Funeral of Captain Isaac Shimer.
The body of Capt SHIMER arrived here on Monday evening last, via New York. That of Serg't J. BARNES arrived by the same train. The latter was taken to Benton for interment.
Capt. SHIMER being a member of the Masonic Fraternity, attached to Ark Lodge No. 33, to the Geneva Royal Arch Chapter, and to the Geneva Cammandery of Knights Templars, his funeral was conducted here on Wednesday last in accordance with the beautiful, impressive and solemn ritual of the Order. The brethren met at their Lodge room in Seneca street, their numbers augmented by delegations of Masons from Canandaigua, Phelps, Waterloo and Seneca Falls, and proceeded in a body to the house. There were about 175 in the line of procession, clothed with white gloves and aprons, and other insignia of the order. From the house the coffin was borne on the shoulders of the masonic pall bearers to the Ref'd Dutch Church. The following was the Order of Procession.
TYLER.
STEWARDS.
MASTER MASONS.
SENIOR AND JUNIOR BEACONS.
SECRETARY AND TREASURER.
SENIOR AND JUNIOR WARDENS.
MARK MASTERS.
PAST MASTERS.
ROYAL ARCH MASONS.
SELECT MASTERS.
KNIGHTS TEMPLARS.
The Holy Writings.
THE MASTER.
CLERGY.
COFFIN.
PALL BEARERS.
MILITARY PALL BEARERS.
CHIEF MOURNERS.
TRUSTEES OF GENEVA, IN CARRIAGES.
Returned and Furloughed Officers and Soldiers, in Uniform.
FIRE DEPARMENT OF GENEVA.
CITIZENS AND STRANGERS.
The introductory exercises at the Church were conducted by the Rev. Dr. Wiley, the pastor. His address embodied a fitting biography and eulogy of the deceased, referring as well to his character as a citizen as to his later career as a soldier.
The masonic ceremonies which followed, at the church and at the grave, were observed with deep interest by the large concourse of spectators. They could not fail to create a favorable impression on the minds of all as to the high and holy mission of the institution. Almost co-equal in existence with the birth of Christianity itself, it has kept pace with the latter in the inculcation and support of every moral and social virtue, chief of which are friendship and brotherly love. Thus knit together by the holiest of ties, the Masonic brethren feel scarcely less acutely than natural kindred, the severance of such ties by the hand of death. The void in the mystic circle is felt as in the family circle. The emblems of the Lodge room remind us of the bereavement and that the name of the deceased brother is on perpetual record among us. Thus will brother SHIMER, though dead to the world, live in the remembrance of his brethren of the craft.
The 126th at Gettysburg.
A correspondent of the Rochester Democrat gives in that paper an account of the part taken by the 126th Regiment in the battle of Gettysburg. The regiment was in the 3d Brigade and 3d Division of the 2d Army Corps. The Brigade was commanded by the Senior Colonel Willard, of the 125th N. Y. V., and the Division by Brigadier General A. HAYES. The Regiment arrived upon the field in the forenoon of battle. The lines of our army are described as having been "much the shape of a horseshoe, with the toe of the shoe toward Gettysburg, and half a mile from the town." The ground was mostly higher than that occupied by the rebels. The 126th was first posted in a young orchard at the front, but a little to the left of the centre, (where, on the next day, July 3d, the heaviest brunt of the battle fell.) The correspondent says:
"There was nothing more than skirmishing the second day of the battle (our 1st) till 4 P. M., when shelling begun in good earnest. We, however, did not move till near sundown, when we went to assist the left of our corps half a mile away where there had been very hard fighting for an hour or more. Here our brigade formed on the ridge and charged down the hill and into a small ravine which we crossed with a good deal of difficulty and considerable loss, for though the ravine was not deeper than a few feet, it was rocky and there were stumps of trees and underbrush which compelled us to break our lines to pass it, and under the galling fire we were not able to form our line well after crossing. We received a heavy fire from the rebels in this ravine, and as we charged with yells and shouts beyond it, we encountered an enfilading fire from two pieces of cannon the rebels had placed for that purpose. Here we suffered terribly, as we had advanced farther than any other regiment in the brigade and were in danger of being flanked. We soon had to fall back, as we had in ten minutes lost half our number killed and wounded. It however blosed the fighting of the day here. Company F went into this action 41 strong and came out with only 19 men, though several were only slightly wounded—mere contusions. The roll and roar of musketry—it was so severe and continuous that it was more than a rattle—on this part of the field was terrible for two hours of the afternoon. We returned to our old ground and lay there that night. The next morning our regiment was ordered to go out as skirmishers. Here we lost several, mostly officers picked off by sharpshooters. There were three Captains killed in this skirmish—Capts. Shimer, Wheeler and Herendeen. I know more of Capt. Shimer's conduct during the battle than of the others, and know that he was always at his post leading his men. He was within five feet of me when killed, and you can judge how close work it was when I say that we were acting as a support and were lying on our faces and that when the Captain was shot his head was not more than a foot from the ground.
EXTRACT FROM MONTHLY RETURN FOR THE MONTH OF APRIL, 1863, OF THE 126TH REG'T N. Y. S. V., NOW STATIONED AT CENTERVILLE, VA.
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