AmericanCivilWar.com Original Work - Prelude to Gettysburg:  General JEB Staurt's Ride around General Hooker June 1863


Kindle Available
Flames Beyond Gettysburg
Flames Beyond Gettysburg

The Gettysburg Campaign has been examined in minute detail from nearly every aspect but the key role played by Richard Ewell's Second Corps during the final days in June.

Book Review

American Civil War Battle
Gettysburg Pennsylvania
July 1-3 1863



In July of 1863, General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia of 75,000 men and the 97,000 man Union Army of the Potomac, under George G. Meade, concentrated together at Gettysburg and fought the Battle of Gettysburg.

Of the more than 2,000 land engagements of the Civil War, Gettysburg ranks supreme. Although the Battle of Gettysburg did not end the war, it was the great battle of the war, marking the point when the ultimate victory of the North over the South became clear to both sides alike.

Here at Gettysburg, on July 1, 2, and 3, 1863, more men fought and died than in any other battle in American history.

Kindle AvailableMaps of Gettysburg
The Maps of Gettysburg:
The Gettysburg Campaign
June 3 - July 13, 1863

The Maps of Gettysburg plows new ground in the study of the campaign by breaking down the entire campaign in 140 detailed original maps.


Gettysburg Book Titles

 

In taking his army north from the Rappahannock, General Lee's objective was to induce the Union Army to disperse across a broad front along the Mason-Dixon line, and then, by maneuver, draw it to a point far from its base of supply where it could be attacked and beaten in detail. In the execution of this operation, the three corps of the Rebel army marched from the vicinity of Culpeper Courthouse into the Shenandoah Valley and across the Potomac at Williamsport and Sheperdstown. Once in the Cumberland Valley, Ewell's corps, leading the invasion, marched to Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. There, CSA General Jubal Early's division turned east and, passing through the South Mountain at the Cashtown Gap, marched past Gettysburg to York while General Ewell, with Rodes's and Johnson's divisions, marched to Carlisle, sending one brigade forward to the Susquehanna in front of Harrisburg. Confederate General A.P. Hill's corps, and General Longstreet's, followed Ewell as far as Chambersburg, arriving there, on June 27, and went into camp.

On June 25, when it became clear to its commander, General Joseph Hooker US, that the enemy was crossing the Potomac west of the Blue Ridge, the Union army, scattered about the Manassas plain, marched to Leesburg and crossed the river at Edward's Ferry, moving west to Frederick, Maryland, and into the Middletown Valley to block the anticipated movement of the enemy east through Turner's Gap. Two days later, realizing from reports received that the enemy had reached the Susquehanna River at two points—Harrisburg and Wrightsville—Hooker demanded that President Lincoln give him command of additional forces in order to move north toward the enemy. When Lincoln refused Hooker abruptly resigned and George G. Meade stepped into his place. Meade immediately ordered the army to march, in six columns, northeastward toward the line of Pipe Creek, the 1st, 3rd and 11th corps taking position between Emittsburg and Taneytown, the 2nd, 5th, and 6th corps taking position between Taneytown and Manchester.

In the night of June 30, Meade received word from Washington that the enemy forces on the Susquehanna had fallen back and seemed to moving in three directions toward Gettysburg. Meade ordered his army to prepare for a defensive battle behind Pipe Creek and sent John Reynolds, commander of the 1st Corps, supported by the 11th and 3rd Corps, to move toward Gettysburg; with the mission of retarding the anticipated movement of the enemy toward Pipe Creek, if possible, and then fall back. Because Reynolds did not encounter any infantry force approaching, he marched on to Gettysburg and hurriedly formed his corps into a battle line just west of the town, and soon was engaged with A.P. Hill's corps, marching out from the Cashtown Gap


PCN Tours Gettysburg Battlewalks: General Meade After Pickett's Charge
Did Meade want to fight at Gettysburg? Did Meade want to retreat on the evening of July 2nd? Why didn't Meade counter-assault the Army of Northern Virginia after the Pickett-Pettigrew-Trimble charge? National Park Service addresses these questions DVD

July 1  -  Day 1

Gettysburg-July 1, 1863 The Confederate 1st Corps and General A.P. Hill's corps grappled along McPherson's Ridge for several hours. Early in the struggle, Reynolds was killed by a sniper's bullet to the brain, and O.O. Howard, commander of the 11th Corps, assumed command. At the time the 11th Corps arrived, two of Ewell's divisions—Rodes and Early—appeared on the right flank of the Union line and attacked. This forced Howard to form a battle line perpendicular to the fighting front of the 1st Corps. The combined rebel pressure against the hinge connecting the two Union lines resulted in Union resistance collapsing and a general retreat commenced, the Union forces running pell-mell through the streets of Gettysburg and up to the heights of Cemetery Hill. The rebel forces under Hill and Ewell pursued, but, worn out and disorganized by the battle, and without fresh forces immediately at hand, the pursuit petered out on the bottom slopes of the hill as night fell.

Learning of Reynolds's death late in the afternoon, Meade had sent Winfield Hancock, commander of the 2nd Corps, to Gettysburg, to take command from Howard. By early evening, receiving a dispatch from Hancock, reporting the condition of things, Meade decided to move the entire army up. Meade arrived on the field about midnight, followed by the arrival of the 5th Corps, the 2nd Corps, and the next day the 6th Corps.



Original Work:   The First Day at Gettysburg July 1, 1863

General JEB Stuart's Ride Around General Hooker: June 1863


How did Edward Johnson’s division of Ewell’s corps manage to get to Gettysburg eight hours late in the first place? In other words, what route was he ordered to take and by whom?
Original Work Comments



Gettysburg-July 2, 1863

July 2  -  Day 2

On July 2, both armies spent most of the daylight getting set for action: Meade's army digging in along Cemetery Ridge which stretched two miles from Cemetery Hill to the Round tops, and Lee's army maneuvering into attacking position. Around 4 o'clock in the afternoon, Longstreet's corps—Hood's, McLaws, and R.H. Anderson's division detached from Hill's corps, attacked Sickles's 3rd Corps at the Peach Orchard and crushed it, driving the survivors through the Wheat Field and Devil's Den.

While Longstreet's attack was in progress, Richard Ewell's corps launched an effort to route the Union forces holding Cemetery Hill, but his men found the steep hill difficult to climb, the Union fire power too strong, and, though their front reached the cemetery gate, they were forced to back down.

At the climax of Longstreet's battle against Meade's left, Barksdale's Mississippi Brigade charged into a widening breach in the Union line, at a cleft in the ridge, and was almost into the Union rear when McGilvery's artillery battery galloped up, unlimbered, and annihilated the brigade with canister blasts. Meade's old Pennsylvania Reserve division arrived shortly after and charged into Plum Run Valley, throwing Longstreet's men back to the Emmitsburg Road.

Original Work Gettysburg Day Two


Selected Letters of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, 1865-1914

Known as the hero of Little Round Top and the commanding officer who accepted the Confederates' surrender at Appomattox.


Gettysburg-July 3, 1863

July 3  -  Day 3

As the day before, the morning of the 3rd passed quietly, with both armies positioned on ridges about a mile apart. The silence was broken around 1:00 p.m., when the rebel artillery, a hundred guns massed hub to hub, exploded with a thunderous cannonade that lasted until 2 o'clock. The cannonade threw most of its shells over the Union line, the shells falling among the parks of Union trains in rear of Cemetery Ridge.

When the cannonade was over, a mass of 15,000 shaggy men in brown homespun moved out from the rebel position and began walking toward Cemetery Ridge, across the Emittsburg Road, past the carnage of the day before, and up the slight incline that leads to the Clump of Trees. As they walked, great gaps were torn in their line by Union artillery, quickly closed by men from a second line stepping up. At 600 yards out from the Clump of Trees, the rebel line shook and swayed, like wheat in gusts of wind, as the Union defenders let loose volley after volley of rifle fire. Then the two sides came together: patches of rebels, led by those of the 26th North Carolina Regiment, overran the stone wall at the Clump of Trees and grappled with the Union cannoneers manning the guns behind, killing them, turning the pieces, and working them—until reinforcements swarmed them from the Union rear and drove them back from the guns and over the wall.

The great gray tide swept back in trickles now across the field, the soldiers turning their backs from the fire as against the wind and walking. As they walked, they found General Lee astride Traveller waiting by the Emmitsburg Road. "Steady men, steady," some of them heard him shout. "We need good men just now, it's not your fault." In fifty minutes of almost hand-to-hand combat at the bloody stone wall, ten thousand men had been killed or wounded. The glory of Pickett's Charge was now history.

Kindle Available
Picketts Charge
Pickett's Charge--The Last Attack at Gettysburg

Pickett's July 3, 1863 charge up Cemetery Ridge is the climactic event of the Battle of Gettysburg and a defining moment of the Civil War


Original
Battlewalk Video Gettysburg Second Day
 

July 4, 1863

The next day, as he had done with McClellan at Antietam, General Lee—his officers protesting sharply—held his army in line of battle inviting Meade to attack him. Meade rode up and down his lines, counting his casualities, his ammunition, conferring with the colonels, and decided the prudent thing to do was stand on the defensive.

General Lee waited patiently, until near the twilight of the day when he was suddenly heard to clap his hands and exclaim: "It's too bad, too, too bad!" And then he quietly gave the order to withdraw, and soon his army was marching south, along the east face of the South Mountain, its trains already long gone into the Cumberland Valley heading for Williamsport. At the Monterey Gap, he passed his army through the South Mountain and took up a position in a bend of the Potomac, at Falling Waters, where he remained for three days facing Meade, waiting for the swollen river to fall. Here, Meade decided to stand on the defensive again and Lee finally crossed his army over the river.

 


July 3  3:00 PM
3:30 PM

Click to enlarge
3:45 PM
picketts Charge gettysburg PA civil war
Final Charge of the Union Forces at Cemetery Hill, 1863Fine-Art Print
24" x 18"

With the failure of Pickett's Charge, the battle was over - the Union was saved. Lee's retreat began on the afternoon of July 4. Behind him, this small town of only 2,400 was left with a total (from both sides) of over 51,000 casualties. Over 172,000 men and 634 cannon had been positioned in an area encompassing 25 square miles. Additionally, an estimated 569 tons of ammunition was expended and, when the battle had ended, 5,000 dead horses and the other wreckage of war presented a scene of terrible devastation.

The Confederate army that staggered back from the fight at Gettysburg was physically and spiritually exhausted. Lee would never again attempt an offensive operation of such proportions. Meade, though he was criticized for not immediately pursuing Lee's army, had carried the day in the battle that has become known as the High Water Mark of the Confederacy.

The war was to rage for two more terrible and tormenting years but the Confederacy never recovered from the losses of Gettysburg. And through the deepening twilight of Confederate military might, all who had been to Gettysburg would remember.


PCN Tours Gettysburg Battlewalks: Pickett's Charge - Pettigrew's Perspective
The legendary exploits of the Union and Confederate armies come to life with these informative tours of Gettysburg National Park

Large Area Map
The cemetery after the Battle
Gettysburg Campaign Map

Gettysburg Battle map

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania Headquarters of General George G. Meade on Cemetery Ridge
Gettysburg Headquarters General Meade

Unfinished Confederate grave near the center of battle-field of Gettysburg. [Stereograph]
Click to enlarge Picture
Confederate Soldier Grave Gettysburg Pennsylvania


Kindle Available

Meade: Victor At Gettysburg

Meade took command only hours before his forces stumbled upon Robert E. Lee's Confederates at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, in 1863. He led his men to victory in one of the most famous battles in history, but Meade was soon embroiled in political battles with fellow generals and Washington politicians






In the Hands of Providence: Joshua L. Chamberlain and the American Civil War

The professor-turned-soldier who led the Twentieth Maine Regiment to glory at Gettysburg, earned a battlefield promotion to brigadier general from Ulysses S. Grant at Petersburg, and was wounded six times during the course of the Civil War






Custer Victorious: The Civil War Battles of General George Armstrong Custer

Custer was promoted to major general and the helm of the Third Cavalry Division when he was only twenty-four. Urwin describes the Boy General's vital contributions to Union victories from Gettysburg to Appomattox.


Harvest of Death, Gettysburg, 1863
The Harvest of Death,
Gettysburg, 1863 Fine-Art
Print 24" x 18"













Rebel Artillery Moves To The Front at Gettysburg


Gettysburg Battlefield Encampment





Joe Ryan's Battlewalks: Approaches to Gettysburg
1 hour on site original lecture


Battlewalk Video Gettysburg Second Day
JoeRyanCivilWar @ YouTube.com

Gettysburg Day by Day Summary
Gettysburg Address
Kids Zone Gettysburg
Pennsylvania Battle Map
Civil War Exhibits
Civil War Maps
General Robert E. Lee
General Ulysses S. Grant
Confederate President Jefferson Davis
Ships and Naval Battles
Civil War Revolver Pistol
Civil War Model 1851 Naval Pistol
Engraved Silver Tone / Gold Tone Finish and Wooden Grips - Replica of Revolver Used by Both USA / Union and CSA / Confederate Forces


Reenactors Row Supplies
Confederate Collectibles
Top Book Titles

Kindle Available
Gettysburg Hallowed Ground

Hallowed Ground: A Walk at Gettysburg
The events that occurred at Gettysburg are etched into our collective memory, as they served to change the course of the Civil War and with it the course of history. More than any other place in the United States, Gettysburg is indeed hallowed ground. It's no surprise that it is one of the nation's most visited sites (nearly two million annual visitors), attracting tourists, military buffs, and students of American history.
Kindle Available
General Sickles at Gettysburg

Sickles at Gettysburg: The Controversial Civil War General Who Committed Murder, Abandoned Little Round Top, and Declared Himself the Hero of Gettysburg
No individual who fought at Gettysburg was more controversial, both personally and professionally, than Major General Daniel E. Sickles. By 1863, Sickles was notorious as a disgraced former Congressman who murdered his wife's lover on the streets of Washington and used America's first temporary insanity defense to escape justice
Kindle Available
Louisiana Tiger at Gettysburg

The Louisiana Tigers in the Gettysburg Campaign, June-July 1863
A sweeping history of the Louisiana Tigers; their predecessors, Wheat's Tigers; the organizational structure and leadership of the brigade in 1863; and the personnel that made up its ranks. Covering the Tigers' movements and battle actions in depth
Gettysburg Sea of Misery
A Vast Sea of Misery: A History and Guide to the Union and Confederate Field Hospitals at Gettysburg, July 1-November 20, 1863
Virtually everything you would want to know about post-battle medical care for Union and Confederate soldiers at Gettysburg can be found in this thorough and highly detailed book. Both Civil War and Medical historians will find this book to be very appealing. It is well-illustrated and full of first-hand accounts of the locations

Brigades of Gettysburg: The Union and Confederate Brigades at the Battle of Gettysburg
Brigades of Gettysburg fills this void by presenting a complete account of every brigade unit at Gettysburg and providing a fresh perspective of the battle.Using the words of enlisted men and officers, the author-well-known Civil War historian Bradley Gottfried-weaves a fascinating narrative of the role played by every brigade at the famous three-day battle

George Gordon Meade
and the War in the East

To most students of the Civil War, he is merely the man who was lucky enough to benefit from Confederate mistakes at Gettysburg, but whose shortcomings as a commander compelled Abraham Lincoln to bring in Ulysses S. Grant from the West to achieve victory
Kindle Available

Those Damned Black Hats! The Iron Brigade in the Gettysburg Campaign
Memorable Battles at South Mountain, Antietam, Chancellorsville, Mine Run, the Overland Campaign, and the grueling fighting around Petersburg. None of these battles compared with the "four long hours" of July 1, 1863, at Gettysburg, where the Iron Brigade was all but wrecked.
Kindle Available

The Gettysburg Gospel:
The Lincoln Speech That Nobody Knows

Reconstructs what really happened in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on November 19, 1863.


Horses of Gettysburg
Civil War Minutes

Filmed in high definition with charging horses, battlefield panoramas and no "talking heads," this cinematic documentary tells the story of the estimated 72,000 horses and mules that fought at the Battle of Gettysburg and uncovers the strategies employed to ensure that the millions of animals in service with the North and South remained healthy and well-trained for action.

Gettysburg and Stories of Valor - Civil War Minutes III DVD Box Set

This 3-hour documentary captures the scenic beauty of the Gettysburg battlefield, examines rare Civil War artifacts and tells the personal stories of the men who fought in the war.

Gettysburg / Gods and Generals
The tide of the war changes during three fierce days of combat at Gettysburg [Disc 1] the gripping saga of the tactics command errors and sacrifices behind the bloodiest battle ever fought on U.S. soil. Gods and Generals [Disc 2] reveals the spirited allegiances and fierce combat of earlier Civil War struggles

Civil War Journal
West Point Classmates - Civil War Enemies

Beyond the pages of history and into the personal stories behind the Great Conflict

PCN Tours Gettysburg Battlewalks:
Lee's Retreat Through Monterey Pass

PCN Gettysburg Battlewalks:
The First Shots

PCN Tours Gettysburg Battlewalks:
The Valley of Death


PCN Tours Gettysburg Battlewalks:
Armistead's Brigade

PCN Tours Gettysburg Battlewalks:
Culp's Hill

PCN Tours Gettysburg Battlewalks:
The Codori Farm

PCN Tours Gettysburg Battlewalks:
Awe-Inspiring Confusion at Devil's Den


PCN Tours Gettysburg Battlewalks:
Maj. General Pender on Seminary Ridge


PCN Tours Gettysburg Battlewalks:
Spangler's Spring

PCN Tours Gettysburg Battlewalks:
Power's Hill

PCN Tours Gettysburg Battlewalks:
Henry Hunt at Cemetery Ridge

PCN Tours Gettysburg Battlewalks:
The Wounded and the Dead

PCN Tours Gettysburg Battlewalks:
Bucktail Brigade

PCN Tours Gettysburg Battlewalks:
Herbst Woods


PCN Tours Gettysburg Battlewalks:
The Wiekert, Trostle, and Klingle Farms

PCN Tours Gettysburg Battlewalks:
The 13th Vermont Infantry

The Civil War - A Film by Ken Burns
Here is the saga of celebrated generals and ordinary soldiers, a heroic and transcendent president and a country that had to divide itself in two in order to become one

PCN Tours Gettysburg Battlewalks: Pickett's Charge - Pettigrew's Perspective
The legendary exploits of the Union and Confederate armies come to life with these informative tours of Gettysburg National Park

PCN Tours Gettysburg Battlewalks: General Meade After Pickett's Charge
Did Meade want to fight at Gettysburg? Did Meade want to retreat on the evening of July 2nd? Why didn't Meade counter-assault the Army of Northern Virginia after the Pickett-Pettigrew-Trimble charge? National Park Service addresses these questions

History Channel Presents The Civil War
From Harper's Ferry, Fort Sumter, and First Bull Run to Shiloh, Antietam, and Gettysburg. The most legendary Civil War battles in brilliant detail. A selection of the soldiers and legendary leaders.



Sources:
Joe Ryan
Library of Congress
Federal Citizen


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