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1 ' ' .p ' ' " ' " y'i'"'"'''''''''',M crv"'''
Spot Where the Con
federate Wave Threw
its Highest oprav e!
By Robert B. Vale
T t
T7"rHEN during ' the summer of '63
ilf " there rolled up from the South-
' land a great wave of gray, which
broke on the jidges of Gettysburg, it hurled
far ahead flying clouds of spray. ' And: where
this spray fell on Pennsylvania sail, Almost
within sight of the i do me on the Capitol at
II arrisburgy marks the farthest north reached
by Confederate soldiers in the Civil War.
, " An old red brick dwelling house at Camp
Hill, on the broad white highway which runs
its course from Philadelphia to Pittsburg, is
the only monument which serves to indicate
the spot where, forty-five years ago, a Virginia
ravalrytnan, seated on his tired mount, gazed
a few moments across thi hills which line the
Susquehanna and then; wheeling, turned his
face toward the, South, toward Gettysburg.
c j o me. left oj mis nouse is a iane lime
kiln lane, they call it in Camp Hill and this
is another striking lanSmark, for on the after
noon of Sunday, June 28, 1863, there was
drawn up in the sunken road the most ad
vanced fighting line of he Forlorn Hope.
I
T'S A IXDNO time since those days nearly half a
-century. Not many of the men ana women wno
had reached the adult .go ana ivea jn somnern
ppTinsvlvmiia as the curtain unfolded on the field
of Gettysburg are UU alive. The boys ana giriswno
tlua their barefoot toes into the creamy dust of the
limestone roads as the Confederate columns swept by
are old men and women. Camp Hill in history is for-
S"tAs0'Bobd old Squire H. N. Bowman savs: "How In
the name of all creation the irovernment and the pa
triotic societies of tbe land have neglected to appro
priately mark the nigh-water, spot of the Civil War
beats me!" 1
. Hut it Js unmarked, not a mound or a. stone on
thiB historic ground.
- Camp HHJ, Pa., is a pretty little town, the first but
one that you meet in t!ie broad valley which winds
hundreds of -miles from the Susquehanna to Chat
tanooga, Turin. Not a mile of this valley, which is
known in Its different sections as the Cumberland,
t-hertandoah and Valley of Virginia, but has been trod
by the armies of the Blue and Gray,
, Great battles were fought iu the valley Winches
ter, Antietain, South Mountain. Across the Potomac
ilver, in Virginia, towns were destroyed, farnis laid
waste and buildings razed. To the north, Cham-
titrsburg was" burned and Carlisle shelled.
It lias' been said that when Lee mado his Invasion
lils objective point was Philadelphia, Certainly he
planned to capture Harrlsburg.
LEEkNEW THE LAND WELL 'r
'."r.obert 15. Lee knew the galley well. As a young
-a'Mry officer he had been a visitor st the barracks
in Carlisle, -arid he was familiar with the picturesque .
mountain that lie to the north and to the soxith.
There was no inkling In . the Nprth that the Con
federates intended to make the daring dash until June
li, when General Ewell's corps attacked General Mil
roy and the Union forces at Winchester Va.
In less-than two hours the Federal detachment
was torn to pieces and in flight ' The valley to the
north was clear, save for fleeing Union soldiers.
It was - then that Oeneral Lee ordered Kwell to
sweep up this broad and fertile land and capture the
capital of the Keystone State.-
. Jubal Barly led the advanee, With him was Gen-
rral Jenkins, cavalry commander, and Jt was Jenkins'
command that reached the high-water mark.
The mmaier was one of the moat beautiful In years.
It was 'haymaking time, the season of the jear whi"
ihe loeust blossoms perfumed the air, when the-red
and black cherries, liung iu.-. geuilike clusters ' from -;
overloaded trees .' . ". :-, .- . k .
Coming from a land ' that for two 'years- had been1
clcaulated. the well-tilled fields. the wavinir grain, the
I tiye, well-filled barns and the sleek cattle of the
:ui uiiaid stirred the Confederates with atrango eiuo-
tilHlH.- ' ' - ...:' ' :, .. . . ;
ne North Carolina nfllcor talked with several
farmers in the valley ' He was frank. "My God:" he '
iiil i, "we rannot whir yout AH the Houth Is already
n desert place ,nnl up here your resources-have not
Lceti touched: Its nope.!?-" . ' .
There was notbmK to stop Lee's army, Back in '
Washington President- Mniolu heard-that Early had
already reached faipiienuburtf and that FitzhuKtl Lea
i .ni dashed across York and Adams counties and
ttut'hcU Lb a Jbuaqutthanou at "VVritfhtsville. ;
THE OJUZGON
1 1. tr ,csxj
Meade's army was just entering Pennsylvania. All
the Cumberland valley was jammed with. the enemy.
Several thousand troops, mostly New York militia,
were concentrated on the western bank of the Sus-
OW vrpuld you likrf to he fed on bread and
water, only, for ten days ?
Oi how would you like to stand on your
r -feet, your hand upraised, for two or three
hour, not bring permitted t- move, talk, or maka
a motion, of any Bort?
. J . Perhaps you would like to curry horses for
-three and, four hours without cessation. -"
' ' Or how would a task of pawing wood until you '
fell over from exhaustion strike you?-v .
; These. arc among the punishmenta inflicted in ;
the regular army for violation of regulations, ac
cording to the statements ef men who hare been
in service- Some of these punishments almost rank
with Chinese tortures and the cruelties of medieval
times. " '".i". ': a'';'5;'";':v;; 7;:v 7i
U Tr uu -r m i -
(lis .ShsMP''
'
M
SUNDAY JOURNAL. PORTLAND. SUNDAY EORSWK MAY 24, . J9D3 , "
quehanna, across . from Harrlsburg, and they were
augmented py 10,000 : volunteers , from the invaded
state, , ; .
Night and day they worked, building: Jntrenchment
ICTICEiinthe
A-
ItMT life Is hot without its hardships, even for
, the exempUry soldier. ;Fofr the soldier Inclined
to "kick; over the traces,"' in the parlance of
me amp tnere is frequently series of Twitter
experiences, indeed, a person who has never served In
the army would be surprised at what mlgrht seem too
cruel punishments inflicted on men within the ranks.
, Among the more ; severe punishments given for
' .'- , " : ' , 0. . : . I.
on the crest -of the heights. These mounds of earth
are standing today and are known as Fort Waahing-
ton and Fort Couch.
Military men knew that neither the undrilled troops
commanded by General Baldy Bmith nor the hill of
loam could stop Lee If an attack were mude.
Kegiment after regiment of fleeing Union soldiers
. came into Harrisburg. They told of the thundering
horde at their heels. So swiftly did Early move that
his advance was almost constantly engaged with the
rear of the enemy from Hagerstown to Mechanlcs
burg. Hundreds of Union prisoners, weak from lack
of food and exhausted by flight, were picked up along
the roads.
There wai panic' Farmers abandoned their homes
and, gathering together their families, their valuables,
their cattle and their horses, Joined in the mad rush
to escape across the Susquehanna. The roads were
packed with a weird Jumble bf soldiers, cows, chickens
and wild-eyed men, women and children, rumbling
wagon trains, and ambulances filled with sick and
wounded men. .
It was on Saturday evening, June 27, that Governor
Curtln, at Harrisburg, telegraphed President Lincoln
that the Confederates had reached Carlisle and Har
risburg would fall on Monday. No sign of Meade, who
was to check the invasion.
Sunday morning Jenkins led his tired but Jubilant
cavalry up to Oyster's Point. .This Confederate leader
carried with him two pieces of artillery, and he posted
these on a little mound, about half a mil from Camp
Hill.
He could see the hills to the south covered .with
a. vast holiday crowd that came out to witness the
advance of the Southern armies. Due ahead were the'
heights manned by the small Union force. All along
the road were scattered Union sharpshooters, and now
and then they took pop shots at the dusty gray enemy.
.raj .
lift issmi
' : " 1 ,
various offenses are standing at attention for periods
of twd and three hours, grooming horses for several,
hours, washing dishes for several days, or condemned ,
to the "awkward squad" and compelled to drill for
one or two hours a day. . -
"A person who has not served In the tegular army
rannot conceive the punishments' often prescribed,",
declared ajman who had been an enlisted soldier for a
number of) years - y .
"Of course, -most-soldiers who are punished have
committed "some offense. - But one cannot help feeling
that many officers like to rub It in, and that the pun
ishments often parallel the heartless army cruelties
. which have raised such a furore in Germany. .. v-.
. "Possibly one of the most wearisome punishments.
Is to stand at attention for several hours. When a sol-
" dier will not give the proper salute to a superior, this
Is the usual sentence. While a sentry passes by with
a gun in hand, the other fellow must stand at atten
tion. They will not let him change position, move or..
' talk. - I have seen men stand during the hot .days of
' summer until they fell over from exhaustion. , ;
"In the guardhouse poor food is usually given. But
- taiyji-i living on bread and water . for: five to ten
A "hort distance pp the THndle Spring road from
the Point a Confederate soldier was hit in the leg and
hi horse carried hint toward the Union lines. The
young Southerner toppled off his mount into the dust.
and to him is given the honor of the "High Water"
prisoner of the war. Who he was is not known today,
but he -was well cared for and was treated by the
surgeons at Harrisburcr. v .
- Across the road where, now stands the old red
, house there stood in '63 a tollgate. One or two of
Jenkins cavalry rode up to the harrier until their
horses noses rested on the thee side. Mot one soldier
passed the gate. : v.. .
Meantime, the InteWrrtttent' cracking of rifles kept
up. Afternoon came. The Confederate- line took its
place in Limekiln lane. The artillery to the rear be
gan shelling the country in front. Several buildings
were struck and the Union skirmishers retreated into
the in trench ments.
- Far down th valley the clouds of dust told Of the
never-stopping Infantry. The preliminaries wore
through with, the attack on Harrlsburg was about to
begin on the coming of the morrow. Once the capital
of the state fell and railroads destroyed, Lee could
place his forces on the southern slopes of the moun
tain, ,ace Meade and give battle.
Then -one of the strange things which sometimes
settles the fate of nations took place. A small force
of Lee'e army. Just outside of Gettysburg, got into-a
skirmish with some Union troops. Meade, who had
just succeeded to command,- had arrived..
More troops came up and the fighting grew. Lee
saw that he must have it out right there. He was
then in Chambersburg. He ordered all the divisions
to leave the Cumberland valley; he drew Fitzhugh Lee
and Jenkins away from the shores of the Susque
hanna; he himself started across the mountains to
Gettysburg and to crushing defeat.
That Sunday night the glare of fire down Ihe river "
told that Fitzhugh Lee had fired the bridge to Colum
bia: Federal troops advancing from Harrlsburg saw
Jenkins' cavalry retiring on Gettysburg. These Union
troops came up with Jenkins near Sporting Hill, a
short way from Camp Hill, and there was a small
engagement. But Jenkins did not hurry, and some of
his rear guard remained in the vicinity of Camp Hill
for a day r two. holding back the Federal forces.
ACTS OF DARING
During those few exciting days not one, but scores
. of acts of daring were performed by the people of the
Cumberland valley. So swift was the march of Lee
that the authorities In Washington did not understand
the maneuver. Everybody in the North was stunnnd.
Information was needed, the whereabouts of the Con
federates, the numbers of the forces all these facts
were vital.
Spies volunteered, their services. Two men, Will
lam Coffey and Samuol McKinney, disguised as farm
ers, penetrated the Confederate line. . They learned
much, and then turned . toward Harrlsburg and the
Union lines. Walking along until a clump of shrub
bery concealed, them, the spies made a dash for the
mountains. .
Soma of Kwell's men saw them running, and opened
fire. The men kept on. Then, in front of them, sol
diers crossed the . road, and the spies were prisoners.
They were taken --t General Kwell's headquarters,
nooses were slipped over their necks and they were
being elevated, when Swell directed their lives to be
spared.
Charles Flemmlng was sent Into the Confederate
lines as a spy. It was mighty easy for him to get the
facts, but most unusually hard to get away with them.
Down near Oyster's Point he tried to make a run
through the fields. A watchful cavalryman overtook
him, and Flemmlng was kept a prisoner until the bat
tle at Gettysburg opened. ...
Then there was Harry Smith. , He had come back
to his old home at Camp Hill, wounded, He still wore
his blue uniform, and it was a foolish thing for him
to try to act as spy thus attired. He was caught, and
had he not summoned all the people in the' neighbor
hood to testify to his discharge and that he was a
native of the plaice, he would have been hanged.
Camp Hill today does not look as it did when It
was held by the Confederate forces, put few of the old
buildings In which the troops quartered, where they
dined on substantial Pennsylvania fare, where the offi
cers played the pianos of absent women and held
dances in the parlors, are still standing.
It is now a suburb of Harrlsburg. The tollgate
house Is unchanged, the fortifications are there, but
, soon. Willie torn down to make room for houses; the
lane, i Limekiln lane, is as it was two score and five
years back.
The high-water mark of a war In which more than
1,000.000 men died is unknown save for the traditions
of the village, the memories of the old folks and the
musty documents In the archives of the Cumberland '
County ilstorlcal Society.
days! One nearly dies of the monotony of this food.
One actually - suffers. The soWler gets hungry and
the bread tails to satisfy his 'hunger. He smells the
food In the mess tent And well you can Imagine
how he feels. ' ' 7.
"Sawing wood Is hardly any worse than' this. In
fact. If one saws wood he is usually given real food.
But those in authority do work the poor rascals, all
right ' In the morning they are led from the guard
house .and put on the wood. They usually Work from
8 In the morningi until 6 in the evening.
"Every evening after the men have groomed tfceir
horses, the officer comes along and rubs his hands
over tho horse s coat to see whether it Is clean or not
x ".pne night I was on sentry duty. A chap near
me had Just finished currying hi horse. The officer
came by, passed his hand over the horse and grunted,
'Now you can groom that horse until I come back'
It was a common thing; in fact, the usual punishment.
"The fellow began grooming the horse, and he
groomed it for three hours before the officer came
back. How does the horse like it? I don't know. . .
"Thia happened repeatedly. -Of course. It may be
said that a soldier should keep his .horse clean. But
it seems pretty hard on the man when he Js compelled
v to rub a horse's back several hours. , To say nothing
of the horse. , ( : .
"A soldier's life Isn't a snap. It isn't any wonder
that some-of the most careful men at times enter
guard mount with dirty equipment. I have seen some
of the best men do it- - ; ... , '
- .' NO MERCY SHOWN
"The soldier starts out for guartJ mount at I
O'clock. The adjutant comas along and sees that his
- gun is dirty. The soldier is put in tho guardhouse,
bomctlmes he gets - pretty long term, A severe sen
tence, isn't it? After the eighth conviction he may be
court-martialed. .-
"If a soldier ml?ses the 11 O'clock roll call at night
1 he is likely to -be tried and to get a 'month and
month.' This means, a month in the guardhouse and
a deduction of pay. if the non-commissioned offlcet .
should take pity on him and not report the absence,
. and this is discovered, he Is liable to be deprived' of
his stripes. - This Is ail routine punishment.
"But tasks are assigned men which are not only
. useless but torturing.. 1 have seen a soldier sentenced
to dig a hole in the ground six feet deep and six by
four feet square. When it was dug, he was com
manded' to fill t up again, and when it was filled be
- was commanded to dig it again: Such things sound
incredible, but they are too common.
"Sometimes a soldier may not drill properly. He
may be tired, out, or again, may be new. . If the officer .
Is not in a partlcular-ly good humor, he, will most'
likely assign the man to what is called the 'awkward
squad.' Then he is compelled to go through the drills
for one or two hours. . One can Imagine nothing more
tiresome than the continuous handling of a gun for
such a length, of time. : , - , . , .
"Ot course, order must be preserved In the army.
. There must be punishmentspunishments often severe. .
But any man of common -sense and human sympathy -who
has been In the service cannot but feel that pun- .
Ishments in a great percentage of the cases might be '
' more humane. ..: . ,-, , -
"Some officers forget that soldiers, even If they are ;.
careless or disobey orders, are human, and punish
ments which exhaust the strength only arouse antag
op ism and Ul will. Mercy is a mother of patriotism."