Page images
PDF
EPUB
[graphic][subsumed][merged small]

BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG.

361

July 2d. While Stuart was hastening on to join Lee, he encountered Kilpatrick's cavalry at Hanover, Pennsylvania, and, after a severe conflict, was routed with the loss of four hundred killed, wounded, and captured, and six pieces of artillery, the Union loss being only two hundred. Had Stuart not been detained on the first day, matters might have been worse. The Confederate army was made up of the very flower of the South, and numbered one hundred and four thousand men. The patriot army amounted to ninety-four thousand as brave troops as ever entered a field of battle. The whole world were anxious spectators of the combat, for a nation's destiny once more trembled in the balance.

The ominous silence which succeeded the first day's battle, was only broken by the firing of the Federal pickets, or by an occasional shot from some field piece, in order to ascertain the position and strength of the enemy. The afternoon of the 2d of July, at the hour of 4.20 P. M., was memora ble for the renewal of the conflict on the part of the rebel commander, by a fierce artillery fire on the left, followed by a desperate charge of infantry. The Third corps (Sickles') advanced three fourths of a mile in front of the main Union line, with the Ninth Massachusetts battery. This position was too far from support, and the enemy quickly hurled twenty-six thousand men on this single corps. Sickles was soon wounded, and Birney, who succeeded him in the command, was also wounded in turn. The corps was forced back, still fighting with great bravery, and the exultant enemy attempted to gain the high ground between Round Top, and Little Round Top, to reach and hold which would give them command of Cemetery Hill, and the Union posi

So desperate a conflict raged for four hours, that victory trembled in the scale. On Round Top, there were only three or four batteries; one on the left was commanded by Captain Bigelow, of the Ninth Massachusetts. The infantry swayed to and fro, and almost gave way under the overpowering pressure. The failure of the artillery would enable the Confederates to shell the Union lines; they had planted one battery already, and unlimbered their guns at the very muzzles of Bigelow's. Many of the enemy were blown into atoms, but others pressed on, and killed the Union gunners. Two sergeants, three art lerists, and twenty

362

BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG.

one of Bigelow's men were gone, himself shot in the side, and his horses killed. Four of his pieces were dragged off, but he held his ground till Major McGilvray planted his batteries. A fresh division of the Third corps (Humphrey's) coming to the aid of the latter, they drove the enemy back with great slaughter, and recaptured the lost guns.

Doubleday's division, of the First corps, part of the Fifth and Sixth corps, and two divisions of the Twelfth corps (Slocum's), assisted the Third corps in this tremendous struggle, which no pen can describe. The enemy, who had fought with a fierceness and bravery never surpassed, and were met with a courage equal to their own, had at one time gained the summit of Round Top, but were repelled at the end of this fierce struggle, which continued three hours. General Crawford, with his division of the Fifth corps, the brave Pennsylvania Reserves, drove them down the hill into the valley by a desperate charge, and they sought the woods beyond the next hill. Here three hundred rebels were captured. It was on this charge, that the brave Colonel Taylor, of the Bucktails, was killed, and here also fell the rebel General Barksdale. The attempt on the Union left being met with such a bloody repulse, no further attempts were made upon it.

The Union right wing had been weakened, to support the attack on the left, and Ewell now determined to gain possession of Culp's and Wolf's hills. He massed his forces against the Eleventh corps, and Green's brigade, of Geary's division. The attack on the Eleventh corps was gallantly repulsed by Howard's artillery, which made dreadful carnage among the foe, who fell back in total rout. The attack on Green's brigade was also repelled with great loss, the whole ground in his front being strewed with dead and wounded. Aid was sent to these heroic troops. The battle lasted here nearly two hours, until half past nine P. M. Some of the enemy's troops had even pushed on as far as Spangler's spring, where they lay all night on their arms. The rebels, except at the latter place, had been repulsed at all points. Their commander determined, however, to renew the attack on the next day, July 3d. Accordingly, General Ewell was to carry the Union right wing, and Longstreet

the left centre.

BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG.

363

At early dawn on Friday morning, the Union guns thun dered forth defiance, and Slocum's men determined to regain their rifle pits. The Union troops remained behind their intrenchments, and all the efforts of Ewell and Rhodes to gain an inch of ground were quite useless. The Twelfth corps had been reinforced by Shaler's brigade of the Sixth, and a Maryland brigade. Inch by inch, the rebels were driven out of the breastworks. From four till eight A. M., the battle raged fiercely, and then came a lull for awhile, when the combat was renewed with greater fury. At half past ten A. M., the enemy were in retreat, being hurled with immense loss over the breastworks, while their ranks were ploughed by the shot and shell of the artillery. At one o'clock P. M., the enemy opened upon Hancock's corps, on the centre and left, with one hundred and fifty guns, and the Union batteries responding, the most awful concussion took place from the fire of three hundred guns. The air was filled with exploding shells, and other deadly missiles, and the trees were riven as if by forked lightning. The Federals at length ceased firing, and waited for what might next happen.

Nor did they require to do so long. Pickett's division, of Longstreet's corps, which was quite fresh, and had not yet been under fire in this battle, was now brought for ward, supported by three brigades from the divisions of Heath and Anderson. On they came for half a mile, to assault the Union lines, being confident of carrying them. Grape, canister, and shell raked them at short range, but still they advanced. A destructive musketry fire met them, on a nearer approach, and rushing up to the Federal lines, some threw down their arms and surrendered. The rest, avoiding the fire, which no mortal could endure, betook themselves to flight. Eight hundred prisoners were here taken, by each of two brigades of Doubleday's division, and many by other brigades, as also fifteen stands of colors. General Garnett was killed, General Armistead, of the same division (Pickett's), mortally wounded, and the commander of the third brigade, of the same division, badly wounded and taken prisoner. Generals Pettigrew and Semmes, were also wounded, the latter mortally. More than one third of the participants in this assault were left dead or wounded on the field, and three thousand more captured. Though

364

SPLENDID UNION VICTORY.

the Federal loss was much inferior, Generals Hancock and Gibbon were wounded severely, and Generals Warren and Hunt slightly. Thus closed the battle on this part of the field. The trains of ammunition of the Federals were placed in the rear, behin 1 the shelter of Round Top. Longstreet endeavored to possess this place, and capture the trains. While the battle with the Union centre was raging, he made a desperate assault with Hood's and McLaw's divisions, and sent an infantry force and some batteries southwest of Round Top, to turn the flank of the Sixth corps, and seize the prizes of the train and position. At this critical moment, when they moved in three lines impetuously to the charge, Kilpatrick's cavalry charged the last line in flank, and forced Hood's division to retire. Other cavalry regiments were sent in, and the rebel charging columns floated off to the centre of the Union main line, and finally broke, and filed in confusion from under the fire of one hundred guns. The Pennsylvania Reserves drove them back to their original position, behind Round Top, and captured their battery, three hundred prisoners, and five thousand stands of arms. At the same time, General Gregg, who held a position on the extreme right, attacked Stuart's cavalry, and Ewell's force on the left and rear.

Thus ended the battle of Gettysburg, one of the severest of modern times, and in magnitude compared to Waterloo. The Union losses were two thousand eight hundred and thirty-four killed, fourteen thousand seven hundred and nine wounded, and six thousand six hundred and forty-three missing, of whom nearly four thousand were captured, making a total loss of twenty-three thousand one hundred and eighty-six.

Among the killed were Generals Reynolds, Weed, Zook, and Farnsworth; and among the wounded, were Major-generals Sickles, Hancock, Butterfield, Doubleday, and Birney, and Brigadier-generals Barlow, Barnes, Gibbon, Hunt, Graham, Paul, and Willard. The rebel loss was five thousand five hundred killed, twenty-one thousand wounded, nine thousand prisoners, and four thousand stragglers, or a total of nearly forty thousand men. Among their dead were Major-generals Pender, and Brigadiers Barksdale, Armistead, Garnett, and Semmes; the wounded were Major-generals Hood Heath and Trimble, and Brigadiers Kemper, Scales

« PreviousContinue »