Photograph From Steven's Knoll ca.1885 T&N

Gettysburg Greg

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Jun 6, 2010
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Decatur, Illinois
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In this ca. 1885 image of two of Steven's guns on the knoll that now bears his name, East Cemetery Hill is seen in the background including the Cemetery Gatehouse. Notice in my similar now photo that the path of Slocum Avenue has been moved to now pass to the left of the 33rd Mass. monument located at the curve in the road.
 
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One can imagine the gun in the foremost lunette could be turned to fire toward the left when Avery's North Carolinians closed upon the base of the hill, but it was a problem for some of the other guns in the battery, which had to be moved around to avoid injuring their comrades when they fired.

The other problem was that the 33rd Massachusetts had moved to the right to position itself against the Confederate threat against Culp's Hill, and had sent some of their skirmishers further to the front. A few minutes later they had to scurry back to the wall where their monument now stands to avoid being taken in flank by the 57th North Carolina, and as they did so, they moved directly between Stevens' guns and the foe. Every minute was precious, since daylight was rapidly fading, which helped conceal the Confederate attackers. Otherwise, Avery's soldiers, in particular the 57th and 21st North Carolina, would have suffered immense loss from Stevens' guns. It may not be coincidental that the timing of the advance negated the great Union advantage in artillery at this point.
 
The 33rd Mass probably was not engaged where the monument stands as it fought on the evening of July 2. The regiment was moved to the right after that engagement (to probably near the monument). Originally Col. Underwood wanted the 33rd's monument to be in a different place, presumably to the north along Wainwright Avenue, but that ground was privately owned. It is probably for this reason that there exists a large gap between the monument for the 33rd and the next monument to the north. Perhaps also why some of those monuments to the north seem too close together as they also could not be placed on private ground. There is a map from the 1880's or 90's which depicts this private lot. It can be inferred that the 33rd's monument should really be there or at least that is where Col. Underwood wanted the monument to be placed.
 
Not to derail the thread but there are several two iron wheeled vehicles in the pic. Its a guess but I think they are being used as dollies for moving cannons. The tube on the right margin looks way elevated for display and it has one of these vehicles next to it which would jive that it had been recently moved. Any better way to blow this up or other pics taken at the time? Would like to get a better look to examine the vehicles.
 
The 33rd Mass probably was not engaged where the monument stands as it fought on the evening of July 2. The regiment was moved to the right after that engagement (to probably near the monument). Originally Col. Underwood wanted the 33rd's monument to be in a different place, presumably to the north along Wainwright Avenue, but that ground was privately owned. It is probably for this reason that there exists a large gap between the monument for the 33rd and the next monument to the north. Perhaps also why some of those monuments to the north seem too close together as they also could not be placed on private ground. There is a map from the 1880's or 90's which depicts this private lot. It can be inferred that the 33rd's monument should really be there or at least that is where Col. Underwood wanted the monument to be placed.

It is my belief that the next regiment to the left (north) of the 33rd Massachusetts monument when the Confederate advance began was the 17th Connecticut, which has its own monument further north (on ground it may have occupied on July 3). Also, when the 41st New York was driven back off the skirmish line, it formed on either side of the 17th Connecticut, which was in two lines behind the walls on either side of the lane. Reaching that conclusion involves an extended explanation, but there are two main points. First, the 17th Connecticut claims that it never budged from its position, and if that is true, the 7th and 8th Louisiana would not have been able to reach Wiedrich's guns so readily, if at all. Second, to reach the position indicated by their monument from their original spot facing north, the 17th would have had to move only a hundred yards or so to the right, but a few primary sources indicate that the regiment moved much further to the right, which makes sense if they were sent to defend against an approach from the north end of Culp's Hill - as was the 33rd Massachusetts. In addition, it appears there was only one wall along the portion of the lane where the 17th's monument now stands. There are other bolstering arguments. For instance, the crowd of stragglers who joined the 17th Connecticut can be none other than the retiring skirmishers of the 41st New York, but we can fix the left of the 41st New York with precision, since one of Battery L/1st New York's guns rolled down the hill on them, and that is further south along the lane. It also fits quite well with the fact that the 21st North Carolina did not reach the lane (in this scenario they would have been stopped by the 17th Connecticut), and it fits well with the known movements of the 6th North Carolina, which did break through and forced the left wing of the 41st New York to fall back to a wall running perpendicular to the one they occupied. All of the puzzle pieces fall neatly into place in this scenario, including the subsequent arrival of Carroll's brigade, which led to further realignment of the units.

But to accept the premise that the 17th Connecticut actually occupied the spot where their monument stands, on the night of July 2, introduces a number of not easily explainable circumstances, as I have pointed out. Plus, we would have to conclude the fragmented 41st New York made a heroic stand to stop the strong 21st North Carolina, which they never claimed. In fact, Carroll's brigade made that claim, but looking closely at the accounts and their casualty figures suggests they mainly collected the dead and wounded of the 21st North Carolina in front of the lane while mopping up, although they did help hurry the 6th North Carolina along on their retreat.

As for the 33rd Massachusetts, I conclude from Col. Underwood's official report that the regiment's right was not far from where their monument now stands when they fell back during the attack on the evening of July 2, although later that night after the fighting was over they shifted to the right so that their center would be near where the monument stands and their right wing would be placed along that fence and wall visible in the current photograph - perpendicular to their left wing, and quite close up against Stevens' left.
 
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I wish they would keep the grass cut on what is left of the lunettes as it would add immensely to the overall experience historically and it would be alot more aesthetically pleasing.
 
I have John Archer's book on East Cemetery Hill. I used parts of the book's walking tour on my last visit. It is a nice tool for anyone interested in this section of the battlefield. I really like books that focus in on small sections of the battlefield. I have learned a lot from these books.
 
Col. Underwood of the 33rd MA wrote in a letter to Bachelder on June 15, 1885: "As it is going to involve time and negotiation to secure the lot I speak of for our monument, our committee decides to take the spot selected by Mr. Smith on the association's land as indicated on the plan. Please give assent to the proper authority. Perhaps as you say, the position will be better on several accounts. We must make our inscription to tell the story." p. 1108 The Bachelder Papers
If one goes to the Park's property boundary of that time, one will see that there was a private lot which was situated in the space that exists between the 41st NY marker and the 33rd MA marker. That private lot certainly effected the placement of the 33rd's monument if not others, most notably the 41st N.Y.
 
I have John Archer's book and just watched the video. I agree with most of his analysis, except for the position of the 17th Connecticut. He states correctly that the 75th Ohio and 17th Connecticut held on. Some Confederates proceeded through the line of the 75th Ohio to reach the top of the hill. However, I just cannot accept that a significant number of men from the 7th and 8th Louisiana would have made it into Battery I, 1st New York if the 17th Connecticut held firm in the position that Archer places them (and where their monument stands).

Major Brady of the 17th Connecticut, wrote in his official report that the 17th was "ordered to the extreme right." That's curious language to use if he only had to shift to the other side of the small 75th Ohio regiment. In addition, we will also have to establish what regiment those 300 stragglers belonged to that joined on either side of the 17th, if we must exclude the returning skirmishers of the 41st New York, who were clearly further down the lane, beyond the 54th/68th NY, and 153rd Pennsylvania.
 
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