Civil War History - Gettysburg ForumGettysburg! It's not just a National Park. It's a Civil War Battlefield. For some it's historic and storied past are almost an obsession! All related discussions are welcome here!
On my visit to Gettysburg I found the story of Picketts charge the most haunting .I walked across the battle field they charged across feeling there determiation to win that battle.I would like to know just how many confederates broke through the Yankee's lines at the angle and if they fought to there deaths or were they captured.
The actual number that made it over the wall is undetermined, but I have read estimates from 200 to 400, all from Pickett's Division, mostly from Armistead's Brigade. All the men that made it over the wall were captured, wounded or killed. They made it about 200 feet past the wall and seized a battery (Cowens I believe) after two regiments at the wall (1 NY and 1 PA) were forced to withdraw. Col Arthur Devereaux of the 19th MA stopped Hancock as he rode by toward the break and asked "General, shouldn't I throw my troops into this?" Hancock replied "Yes, and ****ed quick!" As Col D led the 19th into the flank of Armistead's Virginians they were joined by the 15th and 20th MA and the countercharge caused the surging CS troops to falter long enough for fresh troops from the reserve in the low land to the east of Cemetery Ridge to charge into the front of the breakthrough.
Troops from Pettigrew's and Trimble's units made it to the wall but were stopped by artillery firing canister at very close range (north of the Copse of trees was virtually a wall of artillery) and a flanking move by troops in the area of the Bryan house and barn.
Personally, I feet that Col D is one of the unsung heroes of the 3rd day. The charge of the 19th MA is pictured in a section of the Cyclorama painting here on the park.
It's not possible to have an exact count, but the most reliable estimates seem to indicate that more than a hundred but less than a thousand Confederates got over the stone wall.
They didn't all fight to the death, but I believe that all of them were either killed or captured. As far as I know, none of those who crossed the wall during the charge ever crossed it in the other direction to join the retreat.
the actual marker at the wall says "a few hundred" I believe. I will double check that tomorrow when I walk up that way.
Also, I dont' believe it was Cowan's battery, it was Cushing's. Cowan's battery is, facing the Charge field, to the left of the Copse of trees... Cushing's is directly in front of where Armistead's marker is....
Last edited by maryingettysburg; 04-29-2005 at 10:52 PM.
hey, thanks for not getting upset with my correction I'm not trying to come across as a smart*ss...I just live here is all, and I see these monuments and markers daily.... it's not my intellect, or knowledge of the battle, as such.... just that I pass these places daily, and have memorized who was where and did what.
Thank you for the kind welcome, Scone. I hope you have had a chance to visit this battlefield.....it truly is a timeless place. I see SO very many southerners here, and I marvel at their devotion to their ancestors who fought here, some coming from very very far..... I swear, on any given summer day, there are more Virginians in Gettysburg than in Virginia....
After reading some of the original records and information on the Army of Potomac and its defense of Cemetery Ridge, one can wonder where the term "High Water Mark" originated.
From a military sense, the "High Water Mark", as used at Gettysburg, has no meaning, as the Charge was spent, and the Confederates had neither the infantry nor artillery to hold any lodgment or position on Cemetery Ridge.
Was the high water mark really the first step Pickett's Virginians took from the Seminary Ridge area? None of the Confederate command expected any Army of the Potomac artillery fire. But from the first step, the Confederates took long range artillery fire. The Confederate artillery barrage had failed to destroy the Union artillery. Sitting at the base of Cemetery Ridge were Reserve Artillery batteries directed by Major Freeman McGilvery. Not one of McGilvery's cannons was damaged in the Confederate artillery barrage. Unknown to any Confederate general, 39 artillery pieces would open up on the Confederates, marching on the oblique to McGilvery's batteries.
Not only would Pickett see severe infantry fire from front and flank, the artillery barrage from the Union artillery against Pickett's advance in the open, must have crushed a good deal of the attack, even before it got within musket range of AoP defenses.
....of the Rebellion. That is the terminology in full. It is a statement that simply means that Friday morning July 3rd,1863 the Confederacy was at it's zenith,its maximum strength...it's high water mark if you will.
From that AFTERNOON on,the Confederacy receded...like flood waters receding after the storm stops.
Some disagree with this but the terminology has stuck.
VS..etc.
P.S. I have seen a recent show on the History Channel that found that CS artillery failed because.....the contractors that made the fuses for the shell was different than before,and the timing was different. No one told the artillery people though.
Therefore adjustment were not made and shells exploded too early..or too late.
Last edited by VS on the belt plate; 06-22-2005 at 10:25 PM.
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The Angle (High Water Mark) 
I'm not trying to come across as a smart*ss...I just live here is all, and I see these monuments and markers daily.... it's not my intellect, or knowledge of the battle, as such.... just that I pass these places daily, and have memorized who was where and did what.
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