- Joined
- Jan 16, 2015
Posey's right halts under heavy artillery fire. Wright dislodges Harrow's two regiments at the Codori buildings as Battery B, 1st Rhode Island attempts a hasty retreat. Lang's brigade reforms at the foot of Cemetery Ridge; Harrow's 19th Maine awaits their advance. Wilcox's left pursues Humphreys' remnants – only Harrow's 1st Minnesota remains in their path. Willard's brigade continues moving southward. Stannard's brigade approaches. Map indicates positions at 7 p.m., July 2.
"The 48th Mississippi was advanced to the picket line, with instructions to lie off the flank of the attacking column … but not to join in the attack with them. … As [General Ambrose R.] Wright's Georgians came up they began yelling at us to 'Get up and fight' to 'Come forward, Mississippians.' The effect was felt and the entire regiment … went into action against the earnest efforts of Col. [Joseph M.] Jayne to stop them. … The enemy thundered their shot and shell in our midst. Shells amongst us, shells over us, and shells around us tore our bleeding ranks with ghastly gaps" – Private Frank H. Foote, Company F, 48th Mississippi.
"Advanced to within three hundred yards of [an enemy] battery" – 2nd Sergeant Charles E. Hutchinson, Company H, 48th Mississippi.
"Within musket range of the Emmitsburg turnpike … we encountered a strong body of infantry posted under cover of a fence near to and parallel with the road. … Just before reaching this position, I had observed that Posey's brigade, on my left, had not advanced" – Brigadier General Ambrose R. Wright.
"The enemy made but a short stand before our fire before they commenced retreating; at first in order, but we pushed them so rapidly that they broke and fled in great confusion, a large number of them running into our lines for safety" – Captain Matthew R. Hall, Company B, 48th Georgia.
"A bullet grazed the sleeve of my coat. One came so near my head that it barely missed me. Another whizzed through the air. I was not so fortunate this time, for it hit me in the thigh and I fell to the ground severely wounded. My first thought was of the flag. 'McGahee,' I said to the young soldier next to me, 'take the flag and keep it flying.' 'But what must I do with my gun?' he said. 'Throw it down,' I shouted. 'But won't I have to pay for it?' he asked. 'Throw down your gun,' I commanded, 'and protect the flag at any cost.' McGahee took the flag" – 4th Sergeant Elias J. Denson, 48th Georgia.
"The first line of Federals was behind breastworks made of rails, from which we soon drove them under a heavy fire" – 2nd Corporal William Paul, Company I, 48th Georgia.
"Serg. A. [Alexander] L. Langston, of Company C, fell with [the] flag in his hand … in the Emmitsburg road … Adjt. S. [Samuel] L. Alexander then grasped and carried the flag to the enemy's position" – Captain Charles H. Andrews, Company D, 3rd Georgia.
"I had an old U.S. musket that would not shoot but seeing a wild Yankee lying in a ditch in the pike road with a fine rifle, I asked him if it was any good; he said that it was. I told him to take off his belt and cartridge box and give it to me, which he did. I cut off my old belt, cartridge box and shoulder strap with my jack knife, put on the Yankee accoutrements, took his rifle and went to the charge" – Sergeant William B. Judkins, Company G, 22nd Georgia.
"So quickly … was the Confederate advance that before the [brigade] pioneers realized the movement they were taken prisoners and confined by their captors in the cellar of the [Codori] house" – Captain Charles H. Banes, Assistant Adjutant General on the staff of Brigadier General Alexander S. Webb.
"We waited till they came within about 20 feet of us and then the boys jumped up and poured it into them like the devil … then the rebs gave us the devil so we had to fall back. So I said to myself, legs do your duty, and I put off for the other line, but before I got a hundred yards a bullet struck me in the hip and [knocked] me down. So I lay there for some time" – Private Daniel Mallett, Company A, 82nd New York.
"As the enemy was getting in our rear we retired to our first line" – Captain John Darrow, Company K, 82nd New York.
"Outnumbered and outflanked, the two regiments fell back to the main line, with the yelling, exultant Georgians close upon them. … Upon the fall of Colonel [James] Huston, Capt. John Darrow took command of the regiment" – Member of the 82nd New York.
"The Eighty-second New York fell back, exposing our left and rear to a deadly fire from the rebel infantry. Here Colonel [George H.] Ward received [mortal] wounds … We retired in some disorder, being pressed so closely that we lost quite a number of prisoners, captured by the enemy" – Lieutenant Colonel George C. Joslin, 15th Massachusetts.
"A large brick house kept us from seeing the situation and twenty-eight of us were captured" – Sergeant Amable Beaudry, Company B, 15th Massachusetts.
"Some said they could see their heads [Confederates] in the tall grass, and the musketry fire commenced moderately. I looked but I could not see anything of them, so I let fly into the grass by way of practice and to see if my gun was all right. I quickly reloaded, took out a handful of cartridges and laid them on the ground so I could get them quick. My ramrod I also threw on the ground beside the cartridges so as to grasp it in an instant. Nearly all the boys done the same. Again I rose. … The villains were there, crawling up on their hands and knees. I sent another bullet into the grass … Their bullets began to fly pretty thick, but … nearly all went over. … They sprang forward with that demonic yell … at the same time giving us a deadly volley. Now it was our turn. With a shout we sprang up on our knees and resting our muskets over the rails, we give them one of the most destructive volleys I ever witnessed. … They hesitated, they reeled, they staggered and wavered slightly, yet there was no panic. … Our line was fast breaking to the left. … I know they had not so many men in their line as we had. … The stampede became general. … I raised up and they were about 4 rods [22 yards] off. I blazed away for the last time. They were coming at a quick march. I threw down my gun and held up both hands … They spoke not a word to me but passed over and on" – Private Roland E. Bowen, Company B, 15th Massachusetts.
"Our artillery threw grape and canister which, no doubt, was intended to go over our heads; but a good share of it struck our regiment. One discharge of canister from our own guns wounded the captain [Albert A. Prince] of Company E, the orderly-sergeant [James Mahoney] and a private of my own company" – Private William J. Coulter, Company C, 15th Massachusetts.
"Then came the order 'Limber to the rear,' and shouts from our infantry, 'Get out of that, you will all be killed.' /// The battery … succeeded in retiring with four pieces leaving two on the field, the horses having been killed. In retiring the battery came under a heavy enfilading fire from the wing of the flanking foe which had overlapped us, and before we could retire to the rear of the line of our support, for we had to go through a narrow gap in the stone wall which made breastworks for the infantry, and only one piece at a time – we had many of our men and horses wounded. … First Lt. T. Fred. Brown was wounded as the battery was withdrawing from the field, and the command was assumed by First Lt. William S. Perrin" – Private John H. Rhodes, Battery B, 1st Rhode Island.
"The Seventy-first Pennsylvania Volunteers advanced to the support of the Sixty-ninth" – Brigadier General Alexander S. Webb.
"I endeavored to get my guns off the field; succeeded in getting off but three, as some of the drivers and horses were disabled in the act of limbering up. My horse was shot at this time, and as I was rising from the ground I was struck by a spent ball and everything seemed to be much confused. I hastened off with the remaining guns /// I thought that half the battery was on its way south" – 1st Lieutenant Gulian V. Weir, Battery C, 5th U.S. Artillery.
"As they [Brig. Gen. Andrew A. Humphreys' men] passed over us some would say, 'Run boys, we're whipped, the day is lost.' Others cried out … 'Hang to it boys, give it to them, we'll form in your rear,' and they did" – Captain J. Whitman Spaulding, Company A, 19th Maine.
"Humphreys' division … finally crumbled to pieces and came back toward us as a hopeless and disorganized mass. Fearing the Nineteenth Maine might catch the spirit of the defeated troops in our front, and be swept away in the current, Colonel [Francis E.] Heath walked rapidly along in front of the regiment, cautioning the men to lie still and keep their places and allow the broken and disorganized troops to pass over us to the rear. … General Humphreys rode up to Colonel Heath and ordered him to stop his routed troops at the point of the bayonet" – Private Silas Adams, Company F, 19th Maine.
"When they [the retreating Federals] had gotten within some two hundred yards of my lines, an officer that I supposed to be General Humphreys, rode up to me and ordered me to get my men up, as they were all lying down, and stop his men. I refused to do so, as I feared the regiment would be carried away with the deserting troops. I told Humphreys to get his men out of the way and we would stop the pursuers. He did not seem to appear satisfied with that arrangement, but rode down the rear of my lines, ordering my men up. I followed him and countermanded his orders, he finally going off, his men with him. /// The battery on my right at this time was deserted, the guns not firing a shot" – Colonel Francis E. Heath, 19th Maine.
"Following them rapidly, I arrived behind a small eminence at the foot of the heights, where, the brigade having become much scattered, I halted for the purpose of reforming, and allowing the men to catch breath /// … before charging a battery and infantry in our front" – Colonel David Lang.
"I heard an officer say 'Jack is down,' before I really knew that I was shot. I could not rise, and Sergeant Smith and Private [Michael] Collopy [of Company I] came to me. 'Put him on my back, Smith' said the latter, and under a terrible fire he carried me from the field. Our lines fell back as fast as we could go, and I expected Collopy would be obliged to drop me, and I should fall into the hands of the rebels, but he kept on and landed me in the field hospital of the 3d corps" – 1st Lieutenant John G. B. Adams, Company I, 19th Massachusetts.
"[General Daniel E.] Sickles' troops, broken and disorganized, passed the ridge in retreat, and many of them … passed between our files. By General [Winfield S.] Hancock's order, and with his personal assistance, I undertook to stop and put them in line; but found it impossible and demoralizing to my own regiment to do so" – Colonel William Colvill, Jr., 1st Minnesota.
"Very soon we see that our troops give way and were retreating in our direction but not in a disorderly condition" – Private Charles Muller, Company A, 1st Minnesota.
"The Rebs came in two splendid lines, firing as they advanced, capturing one of our batteries, which they turned against us, and gained the lower part of the ravine. The plain was strewed with dead and dying men. The Rebs had advanced their batteries [Col. E. P. Alexander's guns near the Peach Orchard] and were hurling death and destruction into the ranks of our retreating men" – Sergeant Alfred P. Carpenter, Company K, 1st Minnesota.
"Two pieces of a battery [F and K, 3rd U.S. Artillery] that was in the road … fell into our hands, the horses having been killed. … When my command crossed the pike and began to descend the slope, they were exposed to an artillery fire from numerous pieces" – Brigadier General Cadmus M. Wilcox.
"A piece of artillery … carried … some distance by hand, [the enemy] loading and firing it very rapidly … but at last they had to abandon it" – 3rd Lieutenant Edmund D. Patterson, Company D, 9th Alabama.
"Four guns [of Batteries F and K, 3rd U.S. Artillery] were left on the field" – Brigadier General Robert O. Tyler.
"The enemy [Wilcox's brigade] came down in force and killed so many of the horses that four guns were left on the field" – Member of Batteries F and K, 3rd U.S. Artillery.
"On reaching the hollow I tried, together with several other officers, to stop our men and partially wounded. Three rebel battle flags … at the head of their column … Squads of our men dropping behind the rocks and fallen trees kept up a spirited fire … My poor Brickbat [his horse] received his death wound and fell, holding me down to the ground by the weight of his body on my leg. After struggling a few seconds I disengaged myself from my horse, and taking my brandy flask and pistol from my saddle, started as fast as my weary legs would carry me. Our broken troops still continued to fall back firing, which placed me between their fire and the Rebels, who fired as they advanced" – Captain Adolfo F. de la Cavada, Assistant Inspector General on the staff of Brigadier General Andrew A. Humphreys.
"I established Colonel [George L.] Willard's brigade at the point through which [Major] General [David B.] Birney's division had retired, and fronting the approach of the enemy, who were pressing vigorously on … /// My movement to the left was ended when General Birney personally reported to me" – Major General Winfield S. Hancock.
"The whole brigade was then ordered by [Major] General [Abner] Doubleday to move quickly by the left flank onto the same ground where our forces had been driven … five companies [A, B, C, G, I] being detached from the 13th regiment" – Brigadier General George J. Stannard.
"The 14th [Vermont] Regiment under Col. [William T.] Nichols led the way under a sharp fire" – 1st Sergeant George H. Scott, Company G, 13th Vermont.
"This position was retained but a few minutes when orders were received … to return with two regiments to the old position, which was done, leaving the Fourth Ohio" – Colonel Samuel S. Carroll.
Sources:
-Marching in Clover: A Confederate Brigade's Tramp from the Rappahannock to Gettysburg, by Frank H. Foote, Philadelphia Weekly Times 5, no. 33, October 8, 1881, The New Annals of the Civil War, ed. by Peter Cozzens and Robert I Girardi, Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2004, p. 281.
-An Illinois Rebel at Gettysburg, by Jeff T. Giambrone, Mississippi River Routes, vol. 7, no. 3 (Diary of Sgt. Charles E. Hutchinson, Vicksburg Evening Post, April 1896).
-Official reports of Brig. Gen. A. R. Wright, Capt. M. R. Hall, Capt. John Darrow, Lt. Col. Geo. C. Joslin, Brig. Gen. Alex. S. Webb, Brig. Gen. C. M. Wilcox, Brig. Gen. R. O. Tyler, Col. S. S. Carroll.
-The story of a Confederate Flag, by Jennie Sue Daughtry, Confederate Veteran magazine, vol. 40 (1932), pp. 134-135; 17 September 2006 e-mail from c. warren concerning letters from his great-great grandfather, Elias J. Denson. [McGahee is probably Private Stephen McGahee of Company K.]
-Severe Experiences at Gettysburg, by William Paul, Confederate Veteran magazine, vol. 19 (1911), p. 85.
-Flag of the Third Georgia Regiment, by C. H. Andrews, Confederate Veteran magazine, vol. 2 (1894), p. 201.
-Memoir of William Brock Judkins, Robert L. Brake Collection, U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center, Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
-Account by Chas. H. Banes, Fiftieth Anniversary Banquet of the Survivor's Association, 71st P.V., April 13, 1891 at Colonade Hotel, Philadelphia; History of the Philadelphia Brigade, by Charles H. Banes, Philadelphia, PA: J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1876, p. 183.
-Letter of Daniel Mallett, https://civilwartalk.com/threads/pvt-daniel-mallett-co-a-2nd-nysm-82nd-nysv.133199/#post-1511595
-Dedication of Monument, 2nd New York State Militia (82nd New York), New York at Gettysburg, II:664.
-Account of Amable Beaudry. [Beaudry and Corporal John R. Farnum, also of Company B, escaped during the Confederate retreat to the Potomac and soon rejoined their company.]
-Excerpt: From Ball's Bluff to Gettysburg and Beyond: The Civil War Letters of Private Roland E. Bowen, 15th Massachusetts Infantry 1861-1864, Civil War Magazine, April 1995, pp. 47-48.
-Coulter quoted in, The Story of the Fifteenth Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry in the Civil War 1861-1864, by Andrew E. Ford (Clinton, MA: Press of W. J. Coulter, 1898, pp. 269-270.
-The History of Battery B, First Regiment Rhode Island Light Artillery, by John H. Rhodes, Providence, RI: Snow & Farnham, Printers, 1894, p. 202; The Gettysburg Gun, by John H. Rhodes, late sergeant in the battery, Providence, RI: 1892, reprint, Wilmington, NC: Broadfoot Publishing Company, 1993, pp. 387-388, 390.
-Official report of Lt. G. V. Weir; November 25, 1885 letter of Gulian V. Weir to Maj. Gen. W. S. Hancock, Bachelder Papers, 2:1152.
-Account by Col. J. W. Spaulding, Reunions of the Nineteenth Maine Regiment Association, Augusta, ME: Sprague, Owen & Nash, 1878, p. 11.
-Official report of Col. David Lang; July 19, 1863 letter of Colonel Lang to General Perry, Southern Historical Society Papers, vol. 27, 1899, p. 195.
-The Nineteenth Maine at Gettysburg, by Captain Silas Adams, War Papers, read before the commander of the state of Maine, Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, December 1, 1909, reprint, Wilmington, NC: Broadfoot Publishing Company, 1992, p. 252.
-Ibid; Colonel Heath directly quoted in The Nineteenth Maine at Gettysburg, by Silas Adams; October 12, 1889 letter of Francis E. Heath to Col. J. B. Bachelder, Bachelder Papers, III:1651-1652.
-Reminiscences of the Nineteenth Massachusetts Regiment, by Capt. John G. B. Adams, Boston, MA: Wright & Potter Printing Company, 1899, p. 66.
-June 9, 1866 letter of Col. William Colvill, Jr. to Col. John B. Bachelder, Bachelder Papers, 1:257.
-Muller quoted in, The Battle of Gettysburg as seen by Minnesota Soldiers, by Anne A. Hage, Minnesota History, June 1963, p. 251; Muller's account was at the Minnesota Historical Society.
-July 30, 1863 letter of Alfred Palmer Carpenter, Minnesota History Center.
-Yankee Rebel, The Civil War Journal of Edmund DeWitt Patterson, ed. by John G. Barrett, Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press, 1966, pp. 116-117.
-Unidentified author, Lt. John G. Turnbull's Battery (F and K, 3rd U.S.), Bachelder Papers, 1:231.
-Diary of A. F. Cavada, by Adolfo Fernandez de la Cavada, Ruth E. Lloyd Information Center, Bull Run Regional Library, Manassas, Virginia.
-Official report of Maj. Gen. Winfield S. Hancock; November 7, 1885 letter of Maj. Gen. Winfield S. Hancock to Colonel John B. Bachelder, Bachelder Papers, 2:1134.
-Extract from diary of General Geo. J. Stannard, Bachelder Papers, 1:54.
-Vermont at Gettysburg, address delivered before the society July 6, 1870, by Geo. H. Scott, First Sergeant, Co. G, 13th Vt., Proceeding of the Vermont Historical Society, Montpelier, VT: 1930, p. 63.
"The 48th Mississippi was advanced to the picket line, with instructions to lie off the flank of the attacking column … but not to join in the attack with them. … As [General Ambrose R.] Wright's Georgians came up they began yelling at us to 'Get up and fight' to 'Come forward, Mississippians.' The effect was felt and the entire regiment … went into action against the earnest efforts of Col. [Joseph M.] Jayne to stop them. … The enemy thundered their shot and shell in our midst. Shells amongst us, shells over us, and shells around us tore our bleeding ranks with ghastly gaps" – Private Frank H. Foote, Company F, 48th Mississippi.
"Advanced to within three hundred yards of [an enemy] battery" – 2nd Sergeant Charles E. Hutchinson, Company H, 48th Mississippi.
"Within musket range of the Emmitsburg turnpike … we encountered a strong body of infantry posted under cover of a fence near to and parallel with the road. … Just before reaching this position, I had observed that Posey's brigade, on my left, had not advanced" – Brigadier General Ambrose R. Wright.
"The enemy made but a short stand before our fire before they commenced retreating; at first in order, but we pushed them so rapidly that they broke and fled in great confusion, a large number of them running into our lines for safety" – Captain Matthew R. Hall, Company B, 48th Georgia.
"A bullet grazed the sleeve of my coat. One came so near my head that it barely missed me. Another whizzed through the air. I was not so fortunate this time, for it hit me in the thigh and I fell to the ground severely wounded. My first thought was of the flag. 'McGahee,' I said to the young soldier next to me, 'take the flag and keep it flying.' 'But what must I do with my gun?' he said. 'Throw it down,' I shouted. 'But won't I have to pay for it?' he asked. 'Throw down your gun,' I commanded, 'and protect the flag at any cost.' McGahee took the flag" – 4th Sergeant Elias J. Denson, 48th Georgia.
"The first line of Federals was behind breastworks made of rails, from which we soon drove them under a heavy fire" – 2nd Corporal William Paul, Company I, 48th Georgia.
"Serg. A. [Alexander] L. Langston, of Company C, fell with [the] flag in his hand … in the Emmitsburg road … Adjt. S. [Samuel] L. Alexander then grasped and carried the flag to the enemy's position" – Captain Charles H. Andrews, Company D, 3rd Georgia.
"I had an old U.S. musket that would not shoot but seeing a wild Yankee lying in a ditch in the pike road with a fine rifle, I asked him if it was any good; he said that it was. I told him to take off his belt and cartridge box and give it to me, which he did. I cut off my old belt, cartridge box and shoulder strap with my jack knife, put on the Yankee accoutrements, took his rifle and went to the charge" – Sergeant William B. Judkins, Company G, 22nd Georgia.
"So quickly … was the Confederate advance that before the [brigade] pioneers realized the movement they were taken prisoners and confined by their captors in the cellar of the [Codori] house" – Captain Charles H. Banes, Assistant Adjutant General on the staff of Brigadier General Alexander S. Webb.
"We waited till they came within about 20 feet of us and then the boys jumped up and poured it into them like the devil … then the rebs gave us the devil so we had to fall back. So I said to myself, legs do your duty, and I put off for the other line, but before I got a hundred yards a bullet struck me in the hip and [knocked] me down. So I lay there for some time" – Private Daniel Mallett, Company A, 82nd New York.
"As the enemy was getting in our rear we retired to our first line" – Captain John Darrow, Company K, 82nd New York.
"Outnumbered and outflanked, the two regiments fell back to the main line, with the yelling, exultant Georgians close upon them. … Upon the fall of Colonel [James] Huston, Capt. John Darrow took command of the regiment" – Member of the 82nd New York.
"The Eighty-second New York fell back, exposing our left and rear to a deadly fire from the rebel infantry. Here Colonel [George H.] Ward received [mortal] wounds … We retired in some disorder, being pressed so closely that we lost quite a number of prisoners, captured by the enemy" – Lieutenant Colonel George C. Joslin, 15th Massachusetts.
"A large brick house kept us from seeing the situation and twenty-eight of us were captured" – Sergeant Amable Beaudry, Company B, 15th Massachusetts.
"Some said they could see their heads [Confederates] in the tall grass, and the musketry fire commenced moderately. I looked but I could not see anything of them, so I let fly into the grass by way of practice and to see if my gun was all right. I quickly reloaded, took out a handful of cartridges and laid them on the ground so I could get them quick. My ramrod I also threw on the ground beside the cartridges so as to grasp it in an instant. Nearly all the boys done the same. Again I rose. … The villains were there, crawling up on their hands and knees. I sent another bullet into the grass … Their bullets began to fly pretty thick, but … nearly all went over. … They sprang forward with that demonic yell … at the same time giving us a deadly volley. Now it was our turn. With a shout we sprang up on our knees and resting our muskets over the rails, we give them one of the most destructive volleys I ever witnessed. … They hesitated, they reeled, they staggered and wavered slightly, yet there was no panic. … Our line was fast breaking to the left. … I know they had not so many men in their line as we had. … The stampede became general. … I raised up and they were about 4 rods [22 yards] off. I blazed away for the last time. They were coming at a quick march. I threw down my gun and held up both hands … They spoke not a word to me but passed over and on" – Private Roland E. Bowen, Company B, 15th Massachusetts.
"Our artillery threw grape and canister which, no doubt, was intended to go over our heads; but a good share of it struck our regiment. One discharge of canister from our own guns wounded the captain [Albert A. Prince] of Company E, the orderly-sergeant [James Mahoney] and a private of my own company" – Private William J. Coulter, Company C, 15th Massachusetts.
"Then came the order 'Limber to the rear,' and shouts from our infantry, 'Get out of that, you will all be killed.' /// The battery … succeeded in retiring with four pieces leaving two on the field, the horses having been killed. In retiring the battery came under a heavy enfilading fire from the wing of the flanking foe which had overlapped us, and before we could retire to the rear of the line of our support, for we had to go through a narrow gap in the stone wall which made breastworks for the infantry, and only one piece at a time – we had many of our men and horses wounded. … First Lt. T. Fred. Brown was wounded as the battery was withdrawing from the field, and the command was assumed by First Lt. William S. Perrin" – Private John H. Rhodes, Battery B, 1st Rhode Island.
"The Seventy-first Pennsylvania Volunteers advanced to the support of the Sixty-ninth" – Brigadier General Alexander S. Webb.
"I endeavored to get my guns off the field; succeeded in getting off but three, as some of the drivers and horses were disabled in the act of limbering up. My horse was shot at this time, and as I was rising from the ground I was struck by a spent ball and everything seemed to be much confused. I hastened off with the remaining guns /// I thought that half the battery was on its way south" – 1st Lieutenant Gulian V. Weir, Battery C, 5th U.S. Artillery.
"As they [Brig. Gen. Andrew A. Humphreys' men] passed over us some would say, 'Run boys, we're whipped, the day is lost.' Others cried out … 'Hang to it boys, give it to them, we'll form in your rear,' and they did" – Captain J. Whitman Spaulding, Company A, 19th Maine.
"Humphreys' division … finally crumbled to pieces and came back toward us as a hopeless and disorganized mass. Fearing the Nineteenth Maine might catch the spirit of the defeated troops in our front, and be swept away in the current, Colonel [Francis E.] Heath walked rapidly along in front of the regiment, cautioning the men to lie still and keep their places and allow the broken and disorganized troops to pass over us to the rear. … General Humphreys rode up to Colonel Heath and ordered him to stop his routed troops at the point of the bayonet" – Private Silas Adams, Company F, 19th Maine.
"When they [the retreating Federals] had gotten within some two hundred yards of my lines, an officer that I supposed to be General Humphreys, rode up to me and ordered me to get my men up, as they were all lying down, and stop his men. I refused to do so, as I feared the regiment would be carried away with the deserting troops. I told Humphreys to get his men out of the way and we would stop the pursuers. He did not seem to appear satisfied with that arrangement, but rode down the rear of my lines, ordering my men up. I followed him and countermanded his orders, he finally going off, his men with him. /// The battery on my right at this time was deserted, the guns not firing a shot" – Colonel Francis E. Heath, 19th Maine.
"Following them rapidly, I arrived behind a small eminence at the foot of the heights, where, the brigade having become much scattered, I halted for the purpose of reforming, and allowing the men to catch breath /// … before charging a battery and infantry in our front" – Colonel David Lang.
"I heard an officer say 'Jack is down,' before I really knew that I was shot. I could not rise, and Sergeant Smith and Private [Michael] Collopy [of Company I] came to me. 'Put him on my back, Smith' said the latter, and under a terrible fire he carried me from the field. Our lines fell back as fast as we could go, and I expected Collopy would be obliged to drop me, and I should fall into the hands of the rebels, but he kept on and landed me in the field hospital of the 3d corps" – 1st Lieutenant John G. B. Adams, Company I, 19th Massachusetts.
"[General Daniel E.] Sickles' troops, broken and disorganized, passed the ridge in retreat, and many of them … passed between our files. By General [Winfield S.] Hancock's order, and with his personal assistance, I undertook to stop and put them in line; but found it impossible and demoralizing to my own regiment to do so" – Colonel William Colvill, Jr., 1st Minnesota.
"Very soon we see that our troops give way and were retreating in our direction but not in a disorderly condition" – Private Charles Muller, Company A, 1st Minnesota.
"The Rebs came in two splendid lines, firing as they advanced, capturing one of our batteries, which they turned against us, and gained the lower part of the ravine. The plain was strewed with dead and dying men. The Rebs had advanced their batteries [Col. E. P. Alexander's guns near the Peach Orchard] and were hurling death and destruction into the ranks of our retreating men" – Sergeant Alfred P. Carpenter, Company K, 1st Minnesota.
"Two pieces of a battery [F and K, 3rd U.S. Artillery] that was in the road … fell into our hands, the horses having been killed. … When my command crossed the pike and began to descend the slope, they were exposed to an artillery fire from numerous pieces" – Brigadier General Cadmus M. Wilcox.
"A piece of artillery … carried … some distance by hand, [the enemy] loading and firing it very rapidly … but at last they had to abandon it" – 3rd Lieutenant Edmund D. Patterson, Company D, 9th Alabama.
"Four guns [of Batteries F and K, 3rd U.S. Artillery] were left on the field" – Brigadier General Robert O. Tyler.
"The enemy [Wilcox's brigade] came down in force and killed so many of the horses that four guns were left on the field" – Member of Batteries F and K, 3rd U.S. Artillery.
"On reaching the hollow I tried, together with several other officers, to stop our men and partially wounded. Three rebel battle flags … at the head of their column … Squads of our men dropping behind the rocks and fallen trees kept up a spirited fire … My poor Brickbat [his horse] received his death wound and fell, holding me down to the ground by the weight of his body on my leg. After struggling a few seconds I disengaged myself from my horse, and taking my brandy flask and pistol from my saddle, started as fast as my weary legs would carry me. Our broken troops still continued to fall back firing, which placed me between their fire and the Rebels, who fired as they advanced" – Captain Adolfo F. de la Cavada, Assistant Inspector General on the staff of Brigadier General Andrew A. Humphreys.
"I established Colonel [George L.] Willard's brigade at the point through which [Major] General [David B.] Birney's division had retired, and fronting the approach of the enemy, who were pressing vigorously on … /// My movement to the left was ended when General Birney personally reported to me" – Major General Winfield S. Hancock.
"The whole brigade was then ordered by [Major] General [Abner] Doubleday to move quickly by the left flank onto the same ground where our forces had been driven … five companies [A, B, C, G, I] being detached from the 13th regiment" – Brigadier General George J. Stannard.
"The 14th [Vermont] Regiment under Col. [William T.] Nichols led the way under a sharp fire" – 1st Sergeant George H. Scott, Company G, 13th Vermont.
"This position was retained but a few minutes when orders were received … to return with two regiments to the old position, which was done, leaving the Fourth Ohio" – Colonel Samuel S. Carroll.
Sources:
-Marching in Clover: A Confederate Brigade's Tramp from the Rappahannock to Gettysburg, by Frank H. Foote, Philadelphia Weekly Times 5, no. 33, October 8, 1881, The New Annals of the Civil War, ed. by Peter Cozzens and Robert I Girardi, Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2004, p. 281.
-An Illinois Rebel at Gettysburg, by Jeff T. Giambrone, Mississippi River Routes, vol. 7, no. 3 (Diary of Sgt. Charles E. Hutchinson, Vicksburg Evening Post, April 1896).
-Official reports of Brig. Gen. A. R. Wright, Capt. M. R. Hall, Capt. John Darrow, Lt. Col. Geo. C. Joslin, Brig. Gen. Alex. S. Webb, Brig. Gen. C. M. Wilcox, Brig. Gen. R. O. Tyler, Col. S. S. Carroll.
-The story of a Confederate Flag, by Jennie Sue Daughtry, Confederate Veteran magazine, vol. 40 (1932), pp. 134-135; 17 September 2006 e-mail from c. warren concerning letters from his great-great grandfather, Elias J. Denson. [McGahee is probably Private Stephen McGahee of Company K.]
-Severe Experiences at Gettysburg, by William Paul, Confederate Veteran magazine, vol. 19 (1911), p. 85.
-Flag of the Third Georgia Regiment, by C. H. Andrews, Confederate Veteran magazine, vol. 2 (1894), p. 201.
-Memoir of William Brock Judkins, Robert L. Brake Collection, U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center, Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
-Account by Chas. H. Banes, Fiftieth Anniversary Banquet of the Survivor's Association, 71st P.V., April 13, 1891 at Colonade Hotel, Philadelphia; History of the Philadelphia Brigade, by Charles H. Banes, Philadelphia, PA: J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1876, p. 183.
-Letter of Daniel Mallett, https://civilwartalk.com/threads/pvt-daniel-mallett-co-a-2nd-nysm-82nd-nysv.133199/#post-1511595
-Dedication of Monument, 2nd New York State Militia (82nd New York), New York at Gettysburg, II:664.
-Account of Amable Beaudry. [Beaudry and Corporal John R. Farnum, also of Company B, escaped during the Confederate retreat to the Potomac and soon rejoined their company.]
-Excerpt: From Ball's Bluff to Gettysburg and Beyond: The Civil War Letters of Private Roland E. Bowen, 15th Massachusetts Infantry 1861-1864, Civil War Magazine, April 1995, pp. 47-48.
-Coulter quoted in, The Story of the Fifteenth Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry in the Civil War 1861-1864, by Andrew E. Ford (Clinton, MA: Press of W. J. Coulter, 1898, pp. 269-270.
-The History of Battery B, First Regiment Rhode Island Light Artillery, by John H. Rhodes, Providence, RI: Snow & Farnham, Printers, 1894, p. 202; The Gettysburg Gun, by John H. Rhodes, late sergeant in the battery, Providence, RI: 1892, reprint, Wilmington, NC: Broadfoot Publishing Company, 1993, pp. 387-388, 390.
-Official report of Lt. G. V. Weir; November 25, 1885 letter of Gulian V. Weir to Maj. Gen. W. S. Hancock, Bachelder Papers, 2:1152.
-Account by Col. J. W. Spaulding, Reunions of the Nineteenth Maine Regiment Association, Augusta, ME: Sprague, Owen & Nash, 1878, p. 11.
-Official report of Col. David Lang; July 19, 1863 letter of Colonel Lang to General Perry, Southern Historical Society Papers, vol. 27, 1899, p. 195.
-The Nineteenth Maine at Gettysburg, by Captain Silas Adams, War Papers, read before the commander of the state of Maine, Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, December 1, 1909, reprint, Wilmington, NC: Broadfoot Publishing Company, 1992, p. 252.
-Ibid; Colonel Heath directly quoted in The Nineteenth Maine at Gettysburg, by Silas Adams; October 12, 1889 letter of Francis E. Heath to Col. J. B. Bachelder, Bachelder Papers, III:1651-1652.
-Reminiscences of the Nineteenth Massachusetts Regiment, by Capt. John G. B. Adams, Boston, MA: Wright & Potter Printing Company, 1899, p. 66.
-June 9, 1866 letter of Col. William Colvill, Jr. to Col. John B. Bachelder, Bachelder Papers, 1:257.
-Muller quoted in, The Battle of Gettysburg as seen by Minnesota Soldiers, by Anne A. Hage, Minnesota History, June 1963, p. 251; Muller's account was at the Minnesota Historical Society.
-July 30, 1863 letter of Alfred Palmer Carpenter, Minnesota History Center.
-Yankee Rebel, The Civil War Journal of Edmund DeWitt Patterson, ed. by John G. Barrett, Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press, 1966, pp. 116-117.
-Unidentified author, Lt. John G. Turnbull's Battery (F and K, 3rd U.S.), Bachelder Papers, 1:231.
-Diary of A. F. Cavada, by Adolfo Fernandez de la Cavada, Ruth E. Lloyd Information Center, Bull Run Regional Library, Manassas, Virginia.
-Official report of Maj. Gen. Winfield S. Hancock; November 7, 1885 letter of Maj. Gen. Winfield S. Hancock to Colonel John B. Bachelder, Bachelder Papers, 2:1134.
-Extract from diary of General Geo. J. Stannard, Bachelder Papers, 1:54.
-Vermont at Gettysburg, address delivered before the society July 6, 1870, by Geo. H. Scott, First Sergeant, Co. G, 13th Vt., Proceeding of the Vermont Historical Society, Montpelier, VT: 1930, p. 63.
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