Martial Deeds of Pennsylvania, Samuel P. Bates, 1876 - Part 1, Chapter 12, 281-
297
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MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA
by
SAMUEL P. BATES.
PHILADELPHIA: T. H. DAVIS & CO., 1876.
MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA - 281
PART I. GENERAL HISTORY.
CHAPTER XII.
FIGHTING ON THE UNION RIGHT AT GETTYSBURG.
WHILE these momentous events of the battle were transpiring upon the left, the
enemy made no less desperate and well directed efforts to carry the right of the
Union line. General Lee's order, as already noted, required that Ewell should
"attack the high ground on the enemy's right, which had already been partially
fortified." This was to be done simultaneously with the attack of Longstreet on
the left. But Ewell did not move until the fierce fighting by Longstreet had
been more than two hours in progress. This delay was evidently by design, as
his corps had been in position and in entire readiness since the night before.
The heat of the engagement on the left had thoroughly aroused the Union
Commander, and he had hurried on corps after corps, and detachment after
detachment, to the support of that wing. On the extreme right, a strong
position had been taken, and well fortified by the Twelfth corps. The position
and fortification of that flank was such as to fulfil the principle in strategy
to which reference has already been made, that the flanks of the infantry line
should so rest as to be either by nature or by art made firm. But in his zeal
to feed the left, the right flank was completely stripped, the whole of the
Twelfth corps, with the exception of Greene's brigade of Geary's division,
having been hurried away. Free course was thus given to the enemy to enter.
This action seems the more inexplicable, inasmuch as the Sixth corps, the
strongest in the whole army, had arrived on the ground at two P. M., two full
hours before the fighting for the day had commenced, and it was neither used to
reinforce the left until the fighting had nearly ceased, nor was it
MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA - 282
put into the breastworks upon the right to supply the place made vacant by the
withdrawal of the Twelfth. A worse blunder could not have been committed, for
Greene's brigade was left hanging in the air, and would have been utterly
routed, had a man of less nerve than Greene commanded, or troops less resolute
and daring occupied that ground.
Ewell was not long in discovering the advantage offered him, and at a little
before sunset, he put his troops in motion. It was composed of soldiers who had
so often followed the indomitable and tireless Stonewall Jackson to victory.
The Union line, commencing at the Baltimore pike, extended around the breast
of the Cemetery Hill, the artillery, Weiderick's and Ricketts' batteries, upon
the summit, and the infantry, a part of the Eleventh corps, under cover of the
stone walls. To the right of the Cemetery Hill is a little ravine or
depression, marking the end of Cemetery and beginning of Culp's Hill. Upon the
little table-land, at this extremity of the latter, was posted Stevens' Maine
battery, which had played so important a part in the action of the first day.
His pieces looked across this ravine and the approaches from the town to
Cemetery Hill. Just at his right commenced the heavy breastworks, built by
Wadsworth, upon the very brow of Culp's Hill, overhanging the steep, rugged
acclivity which reaches down almost to the bank of Rock Creek that runs at its
base. This breastwork was carried around the hill, and was taken up by Greene,
whose right rested at a ravine that descents to a considerable wooded plateau.
Greene had refused his right, and carried his breastwork back so as to protect
his flank, and from which he could command the passage up this ravine--the
ravine itself being left open. On the opposite side the breastworks were again
taken up and carried around nearly to Spangler's spring. But beyond this little
ravine at Greene's right, no troops were in position.
Upon Benner's Hill, opposite to Cemetery Hill, Ewell had planted his
artillery, which opened with great vigor when the battle commenced. But the
guns on Cemetery Hill had no sooner got the range, than they speedily silenced
it. A gentleman "residing near Gettysburg," as related by De Peyster, "on the
road past Benner's, said to have been an eye-witness, stated
FIGHTING ON THE UNION RIGHT AT GETTYSBURG - 283
that the Union batteries on Cemetery Ridge knocked the rebel batteries, on
Benner's Hill, into pi in twenty minutes after the former got the range." The
superiority of the Union guns here was no doubt largely due to the fact that
they were protected by lunettes, while the rebel guns stood all uncovered. as
soon as he discovered his artillery fire slackening, Ewell prepared his infantry
to advance. The sun was already near his setting, and the evening shades were
gathering. Lines of rebel troops were discernible from Cemetery Hill, away to
the right of Culp's Hill, apparently moving to attack. Soon a small column was
seen proceeding from the town, across the Union front, away towards Benner's
Hill, as if to join the troops already there. Colonel Von Gilsa, whose brigade
was posted at the foot of Cemetery Hill, detached a regiment and sent it forward
to observe the movements of this force, and what was passing farther to the
right beyond his view. This regiment had not proceeded far, before there
suddenly emerged from behind a hill to the left of the town, a long line of
infantry formed for an assault, which moved onward in magnificent array. This
isolated regiment could do nothing but hasten back to its position; but this
grand column, reaching from near the town to Rock Creek, moved with the
steadiness and precision of parade. They were the brigades of Hayes and Hoke,
led by the famous Louisiana Tigers. The instant they emerged to view, Stevens
to the right opened with all his guns, and Weiderick and Ricketts joined in the
chorus. The slaughter was terrible. Ricketts charged his guns with canister,
and with four shots per minute, was, at every discharge, hurling death and
confusion upon their ranks. Stevens' fire was even more effective, as it
enfiladed the enemy's line. As the rebels came within musket range, Howard's
infantry, who had lain completely protected by the stone wall, poured in volley
after volley, sweeping down the charging host. But that resolute body of men
believed themselves invincible, and now, with the eyes of both armies upon them,
they would not break so long as any were left to go forward. The stone walls
were passed at a bound, and when once among the Union men, Stevens was obliged
to cease firing for fear of killing friend and foe alike, and Weiderick was
unable to withstand the shock, his supports and his own
MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA - 284
men being swept back with the whirlwind's force. But Ricketts quailed not, upon
whom the force of the blow now fell. "With an iron hand," says the chronicler
of this battery, "he kept every man to his post and every gun in full play. The
giving way of our line upon the left brought the Tigers upon his flank. Pouring
in a volley from behind a stone wall that ran close to his left piece, they
leaped the fence, bayonetted the men, spiked the gun, and killed or wounded the
entire detachment, save three, who were taken prisoners. But the remaining guns
still belched forth their double rounds of canister, the officers and drivers
taking the places of the fallen cannoniers. The battery's guidon was planted in
one of the earthworks, and a rebel Lieutenant was pressing forward to gain it.
Just as he was in the act of grasping it, young Riggin, its bearer, rode up and
shot him through the body, and seizing the colors, he levelled his revolver
again, but ere he could fire, he fell, pierced with bullets, and soon after
expired. The rebels were now in the very midst of the battery, and in the
darkness it was difficult to distinguish friend from foe. A struggle ensued for
the guidon. It had fallen into the hands of the rebel. Seeing this, Lieutenant
Brockway seized a stone and felled him to the ground, and the next instant the
rebel was shot with his own musket. A scene of the wildest confusion ensued.
The men at the batteries were outnumbered, and were being overpowered by a
maddened and reckless foe. But still they clung to their guns, and with
handspikes, rammers, and stones, defended them with desperate valor, cheering
each other on, and shouting, 'Death on our own State soil, rather than give the
enemy our guns.' At this critical moment, Carroll's brigade came gallantly to
the rescue, and the enemy retreated in confusion. The men again flew to their
guns, and with loud cheers gave him some parting salutes, in the form of double-
shotted canister. Thus ended the grand charge of Early's division, headed by
the famous Louisiana Tigers, who boasted that they had never before been
repulsed in a charge. They came forward, 1700 strong, maddened with liquor, and
confident of crushing in our line, and holding this commanding position. They
went back barely 600, and the Tigers were never afterwards known as an
organization."
FIGHTING ON THE UNION RIGHT AT GETTYSBURG - 285
But while this daring and desperate struggle was being fought out for the
possession of Cemetery Hill, a no less persistent and far more formidable force
was breaking in upon the extreme right flank. This was Johnson's division of
Ewell's corps, led by the old Stonewall brigade which had given Jackson his
sobriquet, full of the spirit of its old leader, and now that he was fallen
nerved to strike for his sake. Johnson was supported by the division of Rodes.
Crossing Rock Creek, which at this season is easily fordable at all points, the
rebel line advanced through the forest which covers the whole plateau that
spreads out at the base of the hill. The Union skirmishers who had been thrown
out to the front were quickly driven in, and, following them up rapidly, the
enemy soon came under fire from the breastworks where the brigade of Greene, and
farther to the left the division of Wadsworth, were posted. Before this fire
the rebels recoiled; but they were not long in discovering that the strong
breastworks to Greene's right, built with much engineering skill and with great
labor, were vacant, and with alacrity they sprang forward and occupied them
unresisted. As has been already noted, when, on the evening of this day the
pressure was at its height upon Sickles' front, Ruger's and Geary's divisions,
with the exception of Greene's brigade of the latter, had been withdrawn from
this flank, and sent to reinforce the left. They had not long been gone when
this advance of the enemy was made, and these works fell into their hands. The
principal resistance they encountered was from Greene; but they were confident
of their ability to sweep him away, and take the whole Union line in reverse.
Fortunately, Greene had caused his flank to be fortified by a very heavy work,
which the make of the ground favored, extending some distance at right-angles to
his main line. Against this the rebel commander sent his cohorts. The men
behind it swept the assailants with swift destruction. Again and again did the
rebels attack in front and flank; but as often as they approached they were
stricken down and disappeared. To a terrible ordeal was this little brigade of
the intrepid Greene subjected; but he was a veteran soldier, and he made a most
gallant fight, which saved the left flank of the army from disaster. Passing
over the abandoned breastworks further to the right, the enemy
MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA - 286
found nothing to oppose him, and pushed out through the woods in their rear,
over the stone fences that skirt the fields farther to the south, and had nearly
gained the Baltimore pike. Indeed, the reserve artillery and ammunition, and
the headquarters of General Slocum, the commander of the right wing of the army,
were within musket range of his farthest advance.
But darkness had now come on, and Ewell was disposed to be cautious, lest he
might fall into a trap. Had he known the advantage which was open to him, and
all that we now know, he might, with the troops he had, have played havoc with
the trains, and have set the whole army in retreat. But he was ignorant of the
prize that was within his grasp. To break and drive the right flank of the
Union line, occupied by Greene, was legitimate and proper work, and here he
spent his strength, but in futile and vain efforts.
Why Slocum, who was particularly charged with the command of this part of the
field, ever allowed these works to be entirely stripped of defenders, or why
Meade, whose headquarters were in sight of this natural stronghold, and the
importance of which he must have become perfectly familiar with during the
morning hours, when he was meditating an attack upon the enemy from that very
ground, should have called them away, are questions which, if answered at all,
must be by some new school of strategy.
It was fortunate for the Union army, that fast-coming darkness drew its
curtain around the vulnerable parts everywhere spread out, and that under its
cover opportunity was given to mend that which was broken and disjointed.
Geary's division was ordered back to occupy its abandoned works, and having
marched to a point opposite, on the Baltimore pike, was making for them directly
across the field, all unsuspicious of danger, when it was suddenly arrested by a
volley from behind a stone wall, by which one officer and three men of the
Twenty-ninth Pennsylvania were killed, and ten wounded. Believing that he was
being fired into by men of the First brigade, General Kane, who was in advance,
withdrew to the pike, and marching up nearer the Cemetery Hill, again proceeded
towards the breastworks, and after connecting with the right of Greene, sent
forward skirmishers, who soon
FIGHTING ON THE UNION RIGHT AT GETTYSBURG - 287
met the enemy, and then for the first time he realized that the foe, in strong
force, was in full possession of all of the eastern part of Culp's Hill.
Geary immediately formed on the right of Greene, stretching out nearly at
right-angles to the main line of battle, taking advantage of the ground which
was here quite broken, covered with loose rocks and ledges, and a medium growth
of forest trees. The men slept upon their arms, only disturbed by occasional
firing of skirmishers. During the night, Ruger's division was brought back and
posted upon the flank and rear of the enemy, and General Williams assumed chief
command. At three o'clock on the morning of the 3d, objects could be seen
moving cautiously about on the rebel line, and it soon became evident that the
foe was preparing for a charge. General Kane was upon the alert, and quickly
divined the purpose. His men were aroused, and the whole line was prepared for
action. General Geary discerned the advantage which would be gained by opening
the battle himself, instead of allowing the enemy to charge with the impression
that he was surprising the Union line. Hence, at twenty minutes before four, he
discharged his pistol, which was the signal for opening along his whole front.
"The Confederate General Johnson's division led," says General Kane, in his
official report, "followed by Rodes. The statement of our prisoners is, that
they advanced in three lines, but they appeared to us only as closed in mass.
Every advantage was taken of rock and tree and depression, on both side, the
lines being within close range, and the fight, for the most part, partook of the
nature of sharp-shooting on a grand scale. Occasionally the enemy formed in
heavy lines and charged; but before they could reach the Union front, so
terrible was the slaughter, that the survivors would not respond to the frantic
appeals of their officers to advance."
As the day wore on, the heat from the fire and smoke of battle, and the
scorching of the July sun, became so intense as to be almost past endurance.
Men were completely exhausted in the progress of the struggle, and had to be
often relieved; but, revived by fresh air and a little period of rest, again
returned to the front. "We ceased firing, occasionally," says Kane, "for a
minute or two, to induce the enemy to come out of advantageous
MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA - 288
positions, when they paid for their temerity; but with this exception, kept up a
fire of unintermitting strength for seven hours."
As soon as it was light, and the position of the Union forces was sufficiently
determined to fire with safety, the artillery, posted on little eminences to the
rear, opened upon the points where the rebels were supposed to be, for friend
and foe were hidden from view by the dark foliage of the wood. Whitelaw Reid,
now Editor of the New York Tribune, who was upon the field throughout the last
two days, as chronicler of the battle, says: "I had gone down the Baltimore
pike at night, to find a resting place. Coming up between four and five, I
heard clearly on the right the old charging cheer. Once, twice, three times I
counted it, as my horse pushed his way for less than a mile through the curious
or coward throng that ebbed and flowed along the pike. Each time a charge was
made, each time the musketry fire leaped out from our line more terrific than
before, and still the ground was held. To the left and centre, firing gradually
ceased. All interest was concentred on this fierce contest on the right; the
rest of the line on either side was bracing itself for still more desperate
work. From four to five, there was heavy cannonading also, from our batteries
nearest the contested points, but the artillery fire diminished and presently
ceased. The rebels made no reply; we were firing at random, and it was a
useless waste of ammunition. A cloud of smoke curled up from the dark woods on
the right; the musketry crash continued with unparalleled tenacity and
vehemence, wounded men came back over the fields, a few stragglers were hurried
out to the front, ammunition was kept conveniently near the line. In the fields
to the left of the Baltimore pike stood the reserve artillery, with horses
harnessed to the pieces and ready to move on the instant. Cavalry, too, was
drawn up in detachments here and there. Moved over already within supporting
distance of Slocum's line, stood a part of Sedgwick's corps, the reserve of to-
day, ready for the emergency that seemed likely soon to demand it. . . . The
Rodman guns on the hill [Powers', Slocum's headquarters], were all manned, and
the gunners were eager to try their range, but it still seemed useless. . . .
As I rode down the slope and up through the wheatfields to Cemetery Hill, the
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batteries began to open again on points along our outer line. They were
evidently playing on what had been Slocum's line of yesterday. The rebels,
then, were still in our rifle-pits. Presently the battery on Slocum's hill
gained the long-sought permission, and opened, too, aiming apparently in the
same direction. Other batteries along the inner line, just to the left of the
Baltimore pike [McAllister's Hill], followed the signal, and as one after
another opened up, till every little crest between slocum's headquarters and
Cemetery Hill began belching its thunder, I had to change my course through the
wheatfields to avoid our own shells. Still no artillery response from the
rebels. Could they be short of ammunition? Could they have failed to bring up
all their guns?"
To one conversant with the ground, it is now apparent why the enemy did not
reply. The creek, the forest, and the steep acclivities, made it utterly
impossible for him to move up his guns, and this circumstance constituted the
weakness of his position, and the futility of his occupation of this part of the
line. Could he have supported his advance with powerful artillery, he might
have made a more serious break, and defied all attempts to rout him from this
ground. But though he fought with a determined bravery well worthy the name of
the old-time leader, yet he gained no ground, and had sustained terrible losses.
Unwilling to accept the hopelessness of their situation, or the possibility of
ultimate failure, the rebel leaders gathered in their scattered strength and
prepared to deliver a final charge, with such determined might as they
confidently anticipated would utterly break down and scatter any force which
could oppose them. The men were encouraged with the hope of victory, and were
appealed to, by the memories of other fields. Every incentive was employed to
stimulate their zeal. The charge was made full upon the line held by Kane's
brigade. With little intermission, his men had been engaged since early dawn;
but, though exhausted by fatigue and oppressive heat, they were as resolute and
full of fight as at the first. There had been a lull in the battle, a brief
respite, and the dense cloud of sulphurous smoke had lifted, giving place to a
gust of sweet air. It was the calm that precedes the storm. Suddenly the quiet
was broken by a
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yell bursting from thousands of lungs, and the next instant their grey lines
emerged in sight, dashing madly on. Singularly enough, they were preceded a few
yards by a rabid dog, with vengeful eyes and teeth, yelping and sounding
defiance. They had scarcely come into easy musket range, when the men in blue
along the line sprang to their feet and poured in a deliberate volley. The
chock was terrible. The on-coming force was staggered, and for a moment sought
shelter behind trees and rocks; but obedient to the voices of their officers
they struggled on, some of the more desperate coming within twenty paces of the
Union front. "It cannot be denied," says Kane, "that they behaved
courageously." They did what the most resolute could do; but it was all in
vain, for never were men more firmly rooted to the ground, and less in the mood
to be torn from it than were Kane's forces. Broken and well nigh annihilated,
the survivors of the charge staggered back, leaving the ground strewn with their
dead and desperately wounded. "Then did the shouts of victory," says a soldier,
who bore a musket and shared in the triumph, "resound and echo from all parts of
the line on the right flank, telling our comrades miles away of the result, and
Lee's discomfiture. Men cheered themselves hoarse, laughed, rolled themselves
upon the ground, and threw their caps high in air, while others shook hands with
comrades, and thanked God that the Star Corps had again triumphed."
Though this was the last of the enemy's determined assaults, a vigorous
fusilade was kept up along his whole front. But now a cordon was being drawn
about him, which was beginning to threaten his way of retreat. A brigade was
thrown in upon his flank on Rock Creek, which sent a few well directed volleys
into his rear, and when, soon after, Geary charged from the front, the foe
easily yielded to the pressure, and the breastworks were again joyfully
occupied, after a struggle rarely paralleled for prolonged severity. This flank
was now secure; but the enemy still held a barricade in the immediate front of
the breastworks, and kept a skirmish line well advanced, from which a deadly
fire was directed upon any object which showed itself above the defences.
Beyond this, no further offensive movements were made.
But, what a field was this! For three hours of the pre-
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vious evening, and seven of the morning, had the most terrible elements of
destruction known to modern warfare been wielded with a might and a dexterity
rarely if ever paralleled. The wood in which the battle had been fought was
torn and rent with shells and solid shot, and pierced with innumberable minie
balls. Trees were broken off and splintered, and that entire forest, where the
battle raged most furiously, was, on the following year, leafless, the stately
but mute occupants having yielded up their lives with those whom they
overshadowed. The ground, as it presented itself when the battle was over, bore
a mournful spectacle. "We awoke early on the 5th," says the soldier above
quoted, "as we had done on the three preceding mornings, and discovered that the
foe had disappeared from our front. A number of immediately sprant over the
breastworks, and descended the hill towards the creek. Before advancing many
paces, we came upon numberless forms clad in grey, either stark and stiff or
else still weltering in their blood. It was the most sickening and horrible
sight I had yet witnessed. Many of the dead bodies had lain here for twenty-
four hours, and had turned to a purplish black, being greatly distended and
emitting a horrible stench. Turning whichever way we chose, the eye rested upon
human forms, lying in all imaginable positions, some upon their backs, others
upon their faces, and others still upon their knees, the body supported against
a rock. Not a few were killed while in readiness to discharge their pieces, the
bodies still in position. Some of them had erected a slight protection of stone
against the front and right flank fire, yet the fatal bullet reached them even
there. We were surprised at the accuracy, as well as the bloody results of our
fire. It was indeed dreadful to witness. Further down the hill, we found Major
Light, Assistant Adjutant-General on Ewell's staff, dead, as well as his horse,
which lay partly upon him. One of the rebel wounded, informed us that he had
been killed while superintending one of the advances made against us during the
night. We turned from the sickening spectacle of the dead to the wounded, of
whom there were many, all helpless; those who could be, having already been
removed. To these we gave the contents of our canteens. Their haversacks were
better filled than our
MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA - 292
own, for they had good bacon and pork, which they had foraged from the farmers
of the Cumberland Valley." General Geary relates that while passing over the
field after the battle, his attention was called to one of the enemies killed
who must have been an anomaly among men. The dead, after lying in the hot sun
for a day, always appear distorted. But this man was nearly seven feet in
stature, of giant proportions, and his body was completely covered with hair
like an animal. He had apparently belonged to a Virginia organization, and had
fallen in one of those desperate charges which the old Stonewall brigade had
delivered. Of such commanding figure his body was a target for the unerring
rifles of Geary's men.
Thus ended the fighting upon the right, which, though interrupted by a few
hours of darkness, and made to reach into two days, was really one battle; but
in considering the influences which swayed the two commanders, the aspects of
the field at the close of the second day should alone be regarded.
The results of that day on the part of the enemy were, in a measure,
successful, but not to that extent which had been hoped. Longstreet had made
his assault with great power. He had driven the Union line back from the Peach
Orchard, and the rugged position to the south and east of it, and from the whole
length of the Emmittsburg road, gaining ground nearly three-quarters of a mile
in width at the centre, and running out to a point at either end. But he had
failed to gain Little Round Top, which was the great advantage craved; and he
had likewise been unable to grasp the wooded eminence to the right and front of
Little Round Top, and the heavy wooded ground northeast of the wheatfield, which
served as outposts to the citadel. At Cemetery Hill he had been signally
repulsed, suffering severe losses and gaining no advantage whatever. On the
extreme Union right, he had effected a lodgment, and had pushed forward in
dangerous proximity to the very vitals of the army; but darkness fell before the
fruits of the manoeuvre could be gathered, and the night was sure to give
opportunity for dispositions which would oust him from his already dear-bought
advantage. The outlook was not, therefore, particularly encouraging. A good
share of the potential force of his army had been spent,
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and on no part of the field had any real, substantial gain been made. In his
official report Lee, says: "After a severe struggle, Longstreet succeeded in
getting possession of and holding the desired ground. Ewell also carried some
of the strong positions which he assailed, and the result was such as to lead to
the belief that he would ultimately be able to dislodge the enemy. The battle
ceased at dark. These partial successes determined me to continue the assault
next day." It will be seen that he does not speak in very strong terms of the
results of the day's work, terming them "partial successes."
Curiosity is excited to know the feelings of the citizens of Gettysburg during
these days of terror and destruction, as they were now entirely within the
enemy's lines. Professor Jacobs, who gives many interesting experiences, says:
"To us, however, who were at the time within the rebel lines, the result seemed
doubtful; and gloomy forebodings filled our minds as we laid ourselves down, to
catch, if possible, a little sleep. The unearthly yells of the exultant and
defiant enemy had, during the afternoon, been frequently heard even amidst the
almost deafening sounds of exploding cannon, of screaming and bursting shells,
and of the continuous roar of musketry; and it seemed to us, judging from the
character and direction of these mingled noises, that the enemy had been gaining
essentially on our flanks. At about six P. M., it is true, we heard 'cheering'
different from that which had so often fallen dolefully upon our ears; and some
of the rebels said to each other, 'Listen! the Yankees are cheering.' But
whilst this--which we afterwards found to have been the cheering of General
Crawford's men, as they charged down the face of Little Round Top--afforded us
temporary encouragement, the movement of Rodes' division, which we saw hurried
forward on a double-quick for the purpose of uniting in a combined attack upon
our right centre and flank, the incessant and prolonged musketry fire, and the
gradual cessation of the reports of our artillery on Cemetery Hill, caused us to
fear that our men had been badly beaten, and that our guns had either been
captured or driven back from the advantageous position they had occupied. . . .
The rebels returned again to our street at ten P. M., and prepared their supper,
and soon we began to hope that all
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was not lost. Some of them expressed their most earnest indignation at the
foreigners--the Dutchmen--for having shot down so many of their men. . . . We
afterwards found the explanation of this indignation when we learned what had
taken place that evening on the eastern flank of Cemetery Hill. Then again,
soon after this, some were heard to say: 'The Yankees have a good position, and
we must drive them out of it to-morrow.' This assured us that our men had been
able to hold their position, and that our lines were unbroken. There seemed now
to be an entire absence of that elation and boastfulness which they manifested
when they entered the town on the evening of the 1st of July. Still later at
night, one said to another in tones of great earnestness, 'I am very much
discouraged,' from which we learned that the results of the day were not in
accordance with their high expectations, although they said, during the evening,
they had been driving us on our right and our left."
If such was the aspect at the rebel headquarters and in the town, what was it
within the Union Lines? On the left severe fighting had occurred. Terrible
losses had been sustained, and though driven back from the advanced line, a new
one had been taken that was strong in itself throughout many of its parts, and
had now been made doubly strong by art. It had the advantage of being much
shorter than the first, and hence required a less number of men to hold it. At
the centre, where Howard was, the killed and wounded were numerous, but not an
inch had been lost, and there was very good assurance from the result of the mad
attempt upon it, that such temerity would not be repeated. On the extreme
right, works which had been left without a defender had been occupied, the foe
walking cooly in and taking undisputed possession. But the troops who were in
position, and who had been struck by the enemy, held their own with a
stubbornness and a heroism that will shed a halo over this part of the field, as
long as the struggles of Gettysburg shall be recounted. Hence no ground, that
was defended even here had been lost. Could this ground, which had unopposed
been occupied, be repossessed, and this slight break be repaired, the Union
situation for delivering a defensive battle would be admirable. There had,
indeed, been severe losses during the two
FIGHTING ON THE UNION RIGHT AT GETTYSBURG - 295
days of fighting. The First corps, the Eleventh, the Third, parts of the Second
and the Fifth, and one brigade of the Twelfth, had been subjected to the most
terrible shocks, and at least a third of their numbers had been blotted out; but
what remained were more defiant and full of stubborn valor than ever, and would
everywhere make a gallant stand, while the whole of the Sixth corps, most of the
Twelfth, and parts of the Second and Fifth were comparatively fresh.
But though this hopeful view in reality existed, there appears to have been
entertained a despondent one at headquarters. Just previous to the opening of
the battle on the afternoon of the 2d, a council of corps commanders had been
summoned, which, before proceeding to business, or even before all the officers
had arrived, had been broken up by the roar of the artillery which heralded the
fight. What the object of that meeting was, and what business would have been
transacted, has never transpired. But later in the evening, and before the
fighting had entirely subsided on the right, another council was held at which
General Butterfield, General Meade's Chief of staff, reports that the only
question put was, "Whether our army should remain on that field and continue the
battle, or whether we should change to some other position." The minutes of
that council appear to have been lost; but the majority voted to stay and fight
it out there, though General Newton is reported to have said that "he was not
prepared to vote to leave it, but he wanted the council to understand that he
had objections to it." "After the council had finished," says Butterfield,
"General Meade arose from the table, and remarked that in his opinion,
Gettysburg was no place to fight a battle." General Meade in his supplementary
testimony declares that the object of this council was not to consider the
question of withdrawal, but, "first, whether it was necessary for us to assume
any different position from what we then held; and secondly, whether, if we
continued to maintain the position we then held, our operations the next day
should be offensive or defensive."
With the exception of General Butterfield, General Hancock is the only officer
who gives a clear and connected account of this council, though all agree, that
such a question was pro-
MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA - 296
pounded. General Hancock testifies: "There was a council held that evening at
General Meade's headquarters. All the corps commanders were sent for. I was
present. Some of this fighting was going on at twilight, and after we had
assembled. . . . After each corps commander had reported the actual condition
of things along his front, the question was submitted to the council. General
Meade being present, and General Butterfield questioning the members, whether we
should remain there or the army fall back to a better position--I understood
with a view of protecting our supplies.. One corps commander, I think it was
General Newton, said he did not think the position of Gettysburg a very good
one. General Gibbons, who was the junior officer, I believe, and voted first,
said that he had not seen the entire ground, but he had great confidence in
General Newton's military eye for these matters, and he voted in accordance with
that view of the case, except that he objected to anything that looked like a
retreat. I understood afterwards that General Newton really had the same view,
and did not propose to make a retreat. But all the other commanders, I
understood, said they wished to fight the battle there, and General Meade
announced that to be the decision. The council then adjourned, and that was the
last operation of the second day of the fight." This testimony of General
Hancock may be taken as a correct statement of the business transacted. For
offensive operations the field was not favorable, and if the enemy had succeeded
in making a permanent lodgment in rear of the right wing, the position of the
Union army would have been an anomalous one, calling for wise consideration. It
was this uncertainty in the mind of General Meade, and the desire to have the
explanations of his corps commanders who knew the ground each on his own part of
the field much better than he himself could, that induced him to call the
council. The question of staying or retiring involved in its discussion the
information which he sought.
In the first grey of the morning of the 3d, opened the struggle for the
mastery of the right, as has been already related, which ended in the complete
rout of the enemy, and the reestablishment of that flank. From a little after
ten, when the battle on this part of the line gradually died away, until after
one P. M.,
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there was a complete lull in the fighting. But it was apparent by the movement
of troops and guns on the part of the enemy, which could be plainly detected
from various points in the Union line, that preparations were in progress for
another attack. Dispositions were accordingly made to meet the onset from
whatever quarter it might come. Batteries were repaired and replaced,
ammunition was brought up in convenient distance, and the infantry line was
revised and strengthened. Nor was the cavalry idle. Kilpatrick, who had
encountered Stuart at Hanover, was on the lookout for the latter as e returned
from Carlisle. At Hunterstown, on the evening of the 2d, they had met, and
there ensued a warm artillery engagement in which the enemy was driven;
Kilpatrick then moved over to the Baltimore pike, and was thence ordered on the
morning of the 3d to the extreme left, where he was joined by Merritt, who had
come up from Emmittsburg. It was here posted to guard against any flank
movement in that direction. Gregg was sent out upon the right between the York
and Bonaughtown roads, where he encountered the enemy and drove him back.