Evening Republican, Volume 18, Number 46, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 February 1914 — AND WARDS’ [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

AND WARDS’

HEROIC SPIRIT IS DISPLAYED

Members of the Thirteenth Massachusetts Had to Be Forced Back In Noted Fight at Gettysburg.

George H, Ivehman, employed as an electrician at the Charlestown nayy yard, was a sturdy young man of twenty-one years, 50 years ago. Although he had seen hard service as a private in Company E, Thirteenth Massachusetts infantry, Mr. Lehman weighed 180 pounds when he went Into the battle of Gettysburg. Mr. Lehman had the advantage of knpwledge of how to take care of himself, and, as he says, he never failed to get enough to eat. - ' L On the night of June 30 we were at Emmetsburg, camped at Marsh creek, 14 miles from Gettysburg,” said Mr. Lehman. “About 8 a. m. on July 1 we got orders to start for Gettysburg at double quick. We covered the 14 miles at a dog-trot and it was the roughest road I ever traveled, up and down hill, with dust up to our ankles. “My recollection Is that we reached the line of battle at Gettysburg about noon. The Twelfth Massachusetts had been Ahead- of us and they had been through some hard fighting before we arrived. They had lost many of their men and when we Jined up in the position they had been holding the ablebodied men of the Twfelftb staid with 08.

“It was hot work from the first minute. The rebelß were coming up the road in column of fours just as fast as they could come. There seemed to be a swarm of rebels stretching out farther than we could see. “The boys all knew that there were fully five of the Johnnies to every one of us, but that made our boys fight harder. We were firing }ust as fast as we could reload and aim,' and our men were falling fast. ‘The rebels aimed at the men nearest the colors, so the men who were about the colors were hit first. Our company was stationed to the left of ohr colors and as rapidly as the men near the colors were hit we moved up. Our color bearer, brave Charlie Morris, was killed. Our regimental monument at Gettysburg, by the way, is a soldier in full uniform, and the flgur3 was modeled after Morris. “So many of the cofor company had been killed and wounded that our company, the next one to the colors, had moved 5 up to the position abont the regimental flag. I was close to the colors when a bullet struck my left leg. It was only a flesh wound and I kept on fighting. . “About 2:30 or 3 p. m. I was wounded again, and this - time the ball shattered a bone In the right leg. Thatput me out of action aiyi I was ordered to the rear to the field hospital. I had been able to bandage my right leg with a towel and stop the flow of blood and I could just barely walk. “Before I was hit and was ordered to the rear I knew that we would have to retreat. But the boys did not want to retreat. When it waft impossible to hold the position longer and the officers ordered thqm to retreat the boys had to be driven back before they would stir. In all my experience 1 never saw such heroic spirit as the men of the First corps showed that first day at Gettysburg. “As soon as Stuart’s cavalry rode away I told Kelly to run up the road and intercept Buford’s cavalry, and tell the general which way the rebels had gone. He did so and pretty soon we heard the Union cavalry in pursuit, attacking Stuart’s rear.” ' Mr. Lehman on returning to Massachusetts applied for a commission-in the Fifty-ninth Massachusetts infantry, but the examihing surgeon declared that his wound made further " service impossible. >