>Originally published in the Journal of the Military Service Institution, June 1911

When my uncle, Gen. Jubal A. Early, was ordered north in June 1863, on the invasion which culminated in the Battle of Gettysburg, he wrote back to my father, Captain Samuel H. Early, of Lynchburg, Va., to join him and to bring me along with him to act as his courier, at which I was greatly elated, being then only a few months past fifteen years of age. Then followed the pleasant excitement of getting my uniform and everything necessary for me. In this I was very fortunate for those times, as there happened to be a piece of fine English gray cadet cloth in the house left over from making my father’s uniform. Of course, my uniform was made by a tailor, but the underwear was made by my home folks. As I was the only boy in the family, or near connection, there was great ado about preparing this part of my outfit, especially as men wore much more elaborate shirts then than they do now. The bosoms of mine were a mass of small tucks, interspersed with puffs and finished off with ruffles which went up the opening of the sleeve. Finally, everything was ready and I started off with my father, I in great glee, my mother in a swoon, and the rest of the females in tears.

We traveled on horseback, going first to Waynesboro and thence down the valley without incident until we got near to Winchester, where we met a large body of women [nurses, wives of officers and soldiers] belonging to the Union Army which had been captured at Winchester and who were being carried under military escort to Staunton, thence to be sent by railroad to Richmond and from there down James River to their friends. It was a long, hard tramp for their unaccustomed feet, all the way down the valley from Winchester to Staunton, but there was no other way to convey them, as there was no railroad there, and the South had no wagons that could be spared from the line of march.

When we got into Maryland we found the natives very hostile and vindictive toward the South, and we were warned to be very careful, as there were a great many Union soldiers in citizen’s clothes, and there had been considerable bush-whacking and might be more, as the Southern Army had gotten far away. We then went through Hagerstown to Greencastle and thence to Chambersburg, Pa., where we had quite an adventure. We went to a hotel at that place, the proprietor of which was known to Colonel Penn, he having gone to school there, I believe. We stopped at Greencastle some little time before dusk, and there occurred some friction between members of our party and some of the citizens, which, however, was apparently smoothed over, but before going to bed Colonel Penn was told by one of his friends in the town that an arrangement had been made to capture us in the early morning before we got out of bed. Colonel Penn’s friends advised us to frustrate this scheme by taking our departure before it could be carried out. The leaders of our party arranged to have our horses in readiness and that we should make pretense of going to bed as if suspecting nothing, but we got up at three o’clock in the morning, took a hasty luncheon, mounted, and rode away without trouble.

We next went on to Carlisle, where we found quite a body of Southern soldiers and many friends among the officers. General Early, however, had gone on toward York and we were advised to wait in Carlisle for the present. Whilst there, we were quartered in the Carlisle Barracks, which I believe, is the seat of the Indian School to-day [now the U. S. Army War College]. This part of Pennsylvania had a great many of what were then called ‘Copperheads,’ who were exceedingly nice to us. Both from the orders of the officers, from General Lee down, and the dispositions of the soldiers, there had been little or no plundering; but, of course, in so large a body of men there were necessarily some wrong-doers.

General Early had gone on toward York, and General Ewell, desiring to recall him, sent my father on with orders to that effect. General Ewell himself left Carlisle shortly afterward with the soldiers under his command, marching toward Gettysburg and taking me under his especial charge. I slept with him the first night of our march at a little place called Heidlersburg. The old General was very kind to me. As we rode along, we saw many fine wax cherries on the road. I enjoyed these hugely, and so did the General. I brought him so many boughs of them for his consumption that I began to wonder, boy-like how so small a man could hold so many cherries.

An amusing incident that occurred on the march from Carlisle was the capture of a battalion of school cadets in very handsome uniforms. These had marched out gallantly to the defense of their country, but were not taken seriously by the Confederate officers, who simply transferred their army shoes and stockings to their own needy soldiers and left the lads to walk home, bare-footed, in a less dignified style than they had started out.

Toward midday, upon approaching a rather high hill which the road crossed, there was an alarm of the enemy in front, and skirmishers deployed. It proved to be a mistake, however, and we resumed our march. As we neared Gettysburg, we met General Early returning with his forces from York. Upon seeing me, the latter said to my father that I was so much smaller than he had expected that he was afraid I would not do, but at any rate, he wished my father to keep me out of the battle that was then impending. I was greatly crestfallen, but determined, so I just kept out of General Early’s way the rest of the time. We marched up the road which leads directly into the main street of Gettysburg. My father and I were then with Peck’s [Brig. Gen. Harry T. Hays'] brigade.

When we got very near to Gettysburg there was a road that crossed at right angles the road we came by. Firing had already begun in front of and to the right of us. The head of the column of Peck’s brigade turned to the right and marched up the road at right angles with the one we came by, the tail of the brigade going down the same road, but to the left of the first-named one, so the brigade was strung out along this road which was immediately in front of Gettysburg.

Artillery firing then commenced on the part of the enemy, and our men were ordered to lie down in this road, which was a few feet below the general level of the adjacent fields, and so it perfectly protected our men against the enemy’s balls.As I said before, artillery firing on us had commenced and all our foot soldiers were lying down, but the officers were on horseback on the bank back of the road, and my father and I with them. I proposed to my father that we also should lie down with the soldiers, but he laughed, and told me to keep my seat. The balls began to come thicker and closer and to be mixed with grape or canister. One ball seemed to come so close that I thought it would take my head off, so I bent my shoulders to the horse’s neck, whereon my father teased me much, telling me that the ball was at least a mile off, also asking me how I thought I would like the life of a soldier. I replied, with much feeling, that I wouldn’t be surprised if Uncle Jubal was right and I was too small and too young to be a soldier.

All this time we were immediately in front of Gettysburg, and we could see the different [enemy] regiments as they formed in line in front of a large barn on the edge of the town. We captured a great many of them before they had ever fired a shot. The Eleventh Corps of the enemy was opposed to us.

Soon orders were given for the advance. There was a rail fence in front of us, and the first man I saw killed was shot by a rail falling on the hammer of his own gun, the ball striking him on the chest and coming out at the back of his head. We marched on and soon musketry firing commenced, and did not cease until we took the town.

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