TREMENDOUS ARTILLERY DUEL.

71

ment. Lee's superior artillery force was placed in advantageous positions, and at noon he had one hundred and forty-five cannon in battery along the line occupied by Longstreet and Hill. Meade, too, had been preparing for the expected shock of battle. General Hunt, his chief of artillery, had worked all night in arranging the great guns from Cemetery Hill to Little Round Top, where it was evident the blow was to be given, and he judiciously posted artillery in reserve under Colonel R. O. Tyler.'

At midday there was an ominous silence, during which General Lee entered Pennsylvania College building, which he was using for a hospital, ascended to the cupola, and, in violation of the acknowledged principles of honor in military life, stood under the sacred yellow flag which all civilized warriors respect as a protection to the sick and wounded, and where he was sure of safety from personal harm, and with his field-glass leisurely reconnoitered Meade's position. His observations there determined him to aim his chief blow at Hancock's position on Cemetery Hill, and, giving the signal at one o'clock, one hundred and fifteen of his cannon opened a rapid cross fire upon the devoted point. Just behind it was Meade's head-quarters, where shot and shell made many a pit and furrow in the grounds around it, and endangered the life of every living thing connected with it. A hundred National guns replied, and for the space of two hours the thunders of more than two hundred cannon shook Gettysburg and the surrounding country with their fearful detonations.

Then, like a stream of fiery lava, the Confederate infantry, in a line full three miles in length, preceded by a host of skirmishers, flowed swiftly over the undulating plain, threatening to consume every obstacle in its track. Behind this assaulting column was a heavy reserve. Pickett, with his Virginians, led the van in a charge upon Cemetery Hill, supported on his right by Wilcox's brigade, and on his left by a brigade of North Carolinians, of Heth's division, commanded by General Pettigrew; in

GEORGE PICKETT.

all about fifteen thousand strong. The batteries had now ceased firingMeade's first, because his available ammunition was failing, and there was a momentary lull in the tempest.

The batteries of Bancroft, Dilger, Eakin, Wheeler, Hill, and Taft, under Major Osborne, were placed in the cemetery, where the kind and thoughtful General Howard had caused the tombstones, and such monuments as could possibly be moved, to be laid flat on the ground, to prevent their being injured by shot and shell. On the left of the cemetery, near Zeigler's Grove, were Hancock's batteries, under Woodruff, Brown, Cushing, Arnold, and Rorty, commanded by Captain Hazzard. Next to these, on the left, was Thomas's battery, with those of Thompson, Phillips, Hart, Rauth, Dow, Ames, and Sterling, under McGilvray, in reserve. On the extreme left were the batteries of Gibbs and Hazlett, the latter now commanded by Lieutenant Rittenhouse. ? Testimony of officers of the College.

3 Samuel Wilkeson, then a correspondent of a New York journal, made the following record of the scene at head-quarters, of which he was an eye-witness: "Every size and form of shell known to British and to American gunnery, shrieked, whirled, moaned, and whistled, and wrathfully fluttered over our ground. As

72

CEMETERY HILL SCALED.

The silence was soon broken by the awful roll of musketry. So compactly did the assailing force move, that its front did not cover more than two of Hancock's brigades, which were so reduced that they did not number, in the aggregate, more than six thousand men. Shot and shell from Hancock's batteries made fearful lanes through the ranks, yet they moved steadily on, and pressed up to within musket-range of the National line of infantry, where Gibbons was in command, Hancock being wounded. Half concealed, the infantry of the Second Corps kept silence. Suddenly Stannard's Vermonters, of Doubleday's command, posted in a little grove, opened terrible volleys on Pickett's flank, doubling it a trifle. Yet he pressed onward, when the divisions of Hayes and Gibbons opened an appalling and continuous fire upon him. This was too much. Pettigrew's North Carolinians wavered a moment, fought well for awhile, and then gave way, when two thousand of them were made prisoners, and, with fifteen battle-flags, became trophies of victory for Hayes and his divisions.1 Still Pickett moved on with his Virginians, and, with the greatest courage and fortitude, his men, following Generals Armistead and Kemper, scaled Cemetery Hill, burst through Hancock's line, and planted the Confederate flag on a stone wall. In this onset they drove back a portion of General Webb's brigade.' These were soon rallied, and, with other troops, so effectively filled the breach that Pickett could go no further. At the same time Stannard's Vermont brigade, of Doubleday's division, opened a destructive fire on Pickett's flank, which broke the spirit of his men, and very soon twenty-five hundred of them were prisoners, and with them twelve battle-flags were captured." Three-fourths of the gallant brigade were dead or captives. Wilcox, who failed to attack until Pickett was repulsed, met a similar fate in the loss of men, being also struck in the flank and ruined by Stannard's Vermonters.

3

many as six in a second, constantly two in a second, bursting and screaming over and around head-quarters, made a very hell of fire that amazed the oldest officers. They burst in the yard (see picture on page 63)—burst next to the fence, on both sides garnished, as usual, with hitched horses of aids and orderlies. The fastened animals reared and plunged with terror. Then one fell, and then another-sixteen lay dead and mangled before the firing ceased, still fastened by their halters. These brute victims of a cruel war touched all hearts. . . . . A shell tore up the little step at the head-quarters cottage, and ripped bags of oats as with a knife. Another earried off one of its two pillars. Soon a spherical case burst opposite the open door-another ripped through the low garret. Shells through the two lower rooms. A shell in the chimney that fortunately did not explode. Shells in the yard; the air thicker and fuller, and more deafening with the howling and whirring of these infer

nal missiles."

It seems proper here to say that the correspondents of the public press, and the artists of the illustrated papers, justly rank among the heroes of the war. They braved every hardship and peril of the war—often under fire, and in the most dangerous positions during battles, in the business of their vocation as observers and recorders of events. And it is interesting to observe how accurate, as a general rule, were the descriptions of many of these Froissarts of the Civil War, even in the statistics of battles. They were generally able and conscientious men, and to them the future historian and romancer must look for the most vivid and picturesque features of that great drama of the nineteenth century.

1 These were mostly raw troops, and generally behaved well. They had been deceived, it is said, with the assurance that they would meet only Pennsylvania militia, but when the terrible fire was opened upon them, the fearful cry spread through their ranks, "The Army of the Potomac !"-See Dr. Jacobs's Rebel Invasion of Maryland and Pennsylvania, page 43, and Swinton's Campaigns of the Army of the Potomac, page 359. Pettigrew's brigade was terribly shattered when it gave way. Its commander was badly wounded, and all bat one of its field officers were dead or maimed. It fell back under the command of a major. It was about 3,000 strong when it went into the battle, but only 800 answered to their names at roll-call the next morning. 2 Sixty-ninth, Seventy-first, and Seventy-second Pennsylvania.

3 The brigades of Hall and Harrow; the One Hundred and Fifty-first Pennsylvania, and Twentieth New York, under Colonel Gates; the Nineteenth Massachusetts, Colonel Devereux, and Wallon's Forty-second New York.

hurt

✦ General Garnett was killed, General Armistead was mortally wounded, and General Kemper was badly

END OF THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG.

73

At about this time, Meade, who felt anxious about his weaker left, had reached Little Round Top, and ordered Crawford to advance upon the Confederate right. The brigade of McCandless and a regiment of Fisher's pushed toward the Emmettsburg road, driving before them an unsupported battery upon a brigade of Hood's division, which made a feeble resistance and fled, leaving two hundred and sixty men (Georgians) as captives, with their battle-flag. In this sortie nearly the whole ground lost by Sickles the day before was recovered, with seven thousand small arms, a Napoleon gun, and the wounded Unionists, who had lain, uncared for, twenty-four hours.

Thus, at near sunset, ended in victory for the Nationals, the decisive BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG-a battle that had been fought by both armies with amazing courage and fortitude. The actors in it were chiefly of the artillery and infantry arms of the service. The cavalry force of each remained on the borders of the great conflict, yet, on the part of the Nationals, they rendered very important service in threatening the wings, the trains, and the communications of the opposing army, neutralizing the power of large bodies of infantry, and foiling Lee in his efforts to turn Meade's flanks. Buford, as we have seen, was in the National rear, while Kilpatrick and Gregg were on the flanks of the foe.' Specially important

1 Kilpatrick, who had been out trying to intercept Stuart's cavalry on their way to join Lee, had a severe fight with them at Hunterstown, on the evening of the 2d of July. It was chiefly an artillery duel by the horse batteries of each. The Confederates were worsted, when Kilpatrick, according to an order, hastened to Two Taverns, on the Baltimore turnpike, in the rear of Meade's army. On the morning of the 3d, these troopers were on and near the Emmettsburg road, on the right and rear of the Confederates, and at eleven o'clock, made a

74

FLIGHT OF THE CONFEDERATES.

were the services of Merritt and Farnsworth, of Kilpatrick's command, on the Confederate right, for they prevented Hood from turning July, 1863. Meade's left during the terrible battle on the afternoon of the 3d.* Both armies were severely shattered by losses and weakened by exhaustion,' but each rested on the night after the battle, in ignorance of the real condition and destination of the other. Lee felt that his situation was a perilous one, and early in the evening he withdrew Ewell's division from Gettysburg and the hills southeast of the town, and began preparations for a retreat toward the Potomac, by way of the Cumberland Valley. During that night and all the next day,' while his army remained on Seminary Ridge, he sent away as many of his sick and wounded as possible, with his enormous wagon-train of baggage, stores, and plunder, and troops of horses, mules, and cattle, captured in Pennsylvania. These took the Chambersburg and Hagerstown roads, and were followed on the evening of the 4th by the whole army along the latter highway, by the village of Fairfield, carrying with them about four thousand prisoners. A severe rain-storm had commenced at the close of the day, and the flight was distressing to all who participated in it.

July 4.

e July.

When it was made evident by the reports of cavalry scouts, on the night of the 3d, that Lee was about to retreat, General Meade was urged by some of his officers to make an immediate advance on the Confederate army. Great responsibility makes men conservative and cautious. It was only about twenty days since the command of the Army of the Potomac, at a most critical time in its history, with all the inherent responsibilities of the act, had been laid upon General Meade. This, and a consideration of the shattered condition of that army after the great battle, made him cautious and prudent, and he would not consent to a renewal of the conflict at Gettysburg. So he lay there, quietly awaiting the develop ment of the disposition and plans of his antagonist, until Sunday morning, the 5th, when it was well known that Lee's whole army, excepting a few pickets, was on its way toward the Potomac. Then, having been re-enforced

dash for the capture of their train. A heavy force of infantry was immediately sent to co-operate with some of Stuart's cavalry in confronting this new danger, when Generals Farnsworth and Merritt, acting as if they had heavy infantry supports, dashed forward over fences, and drove their foes back in much confusion. In the last of the charges by which the result was reached, Farnsworth was slain, and with him many of his brave men. The troops engaged in this affair, which greatly weakened the Confederate attack on Meade's lines, were the First Vermont, First Virginia, and Eighteenth Pennsylvania Cavalry.

1 When the battle ceased, the ammunition of the Army of the Potomac was becoming scarce; and of the reserves, only a single brigade of Sedgwick's corps had not, in some way, participated in the battle. The Army of Northern Virginia was equally exhausted. The National loss in men, from the morning of the 1st until the evening of the 3d of July, was reported by Meade to be 23,186, of whom 2,834 were killed, 13,709 were wounded, and 6,643 were missing. A greater portion of the latter were prisoners. Lee, as usual, made no report of his losses. He spoke of them as "severe." A careful estimate, made from various statements, places the number at about 30,000, of whom about 14,000 were prisoners. Generals Barksdale and Garnett were killed. Generals Armistead, Pender, and Semmes were mortally wounded; Generals Hood and Trimble were severely wounded, and Generals Anderson, Hampton, Heth, Jones, Pettigrew, Jenkins, and Kemper, not so badly.

2

Owing to the strength of the enemy's position, and the reduction of our ammunition," Lee said, in his report, "a renewal of the engagement could not be hazarded, and the difficulty of procuring supplies rendered it impossible to continue longer where we were."

Lieutenant-Colonel Freemantle, of the British army, who was with Lee, says, in his narrative (page 269), that it was "difficult to exaggerate the critical state of affairs, as they appeared about this time," and declares that "General Lee and his officers were evidently impressed with a sense of the situation."

In his diary, July 4, Colonel Freemantle made the following record: "Wagons, horses, mules, and cattle, captured in Pennsylvania, the solid advantages of this campaign, have been passing slowly along the road all day; those taken by Ewell are particularly admired.”

4 See map on page 62.

LEE ESCAPES INTO VIRGINIA.

75

the day before by the advance division of General Couch's militia, who had come up from the Susquehanna under General W. F. Smith, he ordered Sedgwick's comparatively fresh corps to commence a direct pursuit, and sent Kilpatrick to harrass the fugitives and destroy their train on the Chambersburg road. The greater part of the army remained to rest, and to succor the wounded and bury the dead.

a

Sedgwick overtook the rear-guard of the Confederates ten miles from Gettysburg, at the Fairfield Pass of South Mountain, and reported to General Meade that it was easily defensible by a small force, against him. Meade recalled Sedgwick, and determined to put his whole force in pursuit, in a flank movement, by way of Emmettsburg and Middletown, and the lower passes of the South Mountain range, through which he hoped to strike his antagonist's flank. He ordered General French at Frederick to send a force to Turner's Gap,' and with his main body to re-occupy Harper's Ferry. Leaving a brigade each of cavalry and infantry to harrass and delay the Confederate rear, he left Gettysburg, with a greater portion of the army, on the 6th, and crossed the mountains into the Antietam Valley. But he moved so cautiously and tardily that when, on " July, 1863. the 12th, he overtook Lee, the latter was strongly intrenched on a ridge covering the Potomac from Williamsport to Falling Waters, waiting for the flood in the river, caused by the recent rains, to subside, and allow him to cross into Virginia. Unfortunately for Lee, General French had anticipated Meade's order, re-occupied Harper's Ferry, and sent a cavalry force to destroy the pontoon bridges which the Confederate commander had left, under guard, at Falling Waters. But for the accomplishment of this destruction, Lee's army might have passed over on the day of its arrival at Williamsport; but he was compelled to make preparations anew, and also to present a bold front to his pursuers. He showed so much strength when they approached, that Meade spent the 12th in intrenching and reconnoitering. He desired to attack Lee the next morning, but a majority of his commanders, whom he consulted late that evening, decided against it. Unwilling to take the responsibility, he allowed his army to remain inactive all the next day. That night,' Lee having constructed another bridge at Falling Waters, passed the corps of Longstreet and Hill quietly over it in the gloom, while Ewell's forded the river above Williamsport. The vigilant Kilpatrick had observed the movement toward the bridge, and struck Hill's rear-guard under the unfortunate Pettigrew, drove it to the river, killed one hundred and twenty-five of the men, and matle fifteen hundred of them prisoners, with three battle-flags. Pettigrew was mortally wounded, and Major Webb, who led the Sixth Michigan Cavalry in a charge on the occasion, was killed. Kilpatrick's total loss was one hundred and five men. Thus ended, in utter discomfiture and repulse, Lee's formidable invasion of Maryland and Pennsylvania in the summer of 1863.2 1 See page 471, volume II.

⚫ July 18, 14.

In the preparation of this narrative of the events of the invasion, the writer has availed himself, in addition to personal observations, and the accounts, written and oral, given him by actors in the scenes, of the official reports of the opposing commanders and their subordinate officers; narratives of correspondents with the armies, and of Professor Jacobs and others who have published interesting monographs concerning the battle. Special acknowledgment is due to Colonel J. B. Batchelder, for his communications to the writer on the subject, and his admirable isometrical drawing of the battle-field of Gettysburg, whose accuracy is attested by General Meade and his fellow-commanders on that occasion. It is wonderfully minute in its