Iancolii5 E &5 i Jacobs 5 (i®'iightN*_ .LTIS' CDPXRIGttr DEPGSil. Lincoln's Gettysburg World-Message By HENRY EYSTER JACOBS PHILADELPHIA, PA. THE UNITED LUTHERAN PUBLICATION HOUSE Copyright, 191 9, by The United Lutheran Publication Housb DEC 22 1919 ©CI.A561774 ^^fi I Prffar0 Gettysburg will live in history because of its association with Lincoln even more than as the scene of the decisive battle of the Civil War. As time passes, the details of battles interest chiefly students of military science. Even veterans grow weary of re- calling the horrors of the battlefield, and prefer to glory in the end achieved, rather than in the painful experiences through which they have passed. So vast, too, has been the scale upon wtaiA battles have been fought in the Great War that has recently ended, that those of preceding wars have been dwarfed into relative insignificance. But the memory of Gettysburg will survive because of the interpretation given the battle by one who was not only the Com- mander-in-chief of the armies of the Union which there triumphed, but also the great 4 PREFACE prophet of the cause of civil and reHgious Hberty. The battle itself was only the pre- lude to the still mightier force that was transmitted in his telling words, which not only sounded the rallying cry for the final struggle of the w^ar, on which the fate of our nation then hung, but which uninten- tionally gave the signal for the assertion throughout the world of great principles that had hitherto been suppressed. Nor will the careful student ever recall Lincoln without recognizing the Gettysburg incident as condensing within itself all that he elsewhere spoke and wrote and accom- plished. The meaning of what had trans- pired on the first three days of July, 1863, with the thousands of lives that had been sacrificed, and the tens of thousands that were enduring untold physical suffering, and the countless homes throughout the land that w^ere darkened because they mourned loved ones, so filled his heart that he com- pressed the convictions of a lifetime and PREFACE 5 the anguish of the responsibihties he was then bearing, into a two minutes' address that has become the most highly cherished classic that America has produced. The aim of what is presented in the following pages is to treat of the historical setting of the address, together with a study of the principles which underlie it. Contents; Preface 3 I. The Place and the People. . . 9 II. The Prelude to the Battle. . 22 III. The Battle 36 IV. Gettysburg's Greatest Day: November 19, 1863 57 The National Cemetery Lincoln at Gettysburg Edward Everett An Eloquent Peroration The Great Address V. Ruling Principles of Lin- coln's Statesmanship 84 National Unity States Rights Individual Liberty The Religious Element VI. Summary 127 I The Place and the People Gettysburg, before the great battle, was a compactly built town of somewhat over two thousand inhabitants. Most of the borough lay in a valley between hills that have since been rendered famous. Two turnpikes, intersecting at the public square ("the Diamond"), formed the axis around which the town had grown. If there had been but these two roads it is improbable that Gettysburg would ever have been known in history. But at the edges of the town other roads radiated to intermediate points of the compass, like spokes of a wheel. In the days of stage coaches and 9 10 LINCOLN S GETTYSBURG WORLD-MESSAGE Conestoga wagons, before railroads were built, it was a center of travel and traffic. Within eight miles of Mason and Dixon's Line, its connections with the South were as close as those with the North ; and it had some of the characteristics of a southern town. Baltimore was only fifty-two miles distant on the southeast; Washington a little over sixty miles to the south; while Philadelphia was one hundred and four- teen to the east, and Harrisburg thirty-six to the northeast. The surrounding country was not fertile. The red shale rock lay close to the surface of the soil, with muddy roads for an extra- ordinarily long period in spring and autumn, and a temperature in summer belonging properly to a much lower latitude. The scenery about the town compensated for all other defects. From north to south- west the Blue Ridge Mountains describe the arc of a circle, at a distance of from ten to fifteen miles. Tliere was great variety in THE PLACE AND THE PEOPLE 11 the shading, as when, on exceptionally clear days, the usual blue was changed for green, or, in the winter, sometimes for weeks, for white ; or when, in summer, foretokening an approaching storm, thunder-heads of every shape and hue, gathered about their summits in battle array; or, as at all sea- sons, the sun sank to rest in all his glory. Where the mountain line was broken, the wooded heights of Gulp's and Wolf Hills, and of the two Round Tops, offered another type of scenery, scarcely less attractive. Towards the west ran an unfinished rail- road almost ready for the ties, designed to connect Eastern Pennsylvania with the Bal- timore & Ohio, and known, because of its many circuits in its approach to the moun- tains, as "The Tape Worm." Thaddeus Stevens had the credit or blame of being its chief advocate. After the state had ex- pended large appropriations upon it, it was abandoned, and remained for some forty years a long stretch of waste land, until in 12 LINCOLN S GETTYSBURG WORLD-MESSAGE another generation it was completed. The County of Adams, of which, when separated from York, Gettysburg became in 1800 the county seat, was settled chiefly by Scotch-Irish immigrants, who came to this locality in large numbers about 1740, and for a long time were embroiled in conflicts with the German settlers on the east. As a peace measure, York County was divided, and the new county, composed chiefly of Federalists, was named after the Federal President, John Adams. Among the fami- lies of Scotch origin, many of whose names have been made prominent in the state and the nation, through offshoots of the same stock, were the Agnews, Allisons, Baileys, Binghams, Caldwells, Cassatts, Chamber- lains, Cobeans, Crawfords, Cunninghams, Dunwoodies, Duncans, Galloways, Gilli- lands, Hamiltons, Harpers, Horners, Linns, Lotts, Marshalls, McAllisters, McCleans, McClearies, McClellans, McConaughies, McCrearies, McCulloughs, McCurdies, Mc- THE PLACE AND THE PEOPLE 13 Farlanes, Mcllhennies, McNairs, McPher- sons, McSherries, Neelys, Paxtons, Porters, Russells, Scotts, Stewarts, Thompsons, Warners, Wills, Wilsons and Witherows. A sturdy and vigorous people, they were intelligent, inflexible in purpose, fond of argument, in fair circumstances, clannish, aristocratic, and born agitators and poli- ticians. Their well-educated pastors did not shrink from leadership in matters of state, as well as in those of the Church. Following the example of President With- erspoon, of Princeton, the one clerical rep- resentative among the signers of the Dec- laration of Independence, Rev. John Black, of the Marsh Creek Settlement, one of Princeton's earliest graduates, prominently participated as delegate in the memorable Pennsylvania Convention of 1787, which in the face of fierce opposition adopted the Constitution of the United States and was most influential in determining its adoption by the other states. From their farms a 14 LINCOLN S GETTYSBURG WORLD-MESSAGE constant stream of their children flowed to the town, and then from the town to the city or the opening West. The Germans, exceUing them as farmers, stuck more tenaciously to their farms, and gradually preponderated in the country dis- tricts. But the lines of sharp distinction faded as all became Americans and realized the value of their American citizenship. Nor could the two streams flow side by side without intermingling. Intermarriages were frequent, resulting in a mixed race, com- bining the qualities of both parents. A small Dutch colony, that soon blended with the Scotch-Irish, had settled in the neighborhood of Hunterstown, five miles east of Gettysburg. At York Springs, four- teen miles to the northeast, there was a flourishing Friends' settlement, well known for its anti-slavery sympathy, and having the general repute of being an important station in the ''Underground Raitroad," by which fugitive slaves escaped from Mary- THE PLACE AND THE PEOPLE 15 land and were carried to places of security in the North or in Canada. The bar had been one of conspicuous ability. Here Thaddeus Stevens, the leader in the United States House of Representa- tives during the Civil War, and the radical anti-slavery agitator, rose to prominence. His pupil, James Cooper, became Attorney General of Pennsylvania and United States Senator. Among other law students in his Gettysburg office were Hon. Godlove S. Orth, afterwards Minister to Austria, and Governor Conrad Baker, of Indiana. Ed- ward McPherson, member of Congress, editor of the Philadelphia Press, and for fourteen years Clerk of the National House of Representatives, President of the Na- tional Republican Convention which nomi- nated Hayes for the presidency, an author and political statistician of high repute, was a native, and, throughout nearly all his life, a citizen of Gettysburg, active in every im- portant interest of the community. 16 LINCOLN S GETTYSBURG WORLD- MESSAGE The locality was an educational center long before the borough had been chartered. The school was older than the town. The spacious schoolhouse, falling into decay at the time of the battle, which stood at the foot of Cemetery Hill, at the intersection of the Emmitsburg and Taneytown roads, was the home of Rev. Alexander Dobbin in Colonial times, within which ministers were trained for the Associated Reformed Church, or prepared for college. In 1807 Rev. David McConaughy, the Presbyterian pastor, afterwards President of Washing- ton College, opened a grammar school, which in time was supplanted by "The Adams County Academy," whose edifice was built in 1810. Seventeen years later this gave place to 'The Gettysburg Gym- nasium," which after five years was in- corporated as "Pennsylvania College." These details are given to indicate the liter- ary atmosphere of the place.. The Lutheran Theological Seminary, THE PLACE AND THE PEOPLE 17 whose buildings on the ridge directly west of the town gave the name to Seminary Hill, was founded in 1826, and in 1863 was still under the presidency of the first pro- fessor, Rev. Dr. S. S. Schmucker, with Rev. Drs. Charles Philip Krauth and Charles F. Schaeffer as his associates. Hundreds of ministers had already pro- ceeded from its walls to all parts of the country. The Gettysburg Gymnasium had been begun in 1827, in order to afford the neces- sary preparatory training for the seminary, and when, in 1832, this had become Penn- sylvania College, the buildings of the new college arose to the north of the towji. Thither not only a large constituency sent their sons for training, but former students frequently gathered from both North and South, to revive the memory of college days. Up to the time of the battle, and for years afterward, it aimed at nothing more thati the regular classical course; but al- 18 Lincoln's Gettysburg world-message though its faculty was small, and its pro- fessors overburdened with the multitude of branches which each had to cultivate, nevertheless it had established an excellent reputation for the thoroughness of the training which it afforded. Among its graduates are the present Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Hon. J. Hay Brown, and the present Provost of the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Ed- ward Fahs Smith. In 1863, Dr. Henry L. Baugher, Sr., was its President, with whom were associated as professors, Drs. Michael Jacobs, Martin Luther Stoever, Frederick A. Muhlenberg and Charles F. Schaeffer. The battle had scarcely ended when one of its former professors, General Herman Haupt, a classmate at West Point of Gen- eral Meade, was on hand at his old home, superintending the repair of the railroad connections of the Army of the Potomac. The community was as patriotic as it was inteUigent. Before Adams County was THE PLACE AND THE PEOPLE 19 formed, when, during the Revolutionary War, Philadelphia had been occupied by the enemy, York, the county seat, was for nine months the capital of the new nation. The Marsh Creek Settlement and other Adams County districts contributed their quota not only to the Revolutionary Army, but even in the French and Indian War to the campaign against Fort Duquesne. In the convention to ratify the Federal Constitution, in 1787, presided over by a Lutheran minister, Frederick Augustus Muhlenberg, and including on its roll such names as James Wilson and Benjamin Rush and Anthony Wayne, the representation of that portion of York County which was to become Adams, was divided between Rev. John Black, the Scotch-Irish Presbyterian pastor, and Col. Henry Slagle, who was probably the citizen of German origin most prominent in public affairs. The county was named after the patriot who seconded the famous motion of Richard Henry Lee, 20 LINCOLN S GETTYSBURG WORLD- MESSAGE that "these colonies are and of right ought to be free and independent states." The first alarm of war to agitate the newly- founded town was on August 26, 1 814. Very early on a Sunday morning tidings came that the British under General Ross had captured Washington and burned the public buildings. Strict as in this quiet place had hitherto been the observance of Sunday, it was probably the bell of the old court house that "immediately" brought the citizens together into that quaint structure with its lofty steeple, which stood in the center of the square; where, resolving to raise forthwith volunteer companies of in- fantry and cavalry to march to the defence of Baltimore, they appealed to the Brigadier General of the district, an elder in the Luth- eran Church, residing on the north side of "the Diamond," to put them in communica- tion with the Federal authorities. "Ex- presses" were sent both to Secretary of War Armstrong, to Frederick, Md,, and to THE PLACE AND THE PEOPLE 21 Governor Snyder at Harrisburg, asking for arms, ammunition and equipage. Supplies coming from both sources with great promptness, enabled the Adams County troops, marching by way of Westminster, to take part in the defensive movement, which, if not resulting at North Point, September 12, in decisive victory, ended, nevertheless, in the retirement of the invader, with the loss of the commanding general. All honor to the sons of Adams County, who in the companies of Captains Alexander Cobean, Alexander Campbell, T. C. Miller and Frederick Eichelberger, took their places, at that crisis, "on the shore dimly seen through the mists 'of the deep." Nearly a half century later, one who as a lad had been among their number, although rapidly approaching his three score and ten, in command of a cavalry company of Home Guards, was doing what he could to stay the advance of the Confederates up the Cumberland Valley. II The Prelude to the Battle The temporary isolation which Gettys- burg experienced when the building of rail- roads, during the decade or more previous to 1863, diverted travel and traffic, was in- terrupted when the necessities of the Civil War brought the old Hnes of communica- tion again into prominence. The academic quiet into which the town had passed when its institutions of learning and religion had become the main sources of income, was rudely broken, as the old roads which radi- ated from it became the avenues over which troops were moved. The Baltimore turn- pike was the real center of the battle. If General Lee and his army had reached it, the way to Baltimore and Washington would have been opened, and General Meade and his army would have been com- pletely cut off from the national capital. 22 THE PRELUDE TO THE BATTLE 23 The problem of the latter was to protect Philadelphia in such a way as not to uncover Washington. This was accomplished by a wise utilization of the roads west of the Baltimore turnpike, running to the south and southwest of the town. Next to its roads its hills gave Gettysburg importance. West of the Blue Ridge, which forms such a prominent feature of the landscape, up the picturesque Shenandoah Valley, in Vir- ginia, and its extension, the fertile Cumber- land Valley, in Maryland and Pennsyl- vania, the Southern Army was moving. Its advance had passed Carlisle and threat- ened Harrisburg. The preceding week a division had actually crossed the mountain, and, passing through Gettysburg and York, had reached the Susquehanna, opposite Columbia, and then obstructed by the burn- ing bridge, reunited with their comrades to the north. East of the Ridge, and con- cealed from the enemy by it as a screen, the Union Army, first under Hooker and 24 LINCOLN S GETTYSBURG WORLD- MESSAGE then under Meade, was following the Southern Army, but on a parallel line, so as to protect both Washington and Balti- more. The two commanders were singu- larly unaware of the movements of each other. Lee's cavalry, under Stuart, had been separated from the Southern Army for days, and failed to give aid. The northward limit of the southern leader had, however, been reached. He determined to advance no farther until the whereabouts of the Northern Army could be determined. The advance was withdrawn and a move- ment to concentrate begun. Lee's plan, with the forces yet to follow him, was to move from Chambersburg eastward, in- stead of northward, and, crossing the Blue Ridge, to center on the foothills some eight miles west of Gettysburg, while Early, who had advanced to Carlisle, was to move southward toward Gettysburg. So close was the town to the southern border that from the outbreak of the war until nearly THE PRELUDE TO THE BATTLE 25 a year after the close of hostilities it was in a state of insecurity. Alarms of the approach of the enemy were frequent. Hosts of refugees, with their horses and merchandise, crowded the streets as the Southern Army advanced towards, and sev- eral times even beyond, the Potomac. Merchants repeatedly removed their stocks of goods to safer quarters. Throughout the nights home guards patrolled the streets, arresting suspicious characters. The alarm was sounded on one memorable night in the very first month of the war, and threw the borough into as great fear as Rome experienced when the Goths and Vandals were at her doors. Timid women were seen on the street brandishing the antiquated firearms of a preceding genera- tion. The invasion of Maryland, culminating in the Battle of Antietam, September 17, 1862, brought the war into adjoining coun- ties on the other side of the state line. Late 26 LINCOLN S GETTYSBURG WORLD- MESSAGE the same year a bold raid of the southern- ers, stealthily passing to the rear of the Federals, not only crossed the mountain, but sent its pickets to within six miles of Gettys- burg. A lone Confederate cavalryman, brought in as prisoner from a skirmish at 'The Seven Stars," was regarded, as he was sent through the streets, with much curiosity. The quiet of a bright Sunday afternoon, the next day, was broken by the arrival of railway trains laden with Fed- eral troops, just one day too late to find their foes. Occasionally, in the recitation rooms of the college, the sound of artillery firing in the distance could be heard, punc- tuating a demonstration in conic sections or interrupting the interpretation of a passage in the Iliad with the reminder of the changes which modern times have wrought in the modes of warfare. When, in June, 1863, the storm that had long been threatening seemed likely to reach Pennsylvania, a proclamation from the gov- THE PRELUDE TO THE BATTLE 27 ernor warned of its approach and made an urgent appeal for enlistments for an emer- gency force. The first response in the state to this appeal was from the students of Pennsylvania College, who promptly formed a company, offered the captaincy to one of the students in the Theological Seminary, Captain Frederick Klinefelter, who had already seen military service, and, under his command, promptly reported at Harris- burg, where a future President of Penn- sylvania College, Harvey W. McKnight, was made adjutant of the regiment, and a future President of Muhlenberg College, Theodore L. Seip, was detailed as clerk to the commanding general, while Dr. E. J. Wolf, afterwards professor in the Gettys- burg Theological Seminary, and the future Professor Matthias H. Richards, of Muhl- enberg College, served together as corporals. One of the company. Sergeant G. W. Fred- erick, was a brevet colonel before the war closed. Dr. T. C. Billheimer, afterwards 28 Lincoln's Gettysburg world-message professor in the Gettysburg Theological Seminary, was a private. These incidents are worthy of note as indications of the patriotic spirit that prevailed in the Gettys- burg institutions, as well as in the town and throughout the country. During the days of suspense, while the two armies were gradually making their way northward in parallel lines, concealed from one another by the Blue Ridge, the Philadelphia City Troop, under the com- mand of Captain Samuel J. Randall, after- ward the distinguished Speaker of the Na- tional House of Representatives, was sent to Gettysburg and reconnoitered the moun- tain roads. This company was followed some days later by the Twenty-sixth Penn- sylvania Emergency Regiment, which in- cluded, as Company A, the college company, as well as, in another company, the future governor of Pennsylvania, S. W. Penny- packer. On the Friday preceding the battle the regiment was sent westward, and nar- THE PRELUDE TO THE BATTLE 29 rowly escaped surprise and disaster when it reached Marsh Creek, three miles beyond, but was extricated from its embarrassment, and after a skirmish with the enemy and the loss of some of their number as pris- oners, finally, retreating northward, entered the entrenchments at Harrisburg. The Confederates were too intent upon reaching Gettysburg to be diverted from their course. Looking from a garret window in the center of the town we were able, with the aid of a large glass used by the college for astronomical purposes, to catch the first sight of their approach as they descended from the mountain by way of the Cham- bersburg road. Much of the way was hid- den by Seminary Ridge, but we were able to reach the line at a higher elevation a few miles beyond. First a Union scout in full retreat, and then a Confederate picket in pursuit, came into view. Soon followed the cavalry, riding at full speed, then the 30 LINCOLN S GETTYSBURG WORLD-MESSAGE artillery and infantry. Soon their cheers as they took possession of the street were heard. When we finally gained sufficient courage to venture where they were, we were surprised by the courteous treatment received, as we sought an officer and in- quired concerning the fate of the emergency regiment. Detailing a private to conduct us to a group of our friends whom they had captured, we were permitted to converse with them on the steps of Christ Church. Beyond burning a railroad bridge and the freight depot, no damage was done; and by an early hour the next morning the enemy had all departed. They were hasten- ing to richer fields, York and the Susque- hanna, with probable anticipations of reach- ing Lancaster, if not Philadelphia. For the next few days there was an omi- nous calm. With railroad and telegraphic lines destroyed, the town was isolated from the outside world. Mails were irregular and uncertain, daily papers were missed. THE PRELUDE TO THE BATTLE 31 The funds of the bank and the goods of the merchants had been removed to places promising more security. As to the posi- tion of the two armies there was much speculation but no information. Now and then a bearer of despatches would dash through without relieving the suspense. On Sunday afternoon a Federal cavalry brigade came in from Emmitsburg, but after a very brief stay left just as suddenly. Everyone was in a state of uncertainty and expec- tancy. The Blue Ridge was well timbered; but here and there clearings were distinctly visible, from which smoke by day and fire by night could be seen, betraying the camp- fires of Confederates gathering for another descent upon the town. On Thursday, June 30, about 11 a.m., I was again at my watch-tower, and sweep- ing the Chambersburg road with a glass, noticed that something interesting was transpiring. On the second hill in view, 32 LINCOLN S GETTYSBURG WORLD-MESSAGE horsemen were moving, but the field was too short to enable one to learn more. But after a brief pause they have descended the ravine and are on the crest of Seminary Ridge. Several mounted officers are clearly seen with their field-glasses turned to the southwest. Back of them is a piece of artillery. Still farther in the rear, as the line fell back into the hidden valley, the heads of men and horses could be seen. There is a long hesitation; then a sudden withdrawal back again and out of sight. Within a minute or two there is great cheer- ing in the street below me, which was invis- ible from my observatory. Running down stairs and out of the door, I am too late to see the head of the procession. A di- vision of Federal cavalry, under General John Buford, has come on the Emmitsburg road, and halts, with its head resting at Chambersburg Street. Years afterward I learned that the Confederate force I had seen near the seminary was Pettigrew's THE PRELUDE TO THE BATTLE 33 Brigade, which had expected to find shoes and other suppHes in the town, but had seen through their glasses the approach of Bu- ford. Thus at noon on Thursday the two armies had almost stumbled upon each other transversely, the Confederates mov- ing eastward and the Federals northward. But the battle was not to be fought that day. Pettigrew retired three miles to the line of Marsh Creek. Buford was received in town with great rejoicing. His troops were fed in the streets with the best that the town could furnish. The bakeries were depleted, and many pailfuls of hot coffee re- lieved the thirst of these unexpected deliv-f erers. That afternoon I used the college glass from the cupola of the Theological Semi- nary. A most extended view of the sur- rounding country rewards every visitor who climbs to that observatory. Thence I looked down on one brigade of Buford's division, encamped near Willoughby's Run, while an- 34 Lincoln's Gettysburg world-message other was placed about a mile to the north of the college. The horses were quietly grazing and the troops resting. But still more interesting was what could be seen on the cleared spots of the mountain. The unusual clearness of the air brought to sight the masses of Confederates there assem- bling. At a distance of probably ten miles the men stood in clear relief by their fires or moved among each other. Their wagons with their white covers could be counted. Since there were many such clearings, and each one examined swarmed with men, there could be no doubt as to the formidable number which was ready to descend upon us. Nevertheless, our optimistic temper persuaded us that in case they would advance far on our side of the mountain, the force of General Bu- ford alone would readily repulse, if not cap- ture all. The brilliant sunset of that bright day was to thousands who were encamped near us the very last which they were to THE PRELUDE TO THE BATTLE 35 behold. The critical hour was at hand. We now know that both Lee and Meade had each selected another spot for the ap- proaching conflict. Lee had chosen the heights above Cashtown or Hilltown, where we could see his forces gathering, while Meade had hoped to attract his opponent below the Maryland line, along Pipe Creek. But the eagerness of the leaders of their advance, in trying to discover the other's position, had carried both too far. Their vanguards met, and became entangled in an engagement which neither could decline. Ill The Battle a. the first day There were in reality two distinct battles about Gettysburg. There was one on the first day to the west and north, w^hich might with more appropriateness be called the Battle of Willoughby's Run, a little stream prominent early in the day. Firing, we were told, began at 4 a.m., as Buford's pickets engaged those of the enemy along Marsh Creek. For some hours it made no impression in the town. The people were accustomed to the muffled sound of distant cannonading. The profes- sors of Pennsylvania College met the rem- nants of their classes as usual at 8 a.m. My father had dismissed his class an hour later, when he was called into service by an officer of the U. S. Signal Corps and asked to ac- company him to the cupola for the study of 36 THE BATTLE 37 the surrounding country. With his classes in geology, botany and surveying he had often explored the entire field and was thoroughly familiar with all its details. He accordingly insisted upon the strategic im- portance of Cemetery Hill as the key to the situation, and advised its prompt occupa- tion. Whether his opinion ever reached the corps commanders and determined the disposition of the forces we have no means of telling. On the one hand the strength of the position was such that one would think it would attract any military eye. On the other hand there was such great confu- sion shown on both sides in the initial stages of the battle that in the survey of an en- tirely strange country the opinion of a civilian who knew every acre of the terri- tory covered may have had unusual weight. The result certainly justified his military foresight. During the night of June 30 the First Army Corps, under General John F. Rey- 38 LINCOLN S GETTYSBURG WORLD-MESSAGE nolds, had encamped eight or ten miles south of Gettysburg. Both Buford and Reynolds seemed to anticipate that until the main body of the Federal army would ar- rive they would be at a great disadvantage. Shortly after 9 a.m. the report was circu- lated that General Reynolds, anticipating street fighting, had ordered the citizens in the western part of the town to vacate their homes. The order was speedily counter- manded, as, in order to spare the town, he decided to meet the enemy on less favor- able ground on the west, where Buford's forces had spent the night. About 10 a.m. word came that the First Corps was ap- proaching. I was fortunate to be opposite the Eagle Hotel when Generals Reynolds and Buford dismounted, and, after a brief rest, rode out the Chambersburg road. They made their way to the Seminary cupola, and, after thus gaining a general idea of the field, went into action. It was an interesting sight to watch from THE BATTLE 39 a favorable spot the First Corps as it left the Emmitsburg road on the outskirts of the town, and, forming under cover of Seminary Hill, in front of the MacMillan orchard, marched diagonally to the crest, and past the house built by Gen. Herman Haupt, into the thick of the battle. The firing is now terrific. The roar of cannon, the rattle of musketry, the shock of shells, the murky clouds that gathered to the west, the stifling odors that filled the air, the rush of orderlies through the streets, tell of the progress of the battle. The eastern slope of the hill is crowded with reserve cavalry awaiting orders. Soon streams of wounded begin to pour through the streets, mostly able to help themselves, while others rested on the shoulders of comrades. Then came the ambulances; and soon the tidings of the death of Reynolds. The opening of the engagement was favorable to the Fed- eral troops. An entire Confederate brigade, with its comm.ander at its head, was sent 40 Lincoln's Gettysburg world-message back to the rear as prisoners. General Howard soon arrives to succeed Reynolds, and surveys the field from the Fahnestock residence. But the Federal gain now meets a check. The Confederates are strongly reinforced. The firing to the north becomes sharp. We have won on the right, but the left is threat- ened. The southern generals, Early and Ewell, are reaching the field from Carlisle and the neighborhood of Harrisburg. But to the relief of our hardly pressed left wing the Eleventh Corps rushes forward from' the south on quick time. They come from Taneytown and dash into action past the grounds of Pennsylvania College and the hills beyond. A wave of cheers heard from far in the rear follows a blond officer who rushes on, with his horse on the gallop, to the very front. Steinwehr's division is left on Cemetery Hill. The rest strive in vain to check the Confederate onset. The left is completely turned and the Federal line THE BATTLE 41 sweeps backward, not on a run, but with a brisk walk, the artillery covering the retreat with an abundance of grape sent into the foes as they press after them. On the Confederates press, until Stein- wehr's presence on Cemetery Hill checks the pursuit and saves the Federal army from complete disaster. If the result of the first day's battle be estimated by the damage inflicted on the Federal lines, it was a signal defeat. But if it had been Rey- nolds's object simply to hold the Confeder- ates back until the main body of the Fed- erals could reach the field in time to defend the approach to Baltimore, his death and the heavy losses of the two army corps were not in vain. Shortly after 4 p.m. the Confederates had possession of all the town except the southern extremities of Baltimore and Washington Streets, close to the Federal line of defence at the Cemetery. They were jubilant. They speedily leveled the fences, 42 Lincoln's Gettysburg world- message in order to provide for the freest move- ment of their forces. A Georgia brigade held our street. Its field officers were gen- tlemen who by their affability made the citizens feel that until there would be an- other disposition of troops they had noth- ing to dread. They showed no insolence towards those whom they had defeated. The town was one vast hospital. The churches were full of wounded. The semi- nary was a Confederate and the college a Federal hospital. Many private dwellings held men of both armies. The temperature, fortunately, was mild, the thermometer at the maximum being only 74. The battle was fought with the sky obscured by clouds throughout the whole day, and the wind blowing steadily from the south. Night fell, and on its damp air were wafted the cries of the uncared-for on the field. The dead lay on the pavements and in the streets for days. That night was a busy one for both THE BATTLE 43 armies, as only a small proportion on both sides were engaged on the first day; and the dispositions were yet to be made for what was, properly speaking, to be the real Battle of Gettysburg. The reader may picture to himself two concentric horseshoes, or fishhooks. These represent the two lines of this great engage- ment, as they ran on two ridges, distant from each other from three-quarters of a mile to a mile. Students in geology used to hear these ridges explained in the class room as trap dikes of volcanic origin within a red shale basis, that were elevated by some prehistoric convulsion. At several points, particularly at the Round Tops and Gulp's Hill, they rise to several hundred feet. The larger Round Top is in reality a conical mountain. The inner ridge, upon which the Federal troops were stationed, is much higher than the outer one, occupied by the Gonfederates. The front and center of the Federal line at the cemetery was 44 LINCOLN S GETTYSBURG WORLD-MESSAGE pointed and faced directly the approach from town by way of Baltimore Street. Thence the Federal line was to the south- west nearly three miles, and terminated in the steep summit of Round Top, while on the other side it ended in the undulating sides of Gulp's Hill, rising above Rock Creek. On the west side it looked down on the lower elevation of Seminary Ridge and an extended intervening plain. From the rock of these ridges the farmers had built fences for their fields, providing the Federal forces in advance with a rock breastwork of long standing. The inner ridge was not only the higher, but the Fed- eral commander could send reinforcements from the one wing to the other simply across the diameter of the inner horseshoe or Greek Omega ( O ), while the Con- federate commander, to accomplish the same end, was compelled to march his forces along the circumference of his Hne. All the advantages of position were thus on THE BATTLE 45 the Federal side. This line protecting the Baltimore Pike would have to be broken by Lee or he would have to retreat. Meade had no need to attack, but simply to stand on the defensive and invite his adversary to beat himself to pieces on this front. Against this rampart the southern hosts were hurled, and, after displaying a brav- ery the world has rarely equaled, ceased their efforts from sheer exhaustion. B. THE SECOND DAY The second day's fight did not begin until 4 P.M. All morning troops were arriving and the lines on both sides fixed and strengthened. Early that morning an ob- server at the corner of Middle and Wash- ington Streets could have seen a line of men in gray aligned for a purpose not specified in the manual of arms. As a preparation they were silently reading from their New Testaments. It is needless to say that we could not but be inspired with respect for 46 Lincoln's Gettysburg world-message such enemies. Only on the retreat of the Federals on the first day was there fighting by our home; but stray bullets were fre- quently passing uncomfortably near. A Confederate was killed on our cellar door; a ball, piercing a shutter, fell on the floor within. The stock of provisions was rap- idly exhausted by the needs of the troops, and the citizens lived on the scantiest allow- ance. The long period of suspense was at last broken by a sudden and startling fire to the south. This, we afterwards learned, marked the famous attempt of General Sickles to straighten the line and advance it nearer Seminary Ridge. He had acted on his own responsibility, and came near making a dis- astrous blunder. Sherfey's Peach Orchard gained a name in history from the terrible contest raged around it as the battle wave swept southward, pushing its extremity be- tween the two Round Tops. Little Round Top presented, with its rugged and then THE BATTLE 47 almost treeless face, a more commanding position than its neighboring height, which is really a mountain. If the Confederates would have occupied it their artillery would have commanded the entire Federal left. As the enemy advanced to take it, the Penn- sylvania Reserves, under General Craw- ford, charged down the hill, pushing their opponents not only from its slope, but from the ravine beneath, which, with its enor- mous granite boulders, afforded sharp- shooters protection. In the division thus engaged was a company recruited at Gettys- burg. One of its men is reported to have been wounded on his own farm. The Federal right had been weakened, in order, during the terrific engagement pro- voked by Sickles, to strengthen the left. Ewell, availing himself of this circum- stance, made a more determined attack. What was known as the right center lay on the northern front of Cemetery Hill, di- rectly across the entrance to Evergreen 48 LINCOLN S GETTYSBURG WORLD-MESSAGE Cemetery. It was the very citadel of the Federal strength. The more prominent Federal batteries were here. Below its steep side, to the northeast, was a corn- field, hiding within its dense stalks the ap- proach to the meadow beneath. Covered by nightfall and this veil, the "Louisiana Tigers" crept to the foot of the hill, almost surprised the gunners, and, when the guns could not be used, engaged their defenders in a hand-to-hand contest. But relief was at last brought from the left, and the shat- tered Confederates withdrew. **It was worse," they said, "than Malvern Hill." Meanwhile just as critical an engagement was in progress still farther on the right. The extreme right rested on Culp's Hill, which was thoroughly wooded, with Rock Creek and the "Third Swamp" at its base. It was a long hill, and the best engineering skill had, during the night of the first day, erected a network of strong breastworks, for which the dense oak and hickory trees THE BATTLE 49 afforded ample material. The line, five to six feet high, with its trenches, wound around the hill, so as to protect it, if needed, by cross-firing. The approach at the end near Spangler's Spring was gentle. Upon these fortifications Johnston's division of Ewell's corps flung itself. Night had al- ready fallen. The musketry, in its way, was almost as terrific as the artillery firing of the next day. So intense was it that in places the trees in front of the Federal lines were killed, and their dead limbs with dried leaves, raised like arms to heaven, gave the ravine the name of the Valley of Death. The Federals were so securely protected that their loss was small, while their brave enemies, persistent in their attempts, lay in heaps before the breastworks. The farthest right, however, had been abandoned by the Federal troops, when needed on the left. Here the Confederates entered without any serious conflict, and slept for the night, ig- norant that they had actually turned the 50 LINCOLN S GETTYSBURG WORLD-MESSAGE Federal right, and that the Baltimore road was close by them. C. THE THIRD DAY The Federal commander gave them no time to discover by daylight what they had gained; but with break of day attacked them, spending hours in gradually forcing them away. From II A.M. to i p.m. there was another lull. The engagement on the extreme right in the morning was not felt in town, or to any great degree on the field. The whole forenoon was relatively quiet. After an ob- servation from the cupola of Pennsylvania College, General Lee arranged for a final effort to break through the Federal lines. The left center of the Federal lines, held by the Second Army Corps, under General Hancock, occupied the most exposed posi- tion on the Federal lines, southwest of the cemetery. It was immediately opposite the right and southern side of Seminary Ridge. Between the two there was a broad, open THE BATTLE 51 plain, with few interruptions of trees or buildings. A conspicuous point on Han- cock's front was a group of young trees, known as the "clump of bushes." The plan of the Confederate commander was to con- centrate upon this point the fire of all his artillery, and to follow this by the massing of his infantry on the same place. There were no walls to batter down; the cannon shot had to fall on the ground or be carried far beyond through the unobstructed space. It was a sultry day. The sky was par- tially clear. The thermometer at 2 p.m. registered 87. At precisely 1.07 p.m. the signal gun sounded ; then came a second ; and then a terrific crash. For over an hour, from north, northwest and southwest, the Confederate batteries concentrated their fire on the Federal left center. The Federal guns joined in "the diapason of the can- nonade." Such a symphony .never had been heard before. My father quoted Rev. 10 : 4, 52 LINCOLN S GETTYSBURG WORLD- MESSAGE "Seven thunders uttered their voices." It was not one confused uproar; but each gun had its individuahty, and the explosions were distinguishable. There was first the discharge of the gun; then the scream of the shell rushing through the air, and then the report as it burst, carrying destruction and death in its pathway, breaking down walls or tearing horrid trenches in the ground. The two sides were also capable of recognition. An elderly lady sitting near us kept count of each shot with the words, "Ours," "theirs," "ours," "theirs." A great gun at the cemetery led the weird chorus. When it Vv^ould rest to cool, the question was involuntary, "Silenced?"; and then again the tense strain would be re- lieved as its deep, grufif voice would once more wake the echoes. But after awhile the Federal guns begin to slacken. We fear the worst. But, no. They are at it once more. But the intervals become longer. The chorus fades out. THE BATTLE 53 Slowly, more slowly, still more slowly. At last all have ceased. But the silence that ensues is portentous. There seems to be such art in it as to justify the inference that an important move is about to be executed. My father, hastening to the garret, turns his glass on the Confederate right. He sees, on Seminary Ridge, a long line of men forming, supported by another ; and, at last, their onward march, in magnificent array, toward the Federal line. He watches its steady advance until it is hidden by inter- vening buildings. Then comes the sound of artillery and the crash of smaller arms. The din is resumed, but the tone is not so loud. It is not long until, through the wrecked cornfield, stragglers are seen al- most stealthily returning, a single battle- flag, a few hundred men, several mounted officers. I was called to share the sight. This was the famous charge of Pickett. It was really no charge, but the deliberate march of the brave Confederate troops over 54 Lincoln's Gettysburg world- message a plain where for nearly a mile they were in full view of the Federal troops, upon whom they advanced. It looked as though nothing could stand before such magnificent courage. Lee had been so accustomed to the readiness of the Federals to retire be- fore the march of the Confederates, that he had not calculated upon the probability of changed conditions, where the Federal army stood on northern soil, and rejoiced in a new commander, in whom it had peculiar confidence. The disagreement be- tween Lee and the corps commander of the doomed division, Longstreet, is a matter of history. Longstreet's repeated protests were unheeded, and he rode away from the summit of the ridge when the death march across the plain began, that he might be spared the sight of what he felt must be the inevitable result. Lee also is reported to have candidly acknowledged, as he wel- comed back the few who returned, "It is all my fault." THE BATTLE 55 Nevertheless, it is a serious question as to what advantage even the gaining of the Federal line would have been, since the conformation of the country is such that a line equally strong could have arisen in its rear. All through that night there were move- ments of troops through the streets, indi- cating very soon that the Confederates were on the retreat. At daybreak of Saturday, July 4, the streets were deserted, although a few hours later we were informed of the presence of pickets, who remained the rest of the day at the entrance to the town and amidst the heavy showers of rain attempted to reach with their fire any Federals who came within range. Even on Sunday, the 5th, the peril continued, and early on that day General Howard passed our house with one of his staff mortally wounded from an ambuscade on the Hagerstown road. This, however, was only a cover for the precipi- tate flight of the Confederates towards the 56 Lincoln's Gettysburg world- message Potomac then occurring. If General Meade could have fallen energetically upon the re- treating army before it could have crossed the Potomac, the war would have ended two years sooner. But the Federal troops had already been put to the greatest strain in forced marches, and days of fighting; and there is an end to human endurance. IV Gettysburg's Greatest Day — November 19, 1863 THE NATIONAL CEMETERY In his Gettysburg oration Mr. Everett quotes the Duke of Wellington as saying that "next to a defeat the saddest thing is a victory." The battle had ended on Fri- day, July 3. Amidst the heavy downpour of rain on Saturday (over an inch and a third had fallen during the afternoon and night) the enemy was constantly withdraw- ing his troops, under cover of an unbroken line of defence on Seminary Ridge. The horrors of the field passed all description. For weeks hundreds of horses remained unburied. Around the small house on the Taneytown road, where General Meade had his headquarters, I counted no less than fifteen. The wounded required so great at- tention, with houses, churches and barns 57 58 LINCOLN S GETTYSBURG WORLD-MESSAGE largely occupied, that the dead were neces- sarily neglected. Six thousand were killed in action, and every day hundreds more died in the hospitals. The soldiers of both armies tenderly laid their comrades to rest in hastily prepared graves. But the Federal dead of the first day's fight were uncared for by the enemy, who were in possession of the field. Even where the dead were buried it was often done most superficially. It was not unusual for them to have no more protection than a foot or two of hast- ily thrown earth, with their names written in pencil on a rude headboard from a piece of a cracker box. Many graves were un- marked, and in the endeavor to identify the missing many graves were opened and left in confusion. The time was approaching, also, when the farmers would plow the fields for the next year's crop. An influen- tial citizen, David Wills, Esq., afterwards judge of the Adams County Court, within a few days of the battle urged the impor- GETTYSBURG S GREATEST DAY 59 tance of gathering the Federal dead into one cemetery ; and Governor Curtin, on July 24, gave the project his official indorsement. In August a piece of ground, covering seven- teen acres, was purchased for this purpose. It was the choicest spot on the entire field, with a magnificent view, extending for many miles, seen from its gentle but com- manding height. Within three months the removal of the dead was completed, and the grounds were laid out so as to assume the general appearance familiar to all visitors to-day. November 19 was finally fixed as the date for the dedication. Hon. Edward Everett was invited to deliver the oration, and President Lincoln to perform the act of consecration, or, as the request ran, *'to set apart these grounds to their sacred use by a few appropriate remarks." LINCOLN AT GETTYSBURG The railroad authorities planned that the 60 Lincoln's Gettysburg world- message President should leave Washington early on the morning of the 19th, reaching Gettys- burg shortly after noon and returning that evening. This plan did not meet with the President's approval, who justly thought that such a hurried visit would detract from the dignity and solemnity of the occasion. However exacting his engagements, he felt that the rush of business should pause while he attended the funeral of thousands who had given their lives in defence of their country. Accordingly, he arranged to reach Get- tysburg on the evening of the i8th. His train was delayed, and a large crowd had gathered at the little .depot on Carlisle Street, awaiting his arrival. Among them was Mr. Everett, who had spent the day studying the field. On his arrival, Mr. Lincoln, with other members of his party, was taken at once to the residence of Mr. Wills. This was a large three-story double house on the GETTYSBURG S GREATEST DAY 61 southeast corner of the Diamond and York Street, where Mr. Everett was also enter- tained. Hon. WilHam H. Seward, the Sec- retary of State, was in a neighboring house on the Diamond. Time was scarcely given Mr. Lincoln for supper — those were not the days of Pull- man dining-cars — until a band serenaded him and a large concourse of people were clamorous for his appearance. They were not disappointed. He was willing to be seen and heard, but was unwilling to make a speech. The incident was characteristic of Mr. Lincoln. *T appear before you, fellow-citizens," he said, "to thank you for the compliment. The inference is a fair one that you would hear me for awhile, at least, were I to com- mence to make a speech. I do not appear before you for the purpose of doing so, and for several substantial reasons. The most substantial of these is that I have nothing to say. (Laughter.) In my position it is 62 LINCOLN S GETTYSBURG WORLD- MESSAGE somewhat important that I should not say foolish things." A voice : **If you can help it." Mr. Lincoln: "It very often happens that the only way to help it is to say noth- ing at all. (Laughter.) Believing that is my present condition this evening, I m.ust beg you to excuse me from addressing you further." Mr. Seward was then prevailed upon to speak, but by some strange fatuity seemed to take it for granted that those whom he addressed had been southern sympathizers. He expressed his gratitude that "You are willing to hear me at last." There is, we think, a trace of his having been apprised of what Mr. Lincoln was to say the next day in the words, "We owe it to our coun- try and to mankind, that this war shall have for its conclusion the establishment of democracy. . . . With this principle, this government of ours, the freest, the best, the wisest and happiest in this world, must be. GETTYSBURG S GREATEST DAY 63 and, so far as we are concerned, practically, will be immortal." The nineteenth of November was an ideal fall day. There was scarcely a cloud in the sky. The thermometer stood at its maxi- I mum at 52, just warm enough to prevent a / chill, and yet cool enough to be slightly bracing. The Army of the Potomac was too much occupied with the enemy to be represented on the occasion by any large number of its troops. A couple of regi- ments, however, headed the procession that moved sharply at 10 a.m., under the com- mand of Major-General Couch, out Balti- more Street to the junction with the Em- mitsburg road, and thence, by way of the Taney town road, to the western entrance of the cemetery, while those not in the pro- cession entered directly from Baltimore Street, through the main entrance. Standing on the upward slope of Balti- more Street, near the approach to the ceme- tery, and looking on the front of the pro- 64 LINCOLN S GETTYSBURG WORLD-MESSAGE cession, the cheers of the crowd Hning the sidewalks told me of the approach of the President. On all sides he was greeted with enthusiasm. With appreciative smiles and continual bows, ''the tallest and grandest man in the procession" acknowledged the many cries of welcome, such as ''Hurrah for old Abe !" ; "We are coming. Father Abraham." He towered above everyone, and his gigantic proportions seemed to be magnified by the shape of the odd high silk hat that he wore. W^hy an abnormally small horse was given him to mount was hard to understand. In case the steed be- came fractious it looked as though the President could simply plant his feet on the ground and let it pass from under. /'About fifteen thousand people had as-