Just before the final rush two bodies of Federals moved out on the field and opened fire, the one upon our right the other upon the left. The loss inflicted upon our people by these Vermonters and New Yorkers was very great, and not being able to defend themselves, there was on the part of the survivors a natural crowding to the centre. The commander of a Federal brigade in his report says, “Twenty battle flags were captured in a space of one hundred yards square.” This means that crowded within a space extending only one hundred yards there were the remnants of more than twenty regiments. But Col. Taylor says that Pickett’s division “was the only organized body which entered the enemy’s works.”
The late General Trimble said: “It will be easily understood that as Pickett’s line was overlapped by the Federal lines on his right, and Pettigrew’s and Trimble’s front by the Federal lines on their left, each of these commands had a distinct and separate discharge of artillery and musketry to encounter, the one as incessant as the other, although Pickett’s men felt its intensity sooner than the others, and were the first to be crushed under a fire before which no troops could live. While Pettigrew and Trimble suffered as much or more before the close because longer under fire, in consequence of marching farther.” And again: “Both Northern and Southern descriptions of the battle of Gettysburg, in the third day’s contest, have without perhaps a single exception, down to the present time, given not only most conspicuous prominence to General Pickett’s division, but generally by the language used have created the impression among those not personally acquainted with the events of the day that Pickett’s men did all the hard fighting, suffered the most severely and failed in their charge, because not duly and vigorously supported by the troops on their right and left. It might with as much truth be said that Pettigrew and Trimble failed in their charge, because unsupported by Pickett, who had been driven back in the crisis of their charge and was no aid to them.”
Some time ago Gen. Fitz Lee wrote a life of his uncle, Gen. Robert E. Lee, and in a notice of this book the courteous and able editor of a leading Richmond newspaper gives a fine description of the part borne by Pickett’s division in Longstreet’s assault on the third day, but has little or nothing to say about the other troops engaged; whereupon a citizen of this State (North Carolina) wrote and wished to know if there were any North Carolinians upon the field when Pickett’s men so greatly distinguished themselves. In answer the editor admits that he had forgotten all about the other troops engaged, and says: “We frankly confess that our mind has been from the war until now so fully possessed of the idea that the glory of the charge belonged exclusively to Pickett’s division that we overlooked entirely the just measure of credit that Gen. Fitz Lee has awarded other commands.” Whereupon a correspondent of his paper, curiously enough, is in high spirits over this answer, and referring to it says: “It is especially strong in what it omits to say. The picture of the charge, as given by Swinton, as seen from the other side, would have come in perfectly; but it would have wounded our North Carolina friends and was wisely left out.”
Now, as to the impertinence of this correspondent who refers to what Swinton said, there is a temptation to say something a little bitter, but as the writer has made it a rule to preserve a judicial tone as far as possible, and in presenting facts to let them speak for themselves, he refrains from gratifying a very natural inclination. Probably with no thought of malice Swinton, in making a historical flourish, sacrificed truth for the sake of a striking antithesis. This of course he knew. Equally of course this is what the correspondent did not know. No one ever accused John Swinton of being a fool.
A distinguished writer in a recent discussion of this assault says: “History is going forever to ask Gen. Longstreet why he did not obey Gen. Lee’s orders and have Hood’s and McLaw’s divisions at Pickett’s back to make good the work his heroic men had done.” Not so. History is not going to ask childish questions.
A Virginian writer in closing his description of this assault has recently said: “Now, this remark must occur to every one in this connection. Pickett’s break through the enemy’s line, led by Armistead, was the notable and prodigious thing about the whole battle of Gettysburg.” If so, why so?
The commanders of Wright’s Georgia and Wilcox’s Alabama brigades report that when fighting on Longstreet’s left on the afternoon of the second day, they carried the crest of Cemetery Ridge and captured twenty-eight cannon. The truth of this report is confirmed by General Doubleday, who says: “Wright attained the crest and Wilcox was almost in line with him. Wilcox claims to have captured twenty guns and Wright eight.”
In another place he says, in speaking of a certain officer: “On his return late in the day he saw Sickle’s whole line driven in and found Wright’s rebel brigade established on the crest barring his way back.”
Late in the same afternoon over on our left in Johnson’s assault upon Culp’s Hill, Stewart’s brigade carried the position in their front and held it all night. Also late the same afternoon two of Early’s brigades, Hoke’s North Carolina and Hay’s Louisiana, carried East Cemetery Heights, took many prisoners and sent them to the rear, several colors, and captured or silenced twenty guns (spiking some of them before they fell back). And a part of them maintained their position for over an hour, some of them having advanced as far as the Baltimore Pike. It is an undoubted fact that even after their brigades had fallen back parts of the 9th Louisiana and 6th North Carolina, under Major Tate, held their position at the wall on the side of the hill (repelling several attacks) for an hour, thus holding open the gate to Cemetery Heights, and it does seem that under cover of night this gate might have been used and the Ridge occupied by a strong force of our troops with slight loss.
On the afternoon of the third day the men who were in front of the narrow space abandoned by the enemy, and some who were on their right and left, in a disorganized mass of about one thousand, crowded into this space for safety. (Less than fifty followed Armistead to the abandoned gun.) When, after about ten minutes, they were attacked they either surrendered or fled. No one knows what State had most representatives in this “crowd” as the Federal Col. Hall calls them, but the man who wrote that they did “the notable and prodigious thing about the whole battle of Gettysburg” thinks he knows. All soldiers now know, and many knew then, that in sending 9,000 or 10,000 men to attack the army of the Potomac, concentrated and strongly fortified, there was no reasonable hope of success.