Sickles' Salient

[Josh The Lighthouse Guy]

Did Meade make a mistake sending Sykes V Corps to directly reinforce Sickles' line in the salient? Would it have been better to deploy Sykes and reserve artillery where Sickles should have been - down lower Cemetery Ridge, from Hancock's left to Little Round Top? As it was, Meade essentially had 4 divisions mauled in an effort to save 2 others.

Could the salient have been successfully held against Longstreet's attack if Sedgwick's larger VI Corps held the position and Sickles III Corps defended both Round Tops? Assume in this scenario that Sedgwick arrived early on July 2 or Longstreet's attack was delayed until the morning of July 3.

 

[Reconstructed Rebel]

I'll let the military men weigh in on the pros and cons but strictly speaking it seems to me that seeing your fellow soldiers hung out to dry would make just about anyone want to go to their assistance. Just as you would hope they would do for you were the situation reversed.

 

[infomanpa]

Did Meade make a mistake sending Sykes V Corps to directly reinforce Sickles' line in the salient? Would it have been better to deploy Sykes and reserve artillery where Sickles should have been - down lower Cemetery Ridge, from Hancock's left to Little Round Top? As it was, Meade essentially had 4 divisions mauled in an effort to save 2 others.

Could the salient have been successfully held against Longstreet's attack if Sedgwick's larger VI Corps held the position and Sickles III Corps defended both Round Tops? Assume in this scenario that Sedgwick arrived early on July 2 or Longstreet's attack was delayed until the morning of July 3.

If the Sixth Corps had arrived earlier I'm sure that Meade's decisions would have been different.

 

[General JJ]

Interesting questions. For the second one, if we magically could switch the Sixth Corps with the 3rd, Sedgwick would have a much better chance of holding the position.

3rd Corps was 10,675 strong. 37 regiments in six brigades, and six artillery batteries (thirty guns).

6th Corps was 13,577 strong. 37 regiments in eight brigades, and eight artillery batteries (46 guns)

 

[General JJ]

Did Meade make a mistake sending Sykes V Corps to directly reinforce Sickles' line in the salient? Would it have been better to deploy Sykes and reserve artillery where Sickles should have been - down lower Cemetery Ridge, from Hancock's left to Little Round Top? As it was, Meade essentially had 4 divisions mauled in an effort to save 2 others.

I've never thought about this but it's an interesting alternative scenario. Others with more Gettysburg knowledge will probably have better answers but here's my first thought:

Vincent's brigade takes its historical position, but now Barnes' other two brigades, instead of going to Stony Hill, extend the line north (so essentially Weed's position).

 

[dlofting]

I think the problem, other than the angle itself, was that Sickles didn't have enough men to connect with the Round Tops.....so in that case the 6th Corps would have been a better choice, had it been available.

A sharp angle in a Civil War line, as we all know, invited enfilade, which could be devastating. I'm sure that Sedgwick, a professional officer, would not have let that happen in his line.

 

[rpkennedy]

Did Meade make a mistake sending Sykes V Corps to directly reinforce Sickles' line in the salient? Would it have been better to deploy Sykes and reserve artillery where Sickles should have been - down lower Cemetery Ridge, from Hancock's left to Little Round Top? As it was, Meade essentially had 4 divisions mauled in an effort to save 2 others.

I don't think so. Blunting the Confederate assault before it reached the key terrain had its advantages and Meade could also trade space for time while reinforcements arrived. Unfortunately for Meade, Longstreet's attack was particularly violent and successful which caused heavy casualties but it still accomplished the objective of keeping lower Cemetery Ridge out of Confederate hands.

Ryan

 

[Josh The Lighthouse Guy]

Interesting questions. For the second one, if we magically could switch the Sixth Corps with the 3rd, Sedgwick would have a much better chance of holding the position.

3rd Corps was 10,675 strong. 37 regiments in six brigades, and six artillery batteries (thirty guns).

6th Corps was 13,577 strong. 37 regiments in eight brigades, and eight artillery batteries (46 guns)

Numbers I usually see for Sedgwick's corps were a bit higher - 16K or 17K.

Blunting the Confederate assault before it reached the key terrain had its advantages and Meade could also trade space for time while reinforcements arrived.

The problem is those reinforcements kept being sent forward, leaving nobody on southern Cemetery Ridge and nearly creating a near disaster after Barksdale punched through the point of the salient and collapsed the whole thing.

 

[Belfoured]

I don't think so. Blunting the Confederate assault before it reached the key terrain had its advantages and Meade could also trade space for time while reinforcements arrived. Unfortunately for Meade, Longstreet's attack was particularly violent and successful which caused heavy casualties but it still accomplished the objective of keeping lower Cemetery Ridge out of Confederate hands.

Ryan

Good points. Gettysburg isn't in my "wheelhouse" but I'd only add that Meade wasn't crafting a battle plan and he didn't have the luxury of time to assemble a solid backup line. He was confronted with an emergency in which Sickles had in effect doubled the extent of a line which he thinly held in the first place and had severed his connection with II Corps to his right. Meade had to triage a response to Longstreet's massive attack from the variety of forces and locations/positions available. The proposition might make sense in a simulation but not in the real world in which Meade had to respond IMHO.

 

[rpkennedy]

Good points. Gettysburg isn't in my "wheelhouse" but I'd only add that Meade wasn't crafting a battle plan and he didn't have the luxury of time to assemble a solid backup line. He was confronted with an emergency in which Sickles had in effect doubled the extent of a line which he thinly held in the first place and had severed his connection with II Corps to his right. Meade had to triage a response to Longstreet's massive attack from the variety of forces and locations/positions available. The proposition might make sense in a simulation but not in the real world in which Meade had to respond IMHO.

That's an important thing to point out as well. Meade wasn't following a plan so much as he was rolling with the punches as the emergencies presented themselves.

Ryan