"To the Right, General"-Hood's Protest by Dale Gallon T&N

Good stuff, Greg!
Having seen the movie Gettysburg at the age of 11, I still have to remind myself that hood was not an old man. :smile:
I wonder how soon after this conversation took place that hood was wounded?
I have been told by guides and others that Hood was probably wounded early in the attack possibly in the Bushman orchard.
 
I have been told by guides and others that Hood was probably wounded early in the attack possibly in the Bushman orchard.

Bingo. From Harry Pfanz's Gettysburg: The Second Day, page 172.

...General Hood remained with Robertson for a few minutes after the attack began and left him at two unidentified fences, perhaps those that bordered the Slyder lane, which the Texans would have met after they crossed the Emmitsburg Road. After leaving Robertson, Hood rode to an orchard - he recalled its having been a peach orchard. If it was in his division's zone, the orchard must have been that on the ridge's east slope just west of the Bushman barn. There Hood would have been in the center of his division; from there he could have watched the progress of his forward brigades and seen his support brigades as they emerged from the tree line at the top of the ridge. While he was in the orchard area, a shell exploded above his head, and one of its fragments tore into his left arm...

Ryan
 
Some Hood mentions on the late afternoon of July 2:

- (Recollections of Alfred Cuthbert "Cubb" Sims, Private, Company F, 1st Texas) Gen. J. B. Hood ... took a position in front of the 1st Texas. Hood then sent Maj. Sellers, his aide-de-camp, to Longstreet for orders and on his return Hood ordered a detail to throw down a rail fence which lay just before us, and immediately ordered a forward movement, he leading the way on horseback. The whole column moved forward and with one united effort threw the fence to the ground. Hood, having passed through the gap made by said detail, we emerged into the skirt of the timber ...

- (Supplement to the Official Report, John Cheves Haskell) Maj. William Henry Sellers, Hood’s AAG, came and ordered me to bring two batteries to where Hood and his staff were sitting on their horses in a thin strip of woods which crossed the rise about a quarter of a mile [distant]. I at once started to obey, taking Garden’s and Latham’s batteries down the pike towards G. Sickles’ batteries turned their guns on us, damaging use severely, so much so that I ordered the batteries to leave the road and go through the field, where the wood would conceal … When I reached Hood he was sitting on his horse and at once directed me what to do, but just as he began, he was struck in the arm by a shrapnel shot.

- (Official Report, Maj. John Cheves Haskell) Hood ordered two batteries to be brought into position to engage the batteries in the peach orchard and draw their fire from the infantry. While this was being done, Gen. Hood was wounded and left the field.

- (Frederick W. Colston, John Mercer Garnett Papers; Colston was on the staff of E. P. Alexander’s Battalion) At [Pitzer’s] school house on Willoughby Run at the foot of road leading to the Peach Orchard. As we were waiting there an ambulance came along and we saw Gen. Hood in front with the driver, with his arm in a bloody bandage. Just as he came to the school house a shell struck the roof almost in his face, but General Hood merely looked up and took no notice of it.

Maj. Haskell has Hood wounded after Garden and Latham pulled out of line, and probably as a result of Union artillery fire from Sickles' line that was directed against those two batteries as they moved north on the Emmitsburg Road and first came into view of the Federals at the rise on Warfield Ridge (where the modern Confederate Avenue crosses). Therefore I figure Hood might have been wounded nearby, perhaps close to where the Texas monument is now located. But if he was indeed in the Bushman orchard by that time, he was likely near the far western border of that orchard. Latham was initially active against Devil's Den, in particular Smith's New York battery posted there. But he would have had to cease firing by about 4:20 p.m. to avoid inflicting casualties upon the 1st Texas at the Den. If Latham then pulled back and was quickly tapped to move north up the Emmitsburg Road to redirect his attention to the Federal batteries in and around the Peach Orchard, perhaps another 10 minutes elapsed, and one might add another five minutes to the time Haskell could move his batteries under cover in the adjacent woods and then reach Hood for additional orders. That would put Hood's wounding no earlier than around 4:35 p.m., which was still early in the action, and maybe some minutes before his other Texans (4th and 5th regiments) had reached the foot of Little Round Top and opened fire on Vincent's brigade.
 
Last edited:
View attachment 154281
My hobby is putting together then and nows of the Gettysburg battlefield. I have found and photographed many of the post battle images that appear in William Frassanito's ground breaking book, "Journey in Time". I also like to compare some of the great art work of Gettysburg with the same view seen today. Here is one of my favorite paintings from Dale Gallon depicting "Hood's Protest" to General Longstreet as Hood implores Longstreet to let him take his division to the right and get behind the Yankees, rather than the frontal attack ordered by General Lee. Longstreet insisted that Hood move forward as ordered and, as they say, the rest is history. The setting is in front of the Bushman farm with the Round Tops in the background. As you can see in my now photograph, the scene remains very much the same even after 154 years. (Sorry for the mis-spelling in the title-"General"

Yet another awesome post @Gettysburg Greg!! I was given "Journey in Time" as a gift from my parents way back in high school...thank you for everything you do brother!
 
View attachment 154281
My hobby is putting together then and nows of the Gettysburg battlefield. I have found and photographed many of the post battle images that appear in William Frassanito's ground breaking book, "Journey in Time". I also like to compare some of the great art work of Gettysburg with the same view seen today. Here is one of my favorite paintings from Dale Gallon depicting "Hood's Protest" to General Longstreet as Hood implores Longstreet to let him take his division to the right and get behind the Yankees, rather than the frontal attack ordered by General Lee. Longstreet insisted that Hood move forward as ordered and, as they say, the rest is history. The setting is in front of the Bushman farm with the Round Tops in the background. As you can see in my now photograph, the scene remains very much the same even after 154 years. (Sorry for the mis-spelling in the title-"General"
This is one of my favorites of your T&N's Bill. You got pretty much the exact terrain from the painting in your photo.
 
Back
Top