"I thought some of the boys might want the old gun."

In July 1863, Gettysburg, PA resident John Burns was 70 years old. He was a veteran of the War of 1812. He heard the sounds of war approaching his door. Burns took down his old musket and began to clean it. When he wife asked what he was doing, Burns replied, "I thought some of the boys might want the old gun." Before long, a group of Union troops were passing his house. Burns got up and joined right in with the Seventh Wisconsin. The soldiers gave him a new rifle and an ammunition box. Burns responded by saying he'd rather carry his bullets in his pocket instead of using one of "them new fangled things."

Burns was wounded three times and left lying on the field. A group of Confederates found him and carried him back home. He survived his injuries and later met Abraham Lincoln. Burns downplayed his role by saying, "I pitched in with them Wisconsin fellers."