HeftyLefty04
Private
- Joined
- Apr 2, 2019
As most of us know, the typical Civil War narrative generally refers to "The Angle" on Cemetery Ridge as the "High Water Mark" of the Confederacy, as this location was the site of the deepest Confederate advance into Federal lines on July 3rd, and where the Zouaves of the 72nd Pennsylvania ultimately prevented a Rebel breakthrough. Now, I think it is fair to assume that many of us do not consider any aspect of the Gettysburg Campaign to be the Confederacy's true "High Water Mark," (personally, I'd have to say Chancellorsville was in the big picture, at least in the East) but my suggestion here is that, at least with regard to the battle itself, the fighting at the extreme right of the Union line on the evening of July 2nd may be much more of a "High Water Mark" than any part of Pickett's Charge, which was doomed to failure before it began.
Even if we do narrow the discussion to the second day at Gettysburg, the popular narrative tends to highlight events that occurred on the Union left (i.e., fighting at the Peach Orchard, Wheatfield, and Devil's Den and the 20th Maine's famed downhill bayonet charge on Little Round Top). However, the Rebels were much more successful on the Union's extreme right on July 2nd; it can be argued that if Robert Rodes had been more aggressive in complementing Jubal Early's assault on East Cemetery Hill with one of his own, the Confederates may have fully seized the high ground at the short end of the Federal fishhook that night. Now, that is still a major "if," as reinforcements from the AOP's II and XI Corps performed solidly in pushing back the Rebel offensive towards the very end of the second day, but I still feel that Lee's chances of victory at Gettysburg were much higher during Ewell's assault on the extreme Federal right than they ever could have been at any point on July 3rd, especially after Lee's doomed charge commenced.
Even if we do narrow the discussion to the second day at Gettysburg, the popular narrative tends to highlight events that occurred on the Union left (i.e., fighting at the Peach Orchard, Wheatfield, and Devil's Den and the 20th Maine's famed downhill bayonet charge on Little Round Top). However, the Rebels were much more successful on the Union's extreme right on July 2nd; it can be argued that if Robert Rodes had been more aggressive in complementing Jubal Early's assault on East Cemetery Hill with one of his own, the Confederates may have fully seized the high ground at the short end of the Federal fishhook that night. Now, that is still a major "if," as reinforcements from the AOP's II and XI Corps performed solidly in pushing back the Rebel offensive towards the very end of the second day, but I still feel that Lee's chances of victory at Gettysburg were much higher during Ewell's assault on the extreme Federal right than they ever could have been at any point on July 3rd, especially after Lee's doomed charge commenced.