The Battle of Gettysburg

The battle of Gettysburg was an accident waiting to happen. It came just two months after the Confederate victory at Chancellorsville in which General Robert E. Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia had proved once again their skill over Major General Hooker's Army of the Potomac. There was, however, a downside to this victory. Lee's most trusted advisor, the brilliant General "Stonewall" Jackson, had been killed. Besides, that battle had settled nothing.

At the same time the siege of Vicksburg was building up down south so the Confederacy had to work fast. If Vicksburg fell, control of the Mississippi River would turn over to the Union, and the Confederacy would have little chance for a victory. The Secretary of War suggested sending a division of infantry to Vicksburg, but Lee objected and pushed his plan. He wanted to invade

Pennsylvania, hopefully forcing President Abraham Lincoln to call back his men from the Mississippi stronghold. Of course, Lee's plan prevailed.

The Army of Northern Virginia began their march northward on June 3, 1863. Lieutenant General James Longstreet, Lee's most dependable lieutenant now that Jackson was out of the picture, commanded I Corps. He was ordered to march northwest toward Culpeper Courthouse along with Lieutenant General Richard Ewell and his II Corps two days later. General Hooker of the Union moved northwest staying with the southern army and, in effect, blocked the other army from the

Northern capitol, Washington D.C.

So far, everything was going well for the Confederacy. By the end of June, Lee had all his infantry and artillery above the Potomac. Ewell was well north threatening Harrisburg and York. Lieutenant General A.P. Hill, another important man who was in command of III Infantry Corps, was headed right behind Ewell, and Longstreet was waiting in Chambersburg.

The "so far" was over. Major General James Ewell Brown ("Jeb") Stuart was in charge of Lee's Cavalry, and was considered very dependable. Lee had given Stuart two assignments: The first was to screen Lee's army and the second was to keep Lee informed of the position of Hooker's army. Stuart was to cross the Potomac and then move eastward along the right flank. It was just before he was to start moving that Stuart had received Lee's permission to, well, show off, but on the stipulation that he would quickly return to his assigned position. Stuart's idea was to march completely around the Federal army and cross the Potomac where Lee's infantry had crossed, but his plan was soon foiled. General Hooker had taken over all the river crossings Stuart had planned to use, and forced him far off to the east. Stuart would not be seen for another week, and Lee was now left blind and helpless.

General Joseph Hooker was replaced by Major General George Gordon Meade. This replacement was long overdue in the minds of President Abraham Lincoln, Secretary of War Edin Stanton, and General in Chief Halleck of whom all thought Hooker's conduct at the battle of Chancelorsville had been inexcusable, but for political reasons didn't relieve him immediately. Instead, they had waited.

Hooker finally fell in the trap. He had been angered at Halleck for abandoning Maryland Heights and on the afternoon of June 27, 1863, Hooker sent in his resignation papers. By that very evening in the outskirts of Fredrick, Maryland, General Meade had settled in his tent, the V Corps commander, when he received orders appointing him commander of the Army of the Potomac. The following was General Order 67 issued by Meade three days before the battle of Gettysburg:

General Meade had graduated from Westpoint in 1835, but never had much experience as a commander until the Civil War. His men considered him short-tempered and called him "the old snapping turtle". No matter, this battle was Meade's chance to prove himself. The advantage was his. He was to defend. It was Lee's job this time to attack on unfamiliar, enemy territory.

Meade sent Major General John Buford's division of Cavalry to cut Lee's line of march. He was backed up by one-third of the federal army under the command of Major General John Reynolds including: his own I Corps, XI Corps headed by Major General Oliver Otis Howard, and Major General Dan Sickle's III Corps. Bufford got into Gettysburg on the last day of June and waited. On Wednesday, July 1, 1863, at 5:30 a.m. a man by the name of Lieutenant Marcellus E. Jones of the

Illinois Cavalry noticed Confederate soldiers marching toward Marsh Creek, three miles west of Gettysburg. Not knowing what had begun, John fired the first shot of the "turning point of the Civil War", the battle of Gettysburg.

Reynolds was soon notified and rode ahead to aid Bufford. Brigadier General James Wadsworth's division, which included the renowned Iron Brigade, arrived on scene soon afterward. Then came a blow to the Union. Reynolds, trying to line up the Iron Brigade against Hill's advancing troops, was shot behind his right ear and fell dead from his horse. His life ended at the age of 42 in his home state of Pennsylvania never to see the end of the first day's battle. Major General Abner Doubleday took temporary command.

The Union held their ground, but not without casualties. The Confederates were still marching in. Major General Robert Rodes's division from Ewell's II Corps had come in on the Federal right flank, but federal reinforcements came up just in the nick of time. These reinforcements were Howard's XI Corps. Howard took over for Doubleday and immediately planted one of his brigades as reserve on Cemetery Hill. He sent the rest of his Corps to meet Rode's attack. A little later that day another of Ewell's divisions headed by Major General Jubal Early marched in and hit Howard's exposed right flank giving the Confederates the advantage. The battle raged on.

The federal army was forced to retreat through the town. It was almost a rout. They retreated to Cemetery Hill and the long ridge south of it forming a line. Meade finally arrived. He was told the happenings of that day and got his forces together sending Hannock to replace Reynolds and fixing the broken fragments of I and XI Corps the best he could. Day one of the battle of Gettysburg was over. It was July 2, 1863, day two. The South's victory on the first day now seemed to have become a disadvantage in position occupying the town of Gettysburg and Seminary Ridge; "Jeb" Stuart was still not there. Longstreet went to Lee's headquarters that morning to find out what had happened the previous day. After a quick summary, he suggested a move around to the south circling past the Union left flank and attack from the rear. Lee rejected this plan because he still did not know exactly what he was up against. It was Lee's intention to strike Meade's flanks so as to crush both ends of the enemy's line simultaneously. Longstreet was ordered to take the high ground on the Union right flank, Culp's Hill, that they were unable to take the night before. The battle would resume as soon as Longstreet got his men into position.

Meade was happy with the layout. The Federal right on Culp's Hill, southeast of Gettysburg was held by XII Corps under the command of Major General Henry W. Slocum. To the left was what was left of the shattered I Corps under the new command of Major General John Newton. Cemetery Hill and the high ground was held by Howard and his XII Corp. Hancock's II Corps held Cemetery Ridge, and directly to his left was General Dan Sickles's III Corps. In reserve was the V Corps commanded by Major General George Sykes, and finally in rear was Major General John Sedgwick with his VI Corps.

Disobeying strick orders by General Meade, Sickles moved his corps forward to elevated ground along the Emmitsburg road. Longstreet attacked Sickles, and Sickles soon learned he had made a big mistake. By moving forward he had exposed the left flank of II Corps giving Longstreet the advantage of attacking on all three sides. Meade's only choice was to send one of Hancock's divisions to help, but they were still driven out of the Peach Orchard and Wheat Field in which they had occupied desperately trying to hold on to a jumble of rocks and scrub trees known as "the Devil's Den." Meade then sent Sykes and his V Corps in to help.

The Confederates pushed forward, and headed straight for Little Round Top. Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain was stationed there at Little Round Top with his own 20th Maine along with the 83rd Pennsylvania, the 44th New York, and lastly the 16th Michigan regiments. No one knew at the time, but on that day Joshua Chamberlain saved the Union from a Confederate victory in the battle and the war. Chamberlain's duty was to hold the federal left flank. It was here Colonel Strong Vincent, Chamberlain's commanding officer made the following statement. "I place you here! This is the left of the Union Line. You understand. You are to hold this ground at all costs." Chamberlain did as he was ordered.

Battle finally reached Little Round Top. The 15th Alabama and the 47th Alabama headed by Colonel William C. Oates charged, but were pushed back by the storm of the bullets from the 20th Maine. The Alabamians quickly reformed, and rushed again trying to move around their left flank. Chamberlain ordered the left wing to drop back in a right angle to the Union line. Again and again the Southern army was forced to retreat, regroup, and charge but once again. Ammunition for Chamberlain's men had been expended leaving his regiment in a risky situation. Chamberlain had no choice, and ordered a bayonet charge. This was an unexpected surprise for Oates. The Alabamians were driven back and the federal flank was safe, at least for now.

There was to be another day's battle. Sallie Broadhead, a local citizen, predicted that night "Who is victorious, or with whom the advantage rests no one here can tell...We shall see tomorrow."

It was the third day of battle that will be remembered mostly. Some call it the "highwater" mark of the Confederacy and others the turning point of the Civil War, but no matter hundreds of men would lose their lives that day. Pickett's division, the last fresh troops of Longstreet's corps, had finally arrived on scene the previous day and were ready for battle. They were ordered to march into the Union center with a little help from the good fighting brigades of Hill's and Longstreet's corps. It was to be a hhuge attacking column made of between 10,0000-15,000 men thrown at the Union forces.

The plan was: as soon as they struck the center of the Union line, Ewell would renew his attack back up on Culp's Hill, while Stuart's Cavalry who had finally returned for the last day's battle was to circle the Union right and disrupt their rear. This plan probably would have worked, but timing was off that day. Ewell started off his attack much to soon, and so by the time Pickett's force was set in position the battle of Culp's Hill had ended.

Before this, the final attack, it was quiet for awhile. The stillness so profound, the men were afraid to speak above a whisper. Both sides were waiting for the inevitable. On the Union side, men ate and rested while on the opposite side Confederate soldiers were preparing what would be the last battle for some of them. It was about one o'clock in the afternoon when a signal to begin finally came. A single shell rose up over Cemetery Ridge and exploded. With the signal came from all directions the firing of hundreds of cannons and guns. The south fired for over a half-hour aiming at a small cluster of trees in the center of the Union line. This corpse of trees later became the objective of the Confederate attack.

The Confederates artillery finally ran out of ammunition and the attack began. It was like a parade. Thousands of Confederate infantry marched slowly across the open fields toward the trees on Cemetery Ridge. Crossing over one half mile of open ground, they endured the massed fires of the Union guns and infantry. In the end some made it, but many died trying. Stuart's cavalry was unsuccessful. He was stopped by the Union cavalry. But as Bruce Catton said in his book Gettusburg: The Final Fury "Nothing could help Pickett's men." After the Confederates failure Lee had no other choice but to retreat.

Meade probably could have attacked and destroyed the entire Army of Northern Virginia, but for compassion or some other unknown reason, he didn't. Lee escaped and crossed the Potomac River. Gettysburg was over, Vicksburg had fallen, and the Confederacy would never be the same again.