by Rod Gragg
By this time the wounded were being brought to the rear and temporary field-hospitals were established in the vicinity of the Seminary. Here also were my caissons. As I joined the left guns again there came out of the McPherson woods in our front a double line of battle in gray, and not over a thousand yards distant. It was Archer’s brigade, and their battle-flags looked redder and bloodier in the strong July sun than I had ever seen them before ....7
“He Fell from His Horse Dead”
Federal Troops under General John Reynolds Rush into Gettysburg
Major General John F. Reynolds hurried his horse through the streets of Gettysburg, followed by his mounted staff officers. They were riding of toward the west side of town where heavy firing could be heard in the distance. Tall, slim, and dark-eyed, with a neatly trimmed beard and mustache, Reynolds rode like an expert horseman, having honed his skills while fighting Indians in the West. An 1841 graduate of West Point, he had been twice decorated for actions in the Mexican War and had served as commandant of cadets at West Point. Promoted to brigadier general at the beginning of the war, he had been a division commander in some of the war’s bloodiest fighting.
Major General John F. Reynolds turned down the opportunity to command the Federal Army of the Potomac on the eve of Gettysburg. In an irony of war, however, he found himself the senior officer on the field when the battle began.
Wikimedia Commons
The forty-two-year-old officer had recently turned down command of the Army of the Potomac, even though many—including General Meade—believed Reynolds was the most qualified officer to lead the army. He had no desire to take the command that had been unsuccessfully held by so many other officers, and now, in the irony of war, he performed the role of senior officer on the field at Gettysburg. As commander of the left wing of Meade’s army, Reynolds had been up since 4:00 a.m., leading the army’s First and Eleventh Corps toward Gettysburg. He knew the road well as he was a native of nearby Lancaster. He had moved forward at a comfortable pace—until a courier had brought a desperate-sounding dispatch from General Buford at Gettysburg, reporting his cavalry was being pressed by a large force of Confederate troops. Reynolds forwarded the news to General Meade in the rear, and hurried to Gettysburg.
There, he found Buford in the midst of a heated fight. “What’s the matter, John?” he asked. Realizing his outnumbered cavalrymen were about to be overwhelmed, Buford replied, “The Devil’s to pay.” With his typical competence, Reynolds took command, and as soon as his troops arrived he began deploying them on McPherson’s Ridge—just as Buford’s defensive line began to break. The infantry hurriedly took up positions in long lines on both sides of the Chambersburg Turnpike, and began unleashing volley fire into Heth’s Confederates as they slowly advanced up McPherson’s Ridge. Reynolds also introduced fresh artillery in order to reinforce Calef’s guns, and the battle increased in intensity.
“Forward men,” Reynolds shouted to the blue-uniformed troops, “forward for God’s sake and drive those fellows out of those woods.” Then the general suddenly toppled off his horse. He had been hit in the back of the head by Confederate volley fire or by a well-aimed sharpshooter’s round. It was a fatal wound: General John F. Reynolds was dead. The critical moment of his death would be recounted later by his orderly, Sergeant Charles Veil.
The Genl ordered our troops to advance near to the top of the ridge and lay down—as they advanced up the ridge the enemy advanced up the other side of the ridge, and both lines met near the top of the ridge. The action had now Commenced in real earnest. The Genl road along in rear of our line towards the woods on our left (Called I believe McPhersons, though I heard while in Gettysburg that they belonged to Mr. Herbst). As he rode along he saw the enemy advancing through the woods, facing the Cashtown Road.
Alfred R. Waud, a Harper’s Weekly war artist embedded with the Federal army, used eyewitness reports to sketch this image of General Reynolds at the moment he was shot from his horse.
Library of Congress
The Genl saw at a glance that something desperate must be done or our troops would be entirely flanked as there was a Reg’t comeing [sic] down, from the Seminary—(was but a short distance from the woods)—was the 19th Indiana—belonging to Brig on left of Cashtown Road—but had by some means got in rear) He ordered it to “Forward into line” at a double quick and ordered them to charge into the woods, leading the Charge in person; the Regiment Charged into the woods nobly, but the enemy was too strong, and they had to give way to the right. The enemy still pushed on, and was now not much more than 60 paces from where the Gen’l. was. Minnie Balls were flying thick.
Herbst Woods, a local woodlot, shades a portion of McPherson’s Ridge in this 1863 photograph. While deploying Federal troops, General Reynolds was shot and killed in the edge of these trees.
National Archives
The Genl. turned to look towards the Seminary, (I suppose to see if the other troops were comeing on,) as he did so, a Minnie Ball Struck him in the back of the neck, and he fell from his horse dead. He never spoke a word, or moved a muscle after he was struck. I have seen many men killed in action, but never saw a ball do its work so instantly as did the ball which struck General Reynolds, a man who knew not what fear or danger was, in a word, was one of our very best Generals. Where ever the fight raged the fiercest, there the General was sure to be found, his undaunted Courage always inspired the men with more energy & courage. He would never order a body of troops where he had not been himself, or where he did not dare to go. The last words the lamented General spoke were—“Forward men forward for God’s sake and drive those fellows out of those woods,” (meaning the enemy).
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“We Commenced to Carry Him out of the Woods”
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When the General fell the only persons who were with him was Capt’s Mitchell, & Baird, and myself. When he fell we sprang from our horses, the Gen’l. fell on his left side, I turned him on his back, glanced over him but could see no wound escept [sic] a bruise above his left eye. We were under the impression that he was only stunned, this was all done in a glance. I caught the Genl. under the arms, while each of the Capt’s. took hold of his legs, and we commenced to carry him out of the woods towards the Seminary. When we got outside of the woods the Capt’s. left me to carry the word to the next officers on Command, of his death. I in the meantime got some help from some of the orderlies who came up about this time, & we carried the body towards the Seminary, really not knowing where to take it to, as the enemy appeared to be comeing in on our right and left.
When we arrived at the Seminary I concluded to carry the body to the Emmitsburg Road & done so, Carrying it to Mr George’s house, (a small stone house). As we were laying him down, I first found the wound in the back of the neck. I then saw that the Genl was dead. I also almost forgot to tell you that in crossing the fields between the woods where he was killed & the Semy, he gasped a little and I thought was comeing to his senses. We stopped a moment & I gave him a drop of water from a canteen but he would not drink, it was his last struggle. I have often wondered why it was that the wound did not bleed. I think now that he must have bled inwardly. When we arrived at Mr. George’s house I sent for an ambulance and Mr. Rosengarten & myself went into town to try & get a coffin, but did not succeed. The only thing that we could get was a box from the marble cutters this was too short, so we knocked one end of it out & lay the body in this....8
“This Raised a Terrible Rebel Yell”
Archer’s and Davis’s Brigades Press the Federal Line
As General Reynolds’s body was carried to the rear, his troops were pouring fire into the Confederate forces advancing up McPherson’s Ridge on both sides of the Chambersburg Pike. General James J. Archer’s brigade moved forward on the right of the road, advancing through open fields and a stand of timber called Herbst Woods, while General Joseph R. Davis’s brigade fought its way up the ridge on open ground on the left side of the road. Facing them were Fi
rst Corps troops from the Army of the Potomac under Major General Abner Doubleday, who assumed command when Reynolds fell.
The troops were from Brigadier General James I. Wadsworth’s division, which was composed of two brigades: troops from Wisconsin, Indiana, and Michigan under Brigadier General Solomon Meredith, and New Yorkers, Pennsylvanians, and Indianans commanded by Brigadier General Lysander Cutler. Meredith’s Brigade battled Archer’s Alabama and Tennessee Confederates, while Cutler’s Brigade engaged Davis’s Mississippians and North Carolinians. On the Federal right, Cutler’s troops were taking a beating, but the Midwesterners defending the Federal left were largely veteran troops, and their reputation as tenacious fighters had earned them the nickname the “Iron Brigade.” They were also called the “Black Hat Brigade” because they wore the formal 1858 U.S. Army black dress hat.
War may have seemed far away when Major General Abner Doubleday and his wife, Mary Hewitt Doubleday, struck a pose in Matthew Brady’s Washington, D.C., studio—the general in his dress uniform and she in cloaked finery. In stark contrast, Doubleday inherited a field command on Gettysburg’s first day in the midst of smoke, fire, and death.
Library of Congress
They stubbornly resisted Archer’s troops as the Confederates ascended McPherson’s Ridge, and slowly began to drive them back down the ridge. Through the haze of battle smoke cloaking the ridge, Archer’s men could see the Iron Brigade’s black hats and realized the men were seasoned combat veterans and not mere militia. “There are those damned black hatted fellows again!” one shouted above the racket of battle. “T’aint no militia. It’s the Army of the Potomac!” Under the pressure of the Iron Brigade’s counterattack, the Confederate right collapsed, and Archer’s troops retreated back to Herr Ridge. General Archer was captured and sent to the Federal rear, where he encountered General Doubleday, who had been his classmate at West Point. “Good morning, Archer!” Doubleday cheerfully pronounced. “How are you? I’m glad to see you!” Glumly, Archer replied, “Well, I am not glad to see you by a damn sight.”
Private William H. Moon, a member of the color guard in the 13th Alabama Infantry, recalled that first morning at Gettysburg, as Archer’s Brigade advanced toward McPherson’s Ridge.
We had been in line of battle but a short time after our battery took position until the order was given: “Forward!” As we debouched into the open field, a Federal battery ... saluted us with a shower of shells. Our line of advance placed the 13th on a direct line between the Federal and Confederate batteries. The descent to Willoughby Run is a gradual slope with a dip about one hundred and fifty yards from the Run, so our battery could not engage the Federal guns until we had gone about a half mile down the slope. As soon as we were below the range of our guns, they fired a volley at the Federal battery, and I thought it the sweetest music I had ever heard as the balls went whizzing just above our heads.
Brigadier General James J. Archer was known as the “Little Gamecock” for his courage in combat—but at Gettysburg he became the first general from Lee’s army to be captured by the enemy.
Library of Congress
At the second volley from our battery, I saw one of the Federal guns topple and fall to the ground. This raised a terrible Rebel yell all along the line. I was color guard on the left of the color bearer, Tom Grant. He was a big, double-jointed six-footer, and, having that morning [partaken] freely of Pennsylvania rye or apple joice [sic], he was waving the flag and holloaing [sic] at the top of his voice, making a fine target while the shells were flying thick around us. I said: “Tom, if you don’t stop that I will use my bayonet on you.” Just them a fusillade of rifle balls from the Federals greeted us, and
Tom needed no further admonition from me.
We were now in easy range of the Federals across the Run, who were firing on us, but not advancing. We continued to advance, but in a walk, loading and firing as we went, until we reached a strip of low land along the Run. There we were protected from the fire of the enemy by an abrupt rise across the Run in our front. We halted to reform, reload, catch our breath, and cool off a little. It was but nine o’clock in the morning and hot, hotter, hottest!
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“We Were Pouring Volley after Volley as Fast as We Could Shoot”
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While we were engaged, the Ten- nesseans on our left advanced through a copse which ran up a ravine, spreading out into a fan shape as it neared the top of the ridge. They were hotly engaged at close quarters, the Yanks charging them in column, the Tennesseans lying on their backs to load and whirling over to fire. At this stage, Colonel George ... rode down the line to the right and requested General Archer or Colonel Akin—they were close together—to left wheel the 13th Alabama Regiment so as to cross fire on the Federals in front of the Tennesseans.
This move placed the right of our regiment on or near the crest of the ridge and about seventy-five yards from the blue coats, into whom we were pouring volley after volley as fast as we could shoot. We were rather enjoying the fray when the order was given to, “fall back to Willoughby Run....”9
Tough as the hickory logs he split as a youthful woodcutter, Brigadier General Solomon Meredith grew up in North Carolina, but at age nineteen reportedly walked all the way to Indiana to make his fortune. The Northern troops he commanded at Gettysburg had an equally formidable reputation: they were known as the “Iron Brigade.”
National Archives
“The Honors Were with the Boys in Blue”
The Army of the Potomac Wins the Opening Round
General Davis’s Mississippi and North Carolina troops appeared to be holding their own. While Archer’s brigade retreated from McPherson’s Ridge, Davis’s troops—advancing on the north side of the Chambersburg Turnpike—met the Federal troops of Cutler’s Brigade with well-timed volleys that staggered the blue line. Stunned, Cutler’s troops broke and fell back. The Southerners then surged forward in an attempt to turn the Federal right flank. As disaster unfolded on the Federal side, Lieutenant Colonel Rufus R. Dawes, commanding a Federal reserve force behind McPherson’s Ridge, received a frantic call to shore up the breaking line. Dawes commanded the Iron Brigade’s 6th Wisconsin Infantry as well as about one hundred other “Black Hat” troops, and he promptly led them into the fight.
The Black Hats reinforced Cutler’s Brigade, reversed the Federal retreat, and sent Davis’s Confederates reeling back down McPherson’s Ridge. Several hundred of them sought shelter in a nearby railroad cut—a gorge dug for an unfinished railroad on the north side of the Chambersburg Turnpike. There, they were quickly surrounded by Federal troops—trapped like sheep in a pen—and immediately threw down their weapons in surrender. In the Confederate rear, General Heth managed to stop the retreat and reform the survivors of his two battered brigades. He also dispatched a courier to his superior, General A. P. Hill, reporting the situation and requesting instructions. Despite General Lee’s orders to avoid a general engagement, Heth had not only opened a battle—he was also losing it.
Captain J. V. Pierce of the 147th New York Infantry, a regiment in Cutler’s Brigade, was engaged in the fighting with Davis’s Confederates, and later penned an account of the struggle.
Held in reserve in the early fighting on July 1, Lieutenant Colonel Rufus R. Dawes and his 6th Wisconsin Infantry were later rushed into battle—just in time to turn back a Confederate surge.
Library of Congress
I moved my men forward a few yards further to the crest of the ridge with the men of Company C, and discovered a line of Confederate skirmishers on our front, advancing from the valley up a slope towards a rail fence, firing as they advanced into Hall’s Battery, while the battery was fighting for dear life. A detachment of Confederates gathered in a fence corner, a short distance beyond the [railroad] cut. I immediately ordered, “Left oblique, fire.” Several rounds were fired into the skirmish lines; it became too hot for them, and I saw them return down the hill, with several of their number stretched on the hillside
. [Captain Daniel] Hall’s Battery had been fighting that skirmish line in a death grapple. “Artillery against skirmishers is like shooting mosquitoes with a rifle.” The Confederate skirmishers had the best of it up to the time the left of the One hundred and forty-seventh Regiment opened on them. The moment the battery was relieved from the force of the attack it began to limber to the rear, and as the Confederate skirmishers fell back, the battery disappeared in a cloud of dust on the Chambersburg Pike. While this was taking place on the left, the battle reopened on the right with redoubled fury, and the cry came down the line, “They are flanking us on the right....” I saw an officer ride down from Oak Hill in our rear, and wave his cap in retreat. To venture into this maelstrom between the railroad cut and that fence on the right was death.... Closer pressed the enemy. A regiment—the Fifty-fifth North Carolina—was pressing far to our right and rear, and came over to the south side of the rail fence. Their colors drooped to the front. An officer in front of the centre corrected the alignment as if passing in review. It was the finest exhibition of discipline and drill I ever saw....