Gettysburg Page 4
The Confederate soldiers were certainly in good spirits. The fruits of their invasion literally fell into their hands as captured provisions were plentiful. The men often joked that C.S.A. (Confederate States of America) actually meant corn, salt, and apples, which were the standard issues of their rations. Edward Alexander Moore, an artillerist in Longstreet’s corps, wrote of their sudden change in diet: “I give the bill-of-fare of a breakfast my mess enjoyed while on this road: Real coffee and sugar, light bread, biscuits with lard in them, butter, apple-butter, a fine dish of fried chicken, and a quarter roast lamb!”
Longstreet’s men encamped just outside Chambersburg alongside Hill’s troops. Lee arrived the following day, Sunday, June 28, and established headquarters in a quite grove called Messersmith’s Woods. Lieutenant William Owen, an artillery officer in Longstreet’s command, described the scene: “The general has little of the pomp and circumstance of war about his person. A Confederate flag marks the whereabouts of his headquarters, which are here in a little enclosure of some couple of acres of timber. There are about half a dozen tents and as many baggage wagons and ambulances . . . Lee was evidently annoyed at the absence of Stuart and the cavalry, and asked several officers, myself among the number, if we knew anything of the whereabouts of Stuart. The eyes and ears of the army are evidently missing and are greatly needed by the commander.”
A QUESTION OF SLAVERY
African American refugees fleeing north away from. Lee’s invasion. Illustrated by Rodney Thomson.
For the African American residents of Gettysburg, rumors of Lee’s invasion were terrifying. If captured by the rebels they would likely be put in chains and returned to slavery. Elizabeth Salome “Sallie” Myers, a Gettysburg schoolteacher, wrote of their terrible plight: “Every report of raiding would set the Africans to migrating, they were so afraid they’d be carried off into slavery. They looked very ragged and forlorn, and some exaggerated their ills by pretending to be lame, for they wanted to appear as undesirable as possible to any beholder who might be tempted to take away their freedom.”
A bank clerk from town remembered that “a great many refugees passed through Gettysburg going northward. Some would have a spring wagon and a horse, but usually they were on foot, burdened with bundles containing a couple of quilts, some clothing, and a few cooking utensils.... The farmers along the roads sheltered them nights. Most of these here poor runaways would drift into the towns and find employment, and there they’d make their future homes.”
What these refugees lacked in material possessions they made up for with hope—hope for a future free of slavery. They dreamed of a place where their children would be educated and make a life for themselves; of controlling their own destinies. By 1863, Lincoln desired to provide that very future for them by ending slavery in America forever.
At the time of the start of the Civil War, over three million African Americans remained in chains in the South. Another million slaves lived in the border states that were still loyal to the Union. However, the war that began in 1861 was not fought to end slavery. The Confederate States of America were formed, in fact, to gain southern independence in reaction to an overpowering domination by northern political interests. Lincoln’s sole purpose at the war’s start was, as he wrote in a letter to Horace Greeley, the editor of the New York Tribune in August 1862, “to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery.” Lincoln felt he had no constitutional authority to deprive citizens of their property, including slaves, even in a war of rebellion.
But as the conflict dragged into its second year with no end in sight, Lincoln’s opinion began to shift. He saw an opportunity, using the authority as Commander in Chief, to free the slaves of those states in rebellion; this would be a way to help win the war. On September 22, 1862, Lincoln issued a proclamation that he would order the emancipation of all slaves in any state of the Confederacy that did not return to Union control by January 1, 1863. He also began pushing for the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to abolish slavery on American soil.
First reading of the “Emancipation Proclamation” of President Lincoln painted by Francis Bicknell Carpenter. Photo credit: White House Collection.
The Emancipation Proclamation redefined the war by making the abolition of slavery a primary goal for the Union. General de Trobriand summarized the effect: “It was no longer a question of the Union as it was, that was to be re-established, but the Union as it should be. That is to say, washed clean from its original sin. We were no longer merely the soldiers of a political controversy, we were now missionaries on a great work of redemption, the armed liberators of millions. The war was ennobled. The object was higher.” As Lee advanced into Pennsylvania, the Army of the Potomac knew it could not suffer another defeat; it had to win.
Brigadier General James Régis de Trobriand. Photo credit: Library of Congress.
LEE MOVES ON THE WORD OF A SPY
That night a mysterious stranger was brought to Longstreet’s chief of staff, Lieutenant Colonel Moxley Sorrel: “At night I was roused by a detail of the provost guard bringing up a suspicious prisoner. I knew him instantly; it was Harrison, the scout, filthy and ragged ... He had come to ‘Report to the General, who was sure to be with the army,’ and truly his report was long and valuable.” The Federal army had crossed the Potomac three days ago and was far into Maryland. Harrison knew the locations of five of the enemy’s seven army corps. Three were already at Frederick with two more marching north from Frederick toward South Mountain. He also brought news that General Meade had taken command of the army. This information was already twenty-four hours old.
Lee had not heard from Stuart for three days now. Stuart had never before failed him. But even now Lee was unaware of Stuart’s location, and he had only the word of a paid spy on which to plan his next move. The time for action had come, though, and Lee did not hesitate. Sorrel noted, “It was on this, the report of a single scout, in the absence of cavalry, that the army moved .. . [Lee] sent orders to bring Ewell immediately back from the North about Harris-burg, and join his left. Then he started A. P. Hill off at sunrise for Gettysburg, followed by Longstreet. The enemy was there, and there our General would strike him.”
Brigadier General John Buford. Photo credit: Library of Congress.
MEADE ORDERS THE FIRST CORPS TO GETTYSBURG
As Meade took command on June 28, intelligence on Lee’s army became clearer. Spies in Hagerstown, Maryland, estimated the enemy’s strength at 80,000 men and 275 cannons. Meade knew Lee had sent Ewell’s corps north to York and Carlisle while Longstreet’s and Hill’s troops remained in the vicinity of Cham-bersburg. Orders were given to keep the Federal army marching northwest from Frederick to Taneytown, where Meade set up his headquarters. To screen the advance of the army, Brigadier General John Buford was ordered to take two brigades of cavalry into Gettysburg and defend the town if attacked.
Lee began moving his army east toward Gettysburg on Monday the 29th, with Hill’s Third Corps camping in Cashtown for the night. Longstreet’s First Corps would follow on the 30th as far as Greenwoood, and Ewell’s Second Corps would march south from Carlisle. Major General Henry Heth, commanding the lead division of Hill’s corps, ordered a brigade to Gettysburg on the 30th to find supplies, especially shoes, for his ill-equipped soldiers.
“Battle Cry of Freedom”
Yes we’ll rally round the flag, boys, we’ll rally once again,
Shouting the battle cry of freedom,
We will rally from the hillside, we’ll gather from the plain,
Shouting the battle cry of freedom!
(Chorus)
The Union forever! Hurrah, boys, hurrah!
Down with the traitor, up with the star;
While we rally round the flag, boys, rally once again,
Shouting the battle cry of freedom!
We are springing to the call of our brothers gone before,
Shouting the battle cry of freedom!
And we’ll fi
ll our vacant ranks with a million freemen more,
Shouting the battle cry of freedom!
(Chorus)
We will welcome to our numbers the loyal, true and brave,
Shouting the battle cry of freedom!
And although they may be poor, not a man shall be a slave,
Shouting the battle cry of freedom!]
Thus, by Tuesday, June 30, the Union and Confederate armies were on a collision course toward Gettysburg. Meade had only been in command of his army for two days; his troops were stretched out along the roads from Frederick—hot and exhausted from hard marching. He was about to face the legendary Robert E. Lee in what could be the decisive battle of the war. Yet Meade did have one precious advantage over Lee—he knew where his enemy was, while Lee, without cavalry, was advancing blindly.
Daniel Skelly recalled the growing tension among the people of Gettysburg: “The 28th and 29th were exciting days in Gettysburg for we knew the Confederate army, or a part of it at least, was within a few miles of our town and at night we could see from the house-tops the campfires in the mountains eight miles west of us. We expected it to march into our town at any moment and we had no information as to the whereabouts of the Army of the Potomac.”
BUFORD’S CAVALRY ENTERS GETTYSBURG
Tillie Pierce witnessed the arrival of the first Union soldiers at Gettysburg on Tuesday, June 30:
A great number of Union cavalry began to arrive in the town. They passed northwardly along Washington Street, turned toward the west on reaching Chambersburg Street, and passed out in the direction of the Theological Seminary.
It was to me a novel and grand sight. I had never seen so many soldiers at one time. They were Union soldiers and that was enough for me, for I then knew we had protection, and I felt they were our dearest friends. I afterwards learned that these men were Buford’s cavalry, numbering about six thousand men.
A crowd of “us girls” were standing on the corner of Washington and High Streets as these soldiers passed by. Desiring to encourage them, who, as we were told, would before long be in battle, my sister started to sing the old war song “Our Union Forever.” As some of us did not know the whole of the piece we kept repeating the chorus.
A little less than Tillie’s estimate, Buford had just under 3,000 men in his command and a battery of six cannon. Daniel Skelly also watched on Chambersburg Street as thousands of cavalry rode through town and thought, “Surely now we were safe and the Confederate army would never reach Gettysburg ... General Buford sat on his horse in the street in front of me, entirely alone, facing to the west in profound thought... It was the only time I ever saw the general and his calm demeanor and soldierly appearance ... made a deep imnression on me.”
Washington Street, Gettysburg, in 1863. Photo credit: Ken Gloriando.
General Buford was a West Point graduate and a veteran of the early fighting against the Sioux Indians in Texas. In 1862, Buford had fought at Second Bull Run and Antietam. At Brandy Station he commanded a division of cavalry against Stuart’s troopers. His experience was about to prove invaluable over the next three days. As he moved his troopers into the open fields north of Gettysburg they encountered Confederate soldiers in Brigadier General James Pettigrew’s brigade sent to Gettysburg for supplies. Under strict orders not to bring on a fight, the rebels fell back to Cashtown and reported their discovery of Union cavalry occupying Gettysburg.
Buford sent scouts in all directions to locate and identify what enemy units were in front of him. He knew what was at stake. A half mile behind them, just outside the town, was a low ridgeline called Cemetery Hill. At each end of that ridge were larger hills: Culp’s Hill to the north and two hills at the southern end named Little and Big Round Top. It was well known that in any battle, whoever controlled the high ground possessed a great advantage over an attacking force. Buford knew he had to delay Lee’s army long enough for the Union infantry to reinforce him and protect those heights, so he deployed his men in a series of two defensive lines centered along a wooded hill north of Gettysburg named McPherson’s Ridge.
Water for the marching troops. Illustrated by Rodney Thomson.
At 10:30 PM he sent a message to Major General John F. Reynolds, who commanded three of the infantry corps that were approaching Gettysburg from the east. He reported that Hill’s entire corps was at Cashtown, nine miles away to the west. Enemy pickets were in sight of his own along the Chambersburg Pike. Longstreet’s corps was behind Hill’s, perhaps by a day’s march.
It was a gala day. The people were out in force, and in their Sunday attire to welcome the troopers in blue. The church bells rang out a joyous peal, and dense masses of beaming faces filled the streets, as the narrow column of fours threaded its way through their midst. Lines of men stood on either side, with pails of water or apple-butter, and passed a “sandwich” to each soldier as he passed. At intervals of a few feet, were bevies of women and girls, who handed up bouquets and wreaths of flowers. By the time the center of the town was reached, every man had a bunch of flowers in his hand, or a wreath around his neck... The people were overjoyed, and received us with an enthusiasm and a hospitality born of full hearts.
—Colonel J. H. Kidd, 6th Michigan Cavalry
A captured enemy courier told him that Ewell’s corps was advancing toward Gettysburg from Carlisle from the north.
Buford knew that by morning he would face an entire rebel corps of 25,000 men. By all accounts, Buford saw that Lee was concentrating his whole army at Gettysburg. If Ewell’s corps made it to the town by the next day, two thirds of Lee’s army—50,000 soldiers—would advance against whatever Union forces could reach Gettysburg in time. When one of his brigade commanders spoke confidently of whipping any rebels the next day, Buford said, “No, you won’t. They will attack you in the morning; and they will come ‘booming’—skirmishers three deep. You will have to fight like the devil to hold your own until supports arrive.”
Major General John Fulton Reynolds. Photo credit: Reynolds family papers, Franklin & Marshall College.
The McPherson Farm photographed just after the battle in 1863. Photo credit: Matthew Brady, Library of Congress.
Reading Buford’s report Meade sent orders for Reynolds to advance his First Corps to Gettysburg in the morning with the Eleventh and Third Corps to follow. Reynolds was given command authority to act in Meade’s stead on the battlefield should there be action the next day. Meade would remain at Taneytown—fourteen miles from Gettysburg—to stay at the center of his army as events developed. Meade’s objective, in sending Reynolds to Gettysburg, was to force Lee into attacking his army on ground of his own choosing.
At Cashtown, Hill listened with disbelief that his troops had encountered Federal cavalry at Gettysburg. Brigadier General James Pettigrew insisted they had tangled with Union troopers before withdrawing. Hill believed his subordinate officer had only encountered local militia, as he had just been informed by Lee that the closest Union troops were near Middleburg, Maryland, several days away. General Heth asked his corps commander if he had any objections to advancing his division to Gettysburg in the morning. Hill replied, “None in the world.”
Major General Henry Heth
“All is going on well. I think I have relieved Harrisburg and Philadelphia, and that Lee has now come to the conclusion that he must attend to other matters. I continue well, but much oppressed with a sense of responsibility and the magnitude of the great interests entrusted to me ... Pray for me and beseech our heavenly Father to permit me to be an instrument to save my country and advance a just cause.”
—George Gordon Meade
Chapter Three
Wednesday, July 1, 1863
Blessed be the LORD my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight:
Bow thy heavens, O Lord, and come down: touch the mountains, and they shall smoke.
—Psalm 144:5
Dawn welcomed a perfect summer’s morning that promised heat and humidity to follow.
At 7:00 AM Buford’s pickets saw a dust cloud over the Chambersburg Pike made by advancing rebel infantry. Heth was approaching Gettysburg with his entire division and its artillery. Skirmishers engaged each other while Heth ordered his artillery to open fire and scare off the “militia” opposing him behind the wood fences along Herr’s Ridge. Yet Buford’s men were armed with fast-loading carbine rifles and the dismounted cavalrymen put up a tough fight.
Map by Hal Jespersen, www.cwmaps.com.
Realizing he had encountered more than just local militia, Heth ordered two of his brigades forward in force. Buford’s skillful deployment of his defenses forced Heth to take ninety minutes to deploy the two brigades into a line of battle. As the Confederates advanced, Buford’s skirmishers fell back to McPherson’s Ridge, where they joined the main line of defense.
It was now 9:00 AM. Heth surveyed the Union defenses from Herr’s Ridge and made a fateful decision. Instead of obeying Lee’s orders not to bring on a major battle, he ordered two brigades forward to occupy Gettysburg. General Archer’s Brigade advanced to the right of the Chambersburg Pike and General Davis’s on the left. The fight was on.
Daniel Skelly was more than a witness to these first hours of fighting. Upon hearing that Confederate troops were coming down the Chambersburg Pike, he and a friend ran toward the Union lines to see what they could see:
I went directly across the fields to Seminary Ridge.. .just where the old... railroad cut through it. The ridge was full of men and boys from town, all eager to witness a brush with the Confederates and not dreaming of the terrible conflict that was to occur on that day and not having the slightest conception of the proximity of the two armies.