John Burns is the most famous sexagenarian that fought in the Civil War. John was born on Sept. 5, 1793. He fought in the War of 1812 (the Battle of Lundy’s Lane) and in the Mexican War. He moved to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. When the Civil War broke out, he tried to enlist, but he was turned down because of his age. In 1863, Confederate troops passed through his town. Although he was no longer constable, he gave the Rebels such a hard time that they locked him up. When they moved on and Union cavalry came along, he was let out. He proceeded to arrest Rebel stragglers. On July 1, 1863, the battle began with Confederate soldiers coming to Gettysburg for suspected shoes that had been made in the town. They ran into Yankees and the battle began. When Burns heard gunfire, he decided to lend a hand. Wearing his best church clothes, including a stovepipe hat, he grabbed his old musket and its powder horn and heading towards the fighting. His wife called him a “durn fool”. Along the way, he was given a modern rifled musket by a wounded soldier. When he reached a Union officer, he was told that he could join up. He sent Burns to a wooded area where there would be no fighting. He was wrong. Burns hooked up with the 24th Michigan (the famous Iron Brigade). The fighting became intense. Burns got behind a stone wall and took shots at the Rebels. He claimed he knocked a Confederate officer off his horse. Burns was himself wounded in several places and needed medical attention. He discarded his rifle because civilians that participated in a battle were liable to be executed. He was encountered by Rebels pushing into the town on that first day. Burns convinced them that he was in the woods running an errand. A surgeon patched him up and they moved on. He took refuge in a cellar and sent word to his wife: “Tell my old woman to fetch the wagon and get me home.” His wife’s response was: “Devil take him. The old fool going off to fight and getting holes in his best clothes.” He became a local celebrity and when Lincoln came to give his famous Address, Burns met him and they walked and talked on their way to the church for services. Bret Harte wrote a poem about him that made him famous nationwide. (see below). A statue was put up in the Gettysburg National Park to honor him.
“So raged the battle. You know the rest. How the rebels, beaten and backward pressed, Broke at the final charge and ran. At which John Burns—a practical man—Shouldered his rifle, unbent his brows, And then went back to his bees and cows.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_L._Burns
https://www.thoughtco.com/john-burns-civilian-hero-of-gettysburg-1773735
https://explorethearchive.com/john-burns-war-of-1812-gettysburg-soldier
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