USA > Pennsylvania > Adams County > Gettysburg > The color episode of the one hundred and forty-ninth regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers in the first day's fight at Gettysburg, July 1st, 1863 > Part 3
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1. **** After lying under shelter for an hour, the command of the regiment fell to me, Col. Wsstar taking command of the brigade.
Almost immediately, by order of Col. Wister, a change of front forward on first company was made, and in that new position, protected by a fence (on the south side of the pike) our men awaited the charge of a rebel regiment which
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was attempting to flank the 143rd and 149th regiments, which had gallantly repulsed an attack on their front. At a distance of fifty yards a vo ley was fired into the rebels, - which- staggered them so completely that a second one was fired before an attempt was made to advance or retreat. At this juncture Col. Wister ordered the regiment to charge, and led it in person. The rebels were utterly routed; and the colors of the 149th Pa. Vols. which had been lost were re-captured and restored to the regiment. The 150th then fell back to the position from which they had opened fire and advanced.
In other words THE 150th RECAPTURED AND RESTORED THE COLORS WHILE NORTH OF THE PIKE and then returned to the fence south of the road, the position from which they had opened fire and advanced
(2.)
Philadelphia, March 9, 1906
Dear Captain Bassler :
Thanks for your pamphlet on the First Day's. Fight, which I read (for the second time) with interest. It was always in my mind that our three regiments being hidden from observation by Hill's men, but in sight of Rodes' men, the two regimental colors were placed to draw the fire of Carter's batteries. on Oak Hill. ' For this purpose the flag of the 150th was planted near the stone quarry and that of the 149th not far from where the Rey- nolds monument is, with the color guard close by. at the N. W. corner of the barn.
As I was with Gen. Stone, along about 11 30, reconnoitering, I got his views as to the purpose of this arrangement, and saw with him the benefit of it.
All of a sudden I saw Daniel's men swoop down upon our brigade from the north-west; and as they rushed towards us, they struck your flag which was carried along with them until they reached the 150th AND YOUR COLOR GUARD, but they left it in OUR HANDS I now believe that it was your guard which had the colors when we recovered our breath after the closest, wickedest strug- gle I ever saw I cannot but feel that the 149th was without its colors when it drove Daniel from the railroad cut the first time, and that it fought with the colors after your first encounter
This question is so profitless, that I make, no mention of it in anything 1 now say or write. As I wrote to Capt Gamble, at Porto Rico, oniy a few days ago, in answer to a lot of questions he asked, the loss your regiment sustained at Gettysburg was phenominal, and that the flag question should - be dropped. forever, as unimportant and not worthy of remark in any paper he might be preparing about the 149th . Of course I sent him a copy of my pamphlet. I presume he would like your pamphlet if he does not have it. His address is Captain Gamble. Fort Morro, San Juan, Porto Rico. I presume he is the son of one of the 149th.
Yours Sincerely,
H. S. HUIDEKOPER. (The underlining in both of above is my own. )
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.(3). "I had a personal interview with Gen. Huidekoper last October (1906) upon this question (the Color question). He states positively and firm- ly that right after the charge to the cut of the 149th, apparently soon after you were wounded, that a force of rebels came down on your left and crossed the pike ; and that they had the colors of the 149th; that the right of the 150th, and for all he can say, the left of the 149th, went after those fellows and the colors; drove the enemy back, and that the flag of the 149th was brought to him by men wearing "Bucktails," whom he supposed to be his men; but who may have been 149th men as well, as all he noticed was the "Bucktails." They brought him the flag and he ordered it taken to Colonel Dwight with his. com- pliments."
In the above quotation H. gives three different versions of "the recapture canard," too contradictory in several essen- tials to ensure there credence in a court of law. In the first, as given in his official report, when the incidents of the bat- tle were fresh in his memory, the recapture and return of the colors is claimed to have taken place during Wister's charge, north of the pike. In the second version given 43 years after the battle; he says the colors were "not far from where.the Reynold's monument is," and curiously locates the color guards "close by at the N. W. corner of the barn "
Why the color guards should be posted at the N. W. corner of the barn, (south of the pike), while the colors were north of the pike, is a question that would puzzle a Phila -. delphia lawyer. They could not have been "close by" the colors, for the barn is 50. yards away from the pike in a di- rect line, and how could the color guards protect the colors 100 to 120 yards away ?
In this version of H's story, the recapture must have taken place south of the pike; and, strange as it seems, he now believes that it was our color guards who got the flag ; which flag, whether State or National, he does not say. It is strange that the enemy should take only one flag when they could just as easily have picked up both ; strange, that if it was my men who recaptured "the flag," as H. now be- lieves, that they should bring it to him; strange, that when ordered to take it to Col. Dwight with H's compliments, that they were sent back to the rail pile again, for THERE IS WHERE THEY WERE an hour or so after as is proved by affida- vits, corroborated by Confederate reports; strange, that not one man of the Color company (nor of the regiment as far as I could ever learn) knows anything personally about such a capture, recapture and return of the colors ; strange, that
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the force of the enemy that stole down on our left, (as H. says) struck our colors and carried them along south across the pike, is not mentioned in any official report on either side, not even in that of hisown ; strange, that in the spring of 1906, H. should consider this flag question so profitless that he resolved not again to make mention of it in any- thing he said or wrote, but that in the following fall we find him down in Porto Rico, 'revamping the recapture claim with added emphasis to Capt. Gamble, and giving it a sort of a stage setting to make it more impressive.
Strange it is, that H. wants my brave boy's turned down -they, who were so faithful to their trust, and who, after being so shamefully left to their fate, gave such a splendid account of themselves, exhibiting the highest qualities of the American soldier, and adding renown to their Tegiment ; strange, indeed, that it did not strike H. how unreasonable was such advice, which, if given by an outsider to the his- torian of his regiment, urging him to leave out as unimpor- tant, all mention of their brave color bearer, Sergt. Peiffer, would have aroused his (H's) indignation, and he would have justly denounced it as the height of impertinence; yes, sur- prisingly strange, that H. has the effrontery to suggest to our historian that he pass over our color affair in silence and leave the stigma which his fictitious claim has placed on our regiment, without an antidote to its concealed poison ..
Stigma? Yes, the worst kind: The recapture claim, as given in H's official report, looks innocent enough on its face ? but, as it is a well-known fact that the enemy got permanent possession of both our standards, it is equivalent to charging us with having lost our colors TWICE that day, a record bad enough to blacken the reputation of any regi- ment, no matter how severe and bloody was its fighting, or how heavy its losses. :
Strange it is, too, that H. adheres so persistently to his story, though unable to produce any evidence of its truth. Forty-three years have passed and the name of the hero who made the recapture is still a mystery. Is it not reasonable to suppose that if it had really occurred, his name would have been known to every man in the regiment within 24 hours? In the nature of the case, such a conspicuous affair . would not escape the notice of a goodly number of men, who would be sure.to spread the news and the name of their
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valiant comrade. It would have formed a topic of conver -. sation around the camp-fire for weeks to come.
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It is astonishing that a man of the General's standing should place himself in such an indefensible position; for the proof is indisputable that there was no capture of our colors while the brigade held its position around the Mc- Pherson buildings, and since there was no capture there could not possibly have been a recapture.
For years I kept a watch to see whether anyone would claim the mythical honor of having been the central figure in this assumed recapture. When, in 1SS2, on the publica- tion of Kieffer's fascinating serial, "The Recollections of a Drummer Boy," Sergeant John C. Kensill, Company F, 150th, posed as the long-sought-for hero, I at once opened a corre- spondence with him ; but soon found that this comrade's mind was somewhat off its balance, and I subsequently learned that it was caused by a wound in his head.
Incidentally our correspondence did-me a valuable ser- vice, for which I shall always hold him in kindly remem- brance, for it led to my acquaintance with a comrade of his company, Sergeant W. R. Ramsey-an acquaintance which ripened into a warm and lasting friendship. As the Ser- geant has something to say on the "recapture canard," I -- claim the privilege of introducing him to my auditors with a few complimentary remarks
Comrade Ramsey's marvelous power of endurance en- abled him to survive war experiences which not one man in a thousand could have passed through and lived. He had a leg shattered in the Battle of the Wilderness at the most advanced point to which our line had penetrated, lay for a time between the firing lines, and as our troops were driven back, was unavoidably left.
Mr. Ramsey is a gentleman of fine intelligence; and, that he is one of the notable men of his splendid regiment, is evidenced by the fact that he was selected as one of the speakers at the dedication of their battlefield monument ; and, that the very complete roster of his regiment, involv- ing a vast deal of correspondence, and which is embodied in Chamberlin's history of the 150th, is from his pen. He is a historian by natural instinct; brimful of facts relating to the first day's fight at Gettysburg; has carefully investigat- ed all points of interest that presented themselves; among them Comrade Kensill's above mentioned pretensions, and
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through pure love of truth and fairplay, he sifted to- the bottom, the recapture claim as set forth in Bates' history, It gives me great pleasure to present to you the result of his investigation in the following letter :
Palmyra, N. J., Aug. 12, 1907.
Capt. J. H. Bassler,
Late Co. C, 149th P. V., My Dear Comrade:
I have yours of Aug. 5th in which you ask me to furnish you with the result of my investigation of the Kensill claim to have headed the squad of the 150th men, who were said to have recaptured the colors of the 149th P. V., in charge made by the right wing of the 150th regiment, during the battle of July 1st, 1863, at Gettysburg.
In reply would say that I have all my notes taken in 1883-84, and I will gladly place a copy at your disposal; you are at liberty to use all or any portion thereof, in any way you may desire.
To begin at the beginning; in Feb. 1882, an old tent- mate of mine, Sergt. Jno. C. Kensill, then residing in Fort Wayne, Ind., visited Phila, and called on me. During our conversation he told me he was engaged in a controversy with Capt. Bassler, of Co. C, 149th P. V., who wanted to make him believe that WE did not recapture their colors for them at Gettysburg on the first day; he asked me to sustain the claim that we DID, for the honor of Co. F., God bless her.
This I told him I could not do, as I did not believe that any such recapture was made, and gave him my reasons for doubting the claim ..
Jack did not tell me that he was a candidate for a Con- gressional medal because of his having. headed the squad which made the recapture, but he did tell me that the St. Nicholas was publishing a series of articles, written by H ... M. Kieffer, of Co. D. 150th, under the caption of "Recollec. tions of a Drummer Boy," in which the recapture was nar- rated.
From an officer of the 150th, P. V., I learned the nature . of Jack's claim; Kensill had asked for his recommendation and interest in procuring the medal ; having no personal knowledge, this officer referred the matter to me, as a mem- ber of (o. F, who had been present at the time of the alleged occurrence.
I stated that while I knew of Jack's acting with great"
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gallantry on another occasion, I could not credit his claim in regard to the Gettysburg affair, whereupon he said that he himself thought that Jack was a little gone in the head.
I procured the back numbers of the St. Nicholas, and in the letter column saw the statement made that at a reunion of the 88th Indiana, held in Fort Wayne, in January, 1882, a comrade being called on, had responded by quoting the 149th flag recapture and other incidents from Kieffer's ar- ticle: when he sat down Kensill took the floor and said he knew these incidents were true, because HE was the man who headed the charge for the recapture of the colors; and he then went on to describe with great minuteness the de- tails of the terrific hand to hand struggle for possession of the flags; this was published in the next issue of the maga- zine, of which more anon.
After Jack's return to Fort Wayne in February, 1882, . he and I entered into a correspondence, the result of - which was that in August, 1883, he met me at Gettysburg, where we spent a week together, this being the first time either of us had been on the ground since July, 1863.
Jack so persistently stuck to his story of a recapture, that I began to wonder whether it could have taken place during my temporary absence from the line, while five of us carried Major Chamberlin into the house in our rear, he having been badly wounded as we changed front from the pike, facing north, to the barn, facing west.
Not wishing to do my old comrade an injustice, I de- - termined to investigate the matter thoroughly.
I soon developed the fact that Jack had been wounded insideof twenty minutes after we became actively engaged,and had NEVER CROSSED THE PIKE-north of which the 149th colors were located. I notified him of the result of my in- quiry, but he reterated his story, adding that when old Gimber (our captain) ran away he took the company in. As this was an outrageous falsehood, I wrote and so informed him ; also told him that his claim was a base slander on his
superiors, two of whoin were dead and could not defend- themselves, but that in their behalf I would leave no stone unturned to get full particulars of the whole affair; that I would begin by writing to Capt. Bassler, asking him for a copy of his (Jack's) first letter, so as to know EXACTLY what claim had been made for the men of Co. F and their gallant TAKER IN, as well as LEADER in the color dash.
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. As you know, I wrote you on March 17th, 1884, and in reply received a copy of Jack's first letter, which you in -- formed me was in answer to a letter of inquiry addressed by you to Jack after reading his claim in the St Nicholas. This letter of Kensill's was a tissue of falsehood from com- - mencement to close,
He was our fifth sergeant, and there were present, to my certain knowledge, four officers superior to.him in rank,to wit: Capt. Gimber, Lt Keyser, Ord. Sergt. Evans and First Duty Sergt. Chas. T. Street. Keyser was killed in field north of . pike AFTER Kensill was wounded ; Evans was with the com- pany till the close of the day, and he and I left the Semi- nary together; Street also was there through the engage- ment; I saw and spoke to Gimber A FULL HOUR AFTER Kensill had gone to the rear.
I will now give you some extracts from my , note book, under head of "Statements of sundry persons in regard to reported recapture of 149th colors by squad of 15 th P. V."
Ramsey, of F, crossed the pike, saw your colors when we swung out from barn to fence on south side of pike, from which point we opened fire on the advancing rebel line, which was then partly across the R. R. grading, west of the cut-remained in field until the right wing-A, F, D-fell back, under orders, to the south side of pike; he saw no fight around your colors, to which Co. A, 150th, was near- est, on account of our position being diagonal to the pike; with right of A farthest north of the road,
John Hines, of Co. F, crossed the pike, was wounded in field north of it; saw no dash, knows nothing of recapture ; . F. M. James, of F, wounded in field north of road, saw noth- ing of dash; Ned Fowler, of F, was in field north of pike, saw Lt. Keyser killed, noticed 149th colors, but says we did not get them ; Ned Hess and Geo. Bates. both of F, crossed pike, know nothing of dash ; MacDonald, of F, crossed the pike to fence on north side, but did not enter field, he saw 149th colors and locates them to our front and right, which . agrees with Ramsey's recollections; HE SAYS THE COLORS WERE STILL THERE WHEN WE FELL BACK TO THE BARN. Mac- Donald was a veteran of the Mexican War, cool and obser- vant, a thoroughly reliable man in every way.
Many other members of A and F were written to, or interviewed, and with but one exception, none had any per-
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sonal knowledge of the recapture, although several had heard of it as a camp-fire rumor after the battle.
The one exception was a man of F who, like Kensill, de- scribed in glowing language the color episode, with this dif- ference, however, he himself was the gallant leader; there were some weak spots in his story: first, he assigned to the command of F an officer who was not at McPherson's, hav- ing fallen by the wayside before reaching the field, and not. rejoining the regiment until August 31st, following; second, this same leader number two, had previously stated, at a. gathering of F' in 1883, that our regiment NEVER CROSSED THE PIKE; third, this glorious hero was,like Kensill, wound- ed and off the field BEFORE the 150th crossed the pike.
In July, 1863, Sergt. Major Lyon, a tentmate and inti- mate friend of mine, who was then in Philadelphia, having been wounded July 1st, at the request and dictation of an officer of 150th, wrote up the part taken by our regiment at Gettysburg; this, with some modifications of phraseology, corrections of orthography, &c., was published in the Phila- delphia Press, of July 25th, 1863 ; Lyon sent a copy to me, which I still have; this was, I believe, the first PUBLIC claim of the recapture of the 149th, P. V. colors, by a squad of the 150th; the statement in Bates' history, page 651, is sub- stantially the same, and was doubtlessly based on the news- paper article referred to.
In July, 1884, I wrote to Lyon, then in New York, in relation- to the claim made by Kensill; he forwarded to me. the original M. S. which he had written in July, 1863, this also I still have in my possession ..
Lyon died at the Home of Incurables in Philadelphia, Dec. 12, 1898; while he was an inmate of that institution, I frequently visited him, and in one of our war talks, not long before his.death, while speaking of the.recapture inci- dent, he said to me: "You know, Bill, that was all poppy- cock," a favorite expression of his for buncombe.
I have always been of the opinion that the advance of our right wing into the field north of the pike, SAVED your colors from capture AT THAT TIME, and that fact was magni- fied into. their having been RECAPTURED by us; many a goodly edifice has arisen from a much slighter foundation
I think the responsibility for the final capture of your colors is a divided one, including Stone, Dwight, Wister and possibly Dana.
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Their detachment by order of Col. Stone, had served its purpose long before the position at McPherson's had been abandoned, and the guards could have been recalled to their place in the regiment at any time prior theretod
Stone being wounded, probably overlooked the matter, as did also Wister, who succeeded Stone in command of the brigade, Dana was in command but a short time before we were flanked out of the position.
Dwight in his report frankly assumes all the responsi- bility for their loss. but his explanation of the cause is such a mixture of fact and fancy, that one is compelled to look elsewhere for the true reason, which, in my judgment, and that of other participants, is that HE was "shot in the neck" as well as in the thigh.
My own observation, confirmed by that of others, assures me that he was under the influence of liquor. He was a gallant soldier, and stuck to the front after being badly wounded, but if his judgment had not been obscured by his condition, your colors would, no doubt, have been recalled by him in ample time to assure their leaving the field in safety, although they might have met the same fate as the flag of the 150th during the retreat through the town.
Trusting that this may be of service in proving your contention that no RECAPTURE took place, I am ..
Fraternally, ยท Wm .- R. Ramsey.
Kensill had served three years in the navy and was well-known as "Sailor Jack"; he was a good comrade and gallant soldier. I think his severe head wound, on the first day at Gettysburg, was responsible for much of the nonsence which he talked and wrote.
CAST IN A DIFFERENT MOULD.
In striking contrast to General Huidekoper's course, is that of the highly cultured and versatile' Rev. Dr. Henry M. Kieffer, author of "The Recollections of a Drummer Boy." The Doctor had accepted the recapture claim as a fact, upon the authority of Bates" history, and in his serial for St. Nicholas, he, with customary literary license, dressed it up in fine style. But, with a nobility of nature worthy of his high calling and his title of D. D., as soon as he learned the truth about the matter, he made all the reparation that could be asked for, in the following letters:
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Easton, Pa., October 27, 1896.
Mr. H. H. Spayd, My Dear Sir and Comrade:
.By your kindness I am in receipt of a pamphlet entitled Reminis- cences of the First Day's Fight at Gettysburg by Capt J. H. Bassler, for which I desire to thank you most cordially. At once on receiving the pamphlet, though very busy, I sat down and read it with the greatest interest; and I wish to say that of all the addresses of a similar nature in my possession, I know of none that I shall more highly treasure. . I do not know or even recall Capt. Bassler, tho I must often have seen him in the army-but 36 years is a long time to look back through-but if I had the opportunity I should very highly congratulate him on this little pamphlet. The address is simply charming in its straight-forward and unpretentious simplicity, and possesses certain literary characteristics which I find it difficult to specify. I have been careful to pre- serve all such orations and addresses, and some day shall have them bound that they may be preserved for generations to come; and I am sure that when those who are to come after us, read this little brochure of Captain Bassler's, it . will make the blood tingle for them when they peruse his account of how the 149th Color Guard defended the flag. May that flag never want brave de- fenders. - Sincerely Yours in F. C. & L.,
Henry M. Kieffer, . Late Drummer Boy 150th Penna-Vols.
P. S .- I wish you would put me. in correspondence with Captain Bassler. I have some interesting correspondence with a Johnny Reb (Allen C. Red- wood, of the Century Co. Artist Staff, who illustrated my book), on the subject of the capture of your flag He says a messmate of his captured it-now a preacher in Richmond. ""Tempora mutantur, et nos cum illis."
Easton, Pa , January 2, 1897.
My Dear Comrade:
I should have replied to your esteemed favor of October 28th at an earlier date but I was awaiting a reply to a letter I had sent to Rev. Mr. Lumpkin at Richmond, who I think is the man that got away with you and the State flag of the 149th the first day at Gettysburg. He did not reply for so long that I had almost given it up; but to-day his reply reached me and I now send it to you, with the very particular request, that after you have read it you return it to me, as I want to keep it. It will greatly please me if I can feel that I have been the humble means of bringing you and the Rev Mr. Lump- kin together, two valiant foemen of former days. Do you write to him and let me know the result of your interview.
As for my statements in the Drummer Boy Book concerning the recap- ture of your flag by a squad of my regiment-when I wrote that book little had been written in any of the magazines about the war-indeed nothing but sen eral sketches in the Century by Allen C. Redwood, now on the artist staff of the Century, who did the illustration of my book. Mr. Redwood's articles,
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in "Johnny Reb at Play." in the Century about 1879, gave me the thought of writing a serial for St: Nicholas, likewise published by the Century people. My story an through a year of that magazine; was afterwards published in book form by the Century people at their own suggestion and was really the way-breaker for the great series of war papers that afterwards appeared in the Century
Now you see, my dear comrade, at that time when I began to write, the facts of our history were in a choatic state Little attention had been paid to them, and the few statements here and there made were as it were, at random; at least there was little of any opportunity of verifying and connecting impressions that were vague, or statements that were hasty In Bates' history of Penna. Vols - Vol. 5, I think-in the sketch of my regiment, written by Maj. Thomas E Chamberlin of the 150th, a very well educated man and a most competent officer, you will find the statement made that your colors at one stage of the fight were recovered by a squad of my command. I do not think that Major C. would now say what he did then-he gave what his best information. war- ranted at the time. Nor would I now, were I engaged in writing my book, state what is evidently apocryphal. What would I not now give had I had at hand when I was writing, these most valuable papers of Captain. Bassler, your own and the Rev. Mr. Lumpkin's. And it gives me some littie satisfaction that, in seeking to make amends to you and the members of your noble regi- ment, at this late day, I have been instrumental in searching out your antago- nist and captor.
Suppose you send him a copy of Captain Bassler's fine address. Perhaps it wouldn't do though. The address calls one of the captors a "freckle faced traitor." Was Lumpkin freckle faced ? * * Will you pardon my evident haste I am very busy With good wishes,
Yours Sincerely, Henry M. Kieffer.
In conclusion, the evidence is indisputable that the only recapture of colors in the first day's fight was made by Color Guard H. H Spayd, who temporarily rescued from a foeman our State flag; and, had our regiment still been at McPher- son's, he would have brought in his trophy in triumph .. Too modest to blow his own horn' his heroic deed remained for a long time unrecognized ; and he and his brave color comrades were maligned, on the supposition that the fictitious recap- ture claim in H's official report and in Bates' history, was - true-that the colors were returned to them, and that they lost them a second time.
But truth is mighty and must in the end prevail.
THE END.
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