Episoder
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James Hessler joins us again to talk about Humprehys' Division of Dan Sickles' III Corps. This episode must be good because Jim has been asking me when it will be released since we recorded it in February. So, enjoy this episode with the Hessler Seal of Approval.
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Music possibly by:
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California Consolidated Drum Band check them out here: https://www.facebook.com/CCDrumBand
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If you are studying for the guide exam or just want to know the battle inside and out, then I have something to help you. This is actually a recording I've been dreading editing (lots of tongue-ties and stumbles to cut out) since 2019 when I recorded it. It can be found in Coddington's book. I hope it helps. These will help you too https://www.lulu.com/search?contributor=Stephen+Lunsford&page=1&pageSize=10&adult_audience_rating=00
Plus joining this https://www.patreon.com/addressinggettysburg
ANV Order of Battle Coming soon
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Mangler du episoder?
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Our friend David Martin is back and, this time, talking about my home state of New Jersey at Gettysburg. Basically, we sat around and ate gabagool while hurling insults at people who were busy fighting the battle.
That's a joke. I just wanted to say "gabagool." New Jersey was just quite active here and involved in many of the major actions of the battle.
David also has a guide book "New Jersey at Gettysburg" available here
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LBGs Ralph Siegel and Jessie Wheedleton care. They care about ye who want to become guides here at Gettysburg. Therefore, they're on the show to clue you in to the realities of guiding. Are you going to be that "Rock Star Guide" you fantasized about night after night? Or are you most likely going to give tours to sweaty, bored families, dreaming about their reservation at the Chinese Buffet? Actually, the buffet is good, so I wouldn't blame them. But, the latter is the answer. But they answer many other questions besides that one. So, sit back, open your mind and hit play. If you're driving, sit up straight, 10 and 2, and press play.
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THIS EPISODE DROPS LIVE ON PATREON at 7:30 AM EST TODAY! Join and listen with fellow Gettysnerds
You know how we like to do a series of shows on one topic. Right? Right. Well, this episode is the first on the subject of Reconstruction. I know, I know. You're saying "Reconstruction? How boring." Or maybe, "Reconstruction? Whatever, dude." And some of you are probably saying things I haven't anticipated and probably don't want to hear anyway.
Rich Condon joins us to talk about Reconstruction during the war. That's right. It started during the war, not after. See? Interesting already. Seriously, to understand our country today, we must include the Reconstruction Era and not just the war. A lot of the nonsense we were raised to believe about the war came about in this period. thus, we embark on our journey into how to rebuild a country that you just destroyed. Enjoy!
The Guide Exam is coming and you're nervous. We can feel it. That's why we've been working for 5 years on our Patreon channel to build a library of episodes for you to devour about so many aspects and angles of the Battle of Gettysburg, its actions, participants and the Civil War Era as a whole. There are literally hundreds of episodes waiting for you there. These episodes feature guests from all walks in the history field. Even actors from the movie (you don't think you'll be asked about the movie on a tour?). We even go so far as to interview modern-day combat vets about their experiences so that you might understand what the Civil War soldiers might have gone through. You're really missing out if you're not a 1st or 2nd Lieutenant on Patreon. You can even try a FREE 7-day trial so that you can see why 9 out o 11 chiropractors agree that being a Patron of Addressing Gettysburg is the best way to truly understand the Battle of Gettysburg. See you there!
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We are very proud to present the first episode of our first "spin-off" podcast, "That's What She Said", hosted by Bethany Yingling and Veronica "Ronnie Ronstadt" Brestenksy, women. In their inaugural episode, Beth and Ronnie are joined by Licensed Town Guide Rosanne Zajko to talk about one tough lady: Elizabeth Thorn, who dug almost 100 graves while 6 months pregnant.
This episode is brought to you by our Patrons. Did you know they heard this episode a full year ago? Membership has it's privileges. www.patreon.com/adressinggettysburg
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LBG Charlie Fennell is back to talk about who he thinks the heroes of Culp's Hill are, well, just SOME of them. If you're studying for the guide exam, you will want to make sure you listen to this episode. You'll also want to make sure you join us on Patreon for hundreds of epsiodes about, not only, the Battle of Gettysburg, but the Civil War as a whole, which you also need to know. Plus, you'll be supporting our show which you might find yourself on after you're licensed! Win-win-win. Goo to www.patreon.com/addressinggettysburg
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Music possibly by:
"Garryowen" by Billy Webster: www.billysongs.com
Camp Chase Fifes & Drums: https://www.campchasefifesanddrums.org
California Consolidated Drum Band check them out here: https://www.facebook.com/CCDrumBand
Kevin MacLeod: www.incompetech.com
The Federal City Brass Band- www.jvmusic.net
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Susan Wall is a living historian who can often be found doing her thing at the George Spangler Farm. If you haven't gone out there yet, make sure you do as soon as you get the chance. The farm was carefully and truthfully restored to its 1863 appearance through diligent research by the Gettysburg Foundation and is well worth your time. In this episode, Susan tells us what the USSC did to assist the troops while here in Gettysburg.
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Stephen Evangelista is back with another book. This time, it's about the history of the fabled "Gettysburg Gun", one of the artillery pieces which was disabled during the fighting near the Angle on July 3, 1863. Get your copies of “Forever Silenced” and “Our Story” here www.evangelistabooks.com
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Tom Huntington is back on the show to talk about his book Searching For George Gordon Meade. Naturally, we meander off-topic for a bit, but it's all relevant stuff. Don't forget to check out Tom's blog too! Here's the books' description:
"While researching Searching for George Gordon Meade: The Forgotten Victor of Gettysburg, author Tom Huntington visited a severed leg, a buried arm, and a horse's head. He also hiked across Civil War battlefields, recited the names of fallen soldiers at a candlelit ceremony at Gettysburg, and drank a champagne toast in a Philadelphia cemetery on New Year's Eve. It was all part of his quest to learn more about the man who commanded the victorious Union army at the Civil War's Battle of Gettysburg, yet has been unfairly overlooked by history in the years since.
Although in command of the Army of the Potomac for a mere three days before the battle, Major General George Gordon Meade managed to defeat Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia during three days of vicious fighting. The cantankerous general remained in command of the army for the rest of the war even as he watched his reputation decline. "I suppose after awhile it will be discovered I was not at Gettysburg at all," he griped in a letter to his wife.
Searching for George Gordon Meade is not your typical Civil War biography. While Huntington does tell the story of Meade's life, he also provides first-person accounts of his visits to the battlefields where Meade fought and museums that cover the Civil War. He includes his conversations with experts, enthusiasts, curators, park rangers and even a Meade impersonator to get their insights. The result is a compelling mash-up of history, biography, travel and journalism that touches both past and present."Studying for the guide exam and you're not yet a Patron? Hoofah! With hundreds of episodes covering everything from the poltical, cultural and military aspects of the 1860s, as well as shows with your potential future colleagues about the Battle of Gettysburg to learn from, you'll be doing yourself a favor when you join and binge all 300+ episodes from now until December. Join here www.patreon.com/addressinggettysburg and find out why even currently licensed guides are Patrons. 1st and 2nd Lieutenants get every episode released in a month
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Season 12 begins with LBG Tracy Baer coming on to talk about Major General Samuel Wylie Crawford the man, the soldier and a Gettysburg hero.
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Joining our book club: Email [email protected] to get in!
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You best be visiting our Studio Sponsor, The Gettysburg Museum of History- www.gettysburgmuseumofhistory.com
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Get your bags of Little Ground Top here www.addressinggettysburg.com/cafe
Buy Billy Webster's Album "Marching Through Georgia - https://billysongs.com
TRHistorical: www.trhistorical.com
Music possibly by:
"Garryowen" by Billy Webster: www.billysongs.com
Camp Chase Fifes & Drums: https://www.campchasefifesanddrums.org
California Consolidated Drum Band check them out here: https://www.facebook.com/CCDrumBand
Kevin MacLeod: www.incompetech.com
The Federal City Brass Band- www.jvmusic.net
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Marc Charisse is the former editor of the Hanover Evening Sun and, now, he hosts showings of the historic Gettysburg Electric Map. We discuss its history from creation to destruction by the park service to recovery and rehabilitation by private citizens with a love and respect for our history and the artifacts associated with it. Marc is also a magician and he showed me some tricks that only made me feel stupid once I learned how they work.
You can visit the map to this day. Marc gives the info in the show.
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This is the audio from a YouTube video. If you want to see it, here's the link https://youtu.be/EW88gyBzhEU
Since we are on hiatus from our live shows in the month of July, I put together this compilation as a tribute to one of my favorite guests and friend, Pete Carmichael, who passed away on July 21. These are his appearances on our show AG TODAY in part or in their entirety. If you'd like to watch the episodes in their entirety, they are listed below.
EDITOR'S NOTE: These videos were downloaded from YouTube so you might find differences in audio quality and picture quality between clips.
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ORIGINAL AIR DATE June 12 2023 on our Patreon page released now for FREE in memory of Peter Carmichael.
Here's one for those of you out there hungering for more Southern stuff. Our buddy Dr. Peter Carmichael came to the studio to talk about Confederate reactions to the Battle of Gettysburg.
Peter S. Carmichael received his Ph.D. in History from Penn State University in 1996. His academic interests include 19th-century US history, Civil War and Reconstruction, southern history, public history and cultural history. Carmichael’s most recent book, The War for the Common Soldier, was published by University of North Carolina Press in November 2018 as part of the Littlefield History of the Civil War Era series. The culmination of nearly ten years' work, this cultural history of soldiering in Civil War armies explores how soldiers endured the brutal and unpredictable existence of army life during the war years, drawing heavily on close examination of the letters and records left behind by individual soldiers from both the North and the South.His previous books include The Last Generation: Young Virginians in Peace, War, and Reunion (UNC, 2005) and Lee's Young Artillerist: William R. J. Pegram (Virginia, 1995). In addition to his books, he has also published a number of articles for both scholarly and popular journals, and he speaks frequently to general and scholarly audiences. Carmichael has recently appeared on the PBS Robert E. Lee documentary for the American Experience series and on the popular TV show “Who Do You Think You Are.” View Professor Carmichael's talks on C-SPAN.After completing his doctorate at Penn State University under Dr. Gary W. Gallagher, Professor Carmichael went on to teach at Western Carolina University, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and West Virginia University, before coming to Gettysburg College.In addition to holding seasonal interpretive positions at several National Park Service sites, Carmichael served as Gettysburg National Military Park’s first Scholar-in-Residence in 1999, and has developed a lasting relationship with the NPS. In addition to overseeing multiple interpretive workshops for National Park Service staff, he directed a 2010 seminar at Gettysburg NMP to discuss new interpretive approaches to the Civil War sesquicentennial and co-directed (with Jill Ogline Titus) the joint GC/GNMP conference, The Future of Civil War History: Looking Beyond the 150th in 2013.
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In memory of our great friend, Dr. Peter Carmichael, here is a re-release of the first time he came on our show. The introduction mentions Christmas because it was first release for free on December 26, 2020 during our Christmas Patreon promotion season. This conversation is the first time I met him and spoke with him and, from there, a friendship bloomed. If you haven't yet read his book The War for the Common Soldier do yourself a favor and pick one up www.forthehistorian.com
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Dr. Jennifer Murray is an Associate Professor at Oklahoma State University, History, Stillwater, Oklahoma, 2021 - present. She is also a personal friend of mine. When we get together socially, we rarely talk about our lives in a format like we do on this show, so, this was an opportunity for me to get to know a friend better and to introduce her to you as a person, not just an historian behind a book or at a podium. Enjoy.
Dr. Jennifer M. Murray is American military historian, with a research and teaching specialization in the U.S. Civil War. She is a native of Pennsylvania and Maryland, and moved to Oklahoma in 2018.
Research Interests:
Her first book, On A Great Battlefield: The Making, Management, and Memory of Gettysburg National Military Park, 1933-2013 was published by the University of Tennessee Press in 2014. While Gettysburg is the most studied battle of the Civil War, On A Great Battlefield offers a pioneering interpretation that moves the discussion beyond the July 1863 battle to an exploration of the history of the battlefield landscape. Her research considers the nexus of preservation, interpretation, and memory at Gettysburg National Military Park from 1933, when the National Park Service acquired the battlefield, through the battle's sesquicentennial in 2013. A second edition of this book, with a new preface, was published in June 2023.
Dr. Murray's current book project, tentatively titled, "Meade at War: The Military Life of George Gordon Meade" is a biography of Union general George Gordon Meade. Her research on Meade affords an opportunity to explore issues of high command within a fractured and politicized Army of the Potomac and addresses questions on the nature of civil-military relations, popular opinion, the media, and notions of a decisive battle.After you get your bag of our first coffee brand, Little Ground Top ( www.addressinggettysburg.com/cafe ) head over to here and become a member to hear the rest of this interview and help us accomplish soooooo much more ( www.patreon.com/addressinggettysburg )
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Peter Vermilyea is on to talk about his book Litchfield County and the Civil War . This is an interesting topic and the deepest of dives to take, but it's not without its mysteries and scandals.
Become a Patron to support the on-going efforts of AG and hear the rest of this episode. www.patreon.com/addressinggettysburg
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GNMP Communications Specialist Jason Martz joins us for the first time to update us on Little Round Top's reopening, mostly, but we dip our toes into the complicated and confusing issue that has recently curbed many people's enjoyment of the Park: PERMITS! We briefly get into the how, why and what of them so that you and I can understand just what's going on.
This episode is brought to you by our delicious coffee brand Little Ground Top(TM) available here www.addressinggettysburg.com/cafe or at Bantam Roasters at 82 Steinwehr Ave in Gettysburg.
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Don't forget to delight your coffee-loving tastebuds with our first coffee brand "Little Ground Top". Grab a bag next time you're in town at Bantam Roasters (82 Steinwehr Ave) or have some sent to your home or office by ordering at www.addressinggettysburg.com/cafe
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As Dawn approached on July 3, Robert E. Lee considered his options. The attacks of the day before had achieved limited success, with the capture of ground, the wrecking of the Federal Third Corps and the bloodying of two others. Yet, the Confederates had not accomplished their objective of driving the Union soldiers off of Cemetery Hill. It had been touch-and-go many times, but every breakthrough had been met with Union reinforcements. But, in war, even limited success could be considered something to build on to achieve victory.
According to his after-battle report, Lee wrote that the plan had remained unchanged from the day before. Reinforcing their gains on Culp's Hill from the night before and renewing the attack on the Union Right would be Richard Ewell's Corps.
During the growing darkness of the night before, the Confederates had captured some vacant Union fortifications. A renewal of the attacks on the Union position could threaten the Army of the Potomac and their avenue of resupply along the Baltimore Pike. At the same time, reinforced with a fresh division of Virginians under George Pickett, James Longstreet was to renew his attack from the day before on the southern end of the battlefield on the Union Left. While such a plan was indicated in his report after the battle, Longstreet would contend that he did not receive orders to that effect the night before when he had visited with Lee. It was a confusion of orders that would ultimately lead to inaction on the southern end of the battlefield on the morning of July 3.
The same could not be said about what occurred on the Union Right.
The Union forces would initiate an attack for the first time since the battle began. Union 12th Corps soldiers returning from being sent to reinforce the southern end of the battlefield would find in the darkness of the morning that the fortifications they had built were now occupied by some squatters with unfriendly dispositions.
When informed of this, Union 12th Corps commander Henry Slocum declared that the men of the 12th Corps would drive them out in the morning. At around 4 in the morning, the Union artillery opened fire. A Union artillerist would later write, "We poured shot and shell into them." These missiles of death and destruction would splinter trees and send branches careening to the earth and on top of Rebel soldiers.
This morning, the fighting on Culp's Hill foreshadowed what the war would become. It was not the pageantry of bayonets gleaming in the sunlight, banners fluttering in the air, or officers leading their men with their hats on the tips of their swords across open fields. Instead, wave upon wave of Rebel soldiers, including the vaunted Stonewall Brigade, would throw themselves into the hellfire sent their way by the enemy in relative safety behind breastworks or in trenches.
Some Union soldiers reported that they fired as many as 200 rounds.
Still, the Confederates came on as reinforcements arrived. Every attack was futile and found limited or no success.
But the futile attacks were not restricted to the Confederates that morning.
The 2nd Massachusetts and the 27th Indiana were ordered to charge across Spangler's Meadow toward Confederates behind a stone wall. Lt. Colonel Mudge, upon receiving the order, stated, "It is murder, but it is the order." Then, to his men, he yelled, "Up, men, over the works! Forward, double quick !" Both regiments would attack and were bloodily repulsed. Mudge, who had been a sparring partner of Robert E. Lee's son at Harvard before the war, would be killed in the attempt.
By late morning, the last Confederate attacks from Maryland and Virginia units were repulsed, and the fighting died down. No ground was gained, and the Union forces still held the critical high ground covering the Baltimore Pike.
There had been no attack on the southern end of the battlefield. Still, Lee had one final option: the division under George Pickett.
Lee, now, turned his attention to the Union Center. Lee had often asked his men to do the unthinkable before the Battle of Gettysburg. Almost every time, they had delivered him victory. So long as there was a chance for victory with these men, Lee would take it.
The plan was a simple one. It called for the massing of just under 150 cannons to bombard the Union Center, softening its defenses to provide an infantry assault with a better chance of success. Collecting this many cannons to bombard a position during a land battle had not been attempted before during the war and, on paper, was enough to accomplish the task. Once the position was adequately softened, the Confederate infantry was to step off and cross the field. George Pickett and his division would be reinforced by the division under James J. Pettigrew and by two brigades under Isaac Trimble. The brigades of Cadmus Wilcox and David Lang were added late in the planning. In all, 12,500 men. The evening before, Wright's Brigade of Georgians had managed to pierce the Union Center along the same ground as this proposed attack. With adequate preparation, three divisions would have a better chance of success.
The Confederates got into position. Some even inched forward to get a peek at the situation. More than a few compared it to the battle of Malvern Hill. Veteran soldiers knew what was in store for them.
The Union soldiers were not wholly unaware of what was going on. Some of the regiments in the center had collected muskets from the night before, providing men with multiple muskets near them, loaded and ready to fire. After the Council of War had disbanded the night before, Meade would turn to John Gibbon, the Union commander in this area, and say to Gibbon that the fighting would be along his front. Gibbon would soon find out how correct Meade was.
According to Lt. Colonel E.P. Alexander, around 1:00 in the afternoon, the Confederate artillery opened fire.
A Union colonel on the receiving end of the barrage would write in his diary that day that "The air was filled with shot and shell and the earth groaned and trembled under the terrible concussions."
The Union artillery would open fire in response.
It was such a cacophony of noise with such cataclysmic suddenness that soldiers miles away would stop what they were doing to glance in the direction of the sudden eruption.
If the Confederate infantry were to have any chance in their assault, Confederate artillery would have to silence the Union artillery in preparation. As minutes turned into an hour, the smoke from the deadly exchange would fill the area.
Understanding what this artillery barrage meant, Union artillery commander Henry Hunt ordered his batteries to stop their fire to conserve ammunition. Winfield Scott Hancock, the man who had been crucial to the Union effort so far in the battle, disagreed with this decision, arguing that having the Union artillery fire back would give a morale boost to his men. Hunt was not moved. As a result, only Hancock's cannons of the Second Corps Artillery Brigade continued to fire.
On the Confederate side, interactions between infantry commanders and artillery commanders would also dictate the course of events. James Longstreet, in charge of the assault, had charged Confederate artillery commander E.P. Alexander with sending the order for the infantry to commence the assault when Alexander determined that the Confederate artillery had made enough of an impact. It was a strange situation as, typically, an assault order did not come from an artillery commander. When Hunt ordered his guns to be silent on the Union side, the fire slackened; when Alexander could see through the smoke, he saw that a Union battery was being withdrawn. It was at this time that Alexander sent the message to commence the attack. With the area filled with smoke, the only way to determine whether the fire from the Confederate side had any effect would be in the return fire from the Union side. With a reduction in the return fire, and based on what he saw and could hear, Alexander advised that if the Confederate infantry assault were to occur, it had to happen then. James Longstreet could only nod his consent.
The Confederate artillery slackened its fire.
Union artillerists manning cannons on Cemetery Hill in the Evergreen Cemetery among damaged headstones would start exclaiming, "Here comes the infantry!' as they serviced their pieces.
The Confederate infantry now rose to their feet, with many sinking right back down to the ground or not rising at all, having laid in the hot July sun all afternoon under artillery bombardment. As if on parade, the remaining mass of men and metal lurched forward to cross what would become the most famous mile in American History.
A gentle wind typical of Pennsylvania summers blew in and lifted the smoke like a curtain was being raised. The Union defenders could now see a nearly mile-wide, almost irresistible, wave of men in butternut and gray, their red flags fluttering in the breeze advanced toward them.
Then, the Union artillery opened fire.
Cannons from Little Round Top to Cemetery Hill found the range, tearing gaping voids in the Confederate lines.
With every step, new gaps formed and would be closed by the Confederate foot soldiers as orders were given to close up by their file closers. The intense artillery fire and a flanking maneuver by an Ohio regiment caused Brockenbrough's brigade of Virginians to break and run back to the safety of their lines. Despite that setback, the Confederates pushed on. With every yard, casualties mounted, causing the lines to condense and start funneling towards an angle in the stone wall along the Union lines. The major obstacle to the advance was the Emmitsburg Road, which ran across the Rebel's path. In some places, a post and rail fence prevented a smooth advance, hindering the cohesion of the attack. Even so, thousands of men still found their way across the road but found themselves under short-range artillery fire and musket fire. One Union artillery battery commander ordered his battery to fire double canister at 10 yards as the Confederate infantry neared the stone wall.
Brigadier General Lewis Armistead, at the head of his brigade, started to lead who was left of the Confederate attack over the wall. They made it a short way into the lines before Armistead was mortally wounded. Union soldiers rushed to the breakthrough to close up the gap.
12,500 men started the attack; by the time the advance reached the ridge, maybe a couple thousand had made it to the wall; some estimated that perhaps only a few hundred men had crossed the wall. This handful that made it over were either killed, wounded, or captured. Armistead would be taken to a Union field hospital at the George Spangler Farm, where he would pass away from his wounds.
Union Second Corps Commander Winfield Scott Hancock would also be wounded. As he was starting to organize the advance of a brigade of men from Vermont, a bullet ripped through the pummel in his saddle and lodged itself in his groin. It was a wound, even with the bullet being taken out, that would plague him for the rest of his life.
With the plugging of the breakthrough at the Angle and the repulse of the assault, the last card that Robert E. Lee had to play was spent. It had been a calamity for his army. Casualty figures are difficult to estimate with absolute accuracy. Pettigrew's and Trimble's men had seen action on July 1, and battle casualties that are tallied factor in both days for those commands. Moreover, Robert E. Lee had a habit of underreporting his casualties. Even so, from what we do know, it was devastating. Pickett's Division of Virginians suffered over 2,600 casualties in the assault, just about half of that command at Gettysburg. In the field between the Stone Wall and the Emmittsburg Road, 522 dead Confederates were buried in a mass grave.
The casualties among the officer corps were also appalling. Three Brigade commanders, Armistead, Garnett, and Marshall, would be killed or mortally wounded; generals James Kemper and Isaac Trimble would be wounded and captured. Pettigrew's Brigade, which had started the battle under the command of Pettigrew, would end the charge on July 3 under the command of Major John Jones, who had been the third in command of his regiment when the battle started.
The Union defenders did not have a bloodless experience either. Historians James Hessler and Wayne Motts estimate that between the divisions of Hays and Gibbon, the Union defenders suffered just over 1,900 casualties repelling the assault. The Second Corps Artillery Brigade was all but wrecked, with two battery commanders, Alonzo Cushing and George Woodruff, losing their lives in defense of the position. General Hancock was severely wounded but survived.
The great Confederate charge was a failure, something the Southern boys were unaccustomed to. But for the Union defenders, it was a victory that felt like a victory. Not a triumph declared to the men by a flowery circular from headquarters, but as witnessed by the wreckage of the enemy force, lying lifeless in the fields before them, writhing in pain with ghastly wounds or missing limbs or streaming to their rear, hundreds of Johnny-Reb prisoners. There was no ambiguity in the outcome of the Pickett's Charge.
The charge was not the only fighting that occurred that afternoon.
There was fighting elsewhere on the field that day; the skirmishing that was going on in the southern portions of the town continued to simmer, a sharp cavalry fight to the east near the Low Dutch Road and Hanover Road intersection, where a young Brigadier General George Armstrong Custer blunted a Confederate cavalry charge exhorting his men with "Come on you Wolverines!' and a hopeless Union cavalry charge on the southern end of the field meant to capitalize on the failure of the Confederate infantry assault, only resulted in more death including that of Brigadier General Elon Farnsworth who led the charge. Even the Pennsylvania Reserves would drive out Georgia forces from the Devil's Den area during the evening hours. Despite all these actions, Meade, the commander of the Union forces, ordered no great counterattack.
Following the failure, all Lee could do was gather the pieces of his bloodied army and prepare for a counterattack that never happened. He made preparations to coalesce his army to prepare for a retreat.
Both armies were tired. Both armies were bloody, and then it started to rain.
The great hell-on-Earth that was the Battle of Gettysburg ended in a torrential downpour as the heavens opened up on the night of July 3, cleansing the earth of the gallons of blood spilled in order to save a nation.
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During the early morning hours of July 2, an already sleep-deprived Union Army of the Potomac commander, George Gordon Meade, arrived at Gettysburg to find fresh Federal soldiers reinforcing the battered elements of the army from the previous day's battle. After conferring with his subordinates, Meade rode out to look at the ground. He decided to stay and fight.
The Union position was a strong one.
Cemetery Hill dominated the surrounding landscape and offered the Union defenders a strong artillery position. Two key roads that led into Gettysburg from Maryland intersected just north of the hill. Those two roads were crucial avenues of resupply and, if necessary, retreat for the Union Army. The side controlling the hill controlled the field, but the position had one weakness. When he arrived the previous day to act in Meade's stead, Union Second Corps Commander Winfield Scott Hancock assessed the position and reported to Meade that it was strong, but the Confederates could turn its left flank.
This fact didn't escape Robert E. Lee's experienced eye, either. He astutely turned his attention to planning the action for July 2, devising a strategy that would test the mettle of the Union Army.
With Meade deciding to stay, Lee needed to determine the best way to knock the Federals off their strong position. A direct assault on Cemetery Hill could prove devastating for Lee's infantry as they would have to cross open farm fields to attack the hill. Subordinate commanders convinced Lee not to attack the Union Right near Culp's Hill. Just before dawn, Lee dispatched reconnaissance parties to determine the terrain on the Union left and the dispositions of the Army of the Potomac. One such party returned and reported no Union soldiers in the area of Little Round Top. After conferring with his commanders, Lee made his decision. James Longstreet, his trusted second-in-command, his "old warhorse," would take two divisions and, under concealment, get into position to attack the flank of the Union Line. Once Longstreet was in position. His orders directed him to attack north, along the Emmitsburg Road, and roll up the Union left. While Longstreet was executing this move [getting into position?], Ewell's Second Corps would demonstrate on the Union Right to prevent reinforcements from being sent to meet Longstreet. Ewell's demonstration would become an attack if Ewell thought it feasible.
[Chas Fennell on this part of the plan]
It was a bold plan. One that Confederate General James Longstreet did not care for, but, ever the consummate soldier, he followed orders.
Longstreet's Corps, consisting of three divisions under Generals McLaws, Pickett, and Hood, was initially delayed due to the absence of Pickett's division, which was still over 20 miles away. Despite Longstreet's request to wait for Pickett, Lee urged action but acquiesced to Longstreet's request to wait for one of the brigades from Hood's division before commencing the attack. It would be nearly One in the afternoon before Longstreet's march began.
While Lee dealt with the logistics of implementing his plans, Meade had his own difficulties with Daniel Sickles, a New York politician-turned-general and Meade's Third Corps Commander.
Meade had assigned defensive positions to all of his commands in what is now known as the Fish Hook line. The reason for Sickles' assigned position was either not made apparent to him or was certainly not to his liking. Throughout the morning, Sickles tried to get Meade's permission to redeploy his Corps to what he thought was a better position on higher ground along the Emmitsburg Road. Sickles believed that if the Confederates occupied that ground, they could use it as an artillery platform and make Sickles' position, and much of the rest of the Union line, vulnerable.
Every time Sickles tried, Meade brushed him off until he eventually reiterated his original order. Still nervous, Sickles ordered a reconnaissance into a stand of woods just west of the Emmitsburg Road. The reconnaissance discovered Rebels extending the Confederate lines along Seminary Ridge. This information convinced Sickles to take his entire Corps and occupy the ground he desired.
However, Sickles' decision to advance detached his Corps from the rest of the army, leaving his command exposed on neutral ground. This decision would prove to be a turning point, almost leading to the destruction of his Corps and having severe consequences for the Army of the Potomac.
But it also had the effect of confounding Lee's plans that day.
[Jim Hessler on Sickles' thinking]
It was nearly one in the afternoon when Longstreet's Corps began its march to the south. During the march, fears of having been discovered by a signal station on Little Round Top led him to order a countermarch to remain concealed.
[Jim Hessler on Countermarch]
This countermarch had eaten up precious time, and by the time Longstreet's men were in position, they discovered that the Union Army had changed its position since Lee conceived the plans. Instead of finding nothing on the Emmitsburg Road, Longstreet found the entire Third Corps blocking his attack path. This unexpected turn of events forced Longstreet to modify the plan and position of his troops on the spot. [read the following, but you probably won't need it] Longstreet determined to attack with the division of John Bell Hood first, finding and attacking the new Federal left flank. When that attack developed, McLaws' Division was to crash through whatever was in its front. Longstreet's Corps' objective was still Cemetery Hill, but Sickles' new position ensured Longstreet wouldn't get there without a fight.
Around 4 in the afternoon, the Confederates launched their attack, forever immortalizing places like the otherworldly place called Devil's Den and Little Round Top.
[Licensed Battlefield Guide Tracy Baer]
The pastoral landscape of Gettysburg was transformed into a battleground, with ranks of Butternut and Gray clashing among the rocks and hills. The ferocity of the fighting was such that the air was thick with the sounds of gunfire and the cries of the wounded, creating a scene of intense drama and tension.
Meade, realizing almost too late the danger the army was in, rushed reinforcements to the scene. Each new reinforcing command escalated the desperate fighting.
One Union officer in the Wheatfield remembered, "The men were firing as fast as they could load. The din was almost deafening."
By 6 in the evening, Hood's attack had stalled; Hood himself had been wounded early in the fighting.
That was when Longstreet ordered McLaws forward.
Barksdale's brigade of Mississippians crashed through the Union position at the Peach Orchard at the intersection of the Emmitsburg and Millerstown Roads, plunging the Union defense into a chaotic and intense struggle for survival, a scene that was both overwhelming and terrifying.
[Licensed Battlefield Guide Ralph Siegel]
The Confederate attacks, cascading from South to North, shattered the Third Corps. Longstreet's Corps fought fiercely, pursuing the remnants of the Federal commands. AP Hill's Corps joined the attack over the Codori Farm, including one small brigade from Florida.
[LBG Paul Bailey]
Wright's brigade briefly broke through the Second Corps line near a copse of trees on Cemetery Ridge.
In previous battles, a situation like this might have unnerved the Army of the Potomac, leading to a defeat. But this time, the soldiers stood their ground, their determination and courage preventing a potential disaster.
[Licensed Battlefield Guide Mike Rupert]
Timely reinforcements, brave counterattacks from the Pennsylvania Reserves, and men from Maine, Minnesota, New York, and Vermont would stem the Confederate tide as darkness fell across the battlefield.
Longstreet would claim that it was the best three hours of fighting that his men had experienced during the war. They had captured some ground and, in the process, had badly mauled elements of three Union Corps. The Third Corps alone would suffer over 4,000 casualties-- some 40%-- including the wounding of their commander, Dan Sickles.
The Federals could also rightly claim this was their "best three hours of fighting." They had fought desperately and had not yielded. The shank of the Fish Hook line had held.
Though daylight began to wane, the fighting had not, and one New York brigade was about to fight for its life. To bolster the Union left, George Meade had ordered the entire Twelfth Corps to abandon its position on Culp's Hill. But he was soon convinced to allow one brigade to remain. That brigade was that of 62-year-old Brigadier General George Sears Greene.
As darkness descended, Confederate Second Corps commander Richard Ewell decided to turn the demonstration into an attack.
[Chas Fennel on Greene's Brigade]
[RECORD ALL CULP'S HILL STUFF, BUT IT PROBABLY WON'T BE NEEDED IN THE EDIT]
Confederates would attack Culp's Hill and East Cemetery Hill, sometimes using the muzzle flashes to locate their target.
On Culp's Hill, a Union brigade of New Yorkers under the command of 62-year-old George Sears Greene would be successful in repulsing or halting an entire Confederate division. Greene's little brigade was not enough to cover the whole of the position, and the Confederates did capture some fortifications, but timely reinforcements and the tenacity of Greene's men staved off disaster.
At East Cemetery Hill, Louisianans and North Carolinians would brave the incline of the hill and almost make it to the Baltimore Pike before the timely arrival of the Gibraltar Brigade from the 2nd Corps, featuring the 7th West Virginia which, as legend has it, had attached a star "borrowed" from the colors of another regiment to its flag to represent the recently inducted state, pushed back the vaunted Louisiana Tigers. Here again, on this side of the field, the Confederates had some success. However, the tenacity of the Union defenders and the oncoming darkness meant the Union position had bent but was far from broken.
[Jessie Wheedleton]
General Meade called a Council of War for that night. Corps commanders arrived at his headquarters even as they could hear the dying din of battle in the distant darkness.
Meade had received information from his Bureau of Military Information that, up to this point, they had engaged all of Lee's Army except for Pickett's Division. The Army of the Potomac had been bloodied that day, but fresh soldiers from the 6th Corps had arrived after a forced march of over 30 miles that day.
In a room of the Lydia Leister House, Meade asked the opinion of his subordinates on what they should do next. The Union commanders decided that they would stay and fight.
General Lee did not call a similar Council of War. Instead, in his official report, he claimed the plan for the next day remained unchanged, and the attack would renew on the flanks of the Union Army.
July 2, 1863, was a costly day. In intense fighting, both armies combined would sustain over 21,000 casualties. As a point of comparison, The Battle of Antietam, the bloodiest day in American military history, had 23,000 casualties. And still, some of the more dramatic scenes of the war were yet to come.
- Se mer
