by Rod Gragg
The firing then became less rapid, and the enemy soon retired, leaving a few sharpshooters to annoy our men. During the day and night occasional shots were exchanged, but on the morning of the 4th of July the battlefield was clear, save of the dead and the dying. The spectacle was hideous. The ground was strewn with the bodies of the dead, and a few from which life had not yet departed. The number of victims bore undisputable testimony to the cool and accurate firing of our men. Over two thousand stand of arms were collected from the field in front of our division.
A musket-bearing, bearded soldier of the 137th New York Infantry—name unknown—proudly displays a kepi bearing his regimental identification. Library of Congress
Of the number of prisoners taken it is difficult to form an estimate. On the left, where the ground was more open than on the right, whole brigades were captured at once while charging on our batteries; some of their best generals were killed, wounded and captured, and thousands of their men blown to pieces by the concentrated fire of our batteries. The official report will probably show the battle of Gettysburg to have been the most destructive to the rebels of any fought since the commencement of the war. Prisoners are constantly being brought in, and our cavalry are in close pursuit. The rebel army of invaders will not return to Richmond with one-half the number of men with which it started.
The behavior of the regiment under fire was creditable to officers and men. Though exposed to fire from three sides of their position, which killed and wounded nearly one-fourth of the whole number of men in the ranks, they refused to quit the trenches until ordered to do so, and then retuaned [sic] with an alacrity that proved them to be the best of soldiers. Col. Ireland and Lieut. Colonel Van Voorhis escaped unhurt, though both carry the marks of bullet-holes through their clothes. Capt. Williams, of Co. G, was killed in the trenches on the 3d of July. The whole number of killed and wounded in the Regiment is 120. A few are still missing, some of whom may be captured, but the majority will probably turn up safe. The aggregate loss in the regiment during the three days’ fighting, including the missing, is about 160, or more than one quarter of the whole number engaged. The wounded are doing well, and will probably all recover. They receive the best of attention, both from the Surgeons and the neighboring citizens. The character of the country in which the engagement took place has been heretofore rather copperish, but I think Gen. Lee has worked a reformation.
A youthful soldier of the 3rd North Carolina Infantry braves the photographer’s flash. On July 2, his regiment braved the flashing Federal rifles atop Culp’s Hill.
Library of Congress
The enemy are yet strong, and much fighting will take place before complete success is attained. The appointment of Gen. Meade to succeed Hooker, gives general satisfaction. The latter had become very unpopular in the army. We like action better than bombastic words. That this army will fight has been proved on the field of Gettysburg, and when properly led, they will fight as well elsewhere.
Yours Truly, ULYSSES.4
“Tell My Father I Died with My Face to the Enemy”
Early’s Division Launches a Furious Attack on Cemetery Hill
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“This Army Will Fight”
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As ordered by Ewell, General Jubal Early unleashed his attack on the eastern side of Cemetery Hill when he heard the gunfire signaling Johnson’s attack on Culp’s Hill. An irascible, profane, tobacco-spitting U.S. Army veteran, Early was a brilliant and bold commander—and he sent his troops against Cemetery Hill like a man on a mission. His division would have to do it alone: Rodes’s division somehow bogged down moving through Gettysburg’s streets, got into place too late, and stayed put in the darkness. Early’s division went forward anyway with Brigadier General Harry T. Hays’s brigade of Louisiana troops advancing on the Confederate right and Colonel Isaac E. Avery’s brigade of North Carolinians on the left. Hays had about 1,200 troops and Avery had about 900. Approximately 1,200 Federal troops from the Federal Eleventh Corps awaited them, defending Cemetery Hill in a series of lines ascending the hill’s eastern slopes. The Confederates had moved toward the hill under the cover of a ravine and—to the surprise of the opposing Federal troops—they suddenly rose up and moved forward in battle formation. The surprise was short-lived, however: they had to cross open fields to reach the hill, and enough daylight still remained for Federal forces to savage their ranks with artillery and small-arms fire.
A handsome, dark-haired, thirty-four-year-old North Carolinian—one of sixteen children—Colonel Isaac Erwin Avery commanded the North Carolina brigade because its original commander, Brigadier General Robert F. Hoke, had returned back home to recover from a wound inflicted at Chancellorsville. Hoke had lent Avery his handsome black horse, “Old Joe”—which Avery now rode into battle. Approaching Cemetery Hill on horseback at the head of his troops, Avery took a bullet in the neck and toppled off “Old Joe.” As he lay on the field, mortally wounded and paralyzed on his right side, the young officer managed to scrawl a message on a scrap of paper with his left hand: “Tell my father I died with my face to the enemy.”
Up the hill the North Carolinians charged, losing one color-bearer after another, but not stopping. They came to a stone wall manned by troops of the Eleventh Corps, who had fled their lines north of Gettysburg the day before. Now they fled again, stumbling uphill ahead of their pursuers. In their panic some ran into the fire of their own artillery and were cut down. With the Louisianans of Hays’s Brigade charging uphill on their right, the Tarheel soldiers pressed onward. Many made it to the crest, where the guns of Battery F of the 1st Pennsylvania Light Artillery under Captain R. Bruce Ricketts unleashed load after load of canister into their advancing ranks. They took their losses and pressed on, overwhelmed the artillery, killed or drove off the gun crews, and spiked the guns. With that, the dark hill suddenly fell quiet. “We had full possession of East Cemetery Hill, the key to Meade’s position,” Captain Neill W. Ray of the 6th North Carolina Infantry would recall, “and we held it for several minutes.”
Known as “Old Jubilee” to his troops, Major General Jubal A. Early could be irascible and annoying, but no one doubted his fighting ability.
Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University
For the North Carolinians who survived the charge, that brief time in the darkness on Cemetery Hill would always be the high tide of the Confederacy—the closest point to Southern victory and nationhood. But it was not to last; for a variety of peculiar reasons, the expected Confederate reserves failed to follow Avery’s troops up the hill. After only a few minutes of conquest, the North Carolinians came under assault by a brigade of Federal Second Corps soldiers commanded by Colonel Samuel S. Carroll, who had been hurried to Cemetery Hill by General Hancock. Pressed by the enemy reinforcements, the exhausted Tarheel troops retreated back down the hill in the moonlight.
Major James F. Beall of the 21st North Carolina made the charge up Cemetery Hill with Avery’s brigade. His account follows.
After lying all day under a July sun, suffering with intense heat, and continually annoyed by the enemy’s sharpshooters from the heights, from sheer desperation, we hailed with delight the order to again meet the veteran foe, regardless of his advantage in numbers and position. Really, the enemy’s artillery, reopening at the going down of the sun, fell like music upon our ears. At the time the assault was made, the enemy had massed heavily in our front, and placed batteries in the rear of his own lines, which were used with fearful effect against us, firing over the heads of his own men. The ground we had to pass over was ascending, but the troops advanced in double quick time, and with a cheer went over the rifle pits in advance of the enemy’s main line of works, killing and capturing a few of them—the greater part taking refuge behind the main line of breastworks. Here the fighting was desperate, but like an unbroken wave, our maddened column rushed on, facing a continual stream of fire. After charging almost to the enemy’s line, we were compelled to fall back,
but only a short distance. The column reformed and charged again, but failed to dislodge the enemy. The brigade held it’s ground with unyielding determination—ever keeping afloat our flag to battle and breeze.
Four out of five of the color-bearers who dared hold up that flag, went down to a heroic death. As often as the flag went down it was taken up and flaunted in the face of the enemy, holding an impregnable position. The hour was one of horror. Amid the incessant roar of cannon, the din of musketry, and the glare of bursting shells making the darkness intermittent—adding awfulness to the scene—the hoarse shouts of friend and foe, the piteous cries of wounded and dying, one could well imagine, (if it were proper to say it), that “war is hell.” Further effort being useless, we were ordered to fall back a short distance under cover. To remain was certain capture, to retreat was almost certain death. Few, except the wounded and dead, were left behind. Here, these brave North Carolinians “stood, few and faint, but fearless still.” The enemy did not follow or show any disposition to leave their defenses....
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“Four out of Five of the Color- Bearers ... Went Down”
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Our loss in officers and men was great. All the field officers of the Twenty-First were killed and wounded except Colonel W. W. Kirkland, who was after this fight, promoted to Brigadier-General. Here the lamented Colonel Isaac E. Avery, commanding the brigade, laid down his noble life on the altar of his country’s freedom. Lieutenant-Colonel Rankin was badly wounded and left in the hands of the enemy, where he remained a prisoner throughout the war.... The ground was strewn with dead and wounded. Man after man went down, among them Major Alexander Miller, who picked up the flag after the first color-bearer fell. He soon shared the fate of the former. It was soon taken up J. W. Bennett, Company F, who was, also, in quick succession, shot down. The colors were then taken by the writer and very soon after this, we fell back into the works, which we had just passed over a few paces and continued such a terrific fire upon the enemy, that their rifle was completely silenced, the enemy crouching behind their works.
Newspaper artist Edwin Forbes sketched Cemetery Hill—the site of Gettysburg’s Evergreen Cemetery—as it appeared on July 2. General Howard set up Eleventh Corps headquarters in the cemetery gatehouse.
Library of Congress
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“The Ground Was Strewn with Dead and Wounded”
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About this time Corporal Eli Wiley, Company M, asked permission to take the flag, saying he did not see it when it fell. It was given to him and after the writer had gone a few paces along the line, orders were given to retire at once, which was accomplished under a severe fusillade. We had retreated about twenty-five yards when I saw the flag for the last time. Corporal Wiley was killed, and left, together with the flag, in the lines of the enemy. In the darkness and confusion the flag was not missed until we had rallied under cover about the distance of two hundred yards. The enemy did not follow, or show any disposition to do so, as stated above. Soon all firing ceased. . . .5
“Right Foot, Amputated”
A Grim Record of the Cost of War
“The fire was terrific, but our men moved forward quickly,” Captain Neill W. Ray of the 6th North Carolina would recall of the night assault on Cemetery Hill. While his regiment helped overrun the Federal artillery on Cemetery Hill, and temporarily planted the 6th’s battle flag there, it did so at a high price. Of the 473 troops the regiment took to Gettysburg, 174 were killed, wounded, or missing—and more than half of those casualties occurred at Cemetery Hill. After the battle, the regiment’s adjutant meticulously penned a report of the 6th’s dead, wounded, and missing—which he entitled “List of Casualties in the 6th N.C. Reg’t in the Battles around Gettysburg, Pa.” In it, along with listing the dead and wounded, he carefully detailed the types of injuries suffered by the wounded.
List of Casualties in the 6th N.C. Reg’t in the Battles around Gettysburg, Pa., on the 2nd July, 1863.
Field & Staff
Col. I. E. Avery, Cmdg brigade Wounded in neck —died July 3, 1863
Co. “A”
Wounded—
Sergt J. M. Curtis Hip, severe
Privates—
J. F. Fleming Arm, slight
J. L. Rich Shoulder, slight
Chas. W. Burrows Thigh, slight
Jos. Alston Head, Slight
J. Chambers Hand, Slight
Missing—Privates Thomas Keenan, H. Dempsey
Co. “B”
Wounded—
Privates—
A. E. Sauls Foot, severe
A. Magnum Slightly
C. P. Couch Head, severe
N. Duke Head, severe
Missing—Lt. E. A. Speed, Sergt. H. Tilly, Corpl. J. C. Allison, Pvt J. M. McGrath
Co. “C”
Killed—
Lt. A. J. Cheek
Private. W. B. Rhodes
Wounded Civil War soldiers pass time in the shade of a tree. At Gettysburg, the wounded would number more than 20,000 by the time the fighting ended.
Library of Congress
Wounded—
Sergt. M. Wilkerson Thigh, severe
Privates—
T. Redmond Arm, severe
W. Browning Thigh, slight
W. McDaniel Arm, slight
A. Nichols Right foot, amputated
J. Rossin Shoulder & neck, very severe
W. P. Hailey Hand, slight
Missing—Privates J. S. Leigh, S.G. Proctor, Jas Husky
Co. “D”
Wounded—
Corpl. T. L. Seabot Leg, slight
Privates—
D. Mull Side, severe
L. S. Bost Side, very severe
A. W. Bunch Head, severe
Wm. Poteet Shoulder, severe
M. L. Snipes Slightly
M. S. Speagle Shoulder, slight
Missing—Privates J. Pratt, P. Hatchett
Co. “E”
Killed—
Sergt P. B. Collins
Wounded—
Lt. L. P. Barns Groin, slight
Privates.
J. S. Freeman Mortally, since died
J. A. Smallwood Arm, amputated
Left armless by battle, an unidentified Civil War amputee faces the photographer—and an uncertain future. Due to medical limitations of the day, few amputees survived the infection that often followed surgery.
Library of Congress
W. Matthews Foot, severely
S. Wright Knee, slight
Saml Yough Thigh, slight
S. C. Vance Arm, severe
Missing—Sergt N. S. Brunch, Privates R. P. Howell, Louis Rose
Co. “F”
Killed—
Pvt. Thos J. Pettigrew
Wounded—
Sergts—
J. H. Thompson Foot, severely
J. M. Durham Arm, severe
Privates—
J. S. Albright Head, severely
J. K. Fowler Foot, severely
G. W. Moore Abdomen, mortally, died July 4th 1863
D. M. Sharp Thigh, severe
S. S. Thompson Arm, severe
J. B. Thompson Both legs, severely
Co. “G”
Wounded—
Sergt. H. S. Brown Head, slightly
Privates—
A. J. Gullet Side & hip, severe
J. W. Russell Leg, severely
L. A. Fessperman Arm, slight
W. F. Shein Shoulder, severe
M. M. Miller Thigh, slight
Co. “H”
Killed—
Pvt. Thomas Miles
Wounded—
Corpl A. J. Thompson Thigh, severe
Privates—
R. T. Vaughn Thigh, severe
W. F. Wells Hand, slight
Missing—Private. M. Miles
Co. “I”
Killed—
Corpl. J. C. Castlebury
Pvt. J. M. Williams
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Wounded—
W. B. Allen Foot, very slight
Corpl. G. S. Beavers Leg, severe
J. H. Upchurch Breast, slight
Privates—
A. Johnson Breast, slight
E. Hurndon Leg & foot, severe
Wm. Lourance Thigh, severe
W. J. Castlebury Groin, slight
Missing—W. D. Horton, L. Holden, L. Lutes, T. Parish
CO. “K”
Wounded—
Coprl. J. T. Vincent Shoulder, severe
Privates—
J. Bartow Arm, slight
J. M. Murray Neck, severe
E. Jones Slight
Missing—E. M. Allen, L. Allison6
“I Captured Several Pieces of Artillery”
The “Louisiana Tigers” Break the Federal Line on Cemetery Hill
Advancing on the right of Avery’s North Carolinians, the brigade of Louisiana troops led by Brigadier General Harry T. Hays hit Cemetery Hill like a human tidal wave, sweeping up the northeast slope and panicking the Federal Eleventh Corps troops at its base. Hays’s troops were known as the “Louisiana Tigers”—a name originally given to a zouave regiment of tough New Orleans dock workers raised by Major C. R. Wheat. Hays’s regiments had inherited the Tiger name and lived up to its reputation as ferocious fighters. At Second Bull Run the summer before, when the brigade ran out of ammunition the Tigers had turned back a Federal charge by throwing rocks. Now—with General Hays screaming “Forward!” above the roar of battle—they stormed East Cemetery Hill. Farther up its slopes, they bounded over a stone wall as troops of the Federal Eleventh Corps hid in the bottom of their entrenchments.