Close Up of Greene's Breastowrks on Culp's Hill

Gettysburg Greg

First Sergeant
Joined
Jun 6, 2010
Location
Decatur, Illinois
Although Culp's Hill is not nearly as popular a tourist attraction as Little Round Top, it can be argued that the fight here was just as important to the outcome of the battle. Located only a few hundred yards from the Baltimore Pike, a direct route to Washington, the Confederates engaged the right end of the Union line here for two days. The stout breastworks constructed by the 12th Corps is given much of the credit for holding off the repeated attacks by the Stonewall Brigade and others on July 2nd and 3rd. By the 1880's, only small mounds were left to mark the location of the works. Thanks to Mathew Brady's photograph below, we can see the engineering that went into building the breastworks. The shot below is a highly magnified crop from Brady's image showing two of his assistants sitting behind the works. Check out how the soldiers used rocks, sticks, and cut logs to build their defenses and especially the all important head logs running along the top of the works.
brady pic.jpg
 
Here is a weird coincidence.

Ripley's Brigade (CSA) was attacked by Greene's Division (USA) at the battle of Antietam. It was a terrible bloodbath in the fighting around Mumma Farm and Miller's Cornfield. Just a little less than a year later, the same CSA brigade, which had been renamed Steuart's Brigade, attacked Greene's Division at Culp's Hill., also resulting in a bloodbath.

My wife's great great grandfather, Lt. George Washington Ward, was in the 3rd North Carolina State Troops and fought at both battles.
 
I think there may have been a ditch and mound of dirt on the opposite side of the works not visible in the photo - the rocks, sticks, etc. acting as the revetment to support the mound. Digging a ditch and piling up the dirt on one side or the other was the standard practice to building breastworks. And it seems as though the rocks, sticks and logs wouldn't stand up on their own too well without some sort of support.
 
Brig. Gen. George S. Greene wrote, (New York at Gettysburg, I:264), "in a few hours we had a good breastwork, made with a few trees cut, and with cordwood and loose stones which we found in the immediate vicinity."

Capt. Jesse S. Jones of the 60th New York wrote, (Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, III:316), "The regiment was largely composed of men accustomed to woodcraft, and they fell to work to construct log breastworks with unaccustomed heartiness."

A member of the 137th New York wrote, (New York State Military Museum, Civil War Newspaper Clippings), 'The men murmured some at building them, thinking they would be of no avail as on former occasions, but they proved of incalculable benefit."

Sgt. Henry Rudy of the 137th New York wrote, (Diary), "commenced entrenching with dirt, logs and stone."

Cpl. Hudson Jennings of the 137th New York wrote (July 6 letter), "breastworks ... built mainly of stones, rail and logs."

Surgeon John M. Farrington of the 137th New York wrote, (New York at Gettysburg,, III:942), "Here the men threw up earthworks the best they could without intrenching tools." (note: the pioneers were apparently not on hand with their usual axes, picks and shovels.)

Col. Lewis R. Stegman of the 102nd New York wrote, (New York at Gettysburg, III:1012), "The breastworks were simple, composed of logs, rocks, cordwood, fence rails and earth; but they were formidable. ... It was only the second time in their history that the regiments of the brigade had built intrenchments, and the first trial of their merits [at Chancellorsville] had not proven fortunate."
 
Union soldiers were apparently known to store their knapsacks inside temporary breastworks like this when they were called upon to do emergency construction. If overrun by the Confederates, the rebs would joyfully plunder the knapsacks for foodstuffs, clothing and personal items, all of this stuff being in short supply in the Army of Northern Virginia.
 
Brig. Gen. George S. Greene wrote, (New York at Gettysburg, I:264), "in a few hours we had a good breastwork, made with a few trees cut, and with cordwood and loose stones which we found in the immediate vicinity."

Capt. Jesse S. Jones of the 60th New York wrote, (Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, III:316), "The regiment was largely composed of men accustomed to woodcraft, and they fell to work to construct log breastworks with unaccustomed heartiness."

A member of the 137th New York wrote, (New York State Military Museum, Civil War Newspaper Clippings), 'The men murmured some at building them, thinking they would be of no avail as on former occasions, but they proved of incalculable benefit."

Sgt. Henry Rudy of the 137th New York wrote, (Diary), "commenced entrenching with dirt, logs and stone."

Cpl. Hudson Jennings of the 137th New York wrote (July 6 letter), "breastworks ... built mainly of stones, rail and logs."

Surgeon John M. Farrington of the 137th New York wrote, (New York at Gettysburg,, III:942), "Here the men threw up earthworks the best they could without intrenching tools." (note: the pioneers were apparently not on hand with their usual axes, picks and shovels.)

Col. Lewis R. Stegman of the 102nd New York wrote, (New York at Gettysburg, III:1012), "The breastworks were simple, composed of logs, rocks, cordwood, fence rails and earth; but they were formidable. ... It was only the second time in their history that the regiments of the brigade had built intrenchments, and the first trial of their merits [at Chancellorsville] had not proven fortunate."

FTI - There is a monument to the 149th New York Infantry near this spot on Culp's Hill -- the monument includes this neat bas relief of the men manning the earthworks:

http://gettysburg.stonesentinels.com/union-monuments/new-york/new-york-infantry/149th-new-york/
 
Back
Top