Gettysburg， predawn
ALONG THE FAR slope of Herr Ridge， northwest of Get-
tysburg， you can still find a cluster of basswood trees that lean
together slightly， like old men talking. There are four of them，
nearly a hundred feet tall， and their branches bear broad，
heart-shaped leaves that spread thick shade. Even today a deer
will hesitate beneath them after drinking from a nearby stream;
and for many years the tallest tree was home to a family of
Cooper s hawks， who like to build their hidden nests high up
off the ground. Neither the flowers of the basswood， which
scent the young summer air， nor their rough gray bark give
any hint that there are bullets and bloodstains wrapped deep
inside.
It was here， on the early morning of July 1， 1863， that
Captain Alan Reynolds and three Union privates met a dozen
Confederate soldiers and death， in that order. Captain Rey-
lds--of the Fourth New Jersey Cavalry， Gamble s Brigade，
Buford s First Division--had been on a scouting patrol. Acting
as vedettes， or mounted pickets， he and his men rode forward
from the Jar right side of a membranous line of cavalry that
stretched from McPherson s Ridge to Oak Hill， covering four
roads to Gettysburg. The cluster of basswood trees was a log-
ical place to regroup， and before the first light of dawn， they
did. Two of the men had sighted an advancing Confederate
reconnaissance in force. Once beneath the trees， all prepared
to return to the Union line. At that moment， a little before five
in the morning， they were ambushed.
The captain， who had belonged to Kane s Bucktails before
joining the cavalry， was twenty-five years old. He was a tall
man with a thick mustache and dirty blond hair grown shaggy.
He had a thick， straight brow and a long， sharp nose， and the
red skin that stretched across his angular face had been hard-
ened by two years of war. Only his eyes， gray to black and set
deep， were soft， though the men of Company A thought they
were baleful， sometimes ominous， and before a battle they
avoided his stare. On this misty morning that began July， the
captain rode without gloves or a hat， dressed in a dusty coat.
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