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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (June 29, 1913)
THJb hU.MJAl' OKEUUm', PORTLAM), JUE 2U, 1913. IIITTMT U-tt f 1 fl MV. II I iVi ffvJk Z ;J KJ .T:SW H B.A.- t.-a ..1.1.3. I. TVSA LI F-T M fV 90 Af ISf W H D H-J VS ST X ft- C. F. Hausdorf, One of Portland's 16 Survivors, Recounts the Horrors of the Greatest Struggle of Modern Times as He Saw It Behind the Musket as a Mem ' , ber of the Memorable Old First Min nesota Regiment. ALBERIPIXE CAMP, 0;340,.U.iD. V r- 4 t BY HALDANE GEORGE. HAVE you ever heard the story of the Battle of Gettysburg from the lips of one of the men who went through the horrors, the hardships, the pangs and finally the glories of that historic struggle? If not. It Is worth your while to corner one of the 18 veterans of that siege now living In Portland and get him to relate In his own way the story of the battle which stands second to none In importance and bitterness In modern times. " It will not be possible to find any of the survivors now, all having left for a , trip to the old battlefield to attend the 60th anniversary. But they will be back In a short time with renewed reminiscences. Then will be 8 good time to get hold of one of them. I recently had occasion to visit at the home of C. F. Hausdorf, 1043 Ganten beln avenue, one of the veterans, and In a brief few minutes I learned more about the Battle of Gettysburg and what actually took place during the three days that the bands of the Union were being forged together in the heat of conflict, than I could have gleaned from reading histories for a week.- Mr. Hausdorf, who is familiarly known as Colonel Hausdorf, has a re markable war record. He was one of the memorable First Minnesota Volun teer Infantry, which played the Impor tant role of preventing the Federal Army from being cut In two during the second day of the fight. Colonel Hausdorf was one of the 15 'per cent of his division which survived the bat tle. The worst he got out of it was a large ugly bullet hole through ' his right leg. He saw 85 out of every 100 of his comrades shot down one by one around him in the brief space of 20 minutes. After he fell wounded he re mained on the battlefield for eight days before he could arrange to get a team and move to a hospital. . The majority of those who survived . the second day's battle In his division ! were killed the next day in another conflict. For that reason he bears the distinction of being one of only about ten members of the First Minnesota still living in the United States'.' In addition to this, he bears the honor of being the only Federal soldier ever made an honorary member of a Con ' federate camp In the Confederate vet erans' organization formed since the war. While visiting In the South a few years ago he was made an honor ary member of Albert Pike Camp by ; unanimous vote, an honor not borne by any other Union soldier In the United States, The Colonel has a remarkable mem ory of the Incidents of the battle. He ay he can see In his mind's eye to day the events of the three days Just as they happened B0 years ago. He was not liberal with his Information at first, but when he warmed up to the subject he left but little untold. Here is his story of the battle of Gettysburg: "It was on July 1, 1863, shortly after 9 o'clock In the morning-that the first guns In the fight were fired. At about ftunrlse of the morning Heth's Division of Hill's Corps moved to Heir's ridge about 8000 or 4000 yards from the center of the town of Gettysburg.' They had, been camped at Cashtown, where General Lee had concentrated his force upon learning of the advance of Gen eral Meade and his army of Federals across the Potomac "The odds were three to one against the Federals under Buford, but he held - erround by having the advantage of position, it being unnecessary for his men to expose themselves to the enemy while loading or firing. A desperate struggle continued for close to two hours. During this time word of the conflict spread to Emmitsburg road. AT THE FOOT F TUF HILL GRANDFATHER HUXLEY was a relio in the family. He had been handed down for many years, from father to son, along with the brass andirons and the mahogany settle. Unfortunately, although the last two pieces of family property were more and more appreciated the older they grew, almost the reverse was true with the old man. When his daughter had died, in late middle life, Bhe willed the family home stead and her father, who had built It to her. son. The old man was 75 then, and his wife had been dead a dozen years. The grandson was kindly enough; to his mother's father he gave a comfortable room and a half contemputous kindliness which showed itself in a total disregard of the old man's politics and an evident idea that at threescore and 15 one should lose all Interest in this world and prepare for the next. If Grandfather Huxley . rebelled, he said nothing. He began to take the evening paper upstairs after the family had finished it, and to spend a great deal of time polishing the sword he had .carried in the Mexican War. Old people as a rule have few possessions. One by one they dispose of unnecessary things. The belle of 50 years ago, who took a dozen trunks and boxes with her to make a month's visit, at 75 generally has an old-fashioned bureau full of necessaries, and. locked away in a little trunk, a hand ful of letters and sentimental trifles. And so with Grandfather Huxley: the possessions of a lifetime had dwindled to a huge upholstered chair, with which he defiantly refused to part, and his old sword. The sword hung In its scabbard Just across the old man's bed, where, in the sleepless hours that come to age, he could lie and dream about it. From much tramping and dragging the scab bard was worn away at one corner; it was that corner which gave Grandfath- V " M rfSvT xtZr'&L WmwM mffTf j 1 rJvawAi iMmmmLiji m where General Reynolds was In com mand of a brigade. This force was hurried to the relief of . Buford, as suming positions to the, right of the latter' s line. ."The Confederates ' under " Heth marched on against the rain of shells while another division marched against a Federal stronghold In McPherson's Grove. . .' Here in a conflict General Arcner ana. a third of his brigad were captured. General Reynolds fell during the fight at this place end Gen eral uouoieoay leu into command the corps. "Undaunted by the result thus far General Heth continued his manueve Ing. General Davis' turned the attack or a division under his command to a battery In the railroad cut, forcing this part of the Federal strength back a distance of several hundred yards. General Doubleday then pulled a force of reserves into this center of the bat tle, changed the formation and charged the force of General Davis. A part of the Second Mississippi Regiment with Its battleflag was captured and there was a lull in" the struggle while forces were being reassembled and rear ranged, particularly on the Confederate side. "General Heth was stronglv rein forced and General Rodes appeared with his Elwell Corps and took a posi tion on Oak Ridge. In the afternoon General Howard arrived and being senior to General Doubleday took com mand of the Federal forces. When the conflict broke out anew General Howard found himself obliged to battle with Confederate forces in both his front and flank. The Confederates had been strengthened with about 30,000 infantry and four battalion of artillery while the Federals had been increased by 21,000 infantrymen. After a fierce struggle General Heth's division sup ported by General Pender forced the Federal line back to Seminary, where it became apparent that the final stand must be taken. "Excerpting for a few flurries that marked the end of the fighting for the first day. The late afternoon and even ing were spent by both sides in getting their forces together. Between 9 P. M. July 1 and daybreak the morning of July 2 General Lee's army had as sembled at Gettysburg with the excep tion of Pickett's Division and Law's Brigade of Hood and Stuart's cavalry. The Federal forces were not so well off. The roads for miles about were lined with the onmarchlng troopers of the North. "The second day open with the Fed erals commanding several good posi tions and the Confederates uncertain as to a plan of attack. Plans were worked Out rapidly, however, and soon after 8 o'clock the fighting began. The Federal army at this time was mostly assembled in fish-hood formation on Cemetery Ridge, Culp's Hill and the Baltimore Pike, with General Hancock In the center of the line of battle. General Meade had arrived at the scene and taken charge over Hancock. "The Confederates had dropped into concave formation, with Hill's Corps on the right, Pender's division on the west slope of Seminary Ridge, Heth's depleted force In reserve near Wil loughby'g Run, Elwell's Corps at the er Huxley his dreams of long-ago marches through cactus plain and des ert, his nightmares of long-ago thirst and heat. Below the sword was his wife's pic ture. There was another portrait of her In the room; a photograph, taken when ner cneexs were furrowed and her thin, white hair parted and crimped; ttut oddly enough, he never looked at that one. He was very, very old, and he lived in his youth. Everything be tween was hazy and dim. The picture at which he looked was that of a girl, a little old water-color of a girl with thoughtful eyes and frivolous hair. - After his 90th birthday Grandfather Huxley became abnormally sensitive. Sometimes he could hear scraps of conversation about him. "And how is the old man today? It's almost uncanny, isnt it?" "Oh, he's always Just the same. But in the nature of things he won't be with us very long." One day some Army officers dined at the house. Grandfather Huxley pol ished his sword until It glittered, and fixed his white neckcloth with trem bling fingers. At the table the conver sation turned to things military, and the old man, filled with fire, told of that wonderful campaign of "47. The officers listened respectfully they were gallant fellows; but when Grand father Huxley dropped back in his chair, he heard the apologetio -voice of his gTeat-grand-daughter Ellen across the table: "He's a dear old soul." she said, "but getting childish now; go on with what you were saying." - After dinner the old man went up stairs. He took the shining, sword from his bed and fingered it lovingly. : "I guess you and I have lived past our time," he said huskily, and then ha left and Johnson's Division In line a mile east of Culp's Hill. "During the first day's battle my regiment had been assigned to the work of supporting a battery near Cemetery Ridge. The morning of the second day we were shifted a quarter mile to the left to a wheat field, where we were near the center of the Federal line. All of Hancock's Corps, excepting the First Minnesota had been withdrawn from the center to assist the troops at the right on Cemetery Ridge to regain the ground they had lost. Hancook noticed the rebels forming a division which was moving toward the center of the line of battle and feared his center would be broken. He saw the eminent danger, so dispatched all his staff of ficers to the different brigades In his command on the right, ordering them to move back to the center quick step. Riding to the center he saw the First Minnesota lying on the ground. "He inquired of the Colonel of the regiment, 'What regiment is this V The Colonel replied, 'the First Minnesota.' He then said, 'Colonel, charge that di vision and hold them at bay, so that I can gain five or ten minutes' time In bringing up the troops on the right that are on the way!' "We did as ordered, charging on them at first at double quick and then at the utmost speed, knowing that by quick action we could surprise and check them. We charged them to within 15 yards and then fired a volley. We then went at them with bayonets and clubs. We captured a lot of prisoners and killed many others. We fought des perately with bayonets and clubs, grad ually driving them back. There were between 8000 and 12,000 of them and 262 of us. "In the 20 minutes of fighting 85 out of every 100 of our force was killed or wounded. As I looked around I saw a doeen or more of my comrades on my right mowed down and I saw a like sight in the ranks of the enemy. While standing I saw one of the Confederate soldiers picking me out and I attempted to shoot him. He got me first, the bullet crashing through my right leg, sending me to the ground with the others of the wounded in my regiment. By this time the reserves had arrived and the Confederates were driven back J'The work of the First Minnesota saved the Army from being cut in twain and possibly being defeated in the second day's battle... To prove this statement, I cite the remarks made by General Hancock to Secretary of State reached for his handkerchief and pol ished away carefully a spot of moisture that might have been a tear. That night an idea seized him. He was of no use in the world; no one de pended on him, no one needed him. He had lived 23 years past his allotted time; perhaps the good Lord had for gotten him in taking a life that was gotten him. There could be no harm in taking a life that was nothing but a burden. And so, the next day, he be gan his pitifully few preparations. He sorted out his letters, and, finding none that he cared to have profaned by alien eyes, he burned them all. He went over his wardrobe, and decided that Mike, the gardener, should have his Winter coat. When it came to his most cherished possession the sword doubts assailed him; so few were worthy of the honor. Finally, however, he decided to give it to Ellen's husband. After all, they had been kind to him; it was not their fault that they lived in a future in which he could have no share, and that he lived Un a past which they had never known. So he wrote a little card, "To my grand daughter Ellen's husband," and tied it to the scabbard. His preparations were made now. The sleeping-mixture stood' on his bed room table an overdose; and when Ellen came back from the theater that night he would be asleep, as he should have, been long ago. He put on a clean neokerohief, and, sitting down in his big chair with the sword on his knees, listened for the slamming of the hall door below. The little wooden clock on the mantel, with the queer pink roses on the face, marked eight, five minutes past, 10 minutes past; and still the family had not crone out. The old man sat and thought mougntn-oi ins day he was married; of . I SCffl 1 f copvnietiTeo ' av J v1. fjJ n tme western mawylano bmmayc J Stanton in the presence of President Lincoln after the war. The Secretary asked General Hancock this question: 'Had you known the sacrifice that regi ment had to make, would you have or edred that charge?" "General Hancock in reply said: I would. If I had known that every man In the regiment would have been killed I would have ordered the charge. I was only too glad to have a regiment at hand that was ready and willing to make the sacrifice in a case of neces sity such as that." "The loss of the First Minnesota Regi ment was the greatest by far in per centage of that of any other regiment of any battle of any nation In the his tory of the world. "Upon being wounded I was out of long-ago Chrlstmases and rows of little stockings; of children that had never lived to grow up; and then, with the sword before him, of Buena Vista and Monterey. After a time, he began to feel hun gry. He remembered that there had been cream cakes for dinner, and that he had refused them. They were very nice, those little cream cakes but then, after all, what did it matter? if they would only go out .Grandfather Huxley sat looking at the picture hanging under the unfaded spot on the wall-paper which marked the sword's resting-place. After a lit tle, the picture faded and grew misty in outline. The old man's head dropped on his chest, and he was asleep. The fire burned to a dull red, bursting now and again into a smoking Jet of flame, shining on the sword across the old man's knees, on the bottle beside the bed, and the narrow, dropping chin of the sleeper. He awakened finally, with a start. The crust of smouldering coals had fallen in, and the rooni was bright From somewhere below was audible a faint, creaking cry,' a wall that beat against the ear insistently, that paused for a second, to go on with fresh vigor. Grandfather Huxley looked at the clock. It was 10:30, so Ellen was not at home. He listened for Nora's step. Hearing no one, he got up heavily and went to the head of the stairs. The cries kept on, longer now, with fewer intervals for breath, and with an occa sional hoarse note of infantile rage. The old man lost his look of inde cision; he turned back into the room, and fumbled for his slippers. Then, with an agility that no one in the house suspected, he went downstairs to the nursery. The wicker structure of the baby's bed was vibrant with its occupant's rage. From among the dotted Swiss ruff lings and blue ribbons Grandfather Huxley extracted his great-grandchild, and gathered him into his empty old arms. The baby quieted at once; his wrinkled face relaxed, and he set tled comfortably, seeming to recognize the practiced touch of hands that had handled, on occasion, three genera tions of babies. It' was an hour later when Ellen came home. She tiptoed upstairs ahead of her husband; then she paused, and with her finger on her lips cautioned him to silence. The oldest and the youngest member of the family sat before the fire, in dreamy, open-eyed content. When she saw they were awake, Ellen went over, and. stooping down, kissed the first baby, then the old man. "He wakened, and Nora must have ! Ov O ETTY8B lJ lC3 BATTLEFle the fighting the rest of that day, but could see the maneuvering very plainly from where I lay and knew exactly what was going on. The fighting surged back and forth amidst the roar of cannon and the rattle of muskets and the dull, heavy tramp of troops moving from one position to another. Little Round Top was one of the chief centers of conflict, the importance of that position apparently being appre ciated by both armies at the same time. There the gallant Colonel Pat O'Rourke and General Vincent gave their lives in a heroic struggle which secured the Little Round Top for the Federals. "Cemetery Hill was the scene of strife in the early evening of that day. General Rodes with five brigades, rein forced by two brigades of Pender from been asleep," said Grandfather Huxley apologetically. Ellen slipped her hand Into his with a grateful little pressure. "What should we do without you?" ehe said Impulsively. "This family without you would be a ship without a keel, wouldn't It?" Grandfather Huxley smiled, the first time for a week. Ellen got up and went toward the door. "I'm going to bring you something to eat. You ate no dinner at all. and there are some of those little cream cakes left. Perhaps, If you eat some thing, you won't need the sleeping med icine." Grandfather Huxley choked. "I'm going to throw that stuff away every, drop of it," he said firmly. Left alone, he gathered the youngster closer in his arms. "So the old man's of some use after all," he mused. "A ship without a keeL eh?" A little later, Ellen and her husband in the butler's pantry below, stopped to listen. Grandfather Huxley was sing ing to the baby, and down the stairs came the stirring- words of "The Sword of Bunker Hill," sung in a thin, trem ulous old voice. Copyright by The Frank A. Munsey Company. Some Examples of Carelessness. Judge. Dropping an acquaintance. Cracking a joke. Breaking the current of one's thoughts. Treading -on other people's toes. Tripping upstairs. Tearing along. Letting fall a hint Allowing a secret to escape. Letting a suggestion slip out. Losing a chance. Falling to catch a sentence. Missing the point. Falling over ourselves. Stumbling over an apology. Running against a stone wall. Kicking up a dust. Slopping over. Making a blot on the record. Forgetting old friends. Edgar Knew Them. The teacher was hearing her class of small boys in mathematics. "Edgax." she said, "if your father can do a piece of work In seven days, and your Uncle William can do it in nine days, how long would it take both of them to do it?" "They would never get it done." an swered the boy, earnestly. "They would sit down and tell fish stories.' HOT SPRINGS. ARK. TfvS ris' to Certify Tbat ml R.nor Meeting of tf Atkrt Vttj)' Cam. Number 340. of United Caafederhie- Vetera, hwld na ihrn ltt .e Tmt.. mry. A. 1904, Cel.- C.F. Hausdorf. of. St; rout, Minnesota, kiu wqantmoMjIf elected an Honorary Member of our Camp. iMmlltiiexr thereof. Me hereunto officially subscribe our names this 15th dam , Adjutant. Seminary Ridge, had arranged to at tack the Federal stronghold there. The crest of the hill was crowded with guns and the .task of overthrowing these seemed hopeless. A bloody conflict on top of the hill was gradually enshroud ed In darkness. Only those who were on the hill during that bloody affray knew what took place. The Confeder ates were repulsed. The remaining hours of the night were spent in prep aration for the renewal of the fight at the break of the next day. The big gest victory of the second day for the Federals was the occupation of Little Round Top and the repulsion of the Confederates on Cemetery HilL "The third day found me still on the battleground with no hope of getting away. Almost from the break of day Glass Is Most GLASS is one of the moBt Interesting ass well as one the most peculiar things in the world. It has curious and contradictory qualities, and many as tonishing phenomena connected with it. Brittle and breakable as it Is. yet it exceeds almost all other bodies in elas ticity. If two glass balls are made to strike each other at a given force, the recoil, by virtue of their elasticity, will be nearly equal to their original Impetus. Connected with its brlttleness are BOmo very singular facts. .Take a hollow sphere, with a hole, and stop the hole with the finger so as to prevent the external and internal air from communicating, and the shpere will fly to pieces by the mere heat If the hand. Vessels made of glass that have been U. S. Coins COINING money Is about the most difficult proposition ever under taken by the United States. The precautions taken to insure perfection in the money Uncle Sam turns out are about as complete as any undertaking that engages the attention of men. Out of every fresh batch of silver dollars made at the United States mints half a dozen are sent to the Treasury at Washington to be tested as samples. If they turn out to be of the requisite fineness and weight it is taken for granted that the whole edition is cor rect. For the test, the coin, after being weighed, is rolled out in a thin flat Command, "Keep Still" Is Cruel SIR JOHN COCKBURN, speaking to teachers at the London Day Train ing College, said speech was called into function by the movement of the hand. "If you want to reach the brain you must do it through the band, and if you disregard the use of the eyes, and hands In education you are placing Commander, -J the rattle of musketry resounded. Later the roar of cannon thundered back and forth. In our own little group there were some doctors and nurses busy fix ing up the wounded and burying the dead. A dozen yards from me they had set up a tent and were amputating legs and arms. While I was watchinr that heartrending scene a doctor came to me and I asked him to examine my leg. He did so and said it would have to be cut oft. I objected and he insisted. Bring him over here!' ordered one of the surgeons, pointing to me. I shouted that I would not consent to my leg be ing amputated. 'I'll see whether you will or not," growled the surgeon, as he started toward me. As he approached I pulled up my musket and calmly in formed him that if he placed a hand on me I'd shoot him. "With an oath he said, "let him go. Let him die.' After that I received ao medical attention until I hired a farmer eight days later to take me and four comrades to the railroad station In a wagon. I paid $10 for the services. We were placed on a flatcar with other wounded soldiers and hurried to Bal timore, where I received the first treat ment for my wound. "I got to see the third day of the battle from the battlefield. The lines of both arimes were those of the sec ond day, approximately. There had been few changes. At the break of day General Stuart's brigade homing Fed eral trenches began the fight. The Confederate brigades could make no impression on the entrenched line. At about 9 A. M. the Federal line was re inforced and a bitter fight followed, with Incessant firing. . It continued hour by hour, with the Confederates unsuccessful in their attempts to drive the Federal lines back. The slaughter was great. Finally, the Confederates, seeing that they were outclassed, out maneuvered and were losing, retired. and the greatest battle on record was ended, with the Federals on the winning side. It was the turning tide of the rebellion. "The loss to Johnson's four brigades was appalling; 12 officers and 207 men killed, 99 officers and 1130 men wounded, 13 officers and 362 men missing, a grand total of 1823. Smith's brigade of Early's division had a loss of 142, not being engaged in the first two days of the battle. Daniels' and O'Neal's brigades and Rodes' division (Confederates) lost a total of 1712 men." And that is the story of what hap pened at Gettysburg. "It is impos sible." said Mr. Hausdorf, "for me or anyone else to tell the minute details or to picture the horrors of it all. That must be left to the Imagination. To me, -of course, it was the paramount event of my life. No man could expect to have any greater experience than that or than the experience of any of the soldiers who went through all of the Beige. "It will be with great pleasure that I go back to the now historic old bat tlefield and see where It all took place. I have never been back since I left for the hospital on the flatcar. In my de parting years there is nothing more pleasant for me to think of than that once more I am going back to live over the stirring days of my youth where I went through the crowning event of my life. And I believe eevry other vet eran of the battle will say the same thing." Elastic of All suddenly cooled possess the curious property of being able to resist hard blows given to them from without, but will be instantly shivered by a small particle of flint dropped into their cav ities. This property seems to depend upon the comparative thickness of the bot tom; the thicker the bottom is, the more certainty of breakage by this experi ment. Some of these vessels, it is stated, have resisted the stroke of a mallet given with sufficient force to drive a nail into wood, and heavy bodies, such as musket balls', pieces of iron, bits of wood, Jasper, stone, etc., have been cast into them from a height of two or three feet without any effect, yet a fragment of flint not larger than a pea dropped from a height of three inches has made them fly to pieces. Are Perfect strip more than a foot in length. Then the strip is placed beneath a row of punches, which punch holes in it, so that after passing beneath the instru ment it has the look of a colander. A great many little silver disks are thus obtained, and of these a dozen or so are taken and assayed, to find out how much silver they contain. Be ing obtained from various parts of the coin, they represent fairly the average fineness of the dollar throughout. If the weight Is too little, beyond a very tiny fraction, the whole batch of coins must be melted and made over again, and the same thing must be done if the fineness is not up to standard. Otherwise the assayer in dorses the mintage and the dollars go into circulation. the brake on all mental development of the child. "The command to 'keep still' In a school Is the greatest cruelty you -can possibly Impose on children, for to make children keep still for any length of time very often produces deformity." o.thewmMcupa"a