kiatroris, sisters, who surround me, cry out
c.itihr slutrne, but the forms of brave and patri
otic men who fillilese honoredgraves Vould
~- heave with indignation beneath the sod.
"' -° -We haVe assembled, friends, fellow-citi-
Aens,At the invitation of the Executive of
5 'Abe great Central State of Pennsylvania,
nded by the Governors of eighteen other,
- Q. States of the Union, to pay the last
,r
. bate of respect to the brave men Who, in
grille hardfought battles of theist, 2d, and 8d
&Alleys of July last, laid down their lives for
si*e country on-these hill-sides and the pl ai 4
21 greed out before us; and.whOse remains have
Seen gathered into the cemetery which we
::iltintiecrate this day. Aermy eye ranges over
the fields whose sods were so lately moisten
-1.,,ed by the blocid of gallant and loyal men, I
feel, as never before, how truly it was said
1- it old that it is sweet and becoming to die
«Jim' one's country. I fed, Jas never before,
I..jkow. justly ; from the dawn of history to the
~,,kresent time, men have
. paid the homage, Of
tlieir gratitude and admiration to - the mem
'error those who nobly 'sacrifice their lives
that their fellow men rmay live in safety.
LAind if 'this tribute were ever due, when—to
Arhom--could it be more justly paid than to.
,itiose whose last resting clitee we' this day
'isommend to the blessing of Heaven and of
f • s:Fur consider, my friends, what would have
teen the consequericeslto the,country, to your
selves, and, to all you hold denr, if those who
,eleep beneath onr feet, a their gallant coin;
who survive tto serve their bountry on
" ii#h*r fields of danger, hadtailed in their fluty
/ I - in, -those memorable .days: , - 1 -Consider whit:,
h itihis moment, would be , the condition of
"'theNnited Siite, if fthat - noble Army,of the
' ' PtitOmac, instead of gallantly' and for the
#- - wicond time beating back the tide of invasion
- ;:from Mar:7land and Pennsylvania,had been
• "Itsfelf driven from 'thine well contested Neighs;
`ilditoWn back in confitsion on Baltimore; :or
diseonaitted r sesitteredtothe
boar winds. What andeithevirctunitances,
would not wave bin the fate
,of the Idonu
wntal Gitkof,Tfarrieb , ,of Philadelphia,
e r
lat NVashington-- - th'e Gil al .ef`lhe'llniolt—;
eacitand every One of w la valid have lain
•
a$ theirnerei:of the en ,- - aecordingly as it
'flight hairer pleaied hir, spurred. „only by.
passion; fLushed'with viCtory; , . and confident
of continued success, tci direct his course?
For this;'we must bear in mind, it is one
of the greateSt lea ' ns Of the war. indeed of
,revery war) that it is iMpossible •for a people
without military organization, inhabiting the
cities, town, and - villages of an open country'
including t of course, th natural_ propprtion,
of 'non-combatants of ..e the!. sex and Of every,
1 age, to witlistind the - linroad of - a veteran'
army. What defence can be Made by ihe
inhihitantslof villages mostly bui i lt of 'iood . ,
of 'cities Unprotected by ivalls,'nay,_by, a pop;
ulation of men, hqweyqriliighttoned and ='
olute, whose aged parents demand their care;
whose wives and chi en. are clusteringabout them, against th charge of the War
horse whose neck is cl thed with thunder,
against flying artillery, andlatteries of rifled
cannon planted on eve y aimumnding emi
nenee, against thd onset of pained veterans
led‘,hy skilful chiefs ? No, My friends, army
mint be met by army ; !battery by battery - ;
squalion by squadron, end ;the shock of or
garized thousands niult be encountered by
the firm breasts and valiant arms of other
thousands, as well organized and as skilfully
led. Itis no reproach, therefore, to the un
armed population of the country to suy , that
we owe it to, the brave rlen who sleep in their
beds 'of honor before us and their gallant sur
viving associates, not merely that your fer
tile flelds,_my friends f Pennsylvania and
Maryland, were rode i ed from the presence,
of the invader, but tha your beautiful capi
tals were not given up t threatened plunder ) ,
perhaps laid in ashes Washington se"z6d
by the enemy, and a blow strucl it= .the
heart of the nation.
Who that hears me h. fo •of
of joy that ran through
4th of July—auspici..s rl
tidings, and Ten • i
simultaneon: "al'
telegrapl 1 r
lance r
• t''
,dtten the thrill
.. country
_on the
„,..4Alday for the glorious
red st 11 more so by The
1(11 of Vi ksbur . , !---when the
ached throng the land the assur
_*u the President f the United States
,,Art the , Army of the li)tomac, under Gen.
Meade, had again smttten the invader ?
Sure I am that, with the ascriptions of praise
that rose to-Heaven froth twenty, millions of .
freemen„ -with the tic iowledgments , that
breathed from patrioticlips throughout - the
, i 1
length and-breadth of . merica to the' sur
viving officers and men who had rendered
the-countrY-this - inesti ble
_service, there
beat in every loyal boson& a .throb of tender
and sorrowful gratitude t the martyrs who
had fallen on the sternly contested field. Let,
a nation'a fervent_thank - simake some amends
for the toils and sufferings of thoae who sur
vive. _Would that the h artfelt tribute could
penetrate these. honored, raves !
In order that we may omprehend, to their
full extent,: our obligations to the martyrs
and surviving heroes df the Array of tho
Potomac, let us - contem late for a few mo
ments, my friends,-the t ain of events, which
culminated in the buttl
~ o f the Ist, 2nd, and,
witli the
4Suit - enclos-
3d of July. Of this s
I
planned, as itkoriginato i
thirty years ago,' maul.
during an entire generat i
cc,td because, for the first
Lion of the Constitution,
ident had been effected IA
the South (which reta
control of the two of
-,.er -
Govnment,)' the occup
capital; with the' seizure
and of the treaties with
an essential feattirili
within my personal_knol
the winter Of 186 U-1, bY
fluential leaders of the
fondly thought that this object could be of 7
r l
fected by a bold and s dden movement on.
the 4th of March,' MI. There is abundant
proof also.that a darker moject,_was contem
plated. if not by the res onsible chief of the
rebellion, yet by namele s ruffians, willing to
play a subsidiary and m irderous part in the
treasonable drama. It w s accordingly main
tained by the rebel emisAaries abroad, in the
circles to which they found access, that the
nets American minister i r Light not, when, he
arrived, to be received exilic envoy of :the
United States, inasmuch] as - before that time
WashingtOn would be captured, and the
Capital of the Nation und the archives and
muniments of the Govermnt;nt - would be in
the possession - of the C( nfederates. In full
accordance also, with th S threat; it was 'de,.
dared by the rebel S cretary of War; ht,
Ilmigomery, in the pre once of his ehiefand
of his colleagues, and o five thousand hear
ers, while the tidings of the assault of Sumter
were travelling over the wires on that fatal
12th of April, 1861, th i at before the end of
May "the flag, which now flaunted -in the
breeze (as he expressed it) would Roar over
the,doihe of the Capitol at Washington."
At the time this threat was made the re
hellion was confined to, the cotton growing
States, and it was well understood ,by them
that the only hope o r drawing any of the
other slavel4olding States into the conspiracy
was by bringing . üboUt, a conflict of arms,
and "firing the heart of the-South" by the
effusion of blood. This vas declared by the
Charleston press to be the object for which
Sumter was to be assaulted, and the emissar
ies sent from ItichmmWto urge on the uit 7
hallowed work gave th l e liiromise that, with
the first drop of blood hat should be shed,
Virginia would place illertelf by_ the side Of
South Carolina., i • - I I ‘
In pursuance of thig original plan of the
leaders of the rebellion the capture of Wash
ington has been continhally had in View,inet
merely for the sake, oflts public buildingp,as
the capital of the ConfederacY, but as the
neceSsary preliminary to the absorption of the
border States. and for the•moral effect in the
eves of Europe of possfressing the metropolis
of the Union. , I
I allude to these fac , -not perhaps enough ,
berne - in mind, as a s relent refutation of
,:r.
the pretence' on the pat of the'rebels that the
war is c.ne of self-d fence, waged for the
right of self governrnnt.. It is in reality a
war originally levied by ambitious nien in
i l,
the cotton-growing St test for the purpose of
drawing the slavebold' ng border States into
the vortex of theleonspiracy,. first brsympasl
thy, which, in ;the, 3ase of Southeastern
Virginia, north Carolina, part of Tennessee,
and Arkansas, spcceeded; and then lip forte,
and for the' - purpose of subjtigating Western
Virginia,- Kentucky, I Eastern. Tennessee,
Missouri, and Marylarld; • and it is a most ei
traordinary fact,. consdering the_elarnOis'of
the rebel 'chiefs onhe subject' of invasion,
that not a soldier of the' United; States has
entered the States last; named/ exefilit -to de
fend their Union,doving; inhabitants from
',the armies and guerrilla& of' the 'rebels: ,
~ 'ln conformity
,with, these designs -on tbe
pity of Washington, and totwitlistandingthe
disastrous result& of t to invasion' of ,lf-fd4„ 'lt
was determined by • he rebel
,cioyermnent
last summer to resum the offensive in that
direction: Unable ' force -the paimagefof
-the Rappahannock wliere,ClenAlooker, not
withstanding the reverse at chancellorsville
in May, was strongly4orited; -We epnredeiate
general resorted to strategy: He hitil 'two
objects in view : - 'pie list Was by's ntpill
movement n z ortlitiard . tutd;,by manyviVg
franklin tlepoitor dee ember 2, 1863.
=I
With a portion 44-0 famy on the east side of
Wire*lige, tie , :tempilloooker from his base
prApetatlppsi`thus leading him to uncover
-the approaehes:id - Washingtecn, to throw it. ,
peen to Erraid - by Stuart's cavalry, and-enable'
Lee "-himself to cross the Potomac in the '
treighborlidod :of Pciolcaville and thus fall
Akin the capital. This plan of operations
was wholly frustrated. The design- of the
rebel general was promptly - discovered by
Gen. Hook eri rind; moving himself with great
'rapidity from : FrederiCksbiarg, 'he-preserved'
!unbroken- the inner - find - and stationed the '
various corps of his,army at all the points
rproteating the approachth,Washingtorr, frOm -
;Centreville up to Lees Fro
gas van
tage ground the - rebel general' irivaiii - at
temptedl to / draw. hin; Ift.the rii4tntiraer hy
Vigoreiti'Opetatiohs Of Pleasonton's cavalry;
. the: cavalry - of Stuart; 04orel greatly superior
in uurnbers,_ was so crippled as to by disabled
',frOm_Perforrnithe partassignedLit -in the
Campaign. In this manner Gen. Lee's , first
'object, viz:4ll6l-clefeitt of Hooker's army on
the south of-the Potpmae and a direct march
on Washington, was baffled. ,
The second part of the Confederate plan,
and - which ii supposed to have beek under
taken in opposition to the views of Gen. Lee,
was to turn the demonstration northward
into a real invasion of Maryland and P9 -n•
sylvania, in the hope that, in this way.{Gen.
Hooker would be drawn to a diAnfice from
the capital; that some opport y would oc
cur of-taking him at disar antage, and,. after
defeating his army. o aking a - ileseent upon
Baltimore and W-6ihington. This part of
Gen. Lee's pl , which was'substaiitiallythe
repetition -that of 1862, was not less signal
ly del ed, with what honor to the arms of
t nion the heights on which we are this
' ay assembled will fotever attest.
—Much time had beeau-selcsh; consumed by
the rebel general in his :Unavailing attempts
tO out manoeuvre Gen. Hooker. Although
Gen. Lee broke up, fram Frederick-burg on
the 3d. of June, it was not till. the 24th that
the main,body of his army entered Maryland,
and instead of - crossing the Potomac, as he
had intend ed, eat of the, Blue Ridge, he was
compelled to do it at
,Shepherdstown and
:Williamsport, thus materially deranging his
entire plan of campaign north of the river.
Stuart, who had,-heen sent with his cavalry
to the east of the Blue ridge, to guard the
passes of the, mountains, to mark the move
ments of Lee, and to harrase the Union Gen
eral in crossing the river, having been, very
severely handfed by Pleasanton at Beverly
Ford, Aldie and Upperville, instead of being
able to retard Gen. Hooker's advance, was
driiren himself away from his connection with ,
the army"of - Lee, and cut off for a fortnight '
from all communication-with it; a eireuni
stanecto which -Gen. Lee, in his ,report, al
ludes
more than once, with evident displeas- '
ure: Let us now rapidly glance at the ,in
cidents of the eventful campaign.
A detachment from Ewell's corps, under
Jenkins, had penetrated on the 15th of July
as far as bhambersbnrg. This movement
E.was intended at first merely as a demonstra- '
tion, and as a marauding expedition for sup
plies. It had, however, the salutary effect
of alarming the country, and vigoloits prepa- '
rations here in Pennsylvania and inihe sister
fates were made to repel the inroad. After
two days passed in ChamherSburg, Jenkins,
anxious for his communications with Ewell,
fell•back with hi's plunder to Hagerstown.
Here he remained for several days, and,
having swept the recesses of Cumberland
Valley, came down upon the eastern flank of
the South Mountain, and pushed his maraud
ing parties - as - far as Waynesboro. On the
-22d the remainder of- Ewell's -corpi crossed
the river and moved up, the Valley. They
were followedon the 21th by Longstreet and
Hill. who crossed at IVilliamsport arid ,Shep
herdstown, - awl, pushing up the Valley, en
.camped. at Chhtiabersbur,g on thaitfitla. In
this .way. the whole rebel arjny, estimated:at
00,000 infantry, upwards of 10,000 cavalry.
and 4,000 or 5,0,/0 artillery, making a total
of 105,000 of all arms, was concentrated in
Pennsylvania.
Up to this time no report of Hooker's
movementso had been received- by Gen. Lee:
.who baying been deprivtd of his cavalry had
no means of obtaining information. -Right
ly judging, however: that no time would be
lost by the Union army in the-pursuit; in or
der to detain it on the eastern side of the.
Mountain in Maryland and Pennsylvania, and
thus preserve his communication by way-of
Williamsport, he had, • before hisown arrival
'at: Chumbersburg. directed Ewell to send de
tailments• from his corps to Carlisle - and
York. The. latter detachment under Early
passed through this placeon the 26th of Juries
You need not, fellow-citizens of Gettysburg,
that I should recall to you those moments of
alarm and distresS, precursors as they were of
the more trying scenes which were soon to
follow. - •
upendous rebellion,
rs boast, - more than
led and prepared for
on, finally ccimingii-'
1 .
time since tag adop
, an election - of Pres-;
without tli votes of
rued, however, the
(lan
Or branches of the:
I don of the national
f the public arcki ves
foreign powers, was
1 is was in substance;
ledge,admitted; in;
,
y' pof the most in 4
ebellion; and , it_was
1,3
As soon as Gen. HoOkererceived that the
adVance of the Confederates into the Cum
berland Valley was not a mere feint to draw
him away from Washington, he moved him
self rapidly in pursuit. Attenipts, as we
have seen, were
_made - to harass and retard his
.passage acrom the Potoinac. These attempts
were not only altogether unsuccessful, but so
unskillfully made, as to place the entire
'Federal. army between the cavalry of Stuart
and the army of Lee. While the latter was
massed in the Cumberland Valley, Stuart wits.
east of the mountains, with Hooker's army.
between, and Gregg's cavalry in*Se pur
,.uit. Stuart was aceordingty eonVelled to
_force a march northward, which was destt
lute of all strategical character, and which
deprived his chief of all means of obtaining.
intelligence.
No time, as we have seen, had been lost by
.Gen. Hooker in the pursuit of Leo. The day
after the rebel army entered Maryland, the
Union army crossed the• Potomac at Edward's
Ferry and Frederic:l. The force of the ene
my on that day waspartly at Chambersburg,
and partly moving on the Cashtown road, in
the direction of Oettysharg, while the ,
de
tachments from Ewell's corps, of which men
tion has been made, had reached the Susque
hanna, opposite Harrisburg. and Columbia.
That. a great battle must soon be fought, no
one could doubt, but in. the apparent and
:perhaps real atisende of- plan on the part, of
,Lee, it Ras impo - ssible_to foretell the prebise
scene of the encounter. Wherever fought,
consequences the most momentous hung upon
the result... 1
In this critical and anxious state Of affairs,
Gen. Hooker was relieyy ~ dd and Gen. Meade:
was summoned to theehief command of
~the
army, and it appe to niy untnilitary judg
- went to reffectthalighest credit upon him,,
upon his ,predecessor, and upon the corps
comnianders.of 'the Army of the Potomae,'
that, a Change could take place in the chief
cornmaiid of splarge a force on the eve of a
general.battlei—the various Corps" necessarily
moving-on lines some what divergant, and all
in ignorance of the enemy's intended point'
of concentration, and not an ,hour's hesita
tion Should ensue in the advance of any-por
tion 'of the_ enemy's . army.
-Having &knit ed the chief command on the
28th, Gen. .Meade.directed his left wing un
der ,Zeynolds npon Ernmettshurg, and his
right wing upon New Windsor, leaving den.
'Freich , With 11,000 men to : protect the Bal
tirriore and :Ohio' railroad, and convey the
public propertyfrozn Harpekl Ferry t9Wastil‘
ington. ord*navr*Vas then at this
tWiover } where n ho,
encountered ninidefeatedfthe teat of Stuart%
Cavalry, who was roving the country in.search'
of the main army of Lee. ibn the rebelside,
Hill had reached, • Fayettefille.on the; Cash
town road; on the 28th, and was.followed - on
the same road by Longstreet on the 29th.
The eastern side of the mountain, asseee from
Gettysburg, was lighted, up at night by the
camp fires of the entnny's advance, and. the
cauritrySWarmed with hia foraging parties.
'lt was' now - too evident tote questioned that
the thunder cloud, so long gathering black
-neSs,*ould*oornbuist On - some part of the
devoted vicinity of-14ettysbug.
The 30th of June was a day of 'important
prepiliarioti At' 111- in- thi3:. morning, Gen.
Buford passed through Gettysburg, upon a
rd'ecirfitoisanch. forte:With his cavalry u
the Chamberabnrg road. The information'
ohtained by itiniwas immediatelyprninunita
ted to Gen. Reynolds, who was,niconsequenee
direeted to occupy Gettysburg. _That gal
lant officer aecordin t , with the Ist corps,
marched' from_ mettsburg to within_six or
seven miles this glace, and encamped on
the rigliebank of Marsh's' Creek. • Our right
wtug - meantime Was moved tallanchester.
On the same day, thecorps of Hill and Long
street were pushed still further forward on
the Chembersburg road, and distributed in
the vicinity of Marsh's Creek, while a recon
noisance -was made by the Confederate Gen
eral PettigreW up to a very short distance
from this place. Thus, at nightfall on the
30th of Juno, the greater part of the rebel
force was concentrated in'the in vi
cinity of two corps of the Union army, the
former. refreshed by two days passed in com
parative repose and deliberate preparation
for the encounter, the latter, separated by a
march of one or two days froth their suppOrt
ino• corps, and dot btfnl atwhat precise point
teey were to expeot an Attack.
And now the momentous day, a day to be
forever remembered in the annals of the coun
try, arrived. Early in. the morning on the
Ist, of July the conflict began. Need I not
say that it would • be impossible for me 'to
comprise; within the limits of the hour, such
a narrative.as would do anything like full
justice to the all-important events of these
three great day's, or to the merit of the brave
'officers and men.of every rankiof every arm
of the service, and - of every loyal State, who
bore their part in the trernelidous struggle;
—alike those who nobly sacrificed their lives
for their country, and those who survive,
many of them scarred with honorable wounds
-the objects of our admiration and gratitude.
The astonishingly minute, accurate, and
graphic accounts contained in the journals - of
the day, prepared fromTersonal observation
by reporters who witnessed the scenes and
often shared the perils which' they describe,
and the highly valuable " Notes' of Prof.
Jacobs of the University in this place, to
which I amsreatly indebted, Will abundant
ly.supply the deficiency of my necessarily too,
condensed statement.*
- General Reynolds,. -0 , 1 arriving at Gettys-I,
burg in the morning of the Ist, found Bu-'
ford with 'his cavalry warmly engaged with
the enemy, whom he held most gallantly in
check. Hastening himself to the front, Gen- -
eral Reynolds directed his men to be moved
over the fields from the'Ernmettsburg road,
,in front of McMillan's and Dr. Sehmucker's,
'under cover of the Seminary Ridge, and,
without-a moment's,hesitation, attacked the
enemy, at the seine - lime sending orders to
the 11th corps (General Howard's) to advance
as promptly as possible. General Reynolds
immediately found. himself engaged with a
force which greatly outnumbered his own,
and had scarcely made -his dispositions - for
the action when he fell, mortally wounded,
at the head of his advance. • The command
of the'lst corps devolved on General Doub
leday and that of the'field on General How
ard, Viho arrivedat 11.3Wwith Schurz and
Barlow's divisions of the llth corps, the let
ter of whom received a severe wound. Thus
strengthened, the advantage of the battle
was fur some time on our side. The attacks
of the rebels were vigorously repulsed by
Wadiworth's division of the 11th corps, and
largea number of prisoners, including Gen
eral Archer, were captured. At length,
however, the continuedforcements of
the Confederates front thAlain body on
• the Cashtowh road, and by the divisions of,
'Rhodes and Early, coming down by separate
lines from Heidiersburg and taking post 'on
our ext.renie right, turned the ,fortunes of
the day. Our army, after conte`eting the
ground for five hours; was obliged' to yield
to the enemy, whose forces outnumbered,
them two to one, and toward the close of the
afternoon General Howard deemed it pru
dent to withdraw the two corps to the heights
where we are now asseinbled. The greater
part of the Ist corps passed through-the out
skirts of the town, and reached the hill with
out serious lose or molestation. The 11th
corps and portions of the lstnnbt being aware
that the enemy had already entered the town
from the north, attempted to force their way
through Washington and Baltimore streets,
which in the crowd and confusion of the
Scene, they did with a heavy loss in prisoners.
• General Howard w,as not unprepared for
this turn in the fortunes of the day. Early
in the morning he had caused Cemetery Hill
to be occupied by General Steinwehr, with
the 3d division of the 11th corps. About
the time of the withdraWal of our troops to
the hill General, Hancock, arrived, having
been sent by General Meade, on hearing - the
death of Reynolds, to assume the command
of the field till he himself could reach the
front. In conjunction with General How
ard, General Hancock immediately proceed
ed to post troops and to repel an attack on
*Besides the source of informatioti , , mectioned in the
text, I have been kindly favored a ith a memorandum of
the operations of the three days, drawn up 6m- me by
rectum of Mal. Gen. illeadeganticipating the promulga
tion of his official report) by one of hie hides, Col. Theo
dore Lyman, front whom 'nisei have received other im
portant communicatk;ns relative -to the campaign.
have received very valuable documents relative to the
battle from filsj. Gem Ilaßeck, Commander-in-Chief of
the army • and have been much assisted in drawing up
the sketeh of the campaign by the detailed reports,
kindly tranimitted to me in manuscript from the -Chu
tantlleneral's office, of the movements of every corps of
the army, for each day, after the breaking up from'
PredericksbUrg commenced. I have derived much assis
tance from Col. - Jelin B. Baehelder's Ural explanations of
-his beautiful and minute drawing (about lobo engraved)
of the lield of the three days.' struggle. -• With the infor
mation derived frau these sources. I have comp.tred the
statements in Gen.,Lee's official report of the campaign,
dated 31st. July, 1863; a well written article purporting,
-to be an aecutint of the three days' battle, in the Rich
mond Enquirer of the 22d of July ; and the article on
"The Battle of Gettysburg and the Campaign Of Penn
"'sylvania," by an officer, apparently tt Wend, in the
British army, in "IllackwoOd's Magazine" for September.
The value of the Information cent alined in this last essay
may 13C seen by comparinithe remark. under dale 27th
of June, that "private property is to be rigidly protect
ed,'t with the stat:tnent in the next sentence but one,
that "all the cattle and farm horses having been seized
by Byron, farm labor had come to a campletp }Land attn.":
lie also, under date of 4th July, ;peaks of Lee's retreat
being encumbered by" ];well's inuittnte train of pion
des." This writer infottnn us that, on,the evening of the
4 th July, helleard "reports coming in from - the dint eat
govrals that the enemy (Wade's army) was retiring
and had been doing so ail day long." At a consultation
ac headquarters on the ,4th between Oen& Lee, Long-,
street, 11111 and Wilcox. this vrriter. was told by' F 013113
one,yrboie name he prudently Laves in blank, that the
army had no intention at present of retrimi ing for good.
and that - same of the - oneuty's dispatches had been inter
cepted, in which the following wordsocctir : "The noble
but tinfortilnate Army 01 the :Potomac has again been
obliged to retreat before tozpotioi ntimberil" I mach
regret that ilea. Meade's, official report was,not publish
ed season' to enable me to take fall advantage of it in
preparing the brief ehetch . .ef the battles of the thtee
dri,*B Contained In this addr e ss, It reached .mo bat the
-morning Wore these pigei *areaeatao•the Pride. ' •
our right Ai*. This attack was feebly
re,,ade And- lirim:Ugly. repulsed. At nigh Wall
our tro9ps on the:ol, who had so gallantly'
snstained:theniselint during the toil and per
/ref the 'nay, ..ivere.9heered by the arrival of
General Slocum With the 12th corps, and of
GeneralSieklea vvithn part of the '
Such was the fortui4of the first day, com
mencing with a decided Success - to our arms,
followed by a check, but ending in the ()pu
pation of this all-important position. To
you, fellow-citizens of Gettysburg, I need
not Attempt to' portray the anxieties of-the
ensuing night. Witnessing , as had done
with, sorrow the withdrawal of. our army
through your,„' stfeets, with a considerable
loss of Pris,_ oners; 'mourning as you did over
the brave men who had fallen; shocked with
the4ide-spread desolation around- you, of
which the wanton burningof the Harmon
-house in the - morning had given the signal;
igmirant. of the near approachof General
Meade, you passed the' weary hours of the
night in painful expectation.
•
Long before the daWn of the 2d.of July,
the new 'commander-ih-chief had arrived at
the front. Having received intelligence of
the'events in progress. and informed by the
report:Sof Generals Hancock and_Howard of
the .favorable character of the position, he
determined to give battle to_the ,enemy at'
this point. He accordingly directed the re
maining-corps of the army to concentrate. at
Gettysburg with all possible expedition, anc.
breaking up his headquarters at Taneytowi!
'at 10 P. M., he arrived on the field at one
o'clock in the morning of the 2d of July.,
Few were the moments given to sleep, dur
ing the rapid watches, of that brief midsum
mer's night, by officers or men, though half
of our troops were exhausted by the conflict
of the day, and the residue wearied by the
forced marches which had brought them to
the rescue: The full moon, veiled by thin
cloudsJhono down that night on a strangely
unwonted scene—the __ silence of the grave
yard was broken 'by the heavy tramp of
armed men; by the neigh of the war-horse,
the harsh rattle - of the wheels of artillery
I hurrying to their stations, the voice of the
bugle, the rollof the driim, andel' the inde
sCribable tumult of preparation s The -Vari
ous corps of the army as they arrived were
moved to their positions on the spot where
we are assembled, and the ridges that extend
south=east and south-west; 'batteries -were
planted and breastworks thrown up.- - The
2d and sth corps, with the rest of the-3d, had
reached the ground* by 7 o'clock, A. M., but
it was not till 2 'O'clock in' the afternoon that
Sedgwick arrived with the 6th corps. He
had marched thirty two miles since 9 o'clock
in the morning
~ of the day before.. It Was
only on his arrival that the Union army at
tained en eqUaßty of numbers with that of
the rebels; posted anon the Opposite and par
allel ridges distant fr im a mile - tolt mile and
a half, and overlapping our position -on ei
ther wing.
And here I cannot but remark on the pro
vidential inaction of the rebel army.' Had
the contest been renewed by it nt daylight
on the second of July,-with the Ist and 11th
corps exhausted by the 'battle and. the re: ,
treat; the 3d and 'l2th weary from their'
forced niarch ; and the 2d, bth, and 6th not
yet arrived, nothing but a miracle could
have saved the army fromdestruction. In
stead of this, the day dawned, the sun rose,
the cool hours of the morning passed.'the,
forenoon wore away without the slightest
aggressive movement on the part of the - en
emy. Thus time was giVen for- half of our
forces to arrive and take their place in the
line, while the rest of the,army enjoyed a.
much needed half day's repose.
'At length, between 3 an 4 4 o'clock in the
afternoon, the work of death began. A sig
nal 'gun from the hostile batteries was fol
lowed by a tremendous cannonade along the
rebel lines, and this by a heavy advance of
infantry, :brigade after bried et; cotiamencing
on, the 'enemy's right-against the-left of our
army, and so toward the left centre. A for
ward movement of Gen. Sickles, to gain a
commanding position from which to repel
the rebel attack; drew upon him a destruc
tive fire from the enemy's batteries,' and a_
furious assault from Longstreet's and Hill's
advancing troops. After a brave resistance
on the part of-his corps, he was forced back,
himself falling severely wounded. - This was
the critical moment of the second day; but the
sth ned part of the 6th corps, with portions
of the I:st and f& were promptly brought to
the support of the 3d; the struggle was fierce
and murderous, but, by sunset our Rica% s Was
'decisive and ie enemy was driven back in
confusion. The most important 'service was
rendered toward the close of the day, in the'
day, in the, memorable advance, between
Round Top and Little Round, Top, by Gen.
Crawford's division of the sth corpt, consist
ing of two brigades, of the Pennsylvania, Re
serves, of which one company Was from the
town and neighborhood. .Tbe rebel Gen.
Barksdale fell in thrs encounter, and his force
was driven back with great loss in killed and
prisoners. At 8 ".o'clock in the evening a
;desperate attempt:was made by the enemy, to
storm the position_ of the .11th corps, on
Cemetery Hill, but here, too, after a terrible
conflict, he was repulted with immense loss.
Ewell, on our extreme right, which had been
weakened by the withdrawal of the troops;
sent over to support our left, had succeeded'
in gaining a foothold within a portion ofour.
lines, near Spangler's Spring. This was the'
only advantage obtained by, the rebels to
compensate them for the disasters of the day,
and of this, as we shall see,:they were soon,
deprived. -
Such was the result of the second act of
this eventful drama; a day hard fought, and
at, one moment anxious, and, with the excep
tion of the slightreversejnst - narned, crowned.
'with dearly-earned. but - uniform, success to:
our arms, auspicious of a glorious termination;
of the final struggle. On these' good oniens .
the night fell.
At dawn of the ad, General Geary return
ed to his position on the rigkt; from which
he had hastened the daybeforis to strengthen
the left. He was immediately attacked by
the enemy, whom, howev'er, after a
,sharp
and decisive action, be drove out of our lines, ,
' recovering the ground; Which had been lost
on the preceding day.. A. spirited contest.
was kept up all.the morning on this part of
thd line, but General Geary,: reinforced by
Wheaton's hri e ,vade of Ithe 6th corps, main
stainedhispositlon, and, inflicted, very severe
'losses on the enemy,
Such was the cheering cormnericanent of
the third day's'work, and with .it..9nded, all :
seridu,s attempts Of the enemy 'on- our ;right.
As on the preceeding day, his
,efforts were
now mainly dirededligainit- our leftfeentre
,and left wlng. From eleven till, half-past'
one o'clock, all, was still; a solemn pause of:
preparation, asif both`-parties were nerving
themselves , for iheinpreme effort. .N.t length
the awful silence, more terrible than the"
wildest tumult of battle, ',was broken by the;
roar of 250 pieces of artillery from the oppo-;
site ridges joining fri i'eminonade'of unsur
passed violenne, the rebel batteries alotig two
thirds a their line pouring' their 'lre upon
Cemetery .Hill and the:ventre and left wing,
of our army. Having attempted in this way
for two hours, but with Out success, to shake,:
'the steadiness of ourlinea, the enemy rallied!
• his torees for a last- grandl. assault.
attack was principally directed against-thi,
,„
positionWelli#d"*PC' Successivelinm of
rebeL infantry reetvedllirward with equal
- spirit. and - steadiness, frinn their cover on the
wooded crest saf Mify Ridge, crossing
the =intervening plain, supported right ,and
left'by their choicest hrigadm, and charged
furiously up to -our. - batteries. Our own =
brave troops of the 2d corps, supp or t e d b y
Doubleday 's division and Stannard's brieadst, -
of the Ist, received the shock with fiinra le i*,
the ground on both sides was long and fierce
lYcont6ted, and covered with the killed and
'wounded, till after - . ..ratletermlned and gilt.
lent struggle," as it is pronounced by 43 ; 0 1 .
liee, the rebel advance, consisting of 'two
thirds of Hill's corps'and the whole of Louisa
street's, including Pickett's division,,theektii
of his corps, which had not yet been under
fire, and was now depended upon to decide
the fortune of this last eventful day, was d&
yen' back - with ,prodigious slnj~ghter,,iiisco n,
fited,:andfbroken. While' these events Aisle
itfprogreSS at our le ft centre, the-enerntwas
driven by the Pennsylvania Reservesfrom a
strong position on our extreme left, from
which he was annoying our force on Little
Round Top," his battery taken, and,throa
hundred prisoners captured. In the terrilt,*
assault on our centre, - Gees. Hancock and
Gibbon were wounded.' In the rebel era., •
Artnistead, Kemper, Pettigrew, and Tritabfis -
were'wounded, the first named mortally, :the
latter also made prisoner; while Gen, Gar ,
nett was killed, and thirty-five hundied'ot -
.ficers and men made prisoners.-
These were the expiring agonies .of: tiro
_three day's conflict,' and with them the bai-.
tie ceased. It Was fought by. the Union ar
my with courage and skill, from the first.
cavalry skirmish on Wednesday morning td
the fearful rout of the enemy on Friday a&
ternoon: by every arm and every rank of the
service=by officers and =men;` by cavalry, .
artillery, and infantry. The two armies,
after the first day, were numerically *equal;
:if the Union force had the advantage of
strong position, the Confederates had that ef
choosing time ant:. place, the twestige of for
me?, victories over the Arniy of the Toto- '41,"
mar., and of the ./eiccess of the first
Victory does not always -fall to tholot of
those who deserve it; but 'that so decisive a
triumph,. under circumstances' like, theken
was gained by our troops, I am inclined to
ascribe, under Providence, to the spirit of •
exalted patriotism that -animated them, and
a consciouness that they were fighting in s.
righteous cause. I -
- All hope of defeating our army and, _
ring what General Lee calls " - the valuable
results" of such an - achievemenfhaving
ished, bethought only of resetting from des-
truetionfthe remains of, his shattered forcoe,
lii killed, wounded, and' missing, lie hid, as
far as can be ascertained, suffered a lass of
about 37,000 men, rather more than a. third
of the army which he is supposed to hail*
brought with him into. Pennsylvania,, Pet , -
eeiving that his only safety was in rapid pp , :
treat, he commenced withdrawing his 'troceps
atdaybreak on the 4th throwing-up field=
works in front .of onr. left, - which, assuming
the appearance of a. now position, wereintendi
edprobably to prolog; the rear of his army
: in their - retreat That day—sad eelebration •
of the 4th of' July for an army of Atnericatdt
- 7 -was passed by him in, hurrying; off his
trains. The main army was in, full, retreat
on the Cashtown and Fairfield at nigh): :
fall, and moved with such precipitation thug'
short as the nights were, by daylight the. fol:,
lowing morning, notwithstanding a heavy -
rain„-the rear guard had left pogitim.
The struggle of the-twa last days resembled; .
in many respects, the battle of Witerhit;
and if, in the evening of the -third day."Gers:
Meade,Aike the Duke of NVellington; had
had the.assistance of a-powerful anailiaryl-:','Y
army to take up the pursuit, the rout of,titC
rebels would have been as coinplete -
of Napoleon.
Owing to the circumstances aboveZ 9 ,
intentions of the enemy were not nppa - Nia
the 4th - The moment his retreat wa c_o
ered the following morning, he was pursziedtty
our cavalry on the Ca shtown ' road and in ebb
Emmettsborg and blonterey passes, and
Sedgwick's carps on the Fairfield road !lie
- rearguard was briskly attacked at Fairfieid,;
great nnmher of wagons and ambulances w , se
captured in the passes of the mountains ; tM
country swarmed with• his trogglers, and hie -
wounded were literally emptiedirom the -vehk:
cles containing them,,,inte the farm tinuttes do
the rrad.. General Lee, in his repoti4l,qeP
repeated mention of the Union . prisonete;whom
he conveyed into Virginia, somewhiektiersiii
tine their number. He states also tbtt "lock
of his Wounded as were in a condition to be re
moved,7 were forwatded to Williamsport,
does nut mention that the number of hitt - wound- _
ed not removed anti left to the Chrietain care - Ot
the v'eitstra was 7,540, not one of .whOtn fatted-•
of any attention which it was • possitile,- I nuder
the. circumstances of the , case, to afford ittterwr
not one of whom certainly has been, put upon
Libby prison fire-lingering' death by Aterval
tier. Heaven forbid, however, that tie iboald
'claim any merit for the exercise common
humanity. ' • -
Ut.dir the protection of the mountain shop.,
whose narrow passos are easily hew eeee ,by
retre ding army, general Lee reached' Williarer
port in safety, and took up a strong , posiriett
4/tip:kite
,to that place. - General Meade Deceit
eerily pursued with the main army by !holt
movement through Middletown, Tureer'n
_pies
having been secured by Gen: French - Passing
through the South Mountain. the Union-army
came up with that of_ the rebels on the 12th.
- and found it securely' posted on the heightti, of
Mnrsh's run. Ills_ position was - reconnoitered
and preparations mad* for nil attack on `the 18 tb. -
The depth of the tive; - sitiellen by the,raitte.
.euthorised the expectation that ho would be
. brought to
,'n general engagement on the foible;
: An advance wits accordingly 'Medi
-by General Meade on the morning of :tie-14M
.but it was noon, found that the rebelt,hip.'il-assai-•
ped in the night, with such haste, t et Ewell's
corps forded the river where ' the water 'was -
breast high; The cavalry whiSh hacireticiered
the -most important Bervices 'during:the three
days,and in •harrassiug the enemy's. reheat,
was now sent in _penult and captured two gun*
and a large number of prisoners. In an action
which took. plice at' Falling Waters, Gee: Petti
• 'ilea was mortally wounded General-Meade,
itt further pdi'suit of the enemy, creseed.d.
POipilVlC at Berlin Then, again devering the
. approaches to _Washington,o be compelled, the
enemy to piss the Blue Ridge at one of 'Ws
-upper gape,'and in about six "weeks kook -the
commencement of the campaign. General Lee
found himself again on tit south aide,oi.the
Rippahannock with i the less of about.a thtrdid
ble army
Snob, most inadequately recounted:4S thelsitt
.tory of the - ever memorable three dayearni,of
the events itimediately preceedi ig and fallfillt
ing It has,been pretended, in prder to dimin
ish the magnitude of this disaster to the rebid
_6nisse, that it wail merely the repoleanf 04 1-
; tack on a strongly defended positiohi-lbeiri
.lnendous losses on both :ides are neffipiiiattike
ewer to, the misrepresentation, and:al - toot OP
Courage and el:lint:lacy With which' the S urer
bsitle was *Aged. Few of the '
, Allots of, modern times !twee ce:t vintortredifyitt
qm-tied_stygreara sacri doe. Cti, the
there fell in' the .whoie campaign cf. Get° 4 e:
killed;,d, Reynnlds: Weed and Zook; unit
_.. .‘ s
red i3enerateterlosi, Barnes, Buttiifitad,li.ofti .
ietisy,Gibbda, anthem, Sibklei= and: *Sa il”;