Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 250, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 November 1917 — Battles Which Made the World [ARTICLE]

Battles Which Made the World

GETTYSBURG The meh Tide of the Southern Confederacy la Which Plckett’a Dlvi■lon Performed One of the Meet Deaperat* Charges Known in Any War.

By CAPT. ROLAND F. ANDREWS

(Copyright. IMT, hy MoClore Newspaper Syndicate)

Gettysburg, that terrible three days’ battle fought on the first, second and third days of July In 1863, marked the turning point of the American Civil W ar. The war did indeed continue for two years more, but it was Gettysburg which broke the military power of the South; which decided that the United States of America should endure, the united country of a free people. Gettysburg was “the' high tide of the Confederacy.” Gettysburg lies in Pennsylvania, about thirty-five miles southwest of Harrisburg. A sleepy, unimportant Pennsylvania village, it possessed no strategic importance and but for accident probably never would have served as the theater of the greatest battle of our Civil conflict. Lee, directing his great invasion of the North, planned concentration of his forces there. The ragged men of A. P. Hill’s advance Confederate corps—inspired it is said by the hope of obtaining shoes —pushed hurriedly into the hamlet and ,thereupon became involved in & spirited battle with Buford’s Federal Cavalry division. Reynolds, coming up with an infantry corps to support Buford, met his death on the field, but nightfall of the first found the Union forces holding the line on the Cemetery Hill position. They had been pushed back, by superior numbers and cut up severely, particularly in a fierce attack led by the redoubtable Jubal Early, with Ewell’s cops. Still they maintained a formidable position upon which Meade, the newly appointed Federal commander, decided to make his stand. Three more corps were moved up during the night, while Lee got his whole army into position. Thanks to a misunderstanding between Lee and Longstreet, who was to attack the Federal left, the attack on the morning of the second, like Napoleon’s attack at Waterloo, was long delayed. This gave the Northern army time to get into position on a horseshoe ridge, having its right oh Culp’s hill. Longstreet’s assault when it did come, however, came with a desperate fury productive of some terrific fighting. Frightful was the slaughter in the Peach Orchard, where Gen. Dan Sickles holding an advanced Federal position, misunderstood or disobeyed an order to withdraw and saw his men go down like ten pins, while he himself lost a leg. In the meantime the commanding positions of Round Top and Little Round Top remained by some strange oversight unoccupied. Their possession might have been obtained by the Confederates and might have spelled for them victory had not the error been discovered by Gen. G. K. Warren, Meade’s engineer officer. Perceiving these crests to be occupied •>nly by signalers and realizing their tremendous possibilities Warren hastily diverted some Maine regiments who scrambled to the tops and there found themselves almost instantly engaged with eagerly advancing Southern columns. The struggle here was desperate, but in the end the Maine men prevailed.

However Longstreet and Hill actually broke through the main line of the Third Federal corps, though because they were not properly supported the brigades which achieved this feat were soon driven out again. Ewell swept over Culp’s hill, where the defending force had been much reduced, but Early’s attempt to storm Cemetery hill was repulsed. With the coming of night Meade found that with his line no longer a horseshoe, but prolonged to the left, he stood in danger of having both his flanks turned. In council with his corps commanders he encountered serious discussion of retreat, but since Lee had gained no commanding success and since the necessities of the hour were most serious, he decided in favor of continuing the fighting. He had the advantage of Lee in numbers and he had confidence in the steadiness of his men. Upon this superiority in force is based the amusing story of the Confederate scout, related at the reunion in 1913. He declared that creeping to the Federal camp in the darkness he discovered that “the Yanks had all creation,” since he distinctly heard the conftnand:

“Universe attention! Continents fall ini By nations, right wheel!” Also in the night Lee changed his plan. Deciding that Longstreet should not press his attack over the broken ground, he directed that Ewell should resume his hammering of Meade’s extreme right while the overwhelming blow should be delivered by an attack on the center, comparable with the charge of the Guard at Waterloo. For this duty there were assigned the troops of Pickett’s fresh and splendid Virginia division, which constituted -part of Longstreet’s corps. .Longstreet himself never believed this charge could have a chance of success. Between him and Lee there was ever afterward bitterness. But as for the charge itself, it was most gallantly delivered. It almost won. Meade began the -fighting on thc third day by aiming a heavy counteroffensive at Culp’s hUI, which after four hours of fighting _ was retaken from the Confederates. This, how-

ever, did not deter Lee from following his original plan. He was determined that Pickett should make his grand assault. In preparation, Alexander, the Confederate chief of artillery, opened with one long line of seventy-five guns, while sixty-five of Hill’s guns came into action on the left Against these the Federate, cramped for space, could oppose but seventy-five, and the fire of these was soon stopped that they might be held to meet the infantry attack. Longstreet, still certain the result could be only failure, could not bring himself to order the advance, but shortly before two in the afternoon Pickett himself asked and obtained permission to go forward. There followed one of the most desperate charges ( in history, beside which, when one reckons in loss of life, such an exploit as that of the Light Brigade at Balaklava becomes almost child’s play. To reach the Union line the Virginians had to cross 1,800 yards of ground Swept by terrible rifle and artillery fire. All three of Pickett’s brigadiers went down, two killed and one, Kemper, desperately wounded. The Union troops. Gibbon’s division and a part of the Second corps, all under Hancock, held unflinchingly. Lieutenant Cushing, commanding.a battery, held in his entrails with one hand while with the other he helped roll a gun into position, crying out, “Give them one more shot, Webb.” The slaughter was frightful, but the dauntless Virginians actually broke Meade’s first line before they withered under the fearful fire and, abandoned by their support, fell back. Brigadier General Garnett, who had leaped the wall with his hat on his sword, died under a Union gun carriage. This ended the battle. Afterward there was only a retreat which might have been a rout, had the Union troops ■ pressed their advantage or had Lee been less prompt and skillful in rallying his men. The Confederates lost 30,000 out of a total approximating 75,000. Of Pickett’s division, which charged 4,500 strong, 3,393 were left on the field. Meade’s losses were 23,000 out of 82,000, but the Confederacy had attained Its greatest success and had seen that success wane Into hopeless failure.