Chapter 50 - The Gettysburgh Campaign

CHAPTER L

THE GETTYSBURG CAMPAIGN

A detail was made from our regiment and placed under command of Lieutenant Byers, to bury the dead.  The men carried the wounded together in piles whilst the pioneers dug large trenches, 18 or 20 feet long, 7 feet wide and 4 or 5 feet deep.  The dead were placed in these trenches in layers, three deep, and then covered.  We remember that in one of these trenches, seventy-three rebels were laid to rest, together with the foot of another, which had been blown off by a shell, making as the boys said, 73 Johnnies, ONE FOOT under ground.

The stench which arouse from the battle field was almost intolerable, the burying detail were armed with pieces of rail which they pried under the dead bodies and in this manner those who were too much decomposed to be easily removed, were carried to their final resting place.  The scene was one that caused the stoutest heart to quail, and tears to flow from eyes unused to weep, being a real scene in the horrible drama of war.

The most heart rending and affecting part connected with the whole affair, was the finding of letters upon the persons of the dead rebels, written by wives, mothers, sisters and sweethearts, many of them breathing forth the love and affection which the hearts of those loved ones alone could dictate.  All breathed forth the hope that the war would soon be over and that the God of Battles might protect the loved one from the dangers which surrounded and that ultimately they might be permitted to return bearing the laurels of victory.  And here before us, cold as death, lay the object of their love and affection, soon to be placed in an unknown grave.

The day was spent upon the battle field and never can the events and scenes of that day be effaced from the memory of those who witnessed it.  By the time that taps were sounded, this being the first time that we heard the drums for three days, and we were certainly glad to hear the music which was made by the sheep-skin batteries, as the boys called the drum corps.

The ground upon which we were camped, was full of rocks and stones, and it was with great difficulty that all of the boys could find places to stretch their tired limbs.

We were awakened during the night by the falling of rain, and drawing the scanty covering over our heads, we again sought to forgetfulness in slumber.  In the morning we awoke drenched to the skin.

The boys soon kindled fires to dry their blankets and clothing, and soon around every fire two or three men could be seen holding their wearing apparel up to the fire to dry.

It was at one of these fires that a little incident occurred that at the time created considerable merriment among the boys.  Samuel Jarrett, one of the members of the “Happy Family of Penn’s creek” mess, had kindled a fire to dry his clothing and Peter Edward Shreffler, one of the upper end boys, came to Jarrett’s fire to cook his cup of coffee.  Shreffler began to scatter the brands, as the flames were too hot to allow him to get near enough to boil his coffee.

Sammy protested against this act of Shreffler’s, stating that he had made the fire to dry his traps and not for him to boil his coffee on.

Ed. said that he would cook his coffee on that fire, to which Sammy replied:

“By Gunie, due dusth net.”

Shreffler kicked the fire apart and placed his cup on the coals.  This he had no sooner done than Sammy gave the cup a kick, knocking it about a rod.  Shreffler made a spring fir Sammy, and Sammy was ready for him.  The final result was that Edward was knocked out of time.

Shreffler picked himself up, gathered his coffee bucket and made his way for another fire, amidst the cheers of the boys.  “By Gunnie” became a word among the boys which continued in use during our service.

At about 10 o’clock in the forenoon of the 5^th, we received marching orders and in half an hour we were on the move.  The marching, owing to the rain, was very hard.  The soil was loamy and we sank fully four or five inches into the mud at every step.  We marched as briskly as we possibly could under the circumstances, and by 4 o’clock we were in Littlestown again.  We went into camp in a field in the lower end of town.

It was here that W. S. Keller had a renewal of his attack of toothache, and after Dr. Longshore gave him a dose of chloroform finally succeeded in pulling out the molar.  Will was seated upon a pile of rails and George Heary, the Hospital Steward, was holding him down whilst the Doctor pulled with all his might, Keller yelled like an Indian until he had a greater part of the regiment gathered around the Doctor’s quarters.  When the tooth came out the boys gave three hearty cheers.

In this cantonment we remained a day during which time we received mail from home, and for the first time we learned of the terrible consternation and excitement which prevailed in the North during the progress of the battle of Gettysburg.  Well do we remember how incensed were the boys of the White Star Division when they read the report of Col. Lockwood in the Baltimore AMERICAN, in which the justly earned laurels of the old white Star Division were conferred upon his own regiment, which was a militia organization, and according to the value the boys had placed upon their services, it was undeserved.

On the 7^th of July we broke camp at Littlestown and marched southward in pursuit of the Rebel Army, passing through the towns of Tanneytown, Woodsboro and Middleburg encamped near Walkerville.

On the morning of the 8^th we moved at six o’clock, the rain falling in torrents, we marched through Walkerville and by three o’clock we marched through Fredrick, the mud on the pike was over shoe top, and the falling rain made it very disagreeable.  As we marched through the southern part of the town, we noticed some of the members of the 9^th N. Y. M., standing guard with umbrellas to shelter them from the rain.  Geary’s veterans greeted these Sunday soldiers with groans.