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| Rebel (red) Federal (blue) positions Day 1 & 2 Battle of Gettysburg, July 1 & 2, 1863 |
A FIRST PERSON LETTER
DETAILING THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG
THROUGH THE EYES OF AN
OFFICER IN THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. JULY
1 THRU 3, 1863, Part 2 of 6.
By Colonel Frank Aretas
Haskell, United States Army (1828-1864). In the public domain.
Despite a
terrible loss at the Battle of Chancellorsville in May of 1863, a defeat that
verged on humiliation at the hands of Robert E. Lee...the Union Army would not
go away and by the end of June, 1863, one Union officer, a veteran of
Gettysburg wrote that on the eve of that great Pennsylvania battle: “the
[Union] Army of the Potomac was no band of school girls...”
--Frank
A. Haskell.
[Frank Aretas Haskell was born at Tunbridge, Vermont, on July 13,
1828. He graduated at Dartmouth College in 1854, and went to Madison,
Wisconsin, to practice law. On the outbreak of the War, he received a
commission as First Lieutenant of Company I, of the Sixth Wisconsin Volunteer
Infantry, and served as Adjutant of his regiment until April 14, 1862, when he
became aide-de-camp to General John Gibbon,
commander of the Iron Brigade. This was his rank in the battle of Gettysburg.
On Feb. 9, 1864, Haskell was appointed Colonel of the Thirty-sixth Wisconsin;
and on June 3, of the same year, he fell and died when leading a charge at the
battle of Cold Harbor, one of the most distinguished soldiers of the Army of
the Potomac.
This account of Gettysburg
was written by Haskell to his brother, shortly after the battle, and was not
intended for publication. This fact ought to be borne in mind in connection
with some severe reflections cast by the author upon certain officers and
soldiers of the Union army. The present text follows the unabridged reprint of
the Wisconsin Historical Commission; and the notes on Haskell’s estimates of
numbers and losses have been supplied by the late Colonel Thomas L. Livermore,
the well-known authority on this subject.]
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| Popular Federal battle flag during the Civil War |
At three o’clock am of the second of July,
the sleepy soldiers of the Corps were aroused; before six the Corps was up to
the field, and halted temporarily by the side of the Taneytown road, upon which
it had marched, while some movements of the other troops were being made, to
enable it to take position in the order of battle. The morning was thick and
sultry, the sky overcast with low, vapory clouds. As we approached all was
astir upon the crests near the Cemetery, and the work of preparation was
speedily going on. Men looked like giants there in the mist, and the guns of
the frowning batteries so big, that it was a relief to know that they were our
friends.
Without a topographical map,
some description of the ground and location is necessary to a clear
understanding of the battle. With the sketch I have rudely drawn, without scale
or compass, I hope you may understand my description.
The line of battle as it was
established, on the evening of the first, and morning of the second of July was
in the form of the letter “U,” the troops facing outwards. And the “Cemetery,”
which is at the point of the sharpest curvature of the line, being due South of
the town of Gettysburg. “Round Top,” the extreme left of the line, is a small,
woody, rocky elevation, a very little West of South of the town, and nearly two
miles from it.
The sides of this are in
places very steep, and its rocky summit is almost inaccessible. A short
distance North of this is a smaller elevation called “Little Round Top.” On the
very top of “Little Round Top,” we had heavy rifled guns in position during the
battle. Near the right of the line is a small, woody eminence, named “Culp’s
Hill.” Three roads come up to the town from the South, which near the town are
quite straight, and at the town the external ones unite, forming an angle of
about sixty, or more degrees. Of these, the farthest to the East is the
“Baltimore Pike,” which passes by the East entrance to the Cemetery; the
farthest to the West is the “Emmetsburg road,” which is wholly outside of our
line of battle, but near the Cemetery, is within a hundred yards of it; the
“Taneytown road” is between these, running nearly due North and South, by the
Eastern base of “Round Top,” by the Western side of the Cemetery, and uniting
with the Emmetsburg road between the Cemetery and the town. High ground near
the Cemetery, is named “Cemetery Ridge.”
The Eleventh Corps—Gen.
Howard—was posted at the Cemetery, some of its batteries and troops, actually
among the graves and monuments, which they used for shelter from the enemy’s
fire, its left resting upon the Taneytown road, extending thence to the East,
crossing the Baltimore Pike, and thence bending backwards towards the
South-east; on the right of the Eleventh came the First Corps, now, since the
death of Gen. Reynolds, commanded by Gen. John Newton, formed in a line curving still more towards
the South. The troops of these two Corps, were re-formed on the morning of the
second, in order that each might be by itself, and to correct some things not
done well during the hasty formations here the day before.
To the right of the First
Corps, and on an extension of the same line, along the crest and down the
South-eastern slope of Culp’s Hill, was posted the Twelfth Corps—Gen.
Slocum—its right, which was the extreme right of the line of the army, resting
near a small stream called “Rock Run.” No changes, that I am aware of, occurred
in the formation of this Corps, on the morning of the Second.
The Second Corps, after the
brief halt that I have mentioned, moved up and took position, its right resting
upon the Taneytown road, at the left of the Eleventh Corps, and extending the
line thence, nearly a half mile, almost due South, towards Round Top, with its
Divisions in the following order, from right to left: The Third, Gen. Alexander Hays; the Second (Gibbon’s), Gen. William Harrow, (temporarily); the First, Gen. John Caldwell.
The formation was in line by
brigade in column, the brigade being in column by regiment, with forty paces
interval between regimental lines, the Second and Third Divisions having each
one, and the First Division, two brigades—there were four brigades in the
First—similarly formed, in reserve, 150 paces in the rear of the line of their
respective Divisions. That is, the line of the Corps, exclusive of its
reserves, was the length of six regiments, deployed, 1 and the intervals
between them, some of which were left wide for the posting of the batteries,
and consisted of four common deployed lines, each of two ranks of men, and a
little more than one-third over in reserve.
The five batteries, in all 28
guns, were posted as follows: George Woodruff’s
regular, six, twelve-pound Napoleon’s, brass, between the two brigades, in line
of the Third Division;
-- William Arnold’s
“A” first R.I., six, three-inch Parrotts, rifled,
--and Alonzo
Cushing’s Regular, four, three-inch Ordinance, rifled, between the
Third and Second Division;
--John Hazard’s,
(commanded during the battle by Lieut. Fred Brown,) “B”
first R. I.,
--and James Rhorty’s
N. G. each, six 12-pound Napoleon’s, brass, between the Second and First Division.
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| Line of Federal three-inch Parrott rifled artillery pieces |
I have been thus specific in
the description of the posting and formation of the Second Corps, because they
were works that I assisted to perform; and also that the other Corps were
similarly posted, with reference to the strength of the lines, and the
intermixing of infantry and artillery. From this, you may get a notion of the
whole.
The Third Corps—Gen.
Sickles—the remainder of it arriving upon the field this morning, was posted
upon the left of the Second extending the line still in the direction of Round
Top, with its left resting near “Little Round Top.” The left of the Third Corps
was the extreme left of the line of battle, until changes occurred, which will
be mentioned in the proper place.
The Fifth Corps—Gen. George Sykes—coming on the Baltimore Pike about this
time, was massed there, near the line of the battle, and held in reserve until
some time in the afternoon, when it changed position, as I shall describe.
I cannot give a detailed
account of the cavalry, for I saw but little of it. It was posted near the
wings, and watched the roads and the movements of the enemy upon the flanks of
the enemy, but further than this participated but little in the battle. Some of
it was also used for guarding the trains, which were far to the rear. The
artillery reserve, which consisted of a good many batteries, were posted
between the Baltimore Pike and the Taneytown road, on very nearly the center of
a direct line passing through the extremities of the wings. Thus it could be
readily sent to any part of the line.
The Sixth Corps—Gen. John Sedgwick—did not arrive upon the field until some
time in the afternoon, but it was now not very far away, and was coming up
rapidly on the Baltimore Pike. No fears were entertained that “Uncle John,” as
his men call Gen. Sedgwick, would not be in the right place at the right time.
These dispositions written
above were all made early, I think before 8 am.
Skirmishers were posted well out all around the line, and all put in
readiness for battle. The enemy did not yet demonstrate himself. With a look at
the ground now, I think you may understand the movements of the battle. From
Round Top, by the line of battle, round to the extreme right, I suppose is
about three miles. From this same eminence to the Cemetery, extends a long
ridge or hill—more resembling a great wave than a hill, however—with its crest,
which was the line of battle, quite direct, between the points mentioned.
To the West of this, that is
towards the enemy, the ground falls away by a very gradual descent, across the
Emmetsburg road, and then rises again, forming another ridge, nearly parallel
to the first, but inferior in altitude, and something more than a 1000 yards
away. A belt of woods extends partly along this second ridge, and partly
farther to the West, at distances of from 1000 to 1300 yards away from our
line. Between these ridges, and along their slopes, that is, in front of the
Second and Third Corps, the ground is cultivated, and is covered with fields of
wheat, now nearly ripe, with grass and pastures, with some peach orchards, with
fields of waving corn, and some farm houses, and their out buildings along the
Emmetsburg road.
There are very few places
within the limits mentioned where troops and guns could move concealed. There
are some oaks of considerable growth, along the position of the right of the
Second Corps, a group of small trees, sassafras and oak, in front of the right
of the Second Division of this Corps also; and considerable woods immediately
in front of the left of the Third Corps, and also to the West of, and near
Round Top.
At the Cemetery, where is
Cemetery Ridge, to which the line of the Eleventh Corps conforms, is the
highest point in our line, except Round Top. From this the ground falls quite
abruptly to the town, the nearest point of which is some 500 yards away from
the line, and is cultivated, and checkered with stone fences.
The same is the character of
the ground occupied by, and in front of the left of the First Corps, which is
also on a part of Cemetery Ridge. The right of this Corps, and the whole of the
Twelfth, are along Culp’s Hill, and in woods, and the ground is very rocky, and
in places in front precipitous—a most admirable position for defense from an
attack in front, where, on account of the woods, no artillery could be used
with effect by the enemy. Then these last three mentioned Corps, had, by taking
rails, by appropriating stone fences, by felling trees, and digging the earth,
during the night of the first of July, made for themselves excellent breast
works, which were a very good thing indeed.
The position of the First
and Twelfth Corps was admirably strong, therefore. Within the line of battle is
an irregular basin, somewhat woody and rocky in places, but presenting few
obstacles to the moving of troops and guns, from place to place along the
lines, and also affording the advantage that all such movements, by reason of
the surrounding crests, were out of view of the enemy.
On the whole this was an
admirable position to fight a defensive battle, good enough, I thought, when I
saw it first, and better I believe than could be found elsewhere in a circle of
many miles.
Evils, sometimes at least, are blessings in disguise, for the repulse of
our forces, and the death of Reynolds, on the first of July, with the opportune
arrival of Hancock to arrest the tide of fugitives and fix it on these heights,
gave GEN MEADE HQ HOUSE image
us this position—perhaps the
position gave us the victory. On arriving upon the field, Gen. Meade
established his headquarters at a shabby little farm house on the left of the
Taneytown road, the house nearest the line, and a little more than 500 yards in
the rear of what became the center of the position of the Second Corps, a point
where he could communicate readily and rapidly with all parts of the army.
The advantages of the
position, briefly, were these: the flanks were quite well protected by the
natural defenses there, Round Top up the left, and a rocky, steep,
untraversable ground up the right. Our line was more elevated than that of
the enemy, consequently our artillery had a greater range and power than
theirs.
On account of the convexity
of our line, every part of the line could be reinforced by troops having to
move a shorter distance than if the line were straight; further, for the same
reason, the line of the enemy must be concave, and, consequently, longer, and
with an equal force, thinner, and so weaker than ours.
Upon those parts of our line
which were wooded, neither we nor the enemy could use artillery; but they were
so strong by nature, aided by art, as to be readily defended by a small,
against a very large, body of infantry. When the line was open, it had the
advantage of having open country in front, consequently, the enemy here could
not surprise, as we were on a crest, which besides the other advantages that I
have mentioned, had this: the enemy must advance to the attack up an ascent,
and must therefore move slower, and be, before coming upon us, longer under our
fire, as well as more exhausted.
These, and some other
things, rendered our position admirable—for a defensive battle.
So, before a great battle, was ranged the Army of the Potomac. The day
wore on, the weather still sultry, and the sky overcast, with a mizzling effort
at rain. When the audience has all assembled, time seems long until the curtain
rises; so to-day. “Will there be a battle today?” “Shall we attack the Rebel?”
“Will he attack us?” These and similar questions, later in the morning, were
thought or asked a million times.
Meanwhile, on our part, all
was put in the last state of readiness for battle. Surgeons were busy riding
about selecting eligible places for Hospitals, and hunting streams, and
springs, and wells. Ambulances, and ambulance men, were brought up near the
lines, and stretchers gotten ready for use. Who of us could tell but that he
would be the first to need them? The Provost Guards were busy driving up all
stragglers, and causing them to join their regiments.
Ammunition wagons were
driven to suitable places, and packed mules bearing boxes of cartridges; and
the commands were informed where they might be found. Officers were sent to see
that the men had each his hundred rounds of ammunition. Generals and their
Staffs were riding here and there among their commands to see that all was
right. A staff officer, or an orderly might be seen galloping furiously in the
transmission of some order or message.—All, all was ready—and yet the sound of
no gun had disturbed the air or ear to-day.
And so the men stacked their
arms—in long bristling rows they stood along the crests—and were at ease. Some
men of the Second and Third Corps pulled down the rail fences near and piled
them up for breastworks in their front. Some loitered, some went to sleep upon
the ground, some, a single man, carrying 20 canteens slung over his shoulder,
went for water. Some made them a fire and boiled a dipper of coffee. Some with
knees cocked up, enjoyed the soldier’s peculiar solace, a pipe of tobacco. Some
were mirthful and chatty, and some were serious and silent. Leaving them thus—I
suppose of all arms and grades there were about a 100,000 of them somewhere
about that field—each to pass the hour according to his duty or his humor, let
us look to the enemy.
Here let me state, that according to the best information that I could
get, I think a fair estimate of the Rebel
force engaged in this battle would be a little upwards of a 100,000 men of all
arms. Of course we can’t now know, but there are reasonable data for this
estimate. At all events there was no great disparity of numbers in the two
opposing armies. We thought the enemy to be somewhat more numerous than we, and
he probably was. But if 95,000 men should fight with a 105,000, the latter
would not always be victors—and slight numerical differences are of much less
consequence in great bodies of men.
Skillful generalship and
good fighting are the jewels of war. These concurring are difficult to
overcome; and these, not numbers, must determine this battle.
During July 2 from midnight
through and into early morning—the skirmishers of the enemy had been
confronting those of the Eleventh, First and Twelfth Corps. At the time of the
fight of the First, he was seen in heavy force North of the town—he was
believed to be now in the same neighborhood, in full force. But from the woody
character of the country, and thereby the careful concealment of troops, which
the Rebel is always sure to effect, during the early part of the morning almost
nothing was actually seen by us of the invaders of the North.
About nine o’clock in the (July
2) morning, I should think, our field glasses began to reveal them at the West
and Northwest of the town, a mile and a half a way from our lines. They were
moving towards our left, but the woods of Seminary Ridge so concealed them that
we could not make out much of their movements. About this time some rifled guns
in the Cemetery, at the left of the Eleventh Corps, opened fire—almost the
first shots of any kind this morning—and when it was found they were firing at
a Rebel line of skirmishers merely, that were advancing upon the left of that,
and the right of the Second Corps, the officer in charge of the guns was
ordered to cease firing, and was rebuked for having fired at all.
These Rebel skirmishers soon
engaged those at the right of the Second Corps, who stood their ground and were
reinforced to make the line entirely secure. The Rebel skirmish line kept
extending further and further to their right—toward our left. They would dash
up close upon ours and sometimes drive them back a short distance, in turn to
be repulsed themselves—and so they continued to do until their right was
opposite the extreme left of the Third Corps. By these means they had
ascertained the position and extent of our lines—but their own masses were
still out of view.
From the time that the
firing commenced, as I have mentioned, it was kept up, among the skirmishers,
until quite noon, often briskly; but with no definite results further than
those mentioned, and with no considerable show of infantry on the part of the enemy
to support. There was a farm house and outbuildings in front of the Third
Division of the Second Corps at which the skirmishers of the enemy had made a
dash, and dislodged ours posted there, and from there their sharp shooters
began to annoy our line of skirmishers and even the main line, with their long
range rifles.
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| Modern day Licensed Gettysburg Battlefield Guide Elwood Christ stands at the site of the Bliss House that was burned to the ground by Federal troops to deter Rebel snipers. Guide points (NE) to the area of Cemetery Ridge, near Ziegler's Grove,which saw heated action on July 2, 1863. |
I was up to the line, and a
bullet from one of the rascals hid there, hissed by my cheek so close that I
felt the movement of the air distinctly. And so I was not at all displeased
when I saw one of our regiments go down and attack and capture the house and
buildings and several prisoners, after a spirited little fight, and, by Gen. Alexander Hays’ order, burn the buildings to the
ground. About noon the Signal Corps, from the top of Little Round Top, with
their powerful glasses, and the cavalry at the extreme left, began to report
the enemy in heavy force, making disposition of battle, to the West of Round
Top, and opposite to the left of the Third Corps. Some few prisoners had been
captured, some deserters from the enemy had come in, and from all sources, by
this time, we had much important and reliable information of the enemy—of his
disposition and apparent purposes.
The Rebel
infantry consisted of three Army Corps, each consisting of three
Divisions, Gens. James Longstreet, Richard
Ewell—the same whose leg Gibbon’s shell knocked off at Gainesville
on the 28th of August last year—and Gen. A. P. Hill,
each in the Rebel service having the rank of Lieutenant General, were the
commanders of these Corps.
--Gen. Longstreet’s Division
commanders were Gen. John Hood, Gen. Lafayette
McLaws and Gen. George
Pickett;
--Gen. Ewell’s were Gen. Robert Rodes, Gen. Jubal Early
and Gen. Edward Johnson, and;
--Gen. Hill’s were Gen. William Pender, Gen. Henry Heth
and Gen. Richard Anderson.
--Gen.
James E. B. Stuart and Gen. Fitzhugh
Lee commanded Divisions of the Rebel cavalry. The rank of these
Divisions commands, I believe, was that of Major General.
The Rebels had about as much
artillery as we did; but we never have thought much of this arm in the hands of
our adversaries. They have courage enough, but not the skill to handle it well.
They generally fire far too high, and the ammunition is usually of a very
inferior quality. And, of late, we have begun to despise as superior the
enemies’ cavalry too. It used to have enterprise and dash, but in the late
cavalry contests ours have always been victor, and so now we think about all
this chivalry is fit for is to steal a few of our mules occasionally, and their
negro drivers.
This army of the rebel
infantry, however, is good—to deny this is useless. I never had any desire
to—and if one should count up, it would possibly be found that they have gained
more victories over us, than we have over them, and they will now, doubtless,
fight well, even desperately. And it is not horses or cannon that will
determine the result of this confronting of the two armies, but the men with
the muskets must do it—the infantry must do the sharp work.
So we watched all this
posting of forces as closely as possible, for it was a matter of vital interest
to us, and all information relating to it was hurried to the commander of the
army. The Rebel line of battle was concave, bending around our own, with
extremities of the wings opposite to, or a little outside of ours. Longstreet’s
Corps was upon their right; Hill’s in the center. These two Rebel Corps
occupied the second or inferior ridge to the West of our position, as I have
mentioned, with Hill’s left bending towards, and resting near the town, and
Ewell’s was upon their left, his troops being in, and to the East of the town.
This last Corps confronted our Twelfth, First, and the right of the Eleventh
Corps.
When I have said that ours
was a good defensive position, this is equivalent to saying that that of the
enemy was not a good offensive one; for these are relative terms, and cannot be
both predicated of the respective positions of the two armies at the same time.
The reasons that this was not a good offensive position, are the same already
stated in favor of ours for defense. Excepting, occasionally, for a brief time,
during some movement of troops, as when advancing to attack, their men and guns
were kept constantly and carefully, by woods and inequalities of ground, out of
our view.
THE STORM WAS NEAR
Noon (July 2) is past, 1 pm is past, and, we save the skirmishing that I
have mentioned, and an occasional shot from our guns, at something or other,
the nature of which the ones who fired it were ignorant, there was no fight
yet. Our arms were still stacked, and the men at ease. As I looked upon those
interminable rows of muskets along the crests, and saw how cool and good
spirited the men were, who were lounging about on the ground among them, I
could not, and did not, have any fears as to the result of the battle.
The storm was near, and we
all knew it well enough by this time, which was so rain death upon these crests
and down their slopes, and yet the men who could not, and would not escape it,
were as calm and cheerful, generally, as if nothing unusual were about to
happen. You see, these men were veterans, and had been in such places so often
that they were accustomed to them. But I was well pleased with the tone of the
men today—I could almost see the foreshadowing of victory upon their faces, I
thought.
And I thought, too, as I had
seen the mighty preparations go on to completion for this great conflict—the
marshaling of these 200,000 men and the guns of the hosts, that now but a
narrow valley divided, that to have been in such a battle, and to survive on
the side of the victors, would be glorious. Oh, the world is most unchristian
yet!
Somewhat after 1 pm—the skirmish firing had nearly ceased
now—a movement of the Third Corps occurred, which I shall describe. I cannot
conjecture the reason of this movement. From the position of the Third Corps,
as I have mentioned, to the second ridge West, the distance is about a 1000
yards, and there the Emmetsburg road runs near the crest of the ridge. Gen.
Sickles commenced to advance his whole Corps, from the general line, straight to
the front, with a view to occupy this second ridge, along, and near the road.
What his purpose could have been is past conjecture. It was not ordered by Gen.
Meade, as I heard him say, and he disapproved of it as soon as it was made
known to him. Generals Hancock and Gibbon, as they saw the move in progress,
criticized its propriety sharply, as I know, and foretold quite accurately what
would be the result. I suppose the truth probably is that General Sickles
supposed he was doing for the best; but he was neither born nor bred a soldier.
But one can scarcely tell
what may have been the motives of such a man—a politician, and some other
things, exclusive of the Barton Key affair—a man after show and notoriety, and
newspaper fame, and the adulation of the mob!
O, there is a grave
responsibility on those in whose hands are the lives of ten thousand men; and
on those who put stars upon men’s shoulders, too! Bah! I kindle when I see some
things that I have to see. But this move of the Third Corps was an important
one—it developed the battle—the results of the move to the Corps itself we
shall see. O, if this Corps had kept its strong position upon the crest, and
supported by the rest of the army, had waited for the attack of the enemy!
It was magnificent to see
those 10,000 or 12,000 men—they were good men—with their batteries, and some
squadrons of cavalry upon the left flank, all in battle order, in several
lines, with flags streaming, sweep steadily down the slope, across the valley,
and up the next ascent, toward their destined position!
From our position we could
see it all. In advance Sickles pushed forward his heavy line of skirmishers,
who drove back those of the enemy, across the Emmetsburg road, and thus cleared
the way for the main body. The Third Corps now became the absorbing object of
interest of all eyes. The Second Corps took arms, and the 1st Division of this
Corps was ordered to be in readiness to support the Third Corps, should
circumstances render support necessary.
As the Third Corps was the
extreme left of our line, as it advanced, if the enemy was assembling to the
West of Round Top with a view to turn our left, as we had heard, there would be
nothing between the left flank of the Corps and the enemy, and the enemy would
be square upon its flank by the time it had attained the road. So when this
advance line came near the Emmetsburg road, and we saw the squadrons of cavalry
mentioned, come dashing back from their position as flankers, and the smoke of
some guns, and we heard the reports away to Sickles’ left, anxiety became an
element in our interest in these movements.
The enemy opened slowly at
first, and from long range; but he was square upon Sickles’ left flank. General John Caldwell was ordered at once to put his
Division—the 1st of the Second Corps, as mentioned—in motion, and to take post
in the woods at the left slope of Round Top, in such a manner as to resist the
enemy should he attempt to come around Sickles’ left and gain his rear.
The Division moved as
ordered, and disappeared from view in the woods, towards the point indicated at
between 2 pm and 3 pm and the reserve brigade—the First, Col. Francis Heath
temporarily commanding—of the Second Division, was therefore move up and
occupied the position vacated by the Third Division. About the same time the
Fifth Corps could be seen marching by the flank from its position on the
Baltimore Pike, and in the opening of the woods heading for the same locality
where the 1st Division of the Second Corps had gone.
The Sixth Corps had now come
up and was halted upon the Baltimore Pike. So the plot thickened. As the enemy
opened upon Sickles with his batteries, some five or six in all, I suppose,
firing slowly, Sickles with as many replied, and with much more spirit. The
artillery fire became quite animated, soon; but the enemy was forced to
withdraw his guns farther and farther away, and ours advanced upon him. It was
not long before the cannonade ceased altogether, the enemy having retired out
of range, and Sickles, having temporarily halted his command, pending this,
moved forward again to the position he desired, or nearly that.
It was now about five
o’clock, and we shall soon see what Sickles gained by his move. First we hear
more artillery firing upon Sickles’ left—the enemy seems to be opening again,
and as we watch the Rebel batteries seem to be advancing there. The cannonade
is soon opened again, and with great spirit upon both sides. The enemy’s
batteries press those of Sickles, and pound the shot upon them, and this time they
in turn begin to retire to position nearer the infantry.
The enemy seems to be
fearfully in earnest this time. And what is more ominous than the thunder or
the shot of his advancing guns, this time, in the intervals between his
batteries, far to Sickles’ left, appear the long lines and the columns of the
Rebel infantry, now unmistakably moving out to the attack. The position of the
Third Corps becomes at once one of great peril, and it is probable that its
commander by this time began to realize his true situation. All was astir now
on our crest. Generals and their Staffs were galloping hither and thither—the
men were all in their places, and you might have heard the rattle of 10,000
ramrods as they drove home and “thugged” upon the little globes and cones of
lead. As the enemy was advancing upon Sickles’ flank, he commenced a change, or
at least a partial one, of front, by swinging back his left and throwing
forward his right, in order that his lines might be parallel to those of his
adversary, his batteries meantime doing what they could to check the enemy’s
advance; but this movement was not completely executed before new
Rebel batteries opened upon
Sickles’ right flank—his former front and in the same quarter appeared the
Rebel infantry also.
Now came the dreadful battle
picture, of which we for a time could be but spectators. Upon the front and
right flank of Sickles came sweeping the infantry of Longstreet and Hill.
Hitherto there had been skirmishing and artillery practice—now the battle began;
for amid the heavier smoke and larger tongues of flame of the batteries, now
began to appear the countless flashes, and the long fiery sheets of the
muskets, and the rattle of the volleys, mingled with the thunder of the guns.
We see the long gray lines
come sweeping down upon Sickles’ front, and mix with the battle smoke; now the
same colors emerge from the bushes and orchards upon his right, and envelope
his flank in the confusion of the conflict.
Note 1. “As the Second and Third Divisions had three
brigades each, it follows that two brigades from each of the three divisions
were in the front line.—T.L.L.
Note 2. The returns of the Union army for June 30
gave 89,238 infantry and artillery, and 14,973 cavalry “present for duty.” If
there is deducted 5,520 in three brigades of the Sixth Corps and 2,337 in
detachments, which, although available, were not opposed to the enemy, and the
usual per cent of non-combatants, 88,289 remains for the number engaged.
The number engaged on the Confederate side in the
same manner, is estimated at 75,000 from the returns of May 31, July 20 and 31.
See Livermore’s “Numbers and Losses,” pp. 69, 102, 103.—T. L. L. [back]
Note 3. The returns give 12,630 “present for duty” in
the Third Corps. See 43 War Records, 151.—T. L. L.
CHAPTER THREE
O, the din and the roar, and these 30,000 Rebel wolf cries! What a hell
is there down that valley! These 10-12,000 men of the Third Corps fight well,
but it soon becomes apparent that they must be swept from the field, or perish
there where they are doing so well, so thick and overwhelming a storm of Rebel
fire involves them. It was fearful to see, but these men, such as ever escape,
must come from that conflict as best they can. To move down and support them
with other troops is out of the question, for this would be to do as Sickles
did, to relinquish a good position, and advance to a bad one.
There is no other alternative—the
Third Corps must fight itself out of its position of destruction! What was it
ever put there for?
ADJUSTMENTS TO GEN. SICKLES’ FOOLS ERRAND
In the meantime some other dispositions must be made to meet the enemy,
in the event that Sickles is overpowered. With this Corps out of the way, the
enemy would be in a position to advance upon the line of the Second Corps, not
in a line parallel with its front, but they would come obliquely from the left.
To meet this contingency the
left of the Second Division of the Second Corps is thrown back slightly, and
two Regiments, the 15th Mass., Col. George Ward, and the 82nd N. Y., Lieut. Col. James Huston, are advanced down to the
Emmetsburg road, to a favorable position nearer us than the fight has yet come,
and some new batteries from the artillery reserve are posted upon the crest
near the left of the Second Corps. This was all Gen. Gibbon could do. Other
dispositions were made or were now being made upon the field, which I shall
mention presently.
The enemy is still giving
Sickles fierce battle—or rather the Third Corps, for Sickles has been borne
from the field minus one of his legs, and Gen. David Birney now
commands—and we of the Second Corps, a 1000 yards away, with our guns and men
are, and must be, still idle spectators of the fight.
The Rebel, as anticipated,
tries to gain the left of the Third Corps, and for this purpose is now moving
into the woods at the west of Round Top. We knew what he would find there. No
sooner had the enemy gotten a considerable force into the woods mentioned, in
the attempted execution of his purpose, than the roar of the conflict was heard
there also.
The Fifth Corps and the
First Division of the Second were there at the right time, and promptly engaged
him; and there, too, the battle soon became general and obstinate. Now the roar
of battle has become twice the volume that it was before, and its range extends
over more than twice the space.
The Third Corps has been
pressed back considerably, and the wounded are streaming to the rear by
hundreds, but still the battle there goes on, with no considerable abatement on
our part. The field of actual conflict extends now from a point to the front of
the left of the Second Corps, away down to the front of Round Top, and the
fight rages with the greatest fury. The fire of artillery and infantry and the
yells of the Rebels fill the air with a mixture of hideous sounds.
When the First Division of
the Second Corps first engaged the enemy, for a time it was pressed back
somewhat, but under the able and judicious management of Gen. Caldwell, and the
support of the Fifth Corps, it speedily ceased to retrograde, and stood its
ground; and then there followed a time, after the Fifth Corps became well
engaged, when from appearances we hoped the troops already engaged would be
able to check entirely, or repulse the further assault of the enemy.
But fresh soldiers of the
Rebels continued to advance out of the woods to the front of the position of
the Third Corps, and to swell the numbers of the assailants of this already
hard pressed command. The men there begin to show signs of exhaustion—their
ammunition must be nearly expended—they have now been fighting more than an
hour, and against greatly superior numbers.
From the sound of the firing
at the extreme left, and the place where the smoke rises above the tree tops
there, we know that the Fifth Corps is still steady, and holding its own there;
and as we see the Sixth Corps now marching and near at hand to that point, we
have no fears for the left—we have more apparent reason to fear for ourselves.
The Third Corps is being
overpowered—here and there its lines begin to break—the men begin to pour back
to the rear in confusion—the enemy are close upon them and among
them—organization is lost to a great degree—guns and caissons are abandoned and
in the hands of the enemy—the Third Corps, after a heroic but unfortunate fight,
is being literally swept from the field. That Corps gone, what is there between
the Second Corps, and these yelling masses of the enemy?
Do you not think that by
this time we began to feel a personal interest in this fight? We did indeed. We
had been mere observers—the time was at hand when we must be actors in this
drama.
Up to this hour Gen. Gibbon
had been in command of the Second Corps, since yesterday, but Gen. Hancock,
relieved of his duties elsewhere, now assumed command. Five or 600 yards away
the Third Corps was making its last opposition; and the enemy was hotly
pressing his advantages there, and throwing in fresh troops whose line extended
still more along our front, when Generals Hancock and Gibbon rode along the
lines of their troops; and at once cheer after cheer—not Rebel, mongrel cries,
but genuine cheers—rang out all along the line, above the roar of battle, for
“Hancock” and “Gibbon,” and “our Generals.”
These were good. Had you
heard their voices, you would have known these men would fight. Just at this
time we saw another thing that made us glad:—we looked to our rear, and there,
and all up the hillside which was the rear of the Third Corps before it went
forward, were rapidly advancing large bodies of men from the extreme right of
our line of battle, coming to the support of the part now so hotly pressed.
There was the whole Twelfth
Corps, with the exception of about one brigade, that is, the larger portion of
the Divisions of Gens. Seth Williams and John Geary;
the Third Division of the First Corps, Gen. Doubleday; and some other brigades
from the same Corps—and some of them were moving at the double quick.
They formed lines of battle
at the foot of the Taneytown road, and when the broken fragments of the Third
Corps were swarming by them towards the rear, without halting or wavering they
came sweeping up, and with glorious old cheers, under fire, took their places
on the crest in line of battle to the left of the Second Corps.
Now Sickles’ blunder is
repaired. Now, Rebel chief, hurl forward your howling lines and columns! Yell
out your loudest and your last, for many of your best will never yell, or wave
the spurious flag again!
The battle still rages all
along the left, where the Fifth Corps is, and the West slope of Round Top is
the scene of the conflict; and nearer us there was but short abatement, as the
last of the Third Corps retired from the field, for the enemy is flushed with
his success. He has been throwing forward brigade after brigade, and Division
after Division, since the battle began, and his advancing line now extends
almost as far to our right as the right of the Second Division of the Second
Corps.
The whole slope in our front
is full of them; and in various formation, in line, in column, and in masses
which are neither, with yells and thick volleys, they are rushing towards our
crest. The Third Corps is out of the way. Now we are in for it. The battery men
are ready by their loaded guns. All along the crest is ready. Now Arnold and
Brown—now Cushing, and Woodruff, and Rhorty!—you three shall survive today!
They drew the cords that moved the friction primers, and gun after gun, along
the batteries, in rapid succession, leaped where it stood and bellowed its
canister upon the enemy.
The enemy still advance.
The infantry
open fire—first the two advance regiments, the 15th Mass. and the 82d N.
Y.—then here and there throughout the length of the long line, at the points
where the enemy comes nearest, and soon the whole crest, artillery and
infantry, is one continued sheet of fire. From Round Top to near the Cemetery
stretches an uninterrupted field of conflict. There is a great army upon each
side, now hotly engaged.
To see the fight, while it went on in the valley
below us, was terrible,—what must it be now, when we are in it, and it is all
around us, in all its fury?
All senses for the time are dead but the one of sight. The roar of the
discharges and the yells of the enemy all pass unheeded; but the impassioned
soul is all eyes, and sees all things, that the smoke does not hide. How madly
the battery men are driving home the double charges of canister in those
broad-mouthed Napoleons, whose fire seems almost to reach the enemy. How
rapidly these long, blue-coated lines of infantry deliver their file fire down
the slope.
But there is no
faltering—the men stand nobly to their work. Men are dropping dead or wounded
on all sides, by scores and by hundreds, and the poor mutilated creatures, some
with an arm dangling, some with a leg broken by a bullet, are limping and
crawling towards the rear. They make no sound of complaint or pain, but are as
silent as if dumb and mute.
A sublime heroism seems to
pervade all, and the intuition that to lose that crest, all is lost. How our
officers, in the work of cheering on and directing the men, are falling.
We have heard that Gen. Samuel Zook and Col. Edward Cross, in
the First Division of our Corps, are mortally wounded—they both commanded
brigades,—now near us Col. Ward of the 15th Mass.—he lost a leg at Balls
Bluff—and Lieut. Col. Horton of the 82d N. Y., are mortally struck while trying
to hold their commands, which are being forced back; Col. Paul J. Revere,
20th Mass., grandson of old Paul Revere, of the Revolution, is killed, Lieut. Col. Max Thoman, commanding 59th N. Y., is mortally
wounded, and a host of others that I cannot name. These were of Gibbon’s
Division. Lieut. Brown is wounded among his guns—his position is 100 yards in
advance of the main line—the enemy is upon his battery, and he escapes, but
leaves three of his six guns in the hands of the enemy.
The fire all along our crest
is terrific, and it is a wonder how anything human could have stood before it,
and yet the madness of the enemy drove them on, clear up to the muzzle of the
guns, clear up to the lines of our infantry—but the lines stood right in their
places. Gen. Hancock and his Aides rode up to Gibbon’s Division, under the
smoke.
Gen. Gibbon, with myself,
was near, and there was a flag dimly visible, coming towards us from the
direction of the enemy. “Here, what are these men falling back for?” said
Hancock. The flag was no more than fifty yards away, but it was the head of a
Rebel column, which at once opened fire with a volley. Lieut. Miller,
Gen. Hancock’s Aide, fell, twice struck, but the General was unharmed, and Hancock
ordered the 1st Minn., which was near, to drive these people away. That
splendid regiment, the less than 300 that are left out of 1500 that it has had,
swings around upon the enemy, gives them a volley in their faces, and advances
upon them with the bayonet.
The Rebels fled in
confusion, but Col. William Colville, Lieut. Col. Charles Adams
and Major Mark Downie, are all badly,
dangerously wounded, and many of the other officers and men will never fight
again. More than two-thirds fell.
Such fighting as this cannot
last long. It is now near sundown, and the battle has gone on wonderfully long
already. But if you will stop to notice it, a change has occurred. The Rebel
cry has ceased, and the men of the Union begin to shout there, under the smoke,
and their lines to advance. See, the Rebels are breaking! They are in confusion
in all our front! The wave has rolled upon the rock, and the rock has smashed
it. Let us shout, too!
First upon their extreme
left the Rebels broke, where they had almost pierced our lines; thence the
repulse extended rapidly to their right. They hung longest about Round Top,
where the Fifth Corps punished them, but in a space of time incredibly short, after
they first gave signs of weakness, the whole force of the Rebel assault along
the whole line, in spite of waving red flags, and yells, and the entreaties of
officers, and the pride of the chivalry, fled like chaff before the whirlwind,
back down the slope, over the valley, across the Emmetsburg road, shattered,
without organization in utter confusion, fugitive into the woods, and victory
was with the arms of the Republic.
The great Rebel assault, the greatest ever made upon this continent, has
been made and signally repulsed, and upon this part of the field the fight of
today is now soon over. Pursuit was made as rapidly and as far as practicable,
but owing to the proximity of night, and the long distance which would have to
be gone over before any of the enemy, where they would be likely to halt, could
be overtaken, further success was not attainable today.
Where the Rebel rout first
commenced, a large number of prisoners, some thousands at least, were captured;
almost all their dead, and such of their wounded as could not themselves get to
the rear, were within our lines; several of their flags were gathered up, and a
good many 1000 muskets, some nine or ten guns and some caissons lost by the
Third Corps, and the three of Brown’s battery—these last were in Rebel hands
but a few minutes—were all safe now with us, the enemy having had not time to
take them off.
Not less, I estimate, than 20,000 men were
killed or wounded in this fight. Our own losses must have been nearly half this
number,—about 4,000 in the Third Corps, fully 2,000 in the Second, and I think 2,000
in the Fifth, and I think the losses of the First, Twelfth, and a little more
than a brigade of the Sixth—all of that Corps which was actually engaged—would
reach nearly 2,000 more.
Of course, it will never be
possible to know the numbers upon either side who fell in this particular part
of the general battle, but from the position of the enemy and his numbers, and
the appearance of the field, his loss must have been as heavy, or as I think
much heavier than our own, and my estimates are probably short of the actual
loss.
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