The Vermont Boys at Gettysburg - Rutland (VT) Weekly Herald, August 3, 1865

E_just_E

Captain
Forum Host
Retired Moderator
Joined
Sep 3, 2014
Location
Center Valley, PA
Been digging through newspapers the past few days and I found this piece in the Rutland (VT) Weekly Herald, published on August 3, 1865. Published first at the Boston Journal and was syndicated. Thought I'd share this early eyewitness account:

(there might be some typos, because it was produced by image recognition software. Pretty sure I cleaned most of them, but if you see any, that's the source.)

The Vermont Boys at Gettysburg.

"Carleton" of the Boston Journal, took a ramble over the battlefield at Gettysburg on the Fourth of July, and thus recalls, among other incidents, the work which the Vermont boys did there:

Now leaving this line of men in blue, and walking directly from the last oak trees mentioned west, six or eight rods toward Codori's house, we find a shallow ditch, yet remaining partly concealed by small scrub oaks. There were the nine month Vermont boys, under Stannard. All through the second day they lay in reserve in tho rear of the Cemetery, where the shells rained upon them from right and left and front. I saw them lying flat on their faces; but on this third day they were lying here, in advance of all others, the right men in the right place. Their muskets were of sufficient range to fire deadly volleys the moment the rebels crossed the road and began to advance from Codori's house. At that moment the rebels began to feel the peltings of such a storm' as they never felt before, from the batteries already enumerated, taking them in front and on the right flank. To escape that storm on their right from the sixty four guns, they deflected toward the north, or rather obeying the orders of Longstreet to close by the left. This threw them past Stannard's right flank. The blood of the Vermont boys was up. They were ready for a charge. He had but to give the word, and two regiments, the 18th and 14th, sprang to their feet. They had faced southwest. They swung round toward the northwest and moved forward into the rear of Kemper's brigade of Virginians, five regiments. "Now is your time boys," said Hancock, and Harrow's men also sprang to their feet and pushed upon the flank of Kemper. At this moment the scene was one of intense interest, for Garnett's and Armistead's troops had reached the fence by the thicket, and Hall's and Hayes' troops were obliged to fall back and stand behind the guns. Some of the men of the 7th Virginia and some of the 18th, rushed upon the guns and were blown to pieces. There were desperate hand to hand fights, bayonet thrusts and saber strokes. When I walked along the lines, after the rebels were repulsed, while the killed and wounded were lying where they fell, I saw men in gray and men in blue, side by side, their blood flowing from ghastly wounds, and mingling in one stream. That was the only place where the rebels reached our lines. That was the highest flow of the tide. It was high water only a moment, for the Vermont boys were in the rear of the rebels, pouring their volleys into their backs. Hayes' men sprang out from above the grove and penned them how many, I do not remember. Very few of Garnett's and Kemper's men recrossed the Emmitsburg road. Wilcox's division, which was behind Kemper's, was broken by the terrible fire of the batteries and the other two Vermont regiments gathered up a large number of stragglers. The Green Mountain State won for herself on that day a laurel which will never fade.
 
"Carleton" was the pen name of Corporal George Kimball, Company A, 12th Massachusetts. While the cannonade was in progress on the afternoon of July 3, his brigade arrived at Ziegler's Grove. He speaks of the 13th and 14th Vermont, but he does not name the 16th Vermont, which played a prominent role in attacking Pickett's right flank and then turned about and pitched into the left flank of Lang's Floridians (under Wilcox). His account is colorful, but no doubt relied upon other sources for a description of the Vermonter's fight on July 3, which do not appear to be particularly precise. We may depend more on his personal observations of the field that were likely made between 5 p.m. and sunset on July 3, or else the morning of July 4, before the heavy rains set in.
 
Back
Top