Movements of Generals - Maj. Gen. Henry Heth

Tom Elmore

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June 29 - Heth and his staff pitched their tents on the premises of Dr. William C. Stem in Cashtown. Stem had a stone house located on one acre of property along the Chambersburg Pike. He was married to Eliza Watson and they had two children. [Greg Coco, A Vast Sea of Misery, p. 139]

July 1, around noon - Hearing heavy firing on the left, Heth rode to where he had first placed his artillery in position and found there Generals Lee and A. P. Hill. At that time Heth proposed to Lee to advance his two fresh brigades (Pettigrew and Brockenbrough), but Lee demurred for the time being. [The Memoirs of Henry Heth, ed. by James L. Morrison, Greenwood Press, 1974, p. 175] [Comment: Heth is presumed to be referring to Herr’s Ridge. The heavy firing upon his left is believed to be Rodes’ artillery opening fire from Oak Hill, which I estimate occurred around noon. If indeed the case, it fixes Lee’s arrival on the field before noon.]

July 1, around 2:15 p.m. Heth again rode to Lee on Herr’s Ridge to report Federals pushing against Oak Ridge. Lee advised him to, “Wait awhile and I will send you word when to go in.” [Ibid] [Comment: I believe the presence of Robinson’s division of the Union First Corps on the north end of Oak Ridge would not have been apparent to Heth until Iverson’s initial clash, which I estimate occurred about 2:10 p.m. Heth does not mention Hill being present on this occasion, and the implication is that Lee intended to send his attack orders directly to Heth, bypassing Hill. But it may be that Hill was often by Lee's side this day and was fully apprised.]

July 1, around 2:40 p.m. - “Very soon” one of Lee’s aides came to Heth with orders to attack. [Ibid]

July 1, around 3 p.m. – Just after Pettigrew and Brockenbrough began their charge, Heth was struck on the head by a minie ball and “remained insensible for some hours.” [Ibid, pp. 175,176] Heth was carried off the field by A. H. Gibboney, a member of his staff, and placed in an ambulance. [Confederate Veteran magazine, vol. 25, p. 518] It appears Gibboney was a clerk working for Heth’s Assistant Adjutant General. [Gibboney’s Service Record]

July 1, late afternoon - Heth’s wound was treated in Cashtown by Dr. William C. Stem. [Coco, Vast Sea of Misery] [Comment: I suppose a senior member of Heth’s staff recalled the introduction to Dr. Stem two days earlier and had been impressed, which would explain why Heth was taken to a local physician rather than the chief medical officer of his division. However, Heth remained unconscious for up to 23 hours after his wounding.]

July 2, mid-afternoon - When Heth regained consciousness he directed his ambulance driver to take him back to the battlefield, where he found Generals Lee and Hill together; both of these officers seemed nervously awaiting an attack to be made by Longstreet on the extreme right. Longstreet’s artillery opened while Heth was still at that location, and at that moment Heth spoke briefly with Hill, who stood near his ambulance. [Memoirs of Henry Heth, p. 176] [Comment: Since Heth’s driver found Lee and Hill so quickly it suggests they were on the north end of Seminary Ridge, and not far from the Chambersburg Pike.]

July 4? - Heth resumed command of division after July 3. [Ibid, p. 177]
 
A hat too large that saved his life. Hethwas wearing a new hat tha was too large for his head. He with newspaper to make it fit tighter. The extra thickness might have saved his life.
My favorite ancestor was in Archer's Brigade that day, specifically Company F, 13th Alabama. I've always been interested in their movements at Gettysburg. He was wounded and captured in Pettigrew's Charge on day 3. I've always been of the opinion the Heth was a mediocre, if not poor, choice to command that division. Lee was very fond of him, which landed him in that seat until the end of the war. He performed well, imo, after this, but his first outing as a division commander was not good, and the rest of his career was never highlighted with any great performance like that of Hood at 2nd Manassas, Gordon at Spotsylvania, or Early at 2nd Fredericksburg. He did his job, no less, no more.
 
Imho archer got caught in a bad spot. I don't think Gettysburg is a true reflection of the brugade.
yeah, plus he was squaring off with the toughest brigade in the AOP, who also was being directed (micro-managed you might say) by the best corp commander in the AOP. Reynolds should have been in Meade's chair, according to many, even Meade.
A more fair fight, if there ever was one, would have been Longstreet commanding the Texas Brigade vs Reynolds with the Iron Brigade. Just let them square off, winner takes all, and spare the rest of both armies a lot of bloodshed.
 
thank you for some new information I was not aware of . It's been a long time since I read a study in command the Gettysburg campaign and the one thing I will say I always felt the movie Gettysburg made him look bad. He was a pretty good commander the movie made him look incompetent which was not the case.
 
thank you for some new information I was not aware of . It's been a long time since I read a study in command the Gettysburg campaign and the one thing I will say I always felt the movie Gettysburg made him look bad. He was a pretty good commander the movie made him look incompetent which was not the case.

He was never the sharpest knife in the drawer and Gettysburg was not very good for him. At best, he was a competent division commander.

Ryan
 
Ranking the division commanders at Gettysburg by corps:

1st Corps -
1) Hood
2) McLaws
3) Pickett

2nd Corps -
1) Early
2) Rodes & Johnson tie

3rd Corps -
1) Anderson
2) Pender
3) Heth

Between Heth & Pickett, Pickett is the poorest division commander in the ANV.
Heth was competent at worst. IMO, Pickett was simply inept. His midnight rides during the Siege of Suffolk to see his girlfriend, in absolute violation of Longstreet's direct orders should have cost him his job. I give him kudos for following his orders on July 3rd without protest, but I suspect it was due to stupidity rather than bravery. His actions, or lack there of, at Five Forks, was atrocious.
 
Ranking the division commanders at Gettysburg by corps:

1st Corps -
1) Hood
2) McLaws
3) Pickett

2nd Corps -
1) Early
2) Rodes & Johnson tie

3rd Corps -
1) Anderson
2) Pender
3) Heth

Between Heth & Pickett, Pickett is the poorest division commander in the ANV.
Heth was competent at worst. IMO, Pickett was simply inept. His midnight rides during the Siege of Suffolk to see his girlfriend, in absolute violation of Longstreet's direct orders should have cost him his job. I give him kudos for following his orders on July 3rd without protest, but I suspect it was due to stupidity rather than bravery. His actions, or lack there of, at Five Forks, was atrocious.

I agree that Pickett was the worst of that lot (although he did fairly well at Gettysburg) but that doesn't make Heth any better. He was still, at best, competent.

Ryan
 
Nobody ever talks about McLaws.

Opps sorry, we are talking about Heth. I think for a lot of people Gettysburg the movie was the intro to the battle and perhaps the Civil War. and yes it did not portray him in the best of light, though he did urge an attack from Lee.

Outside of Gettysburg, I think he fared pretty well. Certainly not the best, but not the worst, so in the middle of the bell curve.
 
Ranking the division commanders at Gettysburg by corps:

1st Corps -
1) Hood
2) McLaws
3) Pickett

2nd Corps -
1) Early
2) Rodes & Johnson tie

3rd Corps -
1) Anderson
2) Pender
3) Heth

Between Heth & Pickett, Pickett is the poorest division commander in the ANV.
Heth was competent at worst. IMO, Pickett was simply inept. His midnight rides during the Siege of Suffolk to see his girlfriend, in absolute violation of Longstreet's direct orders should have cost him his job. I give him kudos for following his orders on July 3rd without protest, but I suspect it was due to stupidity rather than bravery. His actions, or lack there of, at Five Forks, was atrocious.

I would agree with your list with one exception, and that is Pender over R. H. Anderson, at least until Pender fell mortally wounded on July 2. Anderson is an officer whose presence at Gettysburg appears to have been seldom noticed/recorded by anyone in or outside his division.
 
I would agree with your list with one exception, and that is Pender over R. H. Anderson, at least until Pender fell mortally wounded on July 2. Anderson is an officer whose presence at Gettysburg appears to have been seldom noticed/recorded by anyone in or outside his division.
Yes, but in the long term, not just July of 1863, Anderson was later a fairly competant corps commander. So much so, that Lee invented a command for him at that level once Longstreet was able to return.
Pender remains, like AS Johnston, sadly unproven at the command level at which his life ended. He may have been the next Stonewall Jackson that Lee was desperately searching for, but we will never know.

Like you, I tend to believe he would have been magnificent, but it is an opinion.
 
I would agree with your list with one exception, and that is Pender over R. H. Anderson, at least until Pender fell mortally wounded on July 2. Anderson is an officer whose presence at Gettysburg appears to have been seldom noticed/recorded by anyone in or outside his division.

I believe that Pender would have excelled at division command but, like so many others at Gettysburg, his performance on July 1st was fairly mediocre.

Ryan
 
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I believe that Pender would have excelled at division command but, like so many others at Gettysburg, his performance on July 1st was fairly mediocre.

Ryan

I would not characterize it as mediocre, but perhaps straightforward, because that is literally the task assigned to his two brigades (under Scales and Perrin) - relieve Heth's brigades of Brockenbrough and Pettigrew, and press forward into the battered Union First Corps. Even if the Federals held firm, Rodes and Early were rapidly advancing on their flank and rear to cut them off entirely. Scales was demolished out in the open, but Perrin's men performed impressively in overcoming strong opposition to break the last stand of the Federals on Seminary Ridge. Ironically, Perrin's success helped preserve at least a portion of the Union First Corps to continue the fight over the next two days. Still, I think that Pender is entitled to claim a fair share of the Confederate success on July 1, even if his opponent was already worn down. Pender immediately pursued and entered the town to organize the mop up, which resulted in a good haul of Federal prisoners. So he was very active personally at the front, like Hood and Early.
 
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