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The Battle of Gettysburg, 1863

Chapter 24: STAFF.
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About This Book

The author offers a detailed, chapter-by-chapter account of the three-day battle around a Pennsylvania market town during the 1863 invasion, beginning with the town and landscape, examining strategic context and troop movements, describing the fighting of July first through third, including key ridges and defensive positions, the retreat and aftermath, and visits to cemeteries and memorial sites. The narrative blends tactical analysis, eyewitness impressions, maps and topography, and reflections on casualties and consequence, aiming to explain why the engagement became a decisive moment and how the rural terrain shaped the combat.

APPENDIX
ARMY OF THE POTOMAC AS IT FOUGHT AT GETTYSBURG.

Major-Gen. George G. Meade, Commanding.

STAFF.

Major-Gen. Daniel Butterfield, Chief of Staff; Brig.-Gen. M. R. Patrick, Provost Marshal-General; Brig.-Gen. Seth Williams, Adjutant-General; Brig.-Gen. Edmund Shriver, Inspector-General; Brig.-Gen. Rufus Ingalls, Q. M. General; Brig.-Gen. Gouverneur K. Warren, Chief of Engineers; Brig.-Gen. Henry J. Hunt, Chief of Artillery; Col. Henry F. Clarke, Chief Commissary; Major John Letterman, Chief of Medical Department; Major D. W. Flagler, Chief Ordnance Officer; Capt. L. B. Norton, Chief Signal Officer.

FIRST ARMY CORPS.

Major-Gen. John F. Reynolds.

First Division.—Brig.-Gen. James S. Wadsworth. First Brigade: Brig.-Gen. Solomon Meredith; Second Brigade: Brig.-Gen. Lysander Cutler.

Second Division.—Brig.-Gen. John C. Robinson. First Brigade: Brig.-Gen. Gabriel R. Paul; Second Brigade: Brig.-Gen. Henry Baxter.

Third Division.—Maj.-Gen. Abner Doubleday. First Brigade: Brig.-Gen. Thos. A. Rowley; Second Brigade: Col. Roy Stone; Third Brigade: Brig.-Gen. Geo. J. Stannard; Artillery Brigade: Col. Chas. S. Wainwright.

SECOND ARMY CORPS.

Major-Gen. Winfield S. Hancock.

First Division.—Brig.-Gen. John C. Caldwell. First Brigade: Col. Edwin E. Cross; Second Brigade: Col. Patrick Kelly; Third Brigade: Brig.-Gen. S. K. Zook; Fourth Brigade: Col. John R. Brooke.

Second Division.—Brig.-Gen. John Gibbon. First Brigade: Brig.-Gen. William Harrow; Second Brigade: Brig.-Gen. Alex. S. Webb; Third Brigade: Col. Norman J. Hall.

Third Division.—Brig.-Gen. Alexander Hays. First Brigade: Col. Samuel S. Carroll; Second Brigade: Col. Thomas A. Smyth; Third Brigade: Col. Geo. L. Willard; Artillery Brigade: Capt. J. G. Hazard.

THIRD ARMY CORPS.

Major-Gen. Daniel E. Sickles.

First Division.—Major-Gen. David B. Birney. First Brigade: Brig.-Gen. C. K. Graham; Second Brigade: Brig.-Gen. J. H. H. Ward; Third Brigade: Col. Philip R. De Trobriand.

Second Division.—Brig.-Gen. Andrew A. Humphreys. First Brigade: Brig.-Gen. Joseph B. Carr; Second Brigade: Col. Wm. R. Brewster; Third Brigade: Col. Geo. C. Burling; Artillery Brigade: Capt. Geo. E. Randolph.

FIFTH ARMY CORPS.

Major-Gen. George B. Sykes.

First Division.—Brig.-Gen. James Barnes. First Brigade: Col. W. S. Tilton; Second Brigade: Col. J. B. Sweitzer; Third Brigade: Col. Strong Vincent.

Second Division.—Brig.-Gen. Romayn B. Ayres. First Brigade: Col. Hannibal Day; Second Brigade: Col. Sidney Burbank; Third Brigade: Brig.-Gen. S. H. Webb.

Third Division.—Brig.-Gen. S. Wiley Crawford. First Brigade: Col. Wm. McCandless; Second Brigade: Col. Joseph W. Fisher; Artillery Brigade: Capt. A. P. Martin.

SIXTH ARMY CORPS.

Major-Gen. John Sedgwick.

First Division.—Brig.-Gen. H. G. Wright. First Brigade: Brig.-Gen. A. T. A. Torbert; Second Brigade: Brig.-Gen. J. J. Bartlett; Third Brigade: Brig.-Gen. D. A. Russell.

Second Division.—Brig.-Gen. A. P. Howe. Second Brigade: Col. L. A. Grant; Third Brigade: Brig.-Gen. T. H. Neill.

Third Division.—Brig.-Gen. Frank Wheaton. First Brigade: Brig.-Gen. Alex. Shaler; Second Brigade: Col. H. L. Eustis; Third Brigade: Col. David J. Nevin; Artillery Brigade: Col. C. H. Tompkins.

ELEVENTH ARMY CORPS.

Major-Gen. Oliver O. Howard.

First Division.—Brig.-Gen. Francis C. Barlow. First Brigade: Col. Leopold von Gilsa; Second Brigade: Brig.-Gen. Adelbert Ames.

Second Division.—Brig.-Gen. A. von Steinwehr. First Brigade: Col. Chas. R. Coster; Second Brigade: Col. Orlando Smith.

Third Division.—Major-Gen. Carl Shurz. First Brigade: Brig.-Gen. A. von Schimmelpfennig; Second Brigade: Col. Waldimir Kryzanowski; Artillery Brigade: Maj. Thos. W. Osborn.

TWELFTH ARMY CORPS.

Major-Gen. Henry W. Slocum.

First Division.—Brig.-Gen. Alpheus S. Williams. First Brigade: Col. Archibald L. McDougall; Second Brigade: Brig.-Gen. Henry H. Lockwood; Third Brigade: Col. Silas Colgrove.

Second Division.—Brig.-Gen. John W. Geary. First Brigade: Col. Chas. Candy; Second Brigade: Col. Geo. A. Cobham, Jr.; Third Brigade: Brig.-Gen. Geo. S. Greene; Artillery Brigade: Lieut. Edw. D. Muhlenberg.

CAVALRY CORPS.

Major-Gen. Alfred Pleasonton.

First Division.—Brig.-Gen. John Buford. First Brigade: Col. Wm. Gamble; Second Brigade: Col. Thos. C. Devin; Reserve Brigade: Brig.-Gen. Wesley Merritt.

Second Division.—Brig.-Gen. D. McM. Gregg. First Brigade: Col. J. B. McIntosh; Second Brigade: Col. Pennock Huey; Third Brigade: Col. J. I. Gregg.

Third Division.—Brig.-Gen. Judson Kilpatrick. First Brigade: Brig.-Gen. Elon J. Farnsworth; Second Brigade: Brig.-Gen. Geo. A. Custer.

HORSE ARTILLERY.

First Brigade: Capt. John M. Robertson; Second Brigade: Capt. John C. Tidball.

ARTILLERY RESERVE.

Brig.-Gen. R. O. Tyler.

First Regular Brigade: Capt. D. R. Ransom; First Volunteer Brigade: Lieut.-Col. F. McGilvery; Second Volunteer Brigade: Capt. E. D. Taft; Third Volunteer Brigade: Capt. James F. Huntington; Fourth Volunteer Brigade: Capt. R. H. Fitzhugh.


INDEX

  • Army of the Potomac follows Lee, 39;
  • order of march, 40;
  • halts at Frederick, Md., 40;
  • change of commanders, 40;
  • dangerous meddling, 41;
  • effect on the army, 42;
  • its morale, 43, 44;
  • its efficiency, note, 45;
  • in march toward the enemy, 49;
  • diverging while the enemy is concentrating, 52;
  • hard marching, 53;
  • is badly scattered, 53;
  • left wing in a critical position, 54;
  • how posted on June 30, 55;
  • Buford's cavalry engaged at Gettysburg, 62;
  • First Corps gets up to its support, 63;
  • holds the ground till the Eleventh arrives, 68;
  • both are defeated, 76; losses, 77;
  • reasons for defeat, 77;
  • ordered to Gettysburg, 85;
  • Twelfth Corps gets up, 87;
  • also part of Third, 89;
  • other corps, 90;
  • strength of the corps, note, 96;
  • as posted July 2 on Cemetery Ridge, 98;
  • Third Corps movements, 101, et seq.;
  • how this corps was formed to resist Lee's attack, 109;
  • whole of the army up at last, 109;
  • the battle begins, 112;
  • Sickles' whole line is driven in, 124;
  • we hold Little Round Top, 121;
  • portions of the Second and Fifth assist the Third;
  • they have to fall back, 123;
  • other troops compel Longstreet to desist, 125;
  • dispositions for renewing the battle, 133, 134;
  • Culp's Hill attacked, 135;
  • Ewell driven out, 136;
  • sustains a terrific cannonade, 137, 138, 139;
  • lines as formed to resist charge of July 3, 140;
  • the assault repulsed, 143, et seq.;
  • remains inactive, 153;
  • while Lee retreats, 154;
  • marches in pursuit, 154;
  • finds enemy in a strong position, 156; notes, 159;
  • and Lee again slips away, 157;
  • losses during the campaign, 157.
  • Baltimore alarmed, note, 45.
  • Baltimore Pike, cutting the Union lines, 99.
  • Battlefield Memorial Association, note, 21.
  • Buford's (John) cavalry operations on the left, 40;
  • riding to Fairfield, 49;
  • finds the enemy, 54;
  • is ordered to hold Gettysburg, 55;
  • posts himself on Oak Ridge, 61;
  • fights till relieved, 63;
  • is sent off to the rear, 101.
  • Cavalry, battles of July 3d, 148;
  • operations during Lee's retreat, notes, 158.
  • Carlisle, Pa., occupied, 29;
  • evacuated, 51.
  • Cemetery Ridge, described, 15, 16;
  • becomes a rallying-point, July 1, 77;
  • situation afternoon of July 1, 82;
  • Hancock renders it secure, 87;
  • described more in detail, 98, et seq.;
  • the enemy succeed in scaling it, July 2, 125, 128;
  • but are repulsed, 129;
  • its advantages for defence better availed of, 130.
  • Chambersburg, Pa., occupied by Lee's cavalry, 25;
  • becomes his headquarters, 27.
  • Confederate Army, The, eludes ours, note, 32;
  • and invades Pennsylvania, 23;
  • its strength, 24;
  • its composition, note, 32;
  • points of superiority, 24, 25;
  • its personnel, 26, 27;
  • at Chambersburg, 26, 27;
  • moves to York and Carlisle, 28;
  • its spirit, 29;
  • moves to concentrate, 52;
  • its advance upon Gettysburg is disputed, 62;
  • finally defeats the forces opposed to it, 69, et seq.;
  • losses, note, 80;
  • all but one division up night of July 1, 91;
  • how formed, note, 110;
  • the attack on Sickles, 115;
  • Sickles defeated, 123;
  • Longstreet's losses, 125;
  • Cemetery Ridge reached by Hill's troops, 125;
  • Ewell gains a foothold at Culp's Hill, 126;
  • advantage to the Confederates, 127;
  • position at close of the day, note, 131;
  • Ewell expelled from Culp's Hill, 136;
  • cannonades Union position, 137;
  • final attack repulsed, 141, et seq.;
  • evacuates Gettysburg, 150;
  • getting ready to retreat, 150;
  • retreat effected, 157;
  • losses, note, 159.
  • Culp's Hill, its relation to Cemetery Hill, 19;
  • occupied by Union troops, 84;
  • made secure, 87;
  • enemy gain a lodgment at, 126;
  • retaken, 136.
  • Cumberland Valley, route of Lee's invasion, 23;
  • exodus from, 34.
  • Curtin, A. G., his efforts to meet the invasion, 36.
  • Devil's Den, The, situation of, 20;
  • surroundings, note, 22;
  • struggle for its possession, 115, 116, 117;
  • in the enemy's hands, note, 131.
  • Early's (J. E.) operations around York, 28;
  • as a blind, note, 33;
  • recalled to Gettysburg, 52;
  • his arrival decides the day, 73, 76;
  • assaults Cemetery Hill, July 2, 128;
  • but is forced out, 129.
  • Emmettsburg Road, described, 21;
  • picketed by Union troops, 88;
  • its relation to the hostile armies, 99;
  • becomes a point of direction for Longstreet's attack, 114.
  • Ewell's Confederate corps at Chambersburg, 26;
  • moves on to Carlisle and York, 28;
  • moves to Gettysburg and decides the first of July, 69, et seq.;
  • but hesitates to attack Cemetery Hill, 81.
  • Frederick, Md., becomes the pivot for the Union army, 40.
  • Gettysburg, described, 10, 11;
  • its strategic value, 13, 14, 15, et seq.;
  • its topography, 15, 16, et seq.;
  • Cemetery Ridge, 16;
  • Seminary Ridge, 17;
  • commanding points, 19, 20;
  • Cemetery Ridge as a defensive line, 20; notes 1, 2, and 3, p. 21;
  • memorials of battle, note, 21;
  • first appearance of Confederates in, 28; and note, 33;
  • Lee's whole army marching to, 52;
  • Union forces approaching, 55;
  • how and where the battle began, see Chap. V., p. 60;
  • in first day's conflict, 60, et seq.;
  • occupied by Ewell, 78;
  • evacuated, 150.
  • Great Round Top, how situated, 19.
  • Hancock, Winfield S., organizing victory from defeat, 81, 82, 83;
  • orders Culp's Hill occupied, 84;
  • his report to Meade, 85; note, 95;
  • sends Geary's division to Little Round Top, 88.
  • Harrisburg alarmed, 25;
  • enemy near it, 29;
  • the panic at, 34, et seq.;
  • militia ordered to, 37;
  • narrow escape of, 50.
  • Heth's (Harry) Confederate division approaches Gettysburg first, 52;
  • encounters Buford's cavalry, 62
  • brings on battle of July 1, 63;
  • sustains a check, 66;
  • Pender, Rodes, and Early come to his aid, 69, 75;
  • takes part in the famous charge of July 3, 140, 141.
  • Hood, John B., marches into Chambersburg, 26, 27;
  • attacks the Union left, July 2d, 114;
  • is wounded, 115;
  • his attack checked, 117;
  • Union cavalry in his rear, 148.
  • Hooker's (Joseph) plan of campaign, 40;
  • objections to, note, 45;
  • is superseded, 40.
  • Howard, Oliver O., takes command at Gettysburg, 70;
  • calls in vain for help, 70, 71.
  • Lee, Robert E., his ascendancy over his troops, 29;
  • portrait of, 30;
  • wants his cavalry badly, 38;
  • feels what it is to be in an enemy's country, 39;
  • plans thwarted by Meade, 50;
  • decides to cross South Mountain and give battle, 50; note, 59;
  • orders all corps to Gettysburg, 51;
  • steals a march on Meade, 53;
  • at Gettysburg, 81;
  • decides to attack, 91;
  • Longstreet to turn Union left, 94;
  • the plan in detail, 105, 106;
  • determines to renew the battle, 133;
  • reinforces Ewell, 133;
  • orders Longstreet to assault Cemetery Ridge, 134;
  • sends off his wounded, 153;
  • follows with his army, 154;
  • gets to the Potomac before he can be intercepted, 156;
  • and crosses to Virginia safely, 157.
  • Little Round Top, its position and appearance, 19; note, 22;
  • Hancock causes its occupation, 88;
  • is abandoned, 98;
  • is about to fall into the enemy's hands, 115;
  • troops brought up to it, 119, 120;
  • conflict for its possession, 120, 121;
  • Union troops remain masters, 121.
  • Longstreet, James, opposes Lee's purpose, 91;
  • is ordered to begin the attack of July 2, 105;
  • gets into position, 106;
  • as a fighter, 106, 107;
  • method of attacking Sickles, 114, 115;
  • is successful here, but halts before the main position, 125.
  • Lutheran Church a hospital, 22.
  • Lutheran Seminary, its situation, 17;
  • Union troops make a stand there, 77.
  • McLaws, (Lafayette) Confederate division attacks Sickles, July 2, 117.
  • Meade, George G., takes command, 42;
  • his qualifications, 43;
  • divining Lee's intentions, 47, 48;
  • discards Hooker's plan, 48;
  • his own, 49;
  • transfers his base to Westminster, 49;
  • relieves Harrisburg and York, 51;
  • his perplexities, 51;
  • is outmanœuvred, 53;
  • learns that Lee is moving to the east of South Mountain, 55;
  • but holds his purpose of concentrating at Big Pipe Creek, 57;
  • learns of the defeat at Gettysburg and sends Hancock there with full powers, 70;
  • decides to fight at Gettysburg, 85;
  • though the chances are against him, 90;
  • gets to the field, 94;
  • designs attacking Lee himself, 97;
  • posting his troops, 98;
  • depressed by the results of July 2 he calls a council of war which decides to fight it out, 132;
  • sends troops to retake Culp's Hill, 133;
  • starts his cavalry on reconnoisances, note, 158;
  • his indecision, 151;
  • follows Lee to the Potomac, 155.
  • National Cemetery, Account of, note, 21.
  • Oak Ridge, Buford's cavalry defends it, 62, 63;
  • see Chap. V.
  • Pennsylvania invaded, 23;
  • first effects of, 34, et seq.
  • Philadelphia during the invasion, note, 45.
  • Pickett's (Geo. E.) Confederate division ordered to charge Cemetery Ridge, 134;
  • it advances, 141;
  • is cannonaded, 142
  • but keeps on, 143;
  • is attacked in flank, 143, 144;
  • encounters a terrible musketry fire, 144;
  • breaks through the Union line, 146; is destroyed, 147;
  • his losses suppressed, 157.
  • Pittsburgh, Defensive works at, note, 45.
  • Reynolds, John F., commands Union left wing, 54;
  • orders Buford to hold Gettysburg, 55;
  • orders up his troops and hastens there himself, 62;
  • is killed while posting his soldiers, 64;
  • his fall a misfortune, 64, 73.
  • Rock Creek, its position on the field, 19.
  • Seminary Ridge described, 17.
  • Sherfy's Peach Orchard, 89, 103, 104;
  • is occupied by the Third Union Corps, 108;
  • not strong enough to cover the ground, 109;
  • note, 110;
  • is attacked, 118;
  • is carried, 122;
  • note, 130.
  • Sickles, Daniel E., 101;
  • feels the enemy on his front, 104;
  • finds him extending his right, 104;
  • determines to move his corps out to the Peach Orchard, 105;
  • his attitude toward the general commanding, 107, 108; notes, 111;
  • is attacked, 112;
  • wounded, 122.
  • South Mountain assumes the first strategic importance, 39;
  • masks Lee's movements, 50.
  • Stuart's (J. E. B.) Confederate cavalry operations, note, 32;
  • is cut off from Lee, 38.
  • Swale, The, its situation, 20.
  • Warren, Gouverneur K., sees the peril of Little Round Top and saves it, 119.
  • Westminster, Pa., as base of the Union army, 49.
  • Wheat-field, Combat at the, July 2, 117, 123.
  • Willoughby Run, 61;
  • see Chap. V.
  • York, Pa., occupied by Confederates, 28;
  • evacuated, 51.