Regiments that fought at Gettysburg

124th New York, "The Orange Blossoms"
The 124th New York, the “Orange Blossoms,” was posted near Smith’s battery at Devil’s Den. The 124th’s monument is the only regimental marker at Gettysburg that contains a life-size portrait statue of its commander – Colonel Augustus Van Horne Ellis. His commander, Brigadier General J. H. Hobart Ward, would later write of him: “Col. A. Van Horne Ellis was one of those dashing and chivalrous spirits that we frequently read of, but seldom encounter in real life.” The Colonel stands atop the stone monument, arms folded across his chest, gazing steadily across the fields towards the oncoming Confederates.

On July 2nd, Ellis stood much as he does for all eternity in stone – arms folded, calmly watching the advancing Confederates. A soldier in the 124th New York recalled: "At length the enemy appeared in heavy columns of battalion advancing on us from the opposite slope. As we held the position by a single line of battle unsupported, the enemy’s superiority in numbers, as seen at a glance, seemed overwhelming. As they approached they deployed in four distinct lines of battle, and came resolutely on under a rapid fire from our batteries."

Smith’s guns kept up a steady fire, claiming heaving casualties among the
Confederates. The captain later wrote: "I never saw the men do better work; every shot told; the pieces were discharged as rapidly as they could be with regard to effectiveness, while the conduct of the men was superb; but when the enemy approached to within three hundred yards of our position the many obstacles in our front afforded him excellent protection for his sharpshooters…."

In the ensuing minutes, the men of Smith’s battery were decimated as the Confederate marksmen picked them off. Captain Smith was desperate; as the Confederates drew nearer, he pleaded with the infantrymen to save his guns.

Major James Cromwell was anxious for the regiment to charge. He had rushed over to Ellis twice to ask permission, but Ellis had refused him both times and sent him back to his post on the left. Standing behind the center of the line, Colonel Ellis calmly surveyed the scene. Then, horses were brought to the officers. The men were aghast; to be mounted was a sure invitation for death. Answering their protests, Cromwell said, “The men must see us today.”

The 1st Texas crossed the “triangular field” toward Smith’s guns and the 124th New York. When they moved within 50 yards of the battery and 100 yards of the regimental line, Ellis ordered his men to fasten their bayonets. The Confederates continued to draw nearer; when they reached 50 feet of Smith’s guns, Ellis ordered his men to fire. The “destructive” volley slowed the Confederates, but did not stop them. On they came, moving closer and closer to the isolated battery. Now Ellis gave the order: “Charge bayonets! Forward; double-quick – March!”

When Ellis gave the order (by some accounts, he merely nodded his head to Cromwell), "the Major waves his sword twice above his head, makes a lunge forward, shouts the charge, and putting spurs to his horse, dashes forward through the lines. The men cease firing for a minute and with ready bayonets rush after him. Ellis sits in his saddle and looks on as if in proud admiration of both his loved Major and the gallant sons of Orange, until the regiment is fairly under way, and then rushes with them into the thickest of the fray."

Private Tucker of Company B remembered that the “Orange Blossoms” gave a “defiant cheer,” and that the Texans “ran like sheep before them.” According to the regimental historian: "The conflict at this point defies description. Roaring cannon, crashing riflery, screeching shots, bursting shells, hissing bullets, shrieks and groans were the notes of the song of death which greeted the grim reaper, as with mighty sweeps he leveled down the richest field of scarlet human grain ever garnered on this continent."

Another soldier remembered it as a “gallant rush into the jaws of hell.”

A soldier in the 1st Texas noted: "There was one officer, a major, who won our admiration by his courage and gallantry. He was a very handsome man, and rode a beautiful, high-spirited gray horse. The animal seemed to partake of the spirit of the leader, and as he came on with a free, graceful stride into that hell of death and carnage, head erect and ears pointed, horse and man offered a picture as is seldom seen. As the withering, scathing volleys from behind the rocks cut into the ranks of the regiment the major led, his gallant men went down like grain before a scythe, he followed close at their heels, and when time and again, they stopped and would have fled the merciless fire, each time he rallied them as if his puissant arm alone could stay the storm."

A cry arose among the Confederates: “Don’t shoot at him – don’t kill him, he is too brave a man to die.”
At the height of the charge, seeing the Confederates about to break, Major Cromwell yelled, “The day is ours!” At that moment, he was instantly killed when a bullet pierced his heart. Ellis cried out: “My God! My God men! Your Major’s down! Save him! Save him!” The New Yorkers maintained a heavy fire, and Ellis rose in his stirrups, wielding his sword over his head, urging his men to greater efforts, when a bullet struck him in the head. The regimental historian remembered: "Suddenly his trusty blade falls point downward, his chin drops on his breast, and his body with a weave pitches forward, head foremost among the rocks; at which his wounded beast rears and with a mad plunge dashes away, staggering blindly through the ranks of the foe, who is now giving ground, firing wildly as he goes."

Fresh Confederate troops were pouring into Devil’s Den, and the men of the 124th New York were being annihilated by fire from in front and on both flanks. The regiment began to fall back across the triangular field towards their original position. The charge, although made at a murderous cost, had – at least for a time – blunted the Confederate advance. The regiment lost 91 of the 250 men who entered the fight.

Meanwhile, the men of the “Orange Blossoms” struggled to fight on. The bodies of Ellis and Cromwell had been recovered, and lay on a boulder behind the regiment. Captain Charles H. Weygant later wrote about his feelings as he took stock of the regiment after its charge: "Passing down the line, I notice that there is no commissioned officer in command of Company I, and ask, “Where is your new plucky lieutenant?” and the answer comes, “You will find him lying down yonder with four or five of I beside him.” “What!” I answer, “Is he dead?” and I am told that he fell fighting nobly at the head of his company. Reaching Company K, I learn that Lieutenant Finnegan has been borne to the rear wounded in two places. Coming to G, which moved into line that morning with more men than any other company in the regiment, I see a corporal’s guard in charge of a corporal, and learn that Captain Nicoll’s dead body lies wedged in between two rocks at the farthest point of our advance. The slope in front was strewn with our dead, and not a few of our severely wounded lay beyond the reach of their unscathed comrades, bleeding, helpless, and some of them dying. One of their number, who lay farthest away, among the rocks near the body of our truly noble and most esteemed Captain Nicoll, could be seen ever and anon, beneath the continually rising smoke of battle, to raise his arm, and feebly wave a blood covered hand. It was James Scott, of Company B, one of the ten thousand heroes of that great battle."

As Sergeant Bradley later wrote: "I have often thought of the seeming recklessness, and as I at one time thought, uselessness of our charges that day. In the last years of our service we would not have been called on to make them. At any rate, we felt that day as we never felt before or after, that on us, the veterans of the Army of the Potomac, rested in the coming fight the future of the American Republic, and every man was ready to die that day to save it. If ever he shirked before or after, he was the soul of sacrifice in that battle."

It is this spirit and determination, this “soul of sacrifice,” that is reflected in the sculpture of Colonel Ellis and the monument of the 124th New York.

Years later, one of the Texans would state simply of the fighting here: “Such courage belongs not to any one army or country, but to mankind.”
Very well written. The Orange Blossoms gave the Old First a hardy fight that day!

The Men Must See Us Today by Don Troiani. Col. Ellis at center.

Wallcate_com - Don Troiani-Paintings (51).jpg
 
"The Bucktails" - Officially designated the 42nd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, the unit was also known as the 13th Pennsylvania Reserves, the 1st Pennsylvania Rifles, and the Kane Rifles.
Thanks for posting.
I have fond memories of this unit, maybe the first I knew by name, thanks to family friends who had lived in NW PA.
 
In honor of my avatar --

The Sixth Wisconsin had been left behind as a reserve near the Seminary as the rest of the Iron Brigade advanced and fought in McPherson’s Woods. Lieutenant Colonel Rufus Dawes must have chafed to see the other Iron Brigade regiments engaged while his own men were busy building a barricade of split rails. But Dawes and the Sixth Wisconsin did not have long to wait for action. Cutler’s brigade was being driven back in disorder and the right of the Union line was about to collapse. The surging Confederates would then be in position to advance on the flank and move in behind the rest of the Iron Brigade in the McPherson Woods. It was a critical moment, and Abner Doubleday, who had succeeded to command of the First Corps when Reynolds was killed, urgently sent for Dawes and the Sixth Wisconsin to “come like hell.”

As the men of the Sixth Wisconsin advanced, a group of officers carrying a blanket with the body of John Reynolds crossed their path. It must have been a sobering experience. They soon came under fire. A bullet hit Dawes’s horse and he went down. In an instant, Dawes was on his feet and the men cheered. The regiment advanced and took a position along a fence bordering the Chambersburg Pike. Dawes ordered his men to fire. “In the field, beyond the turnpike, a long line of yelling rebels could be seen running forward and firing,” Dawes later wrote, “and our troops of Cutler’s brigade were running back in disorder. The fire of our carefully aimed muskets, resting on the fence rails, soon checked the rebels in their headlong pursuit.” Captain Lloyd Harris remembered that “when the enemy discovered us coming, they gave up the pursuit of Cutler’s men and wheeled to the right to meet [us] … I could not help thinking now, for once, we will have a square ‘stand up and knock down fight.’ No trees, no walls to protect either, when presto! their whole line disappeared as if swallowed up by the earth.”

Quickly sizing up the situation, Dawes realized that the advantage had swung toward the men in blue. He ordered his men to charge the cut. The battle flag of the Sixth Wisconsin surged forward, the men advancing with it. The men of the neighboring Fourteenth Brooklyn and Ninety-Fifth New York joined the advance as well. Great gaps were torn in the advancing line from the murderous fire from the Confederates who had taken refuge in the railroad cut. “Men were falling by the twenties and thirties, and breaking ranks by falling or running.” As Dawes would later describe it, “With the colors at the advance point, the regiment firmly and hurriedly moved forward, while the whole field behind streamed with men who had been shot, and who were struggling to the rear or sinking in death upon the ground.” Dawes was yelling, “Align on the colors! Close up on the colors!” In the 175 yards between the turnpike and the railroad cut, 180 men of the Sixth Wisconsin went down, dead or wounded. One of them later recorded the carnage: "Andy Miller of Company I falls dead, near him Gottlieb Schreiber wounded, but a few yards more and Boughton is killed, then Sweet falls wounded. Then Jim McLane and Alf. Thompson are wounded. Now Sutton falls dead, Goodwin and Charlie Jones are wounded. They reach the railroad cut and Levi Steadman drops dead and Ed. Lind is wounded"

Dawes recorded a particularly poignant scene: As the men of the 6th surged towards the railroad cut, Corporal James Kelly staggered up to Dawes, opened his shirt and revealed an ugly chest wound. “Colonel, won’t you write my folks that I died a soldier?” the wounded man pleaded before he went to the rear. Dawes promised he would, and later that afternoon he recorded in his journal: “If I am killed today let it be known that Corporal James Kelley of Company B shot through the breast, and mortally wounded, asked to tell his folks he died a soldier.” It was a memory that would haunt Dawes for the rest of his life. Kelly is buried in the Soldier’s National Cemetery in Gettysburg.

On came the Wisconsinites, pressing ever closer towards the railroad cut. The blue line overlapped the Confederates and some of the men of the Sixth swung around and straddled the cut. The Confederates were trapped. The cut was so deep – twenty feet in some places – that they could not escape. One of the Wisconsin men would later write: "Bayonets are crossed. The fight was hand to hand amidst firing and smoke. The men are black and grimy from powder and heat. They seemed all unconscious to the terrible situation; they were mad and fought with a desperation seldom witnessed."

Meanwhile, a fierce battle for the colors of the Second Mississippi was taking place to the right. Lieutenant William Remington remembered, “I thought I could take their flag.” He was wounded just as he made a run to grab it. In his words: "I got quite near the flag, was changing my sword to my left hand, where my revolver was, when I saw a soldier taking aim at me from the railroad cut. I threw my right shoulder forward and kept going for the flag. He hit me through the right shoulder and knocked me down…. Flag-taking was pretty well knocked out of me."

Cornelius Okey remembered: "I remember seeing Lt. Wm. Remington, Drummer L. Eggleston and myself – there may have been others, but we were close together and making for the rebel flag at the top of our speed, Remington in the center, Eggleston on the right and I on the left. At this time the firing from both sides was very hot, and as we got well out between the two lines it seemed almost impossible to breathe without inhaling a bullet. Lt. Remington was wounded through the right shoulder and Eggleston and myself pressed on, expecting every moment to be shot, but it was too late to turn back. I reached for the flag a little in advance of Eggleston and bending over grasped the staff low down, but he was so close to me that before I could draw it from the ground, the staff having been driven well down in the dirt, Eggleston had also got a hold of it. As I straightened up, I noticed a rebel corporal on his knees, right in front of me in the act of firing, his bayonet almost touched me; as quick as thought almost, I made a quarter face to the left, thus pressing my right side to him and bringing Eggleston, who still retained his hold on the flag, as well as myself, at my back. The rebel whom I noticed fired. His charge, a ball and three buck-shot, passed through the skirts in my frock coat in front and lodged in my left forearm and wrist."

Private Johnson recalled: "As I arrived on the edge of the railroad cut, I saw that the rebel color sergeant had stuck the end of his staff into the ground and was holding on it with both hands. Louis Eggleston, one of my mess-mates, whom I loved as a brother, also had hold of the staff and was trying to wrest it from the rebel’s grasp. Seeing other rebels raising their guns as if to shoot or bayonet Eggleston, I stepped in front of him and raised my musket to defend him as best I could. While thus in the act of striking, I received a ball that disabled my right arm. Poor Eggleston also went down, and I think from the same bullet that disabled me."

Shot through both arms, Eggleston died on the field. Dawes noted: “Private Anderson, of company H, in fierce and desperate anger at the murder of his friend and comrade, clubbed his unloaded musket and crushed the skull of the rebel who shot Eggleston.”

Corporal Frank Wallar would be the man to eventually capture the flag. Wallar went after the color with his brother Sam at his side. A Confederate soldier leveled his musket at Frank and fired. Using his own musket as a club, Sam parried the Confederate’s musket as he fired, then clubbed the southerner’s head.

Private John Harland was also racing after the flag, and he was killed just as he reached for it. His friend Levi Tongue was at his side. Tongue leveled his musket at the Confederate: “Don’t shoot! Don’t shoot!” Tongue answered: “All hell can’t save you now,” and pulled the trigger.

W. B. Murphey was the Second Mississippi’s color-bearer that morning. He remembered: "My color guards were all killed or wounded in less than five minutes and also my colors were shot more than a dozen times, and the flag staff was hit and splintered two or three times. Just about that time a squad of soldiers made a rush for my colors and our men did their duty. They were all killed or wounded, but they still rushed for the colors with one of the most deadly struggles that was ever witnessed in any battle during the war. They still kept rushing for my flag and there were over a dozen shot down like sheep in their mad rush for the colors. The first soldier was shot down just as he made for the flag, and he was shot by one of our soldiers. Just to my right and at the same time a lieutenant made a desperate struggle for the flag and was shot through the right shoulder. Over a dozen men fell killed or wounded, then a large man made a rush for me and the flag. As I tore the flag from the staff he took hold of me and the color. The firing was still going on, and was kept up for several minutes after the flag was taken from me."

Frank Wallar would receive the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions this morning.

The Wisconsin men were yelling, “Throw down your muskets! Down with your muskets!” Reaching the lip of the cut, Dawes saw “hundreds of rebels … four feet deep.” He shouted down at the Confederates: “Where is the colonel of this regiment?” Major John Blair of the Second Mississippi stepped forward and handed over his sword. Six other officers and the infantrymen around them surrendered as well.

Many years later, Rufus Dawes wrote of the courage and valor of the men who made this charge: “There was no royalty in the rank then. It was the valor of noble men in the ranks that enabled us to breast that awful storm.”

http://gettysburgframe.com/6th-wisconsin-at-gettysburg

6th Wisconsin at Gettysburg by Rick Reeves.

rrsw-l.jpg
 
The Louisiana Tigers: 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th Regiments

Harry T. Hays was the Brigadier General of the feared Louisiana Tigers. During the Civil War, the Tigers gained a reputation in the North as one of the fiercest Southern brigades. The Tigers are best known for their tremendous efforts at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, where Hays said they, “advanced through the city of Gettysburg, clearing it of the enemy and taking prisoners at every turn.”

The Confederates had planned on going into the Union to take a northern city and convince Northerners that the fight was not worth it anymore. But on July 1, 1863, parts of the Confederate army marched on Gettysburg, and found the town to be occupied by more Union forces than they had anticipated. This began the unintentional confrontation between the two sides, which ultimately resulted in the four-day battle. That first day in Gettysburg, Hays’ account of the Tigers proves the accuracy of their reputation. After July 1, Hays felt “satisfied that the prisoners taken in the above-mentioned movements by my brigade exceeded in numbers the force under my command,” where the casualties for the Union, “exceeded ours by at least six to one.” These extraordinary efforts from Hays’ brigade and others helped to push the Union troops out of the town and onto Cemetery Ridge, where the Tigers performed another incredible task with seemingly little effort.

In the early morning of July 2, Hays moved the brigade onto the base of Cemetery Hill, resulting in skirmishes with Union troops at roughly two a.m. Despite their inferior position, they managed to hold their ground until approximately eight p.m. when they were ordered to advance up the hill. Progressing up the hill, the brigade was exposed to Union artillery that, “opened up upon us, but owing to the darkness of the evening, now verging into night and the deep obscurity afforded by the smoke of the firing, our exact locality could not be discovered by the enemy’s gunners.” Due to the dark and smoke, the Tigers managed to cross a few more Union lines, ultimately reaching the summit, only to see U.S. troops approaching several minutes after their ascent. Unable to determine the full strength of these troops, Hays moved his men back down the hill, holding that position until the next night when he fell back to his original position at the base of the hill.

The effort that the Louisiana Tigers exhibited in the first two days of battle at Gettysburg is typical of the brute force that came to be expected from Confederate troops. Hays’ account of the efforts of the Tigers and the strength they possessed seems almost extraordinary, as he reported only 181 casualties for these two days, despite being subject to various artillery fire on their climb of Cemetery Hill. All of these actions helped solidify their previous reputation as one of the fiercest Confederate brigades and contribute to the South’s initial success at Gettysburg.

Citations
Digital Scholarship Lab © 2008–2015 The University of Richmond

https://historyengine.richmond.edu/episodes/view/5324
 
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13th Vermont Infantry:

Stannard was exchanged and in March 1863, was promoted to Brigadier General. He was also assigned as commander of an all Vermont brigade consisting of the 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, and 16th Vermont Infantry regiments. All five regiments had been organized in October 1862 with an enlistment term of nine months. This brigade, called the 2nd Vermont Brigade, was part of the 22nd Corps and assigned to the defenses at and near Washington D.C. By the last week of June, 1863, the regiments each had just two to four weeks left in their enlistments, and had not seen any significant action.

That was about to change. General Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia was marching north into Maryland and Pennsylvania, and on June 25th, the 2nd Vermont Brigade was ordered to join General Abner Doubleday’s division of the 1st Corps, which at that time was concentrating in Maryland before heading north to Pennsylvania. The brigade marched over 125 miles before arriving a few miles outside of Gettysburg on June 30th, where the brigade was assigned to guard the 1st Corps supply wagon trains. The next morning, Stannard was ordered to leave two regiments to guard the trains and march his other three to Gettysburg. The 12th and 15th regiments remained behind to guard the trains while the 13th, 14th, and 16th marched on, arriving late in the afternoon on the 1st of July. Most of the fighting had concluded for the day, and the brigade was deployed on the south end of Cemetery Hill.

The next day, the 13th Vermont went into action. Five companies were sent to guard an artillery battery, and the other five companies were ordered forward to the Union center on Cemetery Ridge, where Major General Winfield Scott Hancock’s Second Corps was fighting Major General Richard Anderson’s Confederate division. Anderson’s troops had captured a Union artillery battery, and Hancock asked Colonel Francis Randall, the 13ths commanding officer, if he would be willing to recapture the battery. Hancock cautioned that it was a very hazardous task, and would not order it, but would allow the regiment to volunteer for the duty. Randall answered he’d be willing to try. The five companies of the 13th charged with fixed bayonets into the 3rd and 22nd Georgia Infantry regiments of Brigadier General Ambrose Wright’s Division, surprising the Georgians, scattering some and capturing others. The 13th surged forward and recaptured the battery, impressing Hancock.

On July 3rd, the 2nd Vermont Brigade was on the left flank of the Union line on Cemetery Ridge. The 14th and 16th regiments were advanced ahead of the main Union line to take advantage of better cover; the 13th Infantry remained on the main line. The brigade watched as the assault known as Pickett’s Charge unfolded before them. The Virginia regiments of Brigadier General James Kemper’s brigade marched toward the 2nd Vermont Brigade’s position. When the Virginians were close enough, the Vermonters fired into their advancing ranks, becoming the first Union infantry to engage the Confederates.

Kemper’s brigade took casualties but continued on and executed a change in direction by about 45 degrees to close a gap in the Confederate line. This maneuver exposed the right flank of Kemper’s brigade, and Stannard decided to take advantage of the situation. He ordered the 13th to pivot to the right 90 degrees so that it’s line was facing directly at the Confederate right flank. The 16th then formed its line on the left of the 13th. Stannard held the 14th Infantry in place. The Confederates saw the Vermonters reforming and fired into them, but the two regiments pressed on and successfully performed the maneuver. When the two regiments were in place, they were within 100 yards of the Confederates, and as the Rebels closed in on the stone wall marking the main Federal line, the 900 or so Vermonters opened fire to great effect. The 14th Vermont also poured in fire from its position.

With his right flank taking severe fire and serious casualties, Kemper had the 11th and 24th Virginia regiments turn and face the 13th and 16th Vermont line. These regiments fought it out until the main assault was repulsed and the Confederates retreated.

The main body of the assault was in retreat, but the 2nd Vermont Brigades’ fighting wasn’t over. Two more Confederate brigades were approaching the Union left. The five Alabama regiments of Brigadier General Cadmus Wilcox and three regiments of Floridians under Colonel David Lang had gotten a late start in their assault, and kept advancing even as the mass of Confederates on their right were in retreat. Union artillery concentrated fire at the two relatively isolated Rebel infantry brigades The 16th Vermont, joined by part of the 14th Vermont, turned around, facing in the opposite direction from their previous fighting. Again, the Vermont troops opened fire on the flank of the advancing Confederates, inflicting heavy casualties, particularly on the Florida regiments which were the closest to the Federals. Fighting continued until Wilcox realized that his assault was useless with the main body of the Confederates retreating, and ordered his men to pull back, ending the fighting.

https://ironbrigader.com/2016/07/31/general-george-stannard-2nd-vermont-brigade-gettysburg/

13VT-3pos-4c_5047.jpg


13th Vt.
F.V. Randall, Colonel,
Right of Stannard’s Brigade,
3d Position 3d Day
Struck Pickett’s flank here.


Francis V. Randall, Captain Second Vermont Infantry, Colonel Thirteenth Vermont Infantry, Colonel Seventeenth Vermont Infantry.

July 2 In the charge Colonel Randall fell with his wounded horse but soon overtook and led the line on foot. July 3; When the Confederates began to yield to the flank attack and his order to cease firing was not heard he rushed in front of his line and by word and gesture made himself understood and thus saved the lives of many foes.

http://gettysburg.stonesentinels.com/union-monuments/vermont/13th-vermont/

 
IMG_1785.JPG
"Floridians of Perry's Brigade, comprised of the 2nd, 5th, and 8th Florida Infantry, fought here with great honor as members of Anderson's Division of Hill's Corps, and participated in the heaviest fighting of July 2 and 3, 1863, the Florida monument reads. The Brigade suffered 445 casualties of the 700 men present for duty.

Like all Floridians who participated in the Civil War, they fought with courage and devotion for the ideals in which they believed. By their noble example of bravery and endurance, they enable us to meet with confidence any sacrifice which confronts us as Americans."
Florida Gettysburg Monument
 
13th Vermont Infantry:

Stannard was exchanged and in March 1863, was promoted to Brigadier General. He was also assigned as commander of an all Vermont brigade consisting of the 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, and 16th Vermont Infantry regiments. All five regiments had been organized in October 1862 with an enlistment term of nine months. This brigade, called the 2nd Vermont Brigade, was part of the 22nd Corps and assigned to the defenses at and near Washington D.C. By the last week of June, 1863, the regiments each had just two to four weeks left in their enlistments, and had not seen any significant action.

That was about to change. General Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia was marching north into Maryland and Pennsylvania, and on June 25th, the 2nd Vermont Brigade was ordered to join General Abner Doubleday’s division of the 1st Corps, which at that time was concentrating in Maryland before heading north to Pennsylvania. The brigade marched over 125 miles before arriving a few miles outside of Gettysburg on June 30th, where the brigade was assigned to guard the 1st Corps supply wagon trains. The next morning, Stannard was ordered to leave two regiments to guard the trains and march his other three to Gettysburg. The 12th and 15th regiments remained behind to guard the trains while the 13th, 14th, and 16th marched on, arriving late in the afternoon on the 1st of July. Most of the fighting had concluded for the day, and the brigade was deployed on the south end of Cemetery Hill.

The next day, the 13th Vermont went into action. Five companies were sent to guard an artillery battery, and the other five companies were ordered forward to the Union center on Cemetery Ridge, where Major General Winfield Scott Hancock’s Second Corps was fighting Major General Richard Anderson’s Confederate division. Anderson’s troops had captured a Union artillery battery, and Hancock asked Colonel Francis Randall, the 13ths commanding officer, if he would be willing to recapture the battery. Hancock cautioned that it was a very hazardous task, and would not order it, but would allow the regiment to volunteer for the duty. Randall answered he’d be willing to try. The five companies of the 13th charged with fixed bayonets into the 3rd and 22nd Georgia Infantry regiments of Brigadier General Ambrose Wright’s Division, surprising the Georgians, scattering some and capturing others. The 13th surged forward and recaptured the battery, impressing Hancock.

On July 3rd, the 2nd Vermont Brigade was on the left flank of the Union line on Cemetery Ridge. The 14th and 16th regiments were advanced ahead of the main Union line to take advantage of better cover; the 13th Infantry remained on the main line. The brigade watched as the assault known as Pickett’s Charge unfolded before them. The Virginia regiments of Brigadier General James Kemper’s brigade marched toward the 2nd Vermont Brigade’s position. When the Virginians were close enough, the Vermonters fired into their advancing ranks, becoming the first Union infantry to engage the Confederates.

Kemper’s brigade took casualties but continued on and executed a change in direction by about 45 degrees to close a gap in the Confederate line. This maneuver exposed the right flank of Kemper’s brigade, and Stannard decided to take advantage of the situation. He ordered the 13th to pivot to the right 90 degrees so that it’s line was facing directly at the Confederate right flank. The 16th then formed its line on the left of the 13th. Stannard held the 14th Infantry in place. The Confederates saw the Vermonters reforming and fired into them, but the two regiments pressed on and successfully performed the maneuver. When the two regiments were in place, they were within 100 yards of the Confederates, and as the Rebels closed in on the stone wall marking the main Federal line, the 900 or so Vermonters opened fire to great effect. The 14th Vermont also poured in fire from its position.

With his right flank taking severe fire and serious casualties, Kemper had the 11th and 24th Virginia regiments turn and face the 13th and 16th Vermont line. These regiments fought it out until the main assault was repulsed and the Confederates retreated.

The main body of the assault was in retreat, but the 2nd Vermont Brigades’ fighting wasn’t over. Two more Confederate brigades were approaching the Union left. The five Alabama regiments of Brigadier General Cadmus Wilcox and three regiments of Floridians under Colonel David Lang had gotten a late start in their assault, and kept advancing even as the mass of Confederates on their right were in retreat. Union artillery concentrated fire at the two relatively isolated Rebel infantry brigades The 16th Vermont, joined by part of the 14th Vermont, turned around, facing in the opposite direction from their previous fighting. Again, the Vermont troops opened fire on the flank of the advancing Confederates, inflicting heavy casualties, particularly on the Florida regiments which were the closest to the Federals. Fighting continued until Wilcox realized that his assault was useless with the main body of the Confederates retreating, and ordered his men to pull back, ending the fighting.

https://ironbrigader.com/2016/07/31/general-george-stannard-2nd-vermont-brigade-gettysburg/

View attachment 146443

13th Vt.
F.V. Randall, Colonel,
Right of Stannard’s Brigade,
3d Position 3d Day
Struck Pickett’s flank here.

Francis V. Randall, Captain Second Vermont Infantry, Colonel Thirteenth Vermont Infantry, Colonel Seventeenth Vermont Infantry.

July 2 In the charge Colonel Randall fell with his wounded horse but soon overtook and led the line on foot. July 3; When the Confederates began to yield to the flank attack and his order to cease firing was not heard he rushed in front of his line and by word and gesture made himself understood and thus saved the lives of many foes.

http://gettysburg.stonesentinels.com/union-monuments/vermont/13th-vermont/
My ancestors fought in the Florida units. Thanks for posting. I always wanted to know who we had been fighting on that day.
 
The Louisiana Tigers: 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th Regiments

View attachment 146440

Artist: Bradley Schmehl
http://www.myneworleans.com/Louisiana-Life/May-June-2013/The-Saga-of-the-Original-Louisiana-Tiger/

Harry T. Hays was the Brigadier General of the feared Louisiana Tigers. During the Civil War, the Tigers gained a reputation in the North as one of the fiercest Southern brigades. The Tigers are best known for their tremendous efforts at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, where Hays said they, “advanced through the city of Gettysburg, clearing it of the enemy and taking prisoners at every turn.”

The Confederates had planned on going into the Union to take a northern city and convince Northerners that the fight was not worth it anymore. But on July 1, 1863, parts of the Confederate army marched on Gettysburg, and found the town to be occupied by more Union forces than they had anticipated. This began the unintentional confrontation between the two sides, which ultimately resulted in the four-day battle. That first day in Gettysburg, Hays’ account of the Tigers proves the accuracy of their reputation. After July 1, Hays felt “satisfied that the prisoners taken in the above-mentioned movements by my brigade exceeded in numbers the force under my command,” where the casualties for the Union, “exceeded ours by at least six to one.” These extraordinary efforts from Hays’ brigade and others helped to push the Union troops out of the town and onto Cemetery Ridge, where the Tigers performed another incredible task with seemingly little effort.

In the early morning of July 2, Hays moved the brigade onto the base of Cemetery Hill, resulting in skirmishes with Union troops at roughly two a.m. Despite their inferior position, they managed to hold their ground until approximately eight p.m. when they were ordered to advance up the hill. Progressing up the hill, the brigade was exposed to Union artillery that, “opened up upon us, but owing to the darkness of the evening, now verging into night and the deep obscurity afforded by the smoke of the firing, our exact locality could not be discovered by the enemy’s gunners.” Due to the dark and smoke, the Tigers managed to cross a few more Union lines, ultimately reaching the summit, only to see U.S. troops approaching several minutes after their ascent. Unable to determine the full strength of these troops, Hays moved his men back down the hill, holding that position until the next night when he fell back to his original position at the base of the hill.

The effort that the Louisiana Tigers exhibited in the first two days of battle at Gettysburg is typical of the brute force that came to be expected from Confederate troops. Hays’ account of the efforts of the Tigers and the strength they possessed seems almost extraordinary, as he reported only 181 casualties for these two days, despite being subject to various artillery fire on their climb of Cemetery Hill. All of these actions helped solidify their previous reputation as one of the fiercest Confederate brigades and contribute to the South’s initial success at Gettysburg.

Citations
Digital Scholarship Lab © 2008–2015 The University of Richmond

https://historyengine.richmond.edu/episodes/view/5324
Hays' 1st Louisiana Brigade wasn't wearing the Zouave uniform of the original Louisiana Tigers - Co. B of Wheat's Battalion - the brigade just carried on the nickname even long after the original Tigers were disbanded.

Here is Keith Rocco's depiction of their attack on East Cemetery Hill.
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The 2nd Louisiana Brigade - 1st, 2nd, 10th, 14th, and 15th Louisiana Infantry - fought on Culps Hill.


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July 1. Advancing at 3 P. M. with Hoke’s Brigade flanked Eleventh Corps aided in taking two guns pursued retreating Union troops into town capturing many and late in evening halting on East High St.

July 2. Moved forward early into the low ground here with its right flank resting on Baltimore St. and skirmished all day. Enfiladed by artillery and exposed to musketry fire in front it pushed forward over all obstacles scaled the hill and planted its colors on the lunettes capturing several guns. Assailed by fresh troops and with no supports it was forced to retire but brought off 75 prisoners and 4 stands of colors.

July 3. Occupied a position on High St. in town.

July 4. At 2 A. M. moved to Seminary Ridge. After midnight began the march to Hagerstown.

Present about 1200 Killed 36 Wounded 201 Missing 95 Total 332

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July 1. Arrived near nightfall and took position east of Rock Creek north of Hanover road and on the right of the Division.

July 2. About 6 P. M. changing to left of Jones’s Brigade crossed the creek attacked Union forces on Culp’s Hill drove in their outposts and reached and held a line about 100 yards from their breastworks against which a steady fire was maintained for hours and some vigorous but unsuccessful assaults made.

July 3. At dawn the Brigade reopened fire and continued it for many hours then retired to line near the creek whence about midnight it moved with Division and Corps to Seminary Ridge.

July 4. Occupied Seminary Ridge. About 10 P. M. began the march to Hagerstown.

Present about 1100 Killed 43 Wounded 309 Missing 36 Total 388
 
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Before advancing into the Wheatfield, the Irish brigade knelt as Father William Corby granted general absolution to the men before going into battle. This was one of the most famous episodes in the battle. Major St. Clair Mulholland later wrote: "Father Corby stood on a large rock in front of the brigade. Addressing the men, he explained what he was about to do, saying that each one could receive the benefit of the absolution by making a sincere Act of Contrition and firmly resolving to embrace the first opportunity of confessing his sins, urging them to do their duty, and reminding them of the high and sacred nature of their trust as soldiers and the noble object for which they fought. The brigade was standing at “Order Arms!” As he closed his address, every man, Catholic and non-Catholic, fell on his knees with his head bowed down. Then, stretching his right hand toward the brigade, Father Corby pronounced the words of the absolution. The scene was more than impressive; it was awe-inspiring."

General Hancock himself rode up as this was being done and respectfully removed his hat and bowed his head. Today, this moment is memorialized forever with a statue of Father Corby standing atop a boulder, right arm raised as he grants absolution (Major Mulholland was a primary mover in the creation of this battlefield monument). Thus fortified, the “Sons of Erin” marched toward the Wheatfield.
 
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Photo from "Stone Sentinels" (http://gettysburg.stonesentinels.com/union-monuments/new-jersey/7th-new-jersey/)

This monument depicting a giant minie ball marks the spot where Colonel Louis Francine, the 26 year-old colonel of the 7th New Jersey, was mortally wounded on July 2nd. Raised in 1861, the 7th had seen service with the distinguished “New Jersey Brigade” through all the major campaigns with the Army of the Potomac. Francine became the regiment’s colonel in December 1862. One of his subordinates wrote of him: “He is what you may call, in the truest sense, a gentleman and a scholar. Our boys are in perfect love with him, and will follow him through ‘thick and thin….’”

On July 2nd, Francine and his regiment were posted in reserve near the Trostle farm, in support of the batteries positioned there. One of the artillerymen in Clark’s battery left this description of the fighting:

During this time the front of the battery was almost a sheet of flame; the men at the guns fairly flew to their work. The guns themselves seemed full of life; dogs of war, nearly red hot; how they roared and thundered! Shells of the enemy’s guns were shrieking overhead, or throwing up clouds of dust and dirt where they exploded, bullets were zipping from front and flank. Splinters were flying from gun carriages and wheels. Horses were being killed and wounded, and taken out of harness, as they fell, by their drivers. At every gun were wounded men, many too slight for hospital. Every one’s shirt was soaked with sweat, some with blood.

The initial attacks (by Kershaw’s South Carolinians) were beaten off, but eventually the batteries were forced to limber up and pull out. The 7th New Jersey was to cover the withdrawal of the batteries. All was confusion here: Batteries were retreating, and the blue lines along the Emmitsburg Road were being overwhelmed. Francine ordered his men to fix bayonets and charge. The assault was short-lived; a volley from the South Carolinians stopped the advance in its tracks, and they began to fall back. It was here that Colonel Francine was wounded in the thigh. Although it was not at first seen to be life threatening, Francine would die on July 16 at St. Joseph’s hospital in Philadelphia.
 
Hays' 1st Louisiana Brigade wasn't wearing the Zouave uniform of the original Louisiana Tigers - Co. B of Wheat's Battalion - the brigade just carried on the nickname even long after the original Tigers were disbanded.

Here is Keith Rocco's depiction of their attack on East Cemetery Hill.
View attachment 146522

The 2nd Louisiana Brigade - 1st, 2nd, 10th, 14th, and 15th Louisiana Infantry - fought on Culps Hill.


View attachment 146527
July 1. Advancing at 3 P. M. with Hoke’s Brigade flanked Eleventh Corps aided in taking two guns pursued retreating Union troops into town capturing many and late in evening halting on East High St.

July 2. Moved forward early into the low ground here with its right flank resting on Baltimore St. and skirmished all day. Enfiladed by artillery and exposed to musketry fire in front it pushed forward over all obstacles scaled the hill and planted its colors on the lunettes capturing several guns. Assailed by fresh troops and with no supports it was forced to retire but brought off 75 prisoners and 4 stands of colors.

July 3. Occupied a position on High St. in town.

July 4. At 2 A. M. moved to Seminary Ridge. After midnight began the march to Hagerstown.

Present about 1200 Killed 36 Wounded 201 Missing 95 Total 332

View attachment 146528
July 1. Arrived near nightfall and took position east of Rock Creek north of Hanover road and on the right of the Division.

July 2. About 6 P. M. changing to left of Jones’s Brigade crossed the creek attacked Union forces on Culp’s Hill drove in their outposts and reached and held a line about 100 yards from their breastworks against which a steady fire was maintained for hours and some vigorous but unsuccessful assaults made.

July 3. At dawn the Brigade reopened fire and continued it for many hours then retired to line near the creek whence about midnight it moved with Division and Corps to Seminary Ridge.

July 4. Occupied Seminary Ridge. About 10 P. M. began the march to Hagerstown.

Present about 1100 Killed 43 Wounded 309 Missing 36 Total 388

The Louisiana Tigers charged directly toward Wiedrich’s battery. Reaching the crest of the hill, one of the Louisianans – a color bearer – climbed atop a gun and waved his flag. Major Harry Gilmour would later describe this incident: "While advancing on the main line of works, I saw one of our color-bearers jump on a gun and display his flag. He was instantly killed. But the flag was seized by an Irishman, who, with a wild shout, sprang upon the gun, and he too was shot down. Then a little bit of a fellow, a captain, seized the staff and mounted the same gun; but as he raised the flag, a ball broke the arm which held it. He dropped his sword, and caught the staff with his right before it fell, waved it over his head with a cheer, indifferent to the pain of his shattered limb and the whizzing balls around him. His third cheer was just heard, when he tottered and fell, pierced through the lungs."

A charging Confederate ran up to another piece in Wiedrich’s battery, threw himself over the muzzle, shouting, “I take command of this gun!” The cannoneer shouted back, “Du sollst sie haben!” pulled the lanyard, and blew the Confederate soldier to pieces.

The gun crews in Ricketts’s battery were yelling, “Death on our own State soil rather than give the enemy the guns!” Lieutenant Brockway remembered a scene “of the wildest confusion.” He described the desperate nature of the fighting at the crest of the hill: "Friends and foes were indiscriminately mixed, and our brave men, though outnumbered and without arms, by means of handspikes, rammers and stones made a sturdy resistance. A rebel first Lieutenant attempted to seize our battery guidon, but while in the act of grasping it, the bearer James H. Riggin, rode up and with his revolver shot the officer through the body. Seizing the colors he wheeled his horse, but at the same moment was shot himself, and died soon after. A Serg’t of the “Tigers” got clear back to the limbers, and there caught Riggin’s horse, and picked up the fallen colors. While leading back the horse he was encountered by Serg’t Stratford, who unable to recognize him in the dark, demanded to know “where he was going with that horse.” The rebel brought his musket to his shoulder and demanded Stratford’s surrender. At this moment I walked up, and a glance showed me the true state of affairs. Having no side arms by me, I picked up a stone, in a most unmilitary manner, broke the fellow’s head. He tumbled to the ground, but Stratford, not knowing the cause, seized his musket and shot him in the abdomen. Fearing he had missed him in the darkness, he clubbed the musket, and broke the fellow’s arm, whereupon he asked for “quarter,” which of course was given. I don’t think he lived long."

Ricketts also later recalled the death of Private James H. Riggin: "At about this time…James H. Riggin the guidon bearer staggered against me and fell with the cry “Help me, captain.” When we found him after the fight he was dead and the sleeve of the right arm of my coat was covered with the brave fellows blood. We afterwards learned that in a personal encounter with a Confederate officer who had attempted to capture the battery guidon, which was planted near the second gun from the left – he had shot the officer with his revolver, but at the same time the staff of the guidon was shot in two and poor Riggin shot through the body."

Ricketts wrote in his diary: “They took my left gun, spiked it, killed six men, wounded 11 and took 3 prisoners. The boys fought them hand to hand with pistols, handspikes and rammers.”
 
View attachment 146526

Before advancing into the Wheatfield, the Irish brigade knelt as Father William Corby granted general absolution to the men before going into battle. This was one of the most famous episodes in the battle. Major St. Clair Mulholland later wrote: "Father Corby stood on a large rock in front of the brigade. Addressing the men, he explained what he was about to do, saying that each one could receive the benefit of the absolution by making a sincere Act of Contrition and firmly resolving to embrace the first opportunity of confessing his sins, urging them to do their duty, and reminding them of the high and sacred nature of their trust as soldiers and the noble object for which they fought. The brigade was standing at “Order Arms!” As he closed his address, every man, Catholic and non-Catholic, fell on his knees with his head bowed down. Then, stretching his right hand toward the brigade, Father Corby pronounced the words of the absolution. The scene was more than impressive; it was awe-inspiring."

General Hancock himself rode up as this was being done and respectfully removed his hat and bowed his head. Today, this moment is memorialized forever with a statue of Father Corby standing atop a boulder, right arm raised as he grants absolution (Major Mulholland was a primary mover in the creation of this battlefield monument). Thus fortified, the “Sons of Erin” marched toward the Wheatfield.
Also, The 8th Alabama Irish Brigade made their mark in history fighting for the Confederacy and is remembered for their Erin Go Braugh! flag with a field of green with Faugh A Ballagh on bottom that is Irish for “clear the way".
 
Also, The 8th Alabama Irish Brigade made their mark in history fighting for the Confederacy and is remembered for their Erin Go Braugh! flag with a field of green with Faugh A Ballagh on bottom that is Irish for “clear the way".
I believe only Company I "Emerald Guards" of the 8th Alabama Infantry were Irish. That was their company flag but I don't think they flew it at Gettysburg. They were part of Wilcox's Alabama Brigade, involved in the fighting at Cemetery Ridge on July 2 and again on July 3.

The two Louisiana brigades also contained many Irishmen, especially the 6th Louisiana Infantry.
 
Wilcox’s Brigade of Anderson’s Division transferred to the new Third Army Corps under Lieutenant General A.P. Hill.

8th Alabama July 1-3
Battle of Gettysburg
Captain C. P. B. Branegan and 39 other men were killed, Captains Anthony Kohler and Lewis A. Livingston and 144 other men were wounded and 80 men missing out of 420 engaged. Captain Livingston was captured and died in captivity.

From the brigade monument at Gettysburg:

July 2. Formed line here in forenoon. The 10th and 11th Regiments taking position on the right after a severe skirmish with the Union outpost. Advanced at 6 P. M. and broke the Union line on Emmitsburg Road capturing two guns and pursuing rapidly took many prisoners and six more guns. At Plum Run was met by a heavy fire of artillery and fresh infantry and being unsupported after severe losses fell back without being able to bring off the captured guns.

July 3. Took position west of Emmitsburg Road in support of artillery. Soon after Longstreet’s column started an order was received to advance and support it but smoke hiding the oblique course of Pickett’s Division the Brigade moving straight forward found itself engaged in a separate and useless conflict and was promptly withdrawn.

July 4. In line here all day and at dark began the march to Hagerstown.


I did not know this, thank you
 
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