Battles of the Civil War

by Thomas Elbert Vineyard

Meade reached the scene late at night and chose to make this field the place of a general engagement. Lee had come to the same decision, and both called on their outlying legions to make all possible speed to Gettysburg. The night was spent in the marshaling of troops, getting position, planting artillery, and bands playing at intervals on the arrival of new divisions on the field.

General Gordon says that during the night the sound of axes and the falling of trees in the Federal entrenchments could plainly be heard, and that he became convinced during the night that by morning they would be so well fortified on Cemetery Hill that their position would be almost impregnable, and that he succeeded in getting a council of officers during the night to take under advisement a night attack on the enemy, but was told that General Lee had given orders that no further attack should be made until Longstreet arrived, and he had not yet arrived.

The dawn of July 2d broke into a beautiful summer day. Both armies hesitated to begin the battle and remained inactive until in the afternoon.

The fighting on that day was confined chiefly to the two extremes, leaving the center inactive. Longstreet commanded the Confederate right and the Union left was commanded by General Daniel E. Sickles, whose division lay directly opposite that of Longstreet. The Confederate left was commanded by General Richard Ewell, who succeeded to the command of this division after the death of "Stonewall" Jackson at Chancellorsville. While the Federal right, stationed on Culp's Hill was commanded by General Slocum.

Between these armies was a hollow into which the anxious farmers had driven and penned large numbers of cattle, which they thought would be a place of safety, and could not conceive that any battle could affect this place of refuge, but when the battle began and the stream of shells was directed against Round Top this place of refuge became a raging inferno of bursting shells.

There was a gate at the entrance of the local cemetery at Gettysburg that had written on it this sign: "All persons found using firearms in these grounds will be prosecuted with the utmost rigor of the law." Many a soldier must have smiled at these words, for this gateway became the very center of the crudest use of firearms yet seen on this "terrestrial ball."

The plan of General Meade was to have General Sickles connect his division with that of Hancock and extend southward near the base of the Round Tops. Sickles found this ground, in his opinion, low and disadvantageous and advanced his division to higher ground in front, placing his men along the Emmettsburg road and back toward the Trostle farm and the wheat-field, thus forming an angle at the peach orchard, thus leaving this division alone in its position far in advance of the other Federal lines. This position taken by Sickles was in disobedience of orders from General Meade, and was considered by Meade, as well as President Lincoln, as being a great mistake, but General Sickles always maintained that he did right, and that his position was well taken.

Longstreet was quick to see this apparent mistake and marched his troops along Sickles' front entirely overlapping the left wing of the Union army. Lee gave orders to Longstreet to make a general attack, and the boom of his cannon announced the beginning of the second day's battle. The Union forces answered quickly with their batteries and the fight extended from the peach orchard along the whole line to the base of Little Round Top. The musketry opened all along the line until there was one continuous roar. Longstreet swept forward in a line or battle a mile and a half long. He pressed back the Union forces and for a time it looked as though the Federals would be routed in utter confusion.

At the extreme left, near the Trostle house, was stationed John Biglow, in command of a Massachusetts battery, with orders to hold his position at all hazards. He defended his position well, but was finally routed with great loss by overwhelming numbers. This attack was made by Longstreet again and again, and was one of the bloodiest spots on the field at Gettysburg.

The most desperate struggle of the day was to get possession of Little Round Top, which was the key to the whole battleground west and south of Cemetery Ridge. General Longstreet sent General Hood with his division to occupy it. The Federals, under General Warren, defended this position and were charged on by General Hood's division with fixed bayonets time after time, which finally became a hand-to-hand conflict, but the Confederates were pressed down the hillside at the point of the bayonet, and thus was ended one of the most severe hand-to-hand conflicts yet known.