Gettysburg - The First Day

The Battle of Gettysburg has been greatly mythologized, almost from the very moment the guns stopped firing, and is one of the most written about events in American history.  It is one of my favorite battles (if is actually permissible to have a favorite one), both for the events themselves (operatic to the extreme) and for the endless "what if?" questions it created.  All three days of fighting (which combined together to make the Battle of Gettysburg the bloodiest battle in United States history) deserve special consideration and discussion.  So let us begin with the First Day:  Buford's heroic defense.

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The responsibility for the results of the ENTIRE Battle of Gettysburg really lies with one man:  Brig. General John Buford.  It was his actions that placed the battle in and around the little town of Gettysburg, PA, decided the battle lines and ultimately determined the eventual outcome.  Not too shabby for only a cavalry commander who found himself facing down the entire Confederate Army, but he was a man who understood topography and knew how to use it to the Union's advantage. 

30 June 1863 --- General Buford's cavalry, marching ahead of the Union Army of the Potomac, arrived in the town of Gettysburg, PA, where they were observed by Confederate troops under General Pettigrew (under division commander Maj. General Henry Heth).  Buford saw that both Union and Confederate were converging on this point, with the latter likely to arrive first, thereby having first shot at occupying the high ground of:  Culp's Hill, Cemetery Ridge, Cemetery Hill and Big and Little Round Top.  This would force the Federal troops to attack the Confederates, who would also be well-entrenched by that time, by attacking across an open field, before then scaling the hills and rocky outcroppings in order to claim victory.  It would be the slaughter of Fredericksburg all over again.  It was clear to Buford that he must delay the Confederates till General Reynolds could arrive with the I, III and XI corps of infantry to occupy and defend this vital high ground. 

Determined to delay the enemy and deprive the Confederates of the high ground, General Buford made the decision to dismount his cavalry troops and give any Confederates that dared show their faces in Gettysburg the surprise of their lives.  Then he sent word on to Reynolds to hurry his forces up and waited anxiously for what the morning would bring.

01 July 1863 --- The day dawned as Maj. General Henry Heth's division, part of Lt. General A. P. Hill's Third Corps, moved his forces against what he believed to be a handful of Pennsylvania militia, which he expected to easily disperse and then move into and occupy the town of Gettysburg itself.  However, unbeknownst to the esteemed general, he was instead facing regular army cavalry well prepared for his advance.  In addition, Heth was also in violation of General Robert E. Lee's orders to "avoid a general engagements". 

General Buford, for his part, chose appropriate terrain for his delaying action, deciding to align his troops on three ridges west of Gettysburg:  Herr Ridge, McPherson Ridge and Seminary Ridge.  This ground was perfect for his small division in their fight against the numerically superior Confederates.  In addition, many of Buford's men were armed with breech-loading carbines.  These weapons helped even the odds for the Federals in two important ways.  First, though still single shot weapons, they were still able to fire two or three times faster than an average muzzle-loaded weapon.  Also, the new breech-loading design meant that the Union troops could do their reloading behind cover in safety, unlike the Confederates who still had to reload while standing, which made them excellent targets.  Buford's men were going to need all the help they could get, because his 2,748 troops were soon to engage 7,600 Confederate infantry. 

Heth led with his artillery, followed by two infantry brigades, and first encountered resistance at 0730.  The dismounted cavalry there made excellent use of cover and their breech-loading carbines to defend their position, giving ground only reluctantly, until the Confederates had pushed them back all the way east to McPherson Ridge.  Around this time (1020) the vanguard of the I Corps finally arrived, led personally by General Reynolds.  He conferred briefly with Buford concerning his position and then  went to hurry the rest of the corps up to support his cavalry. 

By 1045 the fighting intensified and became more of an infantry fight, with the morning fighting occurring mostly along either side of the Chambersburg Pike and chiefly on McPherson Ridge.  It was during this early fighting that General Reynolds was shot dead.  While riding in Herbst Woods, the general was recorded as shouting "Forward men!  Forward for God's sake and drive those fellows out of the woods"and then falling from his horse.  A bullet, striking him behind the ear, killed Reynolds instantly.  Though legend (and more than a few romantic historians believe) that a sharpshooter was responsible for the shot, a more likely scenario would be that it was a random shot part of the volley of fire that was directed at the 2nd Wisconsin (which were exchanging fire with the Confederates at this time).  Reynolds was carried from the field and Major General Abner Doubleday (who did not invent baseball) assumed command of the I Corps. 

At around 1100, Lt. Colonel Rufus Dawes, who's great-grandfather had ridden with Paul Revere on his "Midnight Ride", commander of the 6th Wisconsin went into action against the Confederates who were attacking a, by now disorganized brigade of Union troops.  Combined with other brigades of the famous "Iron Brigade", this collection of Federals together forced the Confederates into a deep railroad cut.  Though too deep to be a truly effective firing platform, the combined brigades paid a heavy price in order to capture the cut. 

There would be a short in the fighting in the late-morning and early afternoon, while both Union and Confederates saw the arrival of more reinforcements.  With afternoon, came renewed attacks by the Confederates on the Chambersburg Pike, as well as attacks north of Gettysburg.  During the former attacks, some of the fiercest fighting of the war drove the Iron Brigade back, eventually pushing them all the way back to the Lutheran Theological Seminary.  Casualties were high on both sides.  The 24th Michigan lost 399 of 496 and even had 9 color bearers shot down.  However, it was General Heth's wound, a blow to the head, knocking him unconscious, that was to have unfortunate consequences for the Confederates, as Heth's subordinate, did not support the struggling assault. 

The attacks to the north of Gettysburg were a disaster for the Union, as they saw the Federal troops attacked, routed and forced to conduct a disorderly retreat to the south, leaving a large number of men as prisoners, including Brig. General Barlow as an injured one. 

The nail in the Union coffin for 01 July 1863 was the renewed Confederate attack, leading to an eventual Confederate breakthrough of the Union lines at Oak Ridge.  There were attacks all along the Federal lines, with heavy slaughter on both sides.  The 900 out of 1,400 North Carolinian troops which were completely annihilated in one of the most ferocious artillery barrages of the war, a foreshadowing of Pickett's Charge, was one of the worst incidents for the Confederates.  While for the Union, the 16th Maine got it the worst when ordered to hold their position at all cost while serving as a rear guard against Confederate pursuit during the the Union retreat, they lost 263 out of 298 soldiers. 

In the end, the Confederates successfully pushed the Federals all the way from Seminary Ridge to Cemetery Ridge.  It was a successful day, but one more good push could have "possibly" won the high ground for the Confederates.  However, the man charged with determining whether to take this action or not was General Ewell and he chose "not" to.  General Lee's orders to Ewell had been to "carry the hill occupied by the enemy, if he found it practicable, but to avoid a general engagement until the arrival of the other divisions of the army".  Although this historian is sure that Ewell had a few valid reasons for choosing not to obey this order, fatigue of his men, the difficulty in assaulting the hill through the narrow streets of Gettysburg, the fact remains that by NOT attacking Culp's Hill and Cemetery Ridge he left the Federals in possession of the best terrain....high-ground as strong as that held by the Confederates at the Battle of Fredericksburg. 

As night fell over the town and battlefields of Gettysburg, the Union forces, superbly led by Major General Winfield Scott Hancock fortified their hard-won high-ground as more and more of the Army of Potomac congregated on Cemetery Ridge.  The Confederates meanwhile, rested their troops and worked hard to bring-up those divisions that had not been engaged in the fighting.  Both sides prepared for the resumption of hostilities in the morning.  Neither side was going to leave Gettysburg without a victory.