Sam Grant
Private
- Joined
- Aug 4, 2011
- Location
- displaced Baltimorean
"Don't Give An Inch!" by Don Troiani
from https://www.eleganthorsepictures.com/troiani-dont-give-an-inch.html
Strong Vincent was born in 1837 in the town of Waterford, in Erie County, Pennsylvania. Though his father was an iron foundryman, young Vincent had aspirations to become a lawyer. He attended Trinity College and Harvard University, graduating in 1859 before promptly returning home to practice law. Little else is known of his early life.
Thanks to the Secessionist crisis, Vincent's peacetime career proved short-lived. Vincent had Republican sympathies and expressed ardent support for Abraham Lincoln's presidential campaign. In the opening months of the Civil War he was an officer in the Pennysvlania Militia, but in September of 1861 he became the lieutenant colonel of the 83rd Pennsylvania Infantry. Despite the excitement of War, Vincent had also found time to marry Miss Elizabeth H. Carter in the summer of 1861.
Vincent and the 83rd marched with the Army of the Potomac under McClellan, and the young officer received a promotion to colonel in June of 1862. He assumed command of the regiment at the Battle of Gaine's Mill when its colonel was killed, but shortly after was taken ill and went on medical leave. Colonel Vincent did not return to the service until late in the year, returning to the Army just in time to fight at the disastorous Battle of Fredericksburg.
Colonel Vincent was in command of the 83rd Pennsylvania at Chancellorsville, where the commander of the 3rd Brigade of the V Corps was killed. In the aftermath of the battle, Vincent, though still only holding the rank of colonel, was placed in command of the 3rd Brigade. He was now the commander not only of the 83rd, but also the 44th New York, 16th Michigan, and 20th Maine regiments. It was also around this time that he learned his wife was pregnant with their first child.
Colonel Vincent and the rest of his command arrived at Gettysburg in the early morning of the second day. G.K. Warren, commander of the V Corps, was urgently seeking troops to protect the position modernly known as Little Round Top, and one of his orderlies encountered Vincent's brigade. Without the consent of his divisional commander, Brigadier General James Barnes, Vincent formed his brigade up on Little Round Top, and braced for the coming Rebel assault.
Colonel Vincent first visited the 20th Maine, under Joshua Chamberlain, which now formed the extreme left flank of the Union army. After stressing the importance of holding this position, Vincent moved to the other end of his brigade, amongst the troops of the 16th Michigan. Vincent's men took shelter behind the large boulders that littered Little Round Top, and fired on the advancing Confederates of Hood's Texas Brigade.
Confederate reinforcements coming from the fighting at the Devil's Den increased the pressure on the 16th Michigan. Vincent, flourishing a riding crop, tried to rally the beleaugered Northerners, shouting 'don't give an inch!' Instantly a Rebel bullet crashed into his groin. Vincent collapsed, out of the Battle. His collapsing right flank was saved by the appearance of the 140th New York Infantry, who also lost their colonel in the bitter firefight.
On the third and final day of the Battle of Gettysburg, the gallant Colonel Strong Vincent was awarded the rank of brigadier general. It was a rank he never got exercise. Mortally wounded, Vincent clung desperately to life, thinking above all else of his pregnant wife. On July 7th, 1863, Vincent died; he was subsequently buried in Erie Cemetary. Two months later, his wife gave birth to a girl, but the infant followed her father in death only a year later, and was buried by his side.
By the last year of his life, Vincent had earned a reputation as a firm, relentless officer. He had no time for the chivalry and pomp that characterized many officers early in the War. How he felt about the issues of slavery and race relations are unknown, but he was a staunch believer in the sanctity of the Union. The Union was a cause that this bold young soldier gave his life to defend.
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