We're talking about John Burns, of course.
Burns got rid of his rifle and buried his ammunition before passing out. When he came to, he was among the Confederates and tried to convince them that he was just an old man trying to find help for his aged wife, but this account varies depending upon who you read.
He survived his wounds and lived another nine years.
The Battle of Gettysburg turned out to be a major turning point of the war and the hopes of the South to form their own country faded after that.
As the poem "John Burns of Gettysburg," written after the war by Francis Bret Harte, goes:
"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."
--Brock-Perry
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