William’s work was not done when he had spent the daylight hours in going among the wounded on the field. In the evening, when there was a lull in the fighting, he went into the village carrying news of the battle and helping friends whose homes were surrounded by the fury of the conflict. He was saddened by the death of his friend, Jennie Wade, a girl of twenty, who had been killed by a chance shot that came through the door of the house. She was the only resident of the town killed during the whole battle. The home of another friend, Josephine Rogers, stood where the thickest of the fight came in the last two days of the battle. William watched over the safety of this eighteen-year-old girl, and was able to give assistance and comfort in the hours of danger. On the first day, as General Carroll of the Union forces fell back, he saw the girl at her door and exclaimed, “What are you doing here? This house is in the trail of the greatest battle of the war. Seek a place of safety!” “Mother has gone, but I have bread in the oven. As soon as it is baked, I will go,” replied Josephine. When she took the fragrant bread out of the oven, there were so many hungry soldiers that wanted it that she decided to bake more for the struggling men. This work she continued for three days, and gave bread to the troops on both sides. Her home became a refuge for the wounded, and all the delicacies she could find were placed at the disposal of the soldiers. On the last day of the battle the house was in the line of General Pickett’s charge against the Union lines on Cemetery Hill. From the riddled house the bodies of seventeen men were taken, some in blue, some in gray; but the nurse and benefactress of both came through the event without a scratch. When at last the Confederates were forced to withdraw, after having struggled gallantly but in vain to drive the Union forces from Cemetery Hill, and from the adjoining hills now famous in history――Round Top and Little Round Top――it was found that rarely if ever had armies suffered such a high proportion of losses. Meade, the Federal commander, went into the battle with eighty-two thousand men. He lost in killed, wounded, and missing twenty-three thousand. General Lee had moved on Gettysburg with about seventy-three thousand men and his losses were as large as those of Meade if not larger. Illustration: Copyright, Brown Brothers. GENERAL HANCOCK AND HIS MEN NEAR ROUND TOP The Battle of Gettysburg was fought among the hills surrounding William Van Orsdel’s home.