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BAYARD WILKESON
Bayard Wilkeson, who commanded Battery G, 4th Regular
Artillery, on Barlow's Knoll, was mortally wounded on the afternoon of
July 1st, 1863 near Gettysburg. Thirty-six Confederate cannon turn
their fire upon his position. Wilkeson, to inspire his men, kept in the
saddle and soon had a leg almost severed by a shell. Twisting a
tourniquet by means of his belt, he stopped the flow of blood, and with
his own hand and a common knife, he completed the amputation of the
leg. Water was brought him to drink--when one of his men begged for a
swallow, and Wilkeson handed him the canteen saying, "I can wait!" In
his terrible situation he thought more of having his guns served than
of saving himself. The Knoll is finally captured by Gordon's
Confederate brigade. General Barlow, wounded, is captured, and the
brave Wilkeson crawled back nearly half a mile to the Alms House, and
there, alone, he died during the night, as brave a victim as the annals
of our wars put upon record. |
The Battle of Gettysburg
By Samuel Wilkeson |
Suddenly, and about ten in the forenoon, the firing on the east side,
and everywhere about our lines, ceased. A silence as of a deep sleep
fell upon the field of battle. Our army cooked, ate, and slumbered. The
rebel army moved one hundred and fifty guns to the west, and massed
there Longstreet's corps and Hill's corps, to hurl them upon the really
weakest point of our entire position. |
There was a lull, and we knew that the rebel infantry was charging. And splendidly they did this work---the highest and severest test of the stuff the soldiers are made of. Pickett's division, in line of battle, came first on the double quick, their muskets at the "right-shoulder-shift." Hill's soldies came as the support, at the usual distance, with war cries and a savage insolence, as yet untutored by defeat. They rushed in perfect order across the open field up to the very muzzles of the guns, which tore lanes through them as they came. But they met men who were their equals in spirit, and their superiors in tenacity. There never was better fighting since Thermopylae than was done yesterday by our infantry and artillery. The rebels were over our defences. They had cleaned cannoneers and horses from one of our guns, and were whirling it around to use upon us. The bayonet drove them back. But so hard pressed was this brave infantry, that at one time, from the exhaustion of their ammunition, every battery upon the principal crest of attack was silent, except Cowen's. His service of grape and cannister was awful. It enabled our line, outnumbered two to one, first to beat back Longstreet, and then to charge upon him, and take a great number of his men prisoners. Strange sight! So terrible was our musketry and artillery fire, that when Armistead's brigade was checked in its charge, and stood reeling, all of its men dropped their muskets and crawled on their hands and knees underneath the stream of shot till close to our troops, where they made signs of surrendering. They passed through our ranks scarcely noticed, and slowly went down the slope to the road in the rear. |
The rebels retreated to their lines, and opened anew the storm of shell
and shot from their one hundred and fifty guns. Those who remained at
the riddled headquarters will never forget the crouching, and dodging;
and running of the butternut-colored captives when they got under this,
their friends' fire. It was appalling to as good soldiers even as they
were. |
Offered May 2008 |
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