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"And I have read that somewhere on the field were a number of wounded men, of whom had lost their haversacks—all, I mean, but one; his had a Bible in it, which he had brought as a safeguard—not to his body, but his soul; and he was so glad that it hadn't been plundered, that he made no complaint of his wounds. A colonel was heard to say, as he prepared for the battle: 'I will win a star or a coffin to-day.' He won the coffin."

CHAPTER VII.

THE OVERTHROW OF THE REBEL HOST

IN

PENNSYLVANIA.

ONE afternoon the boys came in tired and warm from the strawberry bed, each with a pan full of fruit to be "canned" for future use; and while the berries were being despoiled of their little green crowns, Mrs. Warren told them of Longstreet's three weeks' siege of Suffolk, in Southern Virginia. "But General Lee needed him for the battle of Chancellorsville," she said, "therefore he was obliged to leave that important place, and join the main army in the North. Where the rebels have been roaming of late," she continued, "it is not easy to discover. I have seen the statement that they are scattered about Freder

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icksburg, Culpepper and Winchester, along a line of eighty-five miles. Some of them, including the troops of Stonewall Jackson, re-occupy the latter place, I know, and are quite at home again in the Shenandoah Valley. We hear of them next in Pennsylvania, making a second attempt to shift the scene of war upon Northern soil. The country has been greatly excited at their re-appearance, and from this and other reasons it is disheartened almost as much as it was after the misfortune of Bull Run."

"But the marauders can't have forgotten their expensive trip to Antietam last summer. If they failed to keep 'My Maryland,' we ought certainly to send them flying from Pennsylvania," rejoined Roger, transferring a strawberry from the pan to his mouth, between his periods.

A week afterward, while the people were still alarmed, waiting between hope and fear for the next news, a great battle was reported; and later, a letter arrived, dated

"NEAR GETTYSBURG, July, 1863.

"The power of our foe is broken!" wrote Daniel, exultingly, "and the Army of the Potomac has passed through the severest conflict ever witnessed on the continent. I remember writing of Antietam in similar words, but hereafter Gettysburg will be famed as the great altar of our sacrifice for the redemption of the nation. With a mind saddened by the sight of these fields of carnage, and with the uproar of three days' strife still resounding in my ears, I hardly know how to tell you of the great encounter, which we were feverishly expecting from the time of our recrossing the Potomac on June 26th, in pursuit of the rebel hordes. On the 27th, Hooker resigned, owing to a disagreement with Halleck, who controls the War Department in Washington. Here was trouble for us at a critical moment, when we were in daily expectance of confronting Lee's whole army. However, we were inured to misfortunes; and under the new leader, General Meade, the great masses moved uninterruptedly on, eager to meet the invaders, of whose insolence fresh tidings reached us almost hourly. For instance, on arriving at York, a town not far from Gettysburg, they promised special favor to the inhabitants, on condition of their surrender; but no sooner was it received, than an order was sent to the town officials, demanding large supplies of food,

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clothing, shoes, and a hundred thousand dollars in

money.

"On the last of June, as we were urging our way among the hills, the cavalry was attacked by Stuart's troopers, who were beaten off, and the next day, the column that was headed for Gettysburg confronted the van of Lee's army. Here in the outset, we lost one of our best men, General Reynolds, who, after superintending a movement to check the enemy, turned to leave the woods, was shot, fell on his face, and died almost immediately. The resistance on our side was continued. As one brigade came into position, its colonel, Ray Stone, remarked to another officer: We have come to stay. We have come to stay!' shouted his men, taking up the words as their rallying cry; many of them indeed never left the ground.

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"A battle extending like this for miles, and involving the movements of an immense number of troops, is not easy to describe with clearness; perhaps I can simplify my account by stating that Gettysburg lies on the slope of a hill, bounded westward by Seminary Ridge, named from a young ladies' seminary upon it; and southward by Cemetery Hill, with its rural graveyard. This hill is the headland of a ridge, terminating further south in a height called Round Top. Facing Gettysburg, then, with your back to the north, our position in two lines could be seen, one to the west, and one

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