Von Gilsa's brigade and it's performance

[General JJ]

When reading about Gettysburg, this brigade comes under a lot of criticism (both contemporary and modern). Barlow himself seems to have had a lot of disdain for the "Dutch".

In particular, the 54th and 68th New York come under fire for breaking the first day on Rock Creek, and they broke once again defending Cemetery Hill.

However, I wonder if criticism of the brigade might be too harsh. The position of Von Gilsa's men on July 1st was not strong. The 54th and 68th New York were deployed in a mere skrimish line, and seem to have put forth a commendable effort defending Rock Creek. Supporting this argument is multiple statements from members of the brigade. For example, a private in the 61st Georgia wrote, "We met the enemy at Rock Creek. We attacked the enemy immediately, but we had a hard time moving them... We charged them with our accustomed yell, but they stood firm until we got near them." John Gordon himself acknowledged that the enemy put up an obstinate defense. It should also be noted that the 41st New York was absent that day, so the brigade was outnumbered roughly 2-1 by Gordon

The second day was another rough time for the brigade. Almost the entire unit was driven from the stone wall. Captain Bruce Ricketts stated their behavior was "cowardly and disgraceful in the extreme... although they had a stone wall in their front, they commenced running in the greatest confusion to the rear, hardly a shot was fired, certainly not a volley, and so panic stricken were they that several ran into the canister fire of my guns..." Only the 41st New York hung on, and even then their left companies retreated.

However, the brigade had been roughly handled the previous day; they were certainly shaky. Ideally they shouldn't have been in the front line at all. The 54th and 68th regiments positions were poor; the ground protected the Confederates until they were very close.

So in your opinion, did/does the brigade receive too much criticism, or is it justified?

 

[General JJ]

One other point I forgot to mention, Gordon's significant casualties suggest Von Gilsa's men put up a good fight. Of course many of these casualties were inflicted by Ames' men, but surely many were felled from the First Brigade's fire.

 

[infomanpa]

I have always believed that a lot of the criticism of Eleventh Corps units, especially the German-Americans was mainly based on prejudice.

 

[bayonet]

When reading about Gettysburg, this brigade comes under a lot of criticism (both contemporary and modern). Barlow himself seems to have had a lot of disdain for the "Dutch".

In particular, the 54th and 68th New York come under fire for breaking the first day on Rock Creek, and they broke once again defending Cemetery Hill.

However, I wonder if criticism of the brigade might be too harsh. The position of Von Gilsa's men on July 1st was not strong. The 54th and 68th New York were deployed in a mere skrimish line, and seem to have put forth a commendable effort defending Rock Creek. Supporting this argument is multiple statements from members of the brigade. For example, a private in the 61st Georgia wrote, "We met the enemy at Rock Creek. We attacked the enemy immediately, but we had a hard time moving them... We charged them with our accustomed yell, but they stood firm until we got near them." John Gordon himself acknowledged that the enemy put up an obstinate defense. It should also be noted that the 41st New York was absent that day, so the brigade was outnumbered roughly 2-1 by Gordon

The second day was another rough time for the brigade. Almost the entire unit was driven from the stone wall. Captain Bruce Ricketts stated their behavior was "cowardly and disgraceful in the extreme... although they had a stone wall in their front, they commenced running in the greatest confusion to the rear, hardly a shot was fired, certainly not a volley, and so panic stricken were they that several ran into the canister fire of my guns..." Only the 41st New York hung on, and even then their left companies retreated.

However, the brigade had been roughly handled the previous day; they were certainly shaky. Ideally they shouldn't have been in the front line at all. The 54th and 68th regiments positions were poor; the ground protected the Confederates until they were very close.

So in your opinion, did/does the brigade receive too much criticism, or is it justified?

The 17th Connecticut was not "Dutch" but was so eager to get into action so it got stuck in the 11th Corp. They were one of the few Regiments that held their ground at the stone wall on the 2nd day but got tarnished along with the rest of the 11th Corp. Remember the Unlucky 11th had a terrible time 2 months earlier, so morale was low.

 

[General JJ]

The 17th Connecticut was not "Dutch" but was so eager to get into action so it got stuck in the 11th Corp. They were one of the few Regiments that held their ground at the stone wall on the 2nd day but got tarnished along with the rest of the 11th Corp. Remember the Unlucky 11th had a terrible time 2 months earlier, so morale was low.

Yeah, Ames' brigade was not "German" with the exception of the 107th Ohio. In recollections of the battle they seem to deflect a lot of blame towards the First Brigade.

 

[Tom Elmore]

Agree. No one expected a skirmish line to hold against a main battle line, so the 54th and 68th can hardly be blamed for the outcome on July 1. Gordon's brigade was able to close to a distance of 100 yards or so before making its presence known, which reflects poorly on Union leadership, not the rank and file. The whole point of a skirmish line is to detect the presence of the enemy at a distance, but the growth along Rock Creek screened Gordon's approach. The combined remnant of the 54th and 68th on July 2 was little more than 200 muskets, and on top of that, they were spread thin while attempting to partially fill a gaping hole on their immediate left that Hays' Louisianans poured through. With their flank rolled up, exposing their position behind the wall, the soldiers of the 54th and 68th could either fall back, or become a prisoner/casualty. Twice in two days, the leadership of the Eleventh Corps failed to anticipate the plans of a particularly wily opponent, that is, Lee's "bad old man" - Jubal Early.

 

[frontrank2]

Eventually the 11th Corps redeemed itself when it merged with the 12th Corps and became the 20th under Sherman. They gave him good service.

 

[General JJ]

Eventually the 11th Corps redeemed itself when it merged with the 12th Corps and became the 20th under Sherman. They gave him good service.

Absolutely. I'm reading Earl Hess' Peachtree Creek book, and the XI Corps regiments by and large performed very well there. Unfortunately Von Gilsa's men were not sent west - their division was shipped to the Department of the South.