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Brig. Gen. Alexander S. Webb states in his official report that “General Armistead passed over the fence [stone wall] with probably over 100 of his command” on the afternoon of July 3. Webb was in the best position to know the number in front of his brigade, although he may have overlooked a few who crossed south of the copse. The circumstantial evidence seems to support his estimate. From extant sources I have identified 30 of these men, representing the brigades of Archer, Garnett, Kemper and Armistead:
Archer
Captain Jacob B. Turney, K/1 TN
2nd Lieutenant John H. Moore, B/7 TN
Captain Walter J. Taylor, C/13 AL
Garnett
1st Sergeant Alexander H. Compton, C/8 VA
Captain Robert McCulloch, B/18 VA
2nd Lieutenant John A. I. Lee, C/28 VA
1st Lieutenant Thomas C. Holland, G/28 VA
Private Calvin P. Dearing, G/28 VA
Private Audubon C. Smith, C/56 VA
Private Charles R. Steger, D/56 VA
4th Corporal (color bearer) Alexander L.P. Williams, I/56 VA
1st Lieutenant George W. Finley, K/56 VA
Kemper
1st Lieutenant Thomas D. Houston, K/11 VA
Armistead
Brigadier General Lewis A. Armistead
Private Milton Harding, G/9 VA
5th Sergeant Drewry B. Easley, H/14 VA
Private Erasmus Williams, H/14 VA
Lieutenant Colonel Rawley White Martin, 53 VA
Major John C. Timberlake, 53 VA
1st Lieutenant William Harvie Bray E/53 VA
2nd Lieutenant James Irving Sale, H/53 VA
1st Lieutenant Hutchings L. Carter, I/53 VA
1st Sergeant Zebedee P. “Zeb” Walker, I/53 VA
3rd Sergeant Thomas Booker Tredway, I/53 VA
Private James C. “Chip” Coleman, I/53 VA
Private George W. White, I/53 VA
Colonel John B. Magruder, 57 VA
1st Sergeant Wyatt S. Meador, A/57 VA
2nd Corporal Stephen A. Duncan, A/57 VA
Private Thomas N. Mustain, D/57 VA
Unidentified: A young officer, followed by a number of enlisted men, crossed over in a separate group opposite the southern border of the clump of trees and advanced toward the right gun of Cowan’s New York battery, perhaps 25 yards away. (It seems they went over some rails with loose earth that bridged a gap in the stone wall at that point - the same gap had been traversed by Lt. Brown’s Battery B, 1st Rhode Island on July 2.) The officer waved his sword in the air and shouted, “Take the gun.” Cowan’s guns at that point were loaded with canister and waiting for this moment. When they discharged, all the Confederates went down. The young officer’s sword became the possession of Captain Cowan. The scabbard was made of brass and bore the number “425” and the name of the maker, “Horstman.” The sword itself appeared to be older. The blade was of very fine steel, and the hilt was mother-of-pearl, surmounted by a figure of the goddess of liberty. The guard represented a Palmetto tree and bore the date “1776.” (The Philadelphia Press, July 3, 1887, p. 2; Brake Collection, U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center, Carlisle, PA).
Notes:
Archer: Capt. Turney recalled, “One triumphant shout was given as the Federals in our immediate front yielded and fled in confusion to a point just back of the crest of the hill, abandoning their artillery.” He is apparently referring to the two companies of the 71st Pennsylvania posted at the apex of the angle. Turney went forward with men from various companies including his own and mentions being joined by Lt. Moore and Capt. Taylor, and a few from the 5th Alabama Battalion, although he does not identify anyone by name from the latter unit. Probably under pressure from the 72nd Pennsylvania, they fell back to the wall, but advanced again when Armistead came up and pushed forward. (Confederate Veteran, vol. 8, pp. 536-537). Moore separately claimed that the 1st and half of the 7th Tennessee passed over the works; he was one of the few who crossed and still made it back to Seminary Ridge. (J. H. Moore, Longstreet’s Assault, The Times, Philadelphia, November 4, 1882)
Garnett: Several from the 8th Virginia reached the wall, but only Compton is identified as having crossed it (Confederate Veteran, vol. 24, 1916, p. 511). McCulloch of the 18th was left for dead beside one of the captured gun carriages (Cushing’s) (Confederate Military History, Extended Addition (CMHEA), vol. XII, Missouri). No names are known from the 19th Virginia, but Major Charles S. Peyton said many climbed the wall (Official Report); Lt. William N. Wood from Company A said he stopped at the fence (Reminiscences of Big I). Lt. Holland of the 28th was shot through the head “about 20 steps in advance” and a little to the left of Armistead and said “quite a few of us crossed the wall at the same time,” including Lee. (Confederate Veteran, vol. 31, 1923, p. 423; and vol. 29, 1921, p. 62). Dearing wrote, “Just as I started to get over the fence, a shell or large ball shattered my gun” (Greg Coco, On the Bloodstained Field, p. 31.) Steger of the 56th was sitting astride a cannon when he was “grabbed by the collar and jerked down.” Duncan of the 57th Virginia was near him (Southern Historical Society Papers, vol. 30, p. 159, quoting Richmond Dispatch, June 23, 1902). Williams took his colors inside the wall, and Smith was there too (William A. and Patricia C. Young, Virginia Regimental Histories Series, 56th Virginia). Finley was just to the right of Archer’s men. He then followed Armistead across the wall, “but seeing that most of the men remained at the stone fence,” he returned to it (Finley, With Pickett at Cemetery Ridge).
Kemper: Much of Kemper’s brigade was held back to deal with the flank attack of Stannard. Others made to the wall but did not cross. Edward Howard Compton of the 7th Virginia wrote, “We did not have men enough left to go over the stone wall.” Captain John Holmes Smith of the 11th Virginia, who also did not cross, remembered that the works consisted of a “hasty trench and embankment, not a stone wall,” which indicates that he was south of the copse. Houston of the 11th went some yards “beyond the Federal artillery and the rock wall,” when he was “disabled by a minie ball coming obliquely from the right” (CMHEA, vol. III, West Virginia, p. 219; and Houston, Storming Cemetery Hill).
Armistead: (As supported by the numbers, I suspect that Armistead’s brigade had the most men cross over the wall, since they missed much of the Federal infantry fire directed against Garnett’s brigade in front.) Harding was just a few feet to the left of Armistead when he fell, recalling that, “as he slapped his left hand on the gun he sank to his knees, and then fell full length to his right.” Harding fell back to the wall, where he was captured (Confederate Veteran, vol. 19, p. 371). Private Thomas J. Dashiell of the 9th recalled that he was one of five of his company (K) who reached the stone wall uninjured (but no mention of having crossed) (CMHEA, vol. IV, VA, p. 830). Easley of the 14th said he left his company to follow Armistead, who mounted the wall to his left, a brass cannon between them (one that had been run down to the wall by Cushing) (Confederate Veteran, vol. 20, p. 379; and vol. 36, p. 292). Williams crossed and heard Armistead order the men to turn around the Union cannon to use them against their former owners. Color bearer Shiflett of the 14th was shot as he was trying to cross, so I did not count him (Edward R. Crews, 14th Virginia Infantry, The Virginia Regimental Histories Series, pp. 40-41). The 53rd Virginia, in particular Company I, has the most recorded cases. Whether it is merely an anomaly resulting from a good memory by surviving participants cannot be known. Lt. Col. Martin was disabled by Armistead’s side (War Recollections of the Confederate Veterans of Pittsylvania County, Virginia 1861-1865, p. 41). Maj. Timberlake was following close behind and mentions that the guns were indeed being turned when a volley brought Armistead down, then he ordered his men back to the wall; he also mentions Capt. Bray (Supplement to Official Records, Bryan Grimes Papers, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill). Lt. Sale was only a few feet behind Armistead when he fell (The Philadelphia Press, July 4, 1887). Lt. Carter took the colors to where Armistead and Martin stood, and Coleman, Tredway, White and Walker were likewise cited as being there (War Recollections of the Confederate Veterans of Pittsylvania County, Virginia 1861-1865, pp. 45, 48). White’s obituary confirms it (The Danville Register, March 11, 1910, p. 2). Col. Magruder of the 57th was hit by two musket balls in his left chest while crossing (Coco, Wasted Valor). Meador’s crossing is reported by a descendant (History Sites, online), while Mustain is mentioned by a fellow soldier (David E. Johnston, The Story of a Confederate Boy in the Civil War, p. 216). See Duncan, above.
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