Cavalry After Church!

[NH Civil War Gal]

Tillie Pierce

In the words of fourteen-year-old Tillie Pierce: "What a horrible sight! There they were, human beings! clad almost in rags, covered with dust, riding wildly, pell-mell down the hill toward our home shouting yelling most unearthly, cursing, brandishing their revolvers, and firing right and left. I was fully persuaded that the Rebels had actually come at last. What they would do with us was a fearful question to my young mind."http://emergingcivilwar.com/2020/06/28/gettysburg-sunday-cavalry-after-church/#_edn1


Chaos and raiding civilian properties reigned for a few hours. When General Early arrived, he gave the civic leaders an ultimatum: large quantities of supplies or a town ransom of $5,000 in gold. The Gettysburg patriarchs declared they could not meet either requirement (The merchants' stock and bank reserve had been shipped away weeks earlier in preparation for such a situation). However, they offered that the town merchants would open the stores and let the Confederates take what they wanted, instead of destroying the town. Early agreed. The Confederates had their "all-expenses covered shopping trip," frightened civilians, gathered horses, and burned the railroad bridge over Rock Creek. The telegraph operator escaped, but Gettysburg communication link with the outer world was still effective cut. After a night of Rebel music serenades in the town square, the troops headed out the following morning.

 

[Eleanor Rose]

I think the horrors of war are only fully known and understood by those who have seen and heard them. Tillie did both.

 

[UCVRelics]

Great Read. At least they didn't burn the town.

 

[kholland]

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Tillie Pierce

In the words of fourteen-year-old Tillie Pierce: "What a horrible sight! There they were, human beings! clad almost in rags, covered with dust, riding wildly, pell-mell down the hill toward our home shouting yelling most unearthly, cursing, brandishing their revolvers, and firing right and left. I was fully persuaded that the Rebels had actually come at last. What they would do with us was a fearful question to my young mind."http://emergingcivilwar.com/2020/06/28/gettysburg-sunday-cavalry-after-church/#_edn1


Chaos and raiding civilian properties reigned for a few hours. When General Early arrived, he gave the civic leaders an ultimatum: large quantities of supplies or a town ransom of $5,000 in gold. The Gettysburg patriarchs declared they could not meet either requirement (The merchants' stock and bank reserve had been shipped away weeks earlier in preparation for such a situation). However, they offered that the town merchants would open the stores and let the Confederates take what they wanted, instead of destroying the town. Early agreed. The Confederates had their "all-expenses covered shopping trip," frightened civilians, gathered horses, and burned the railroad bridge over Rock Creek. The telegraph operator escaped, but Gettysburg communication link with the outer world was still effective cut. After a night of Rebel music serenades in the town square, the troops headed out the following morning.

Her book "At Gettysburg, or, What a Girl Saw and Heard of the Battle - A True Narrative." is in my Kindle library and has been read 2 or 3 times. An excellent read about civilians affected by the battle.

 

[7thWisconsin]

I think I went to high school with her...

 

[AnnaLee]

Her book "At Gettysburg, or, What a Girl Saw and Heard of the Battle - A True Narrative." is in my Kindle library and has been read 2 or 3 times. An excellent read about civilians affected by the battle.

I am currently reading her book which is the fourth time in many years. She is very detailed about what she saw and keeps your attention.

 

[FarawayFriend]

The most heartbreaking part to me was the description how she sat with a young wounded soldier who suffered greatly, feeding him and keeping him company until his comrade came back, which sure gave him a little comfort. She promised to come back to visit him again, but when she returned the next morning, she learned that he had died in the meantime. That soldier had been General Stephen H. Weed. He was only 31 when he died after Day 2 at Gettysburg.

 

[Tom Elmore]

Regarding the telegraph operator in Gettysburg:

(The National Tribune, July 12, 1888, p. 8 - on the 25th anniversary of the battle) "Gen. [John B.] Gordon called on H. D. Scott, a resident of Gettysburg, who was the telegraph operator here 25 years ago, and the man of all others that the rebels desired to capture. He evaded them, however, being taken out of the town in a buggy."