Thread by @pptsapper

It's near midnight of June 30, 1863. The Adams County countryside is filled with the unusual movement of thousands of soldiers. The night sounds encase both Federals and confederates, as they try to claim some rest after days of marching and riding in the unforgiving July sun

US Brig. Gen. John Buford has two brigades of cavalry, which he has set up in a wide arc to the west and north of the small town of Gettysburg. He has placed groups of mounted troops - videttes - at critical points along the roads to act as an early warning system.

Buford's force has spent the last month riding hard - & fighting - across VA, MD, and now Pennsylvania. They are saddlesore and tired, but revived to no longer be on the "slave-accursed and God-forsaken soils of old Virginia" as Lt Jones of the 8th Illinois Cavalry wrote.

Within twenty miles of Gettysburg, upwards of 160,000 soldiers are engaged in the mundane acts of soldier life: guard duty, work details, and trying to catch some sleep. The civilian population is also - rightfully - nervous. It will be a long night for many around Gettysburg.

Over the next three days, as my schedule allows, I will describe the fighting around Gettysburg in as real time as possible. This is not meant to glorify the battle, but my own personal pilgrimage of memory to the place that first made me want to become a historian.

It's just after 7 AM on July 1, 1863. Morning mist still hangs in some low spaces. Dew glistens on the blades of grass and makes the gossamer spider webs shimmer. Some Illinois troopers on the Chambersburg Pike finally spot movement: lead elements of Heth's Division on the move

*June, sorry

The troopers of the 8th Illinois Cav alert their lieutenant, who dashes up the the outpost. Lieutenant Marcellus Jones borrows a trooper's Sharps carbine and rests it on the rail of a fence running along Knoxlyn Ridge. He sights in on an officer several hundred yards out & fires

As with all historical events, no one truly will ever know who fired the *first* shot at Gettysburg - or if there can be such a thing as a first shot in a campaign that had begun in May with Chancellorsville. But for the main action that would begin on July 1, Jones opened it.

Buford has his troopers in skirmish lines thrown out across the rippling, parallel ridgelines to the west of Gettysburg. He knows he cannot fight massed infantry in pitched battle as their rifles far outrange his troopers' breach-loading Sharps carbines. But he can slow them down

Carbines crackle on Knoxlyn Ridge as troopers practice their marksmanship out to 800 yards - enough to let the lead elements of Heth's column know they're under fire. Archer's Brigade shakes out skirmishers and sends them to push this annoyance off the ridge and out of the way

Lieutenant John Calef's six artillery pieces go into action around McPherson's Ridge, and the young man is directing his gunners as they fire at targets of opportunity - the crash of artillery alerting Harry Heth that he is not facing Adams County militia, as he supposes

Archer's Tennesseans are forcing Buford's troopers back down the valley and up the slope to Herr's Ridge as Confederate batteries deploy and add their guns to the rising noise of the day, the smoke hanging in the rising humidity

For the white civilians of Adams County, the worst is happening: a battle seems to be growing on their own lots and farmsteads. For the Black civilians, the worst already happened when Lee's army entered Pennsylvania. Lee's orders against looting did not include human beings.

During this campaign, rebel cavalry and infantry would kidnap freedpeople as they scoured the Pennsylvania countryside, sending them into slavery in the south. Most of the Black community fled and became refugees during the campaign, going north as far as their resources allowed

Buford's troops on Herr's Ridge are being hotly pressed as Archer and Heth now realize that they are up against a force of US cavalry that does not want them getting to Gettysburg. Heth brings more guns and units forward, but it takes more time to issue orders and move them up

By now, Archer's Tennesseans have pushed Buford's troopers off Herr's Ridge and sent them bounding back to McPherson's Ridge. Skirmishing has been going on for the better part of two hours and neither Lee or Meade are aware that a division from each of their armies is engaging

Maj. Gen. John Reynolds is arriving on Seminary Ridge & meeting with Buford. Reynolds is not only the commander of the I Corps, but also a wing commander which gives him greater authority than most. He is about to press that authority to its utmost by committing 2 corps to battle

He will write to Meade that he is committing the I and XI Corps to battle - why here and now, we will never exactly know. We know he intended to find a place to bring the enemy to a general battle, but the Army was not yet concentrated. It was an enormous gamble.

Heth has realized that he must use more force and now has Archer's brigade massed south of the Chambersburg Pike and Davis's Mississippi brigade north of it. One more concerted push, Heth thinks, will send Buford's troopers off McPherson's Ridge and back towards Seminary Ridge

Reynolds is urging his first division forward as the men cut cross-country to get there faster. He orders CPT James Hall's 2d Maine Battery of 6 guns to replace Calef astride the Chambersburg Pike, which opens a covering fire for the infantry & duels rebel guns on Herr's Ridge

Sweeping up from Seminary Ridge, Cutler's Brigade is the first of the US infantry to arrive on McPherson's Ridge, where the long heavy blue lines replace the exhausted troopers north and south of the Chambersburg Pike. They collide with Davis's Mississippians in a shock of fire

Hall wheels four of his guns to face north, towards the unfinished railroad cut out of which CS troops are pouring by the hundreds. Four guns double shotted with canister leave heaps of mangled bodies that give Cutler's men a chance to reform and face north, under a hail of fire

South of the Chambersburg Pike, the Iron Brigade - the only all-western brigade in the Army of the Potomac - slams into Herbst Woods at the same time Archer's men are ascending the slope. Reynolds is directing them forward when a rifle ball catches him in the neck, killing him

Archer's Brigade has crossed Willoughby Run. Confused rebel soldiers are suddenly realizing they are facing US infantry as concerted rifle volleys crash through the thick air, sending showers of branches & leaves to the ground. At 50 paces, both sides slam volleys into each other

The rifle fire at this range is devastating. Color bearers on both sides are struck, one after the other. The Iron Brigade overlaps Archer's men on both flanks; the Tennesseans are caught in a crossfire, attempt to pull back, and collapse. Hundreds are captured, including Archer

Archer is brought to Gen. Abner Doubleday. They had been classmates at West Point. "Damned glad to see you, Archer" said Doubleday; he had heard Archer had been killed. "Well I'm not glad to see you by a damned sight!" growled Archer, before being led away.

North of the Pike, Cutler's two regiments are in a bad way. They are being outflanked & pushed off the ridge. Hall is firing double canister but rebels are so close that they are shooting the battery horses. The 147th NY is taken in the flank & loses 76% of its men in 30 minutes

The US right flank is in dangerous peril. The only unit in reserve is the 6th Wisconsin under Rufus Dawes who gets the order move his regiment to the right and "go like hell." And they do. Their fire halts Davis's advance. Two of Cutler's regiments rally on the 6th

The three colonels come to a rapid decision: they will charge. Their assault surprises the Confederates who fall back to the railroad cut. Dawes swings a company around to fire straight down the cut. The Mississippians surrender or escape by running out the back of the cut

This charge - impetuous as it was - secures the I Corps front. Heth realizes that he has wrecked two of his brigades and now has to go tell someone about it. The I Corps uses this time to extend its lines along McPherson's Ridge back to Oak Ridge to the north. A moment of quiet

The day warms to 76 degrees. Stratocumulus clouds offer some cover to soldiers who are tired from marching and fighting. The trees on Oak Ridge and Herbst Woods give shade to the Federals there, as the leaves ripple from a light breeze. The hundreds of wounded can be heard.

AP Hill arrives on the field, still sick, possibly from recurring prostatitis and UTI. He will execute very little control of his corps. He had messaged Ewell his intentions to concentrate on Gettysburg, however, and this caused Ewell to begin to move south towards the town

Due to the nature of the roads converging on Gettysburg, this meant that soon there would be a Confederate corps arriving on the exposed right flank of the I Corps, which terminated in Baxter's brigade which is just now taking cover behind a stone wall on Oak Ridge.

However, Ewell had done something Hill had not: obeyed Lee's orders not to bring on a general engagement until the army was concentrated. As Hill brings up Pender's Division to augment Heth's battered troops, Ewell sends messengers off to find Lee to get permission to engage

This does not stop Robert Rodes, Ewell's lead division commander, from beginning preparations to assault the open flank he sees in front of him from his position on Oak Hill. As he positions his brigades, he does not seem to notice Baxter's brigade. Which will be a problem

From Oak Hill, Rodes also spots new masses of blue troops moving around the Cemetery Hill and in the town itself. This is the XI Corps. Smaller than most of the other corps, the XI is under the command of MG O.O. Howard, who arrives to find he's the ranking officer on the field

Howard is thrown into a horrible situation. He does not know the nature of the fighting, what Reynolds intent was, or really the nature of the enemy. He knows, however, that Cemetery Hill is the key to the position, so he will place his largest division there in reserve

Under the low clouds, the other two divisions of the XI Corps march north of the town to try to take up positions linking into the I Corps on the left and anchored to terrain on the right. However, it's too large an area to cover. And the flat terrain offers no advantages

Meanwhile, Lee is just arriving on the field, to find that whether he likes it or not, he has the better part of one of his corps committed to battle. Fortunately, it appears as though luck wis on his side, as he has another corps coming down on the Federal flank.

Lee knows nothing of the enemy situation beyond what his subordinates have told him - the same subordinates who decided to throw two divisions into action without orders, on the assumption of facing militia, then cavalry. He is skeptical. But gives orders for a general attack.

Rodes is the first to renew the assault. His goal is Cutler's position in the railroad cut, which he aims to take by the flank. Unfortunately, he still does not understand that Baxter's brigade is holding the flank on Oak Ridge, in a inverted V, in good cover behind fences

Rodes details one brigade to watch the newly arriving XI Corps, holds one in reserve, and sends the other three to attack. However, he does little to coordinate the attack with the brigade commanders. They fail to coordinate with each other. The chain of mistakes is deadly

Iverson's brigade of North Carolinians advances in parade ground precision, offering their flank to Baxter's waiting men. Flags and rifles are concealed behind the wall, until about 50 yards, when the wall erupts in the stars and stripes and a rippling explosion of rifle fire

Iverson's brigade nearly ceases to exist. The dead lay where they fell, feet touching, perfectly aligned as if on drill. Survivors go to ground where hundreds are swept up by roaring Yankees who counter-charge. Half of the 1,470 Tarheels who make the attack are casualties

Iverson watched from Oak Hill, with Rodes. Rumors of drunkenness will follow this misbegotten attack. But it is not the only blunder Rodes will commit that day, as he prepares to attack the US lines once again. CS leaders are struggling to coordinate their attacks

Nearly simultaneously, O'Neal's brigade of Rodes Division was attacking Baxter's right - with nearly similar results. O'Neal's attack collapsed in 15 minutes, right around when Iverson's began. Neither brigadier guided their regiments in the attack. It was a bloody fiasco.

But there was no respite for the I Corps, as Hill's Corps was new prepared to renew their offensive. Taking no chances now, Hill deployed most of his available forces. US soldiers commented that when the rebels advanced, the US line was overlapped by half a mile on both flanks

Fighting was particularly brutal in the Herbst Woods, where the 19th Indiana and 24th Michigan fought it out at 40 paces with the 26th North Carolina. Casualties were staggering. The colors staffs of the regiments were cut in two by bullets, all color guards killed and wounded

The 26th had brought 843 men to the fight - 588 would be casualties by the end of the day. The 24th Michigan would sustain 71% losses in this slugging match. Eventually, weight of numbers would tell on the battered Iron Brigade which fell back to a second line

Meanwhile, on the plain to the north of Gettysburg, the XI Corps was completing its deployments. There was a 600 yard gap from the end of the right of the I Corps to the left of the XI Corps. But there were simply not enough troops to cover the wide arc needed.

XI Corps artillery goes into action immediately, the guns of Hubert Dilger's Battery I, 1st Ohio helping to break up O'Neal's assault. Dilger, a German immigrant, then gets into a private war with Rodes' guns on Oak Hill. Exasperated, he begins aiming each gun himself

His first shot dismounts one gun. The second causes a caisson to explode. The 3d seems to have no effect. "Look again," says Dilger, "and I think you will see I have plugged the barrel." Connecticut troops going over that ground on Jul 4, do indeed find a gun of that description

All Dilger's magic - and it is magic, he broke up Longstreet's counterattack at 2d Bull Run & blunted Jackson's attack at Chancellorsville - can't save the XI Corps as three division converge nearly simultaneously on the two understrength divisions north of town

As the road networks carried Ewell's Corps on a perfect axis of advance to converge on the XI Corps, Howard desperately sends couriers off to other corps commanders to send assistance. Both he and Doubleday realize that it is a matter of when, not if, their lines will give way

The extreme right of the line is commanded by Francis Channing Barlow, a lawyer from NY. In an effort to take advantage of any high ground at all, he has moved his division forward to a small knoll, unwittingly exposing his flank to incoming units of Ewell's Corps.

Barlow's Knoll is hit from three directions. Fighting is ferocious. Barlow goes down with a wound - he will recover & go on to be one of the noted "fighting generals" of the war. His division kicked in and pushed back in under 30 minutes as victorious rebels head for Gettysburg

1LT Bayard Wilkeson is 19, and desperately fighting his guns of Battery G, 4th US Artillery to try to save the Barlow's Knoll position. A round shot takes him down, nearly severing his leg. He is propped against a tree where he amputates his leg with a penknife, directing fire

As the battery retreats, Wilkeson is brought to a barn but abandoned. He will die in the next two days. His body is found by a NYT reporter covering the battle, on July 3

That reporter was Samuel Wilkeson, his father.

"Who can write the history of a battle whose eyes are immovably fastened upon a central figure of transcendingly absorbing interest — the dead body of an oldest born, crushed by a shell in a position where a battery should never have been sent, and abandoned to death..." he wrote

By now, the hills and woods around Gettysburg are echoing with the crescendo of hundreds of cannon and thousands of rifles. The I Corps center gives way and the left flank has to begrudgingly fall back to Seminary Ridge, to form a new line. General Robinson needs to buy time

For this, Robinson halts the 16th Maine, which had been holding on Oak Ridge, having replaced elements of Baxter's brigade. The 180 men led by Maj Charles Tilden are falling back in good order when Robinson orders the regiment to face about and attack the advancing 3,000 rebels

"you know what that means" Tilden told his adjutant as he gives the order to advance. In 20 minutes, the little regiment is overrun. But that 20 minutes buys the I Corps enough time to withdraw. The men of the 16th tear their colors to shreds before they are overrun

Tilden, cornered by some rebels, refuses to surrender his sword, sticking it in the ground and breaking it off at the hilt, instead. Taken into captivity in Richmond, he will escape the following year. Forty men of the regiment assemble for duty the next morning on Cemetery Hill

By now, the I Corps has formed a new line on Seminary Ridge, the men piling up logs and fenceposts as breastworks. The I Corps artillery, what remains of it, is still some of the best in the Army of the Potomac. Hill elects to send in Pender's Division to finish the job.

The Confederate attack comes as a wave against the dug-in US position on Seminary Ridge, across sweeping, open ground. In a microcosm of what will happen in two days, the two leading brigades are butchered in gouts of canister and rifle fire. The I Corps is wounded, but dangerous

The last brigade of Pender's Division finds a crease in the US line and pours through, turning the infantry's flank. Doubleday realizes his position is now untenable and orders the artillery to withdraw first, which it does, at a walk so as to not discourage the infantry

Once off the ridge and into town, the artillery spurs to a trot and then a gallop, straining every nerve to get to Cemetery Hill. Behind them, the infantry retreat is in varying states of order or disorder. Units have been marching and fighting since 8 AM. Exhaustion has set in

The town of Gettysburg now becomes intermingled with retreating US troops, victorious rebels, and all the detritus of war. Howard attempts one last delaying action, throwing Coster's Brigade against Ewell's advancing ranks. Fighting in a brick yard, they, too, buy valuable time.

Cemetery Hill is awash in chaos. Von Steinwehr's division remains the only US not engaged and is standing as a rallying point for the groups of soldiers streaming up the hill in all semblances of order and disorder. But amidst the chaos, officers and NCOs begin to create order

Robert E Lee is assessing the overall situation. He owns the field, but he's not sure what it has brought him. 2/3 of his army has defeated 1/4 of Meade's army. The remaining 3/4 are somewhere, and Lee isn't sure where. He is also slowly coming to realize the cost of his victory

In Hill's Corps, Heth and Pender's divisions are all nearly wrecked. Only Anderson's Division remains combat ready. In Ewell's Corps, Rodes' Division has been mauled, Early's Division is completely disorganized after breaking Barlow, & Johnson's Division has not yet arrived

Still, Lee would like to see the US positions on Cemetery Hill disrupted and dislodged, as he realizes his enemy is reforming. In the usual way Lee handled orders, he tells Ewell to take Cemetery Hill, if practicable. Ewell, in his first time out as corps commander, is unsure

He takes some time to view the ground, and what he sees, he doesn't like. Cemetery Hill is already filled with artillery. There are troops occupying the small hill between Cemetery Hill and Culp's Hill, which is a wooded mass. He will need time to bring up Johnson's Division

Ewell's other division commanders agree, they cannot attack, it should be Johnson. Johnson defers to Ewell, but would like time to see the ground. In this deliberation - in striking contrast to the impetuosity of Heth that morning - the light is beginning to dim.

On Cemetery Hill, the II Corps commander has arrived from Meade's Headquarters, bearing instructions to take command on the field. Junior to Howard, Winfield Scott Hancock is in an awkward position. He knows that if Howard wants to, he can make this miserable and protest

Howard, upon hearing the news, is momentarily taken aback. To his everlasting credit - esp in an army filled with rank-obsessed prima donnas - he defers to Hancock, & together they begin to reorganize the lines. Hancock is determining if this is the place the army should fight

Lee is finding his corps commanders to be less than helpful in their advice and recommendations. Yet he, also, seems to be having a hard time making a decision about what course his army should take that evening

The US XII and III Corps are nearing Gettysburg

As full night falls around Gettysburg, the night is not calm. Since Marcellus Jones' first shot, there have been approximately 15,000 casualties - killed, wounded, and missing. Thousands of wounded litter the fields, woods, and roads of Gettysburg. Their cries fill the night air

Surgeons work into the night, by lamplight, amputating limbs and rendering what care they can. Soldiers go in search for their comrades. Cries for water or loved ones can be heard. The rows of dead lay where they are. The living have the morrow to think of.

Lee, taking the council of his generals, decides to stay and fight, much to Longstreet's displeasure. Who, exactly, will be doing the fighting is uncertain as the Confederate corps and division commanders seem to be uncharacteristically hesitant to carry the fight to the enemy.

It will be midnight before the commanding general, Army of the Potomac arrives on the field to gather his army around him for the first time. He has only been in command a few days. George G Meade assents to the assessments of Hancock and Howard. The army will stay and fight.

The stage is set.

It did not have to be. Lee could have tried shifting his army towards Carlisle, abandoning his wounded. Meade could have ordered his army back to the Pipe Creek defensive line his engineers had laid out. Choices matter, nothing in history was predestined

The morning of July 2 dawns and finds that during the night, the armies have concentrated. Most, but not all, of the combatants have arrived or are arriving. Lee is still lacking his cavalry as well as two divisions from Longstreet's corps, one of which will be arriving soon

Meade has his corps in a tight line anchored on Culp's Hill on the right with the XII Corps and elements of the I, the XI and I on Cemetery Hill, the II on Cemetery Ridge, and the III holding the left flank, which extends into some low ground. It resembles a fishhook, of sorts

Lee has decided to attack. Ewell will demonstrate against the US right, while Longstreet strikes their left, unhinging the line, giving Hill the ability to overrun Cemetery Hill. However, Longstreet's corps is still arriving. It will take time to move them into place

As with everything in war, time and terrain will play critical roles today.

The morning is warm, not yet hot. The temperature will rise to about 82 degrees, with slight cloud cover. Both sides have pushed out skirmishers to cover their main lines, so shots ring out now & again

The weakest part of the US line is the left. The III Corps occupies the south end of Cemetery Ridge, where the terrain falls off into lowlands before rising to a small hill called Little Round Top. This concerns Gen Dan Sickles, the corps commander. And rightfully so

Houck's Ridge dominates Sickles' position from where it runs in front of the round tops to Devil's Den. Artillery placed there could tear his line to bits, as had happened at Chancellorsville two months prior. He is going to try to find a better place for his corps

Meanwhile, on Culp's Hill, 68 year old George S Greene is making his brigade do what soldiers never like to do: dig in. A civil engineer by trade, Greene is happily walking his line ensuring his men are using pick, shovel, and axe to good effect. They are indeed.

By near noon, Dan Sickles is getting nervous about what's in front of him. He orders out a recon in force, of the 1st US Sharpshooters and the 3rd Maine Infantry, to push through a peach orchard and towards Seminary Ridge to see what force is out there

The 320 men of the 3rd Maine move across the sloping fields to Seminary Ridge as the heat of the day is rising. The 1st US Sharpshooters are skirmishing away when suddenly the woodline blazes with musketry as the 3rd Maine runs into Hill's extreme right flank. A firefight begins

It goes poorly, the 3rd Maine is outflanked and falls back in haste, losing men prisoner in the process. What they bring back to Sickles is the knowledge that there are enemy in front of him, which confirms, in his mind, that he is about to be attacked. So he moves he corps

Hancock & Meade watch in stunned silence as the 13,000 men of the III Corps advance the half mile to the higher ground of the Peach Orchard, the line angling back through the Wheatfield, anchored in a rocky hill on Houck's Ridge called the Devil's Den

Sickles has disrupted Lee

Longstreet has had to reroute his march to the south because of the new US troop formations appearing in the Peach Orchard. This is going to add yet more delay to Lee's plans. The heat of the day is oppressive for the men of both armies

On Little Round Top, the signal station spots movement. Meade's engineer, on the unoccupied hill, Gouvenor K Warren realizes that an attack is about to happen and sends aides running off to find any help that that they can

At around 4:30, John Bell Hood raises his arm and orders his force to attack. Thousands of Confederate troops begin their attack on Sickles' extended line, as cannons begin to bark and rumble

Meade is visiting Sickles, irate. Understandably. Sickles offers to withdraw

"I wish that you could" Meade replies as a round shot bounces by, "the enemy will not allow you." He turns and rides back to attempt to repair Sickles' error

*tactical pause for life occurring, sorry*

It is 7 PM and the Gettysburg battlefield has changed immensely over the last two hours. Hood's attack smashes into the US brigade in Devil's Den and the Wheatfield, with fierce fighting in the rocks, boulders, and difficult terrain of Plum Run Valley

In the Triangle Field in front of Devil's Den, the 124th New York "Orange Blossoms" have twice charged, and now their colonel and Major lie dead. "The men must see us today" Col Ellis had told Maj Cromwell as they had mounted. Now the Orange Blossoms are shattered

The screaming Texans then hit Smith's NY Battery, but the bayonets of the 4th Maine check them, until the Maine men are taken in the flank by Alabamans and forced to fall back. "Give them canister, give them solid shot, damn them, give them anything!" Smith screams to his gunners

Smith's guns have been overrun and the US left has been broken, temporarily. But one brigade of Hood's has gone off track, chasing the marksmen of the 2d US Sharpshooters, splitting the brigade and diminishing the combat powe of his attack. Alabama units cimbed Big Round Top

Meanwhile, an aide from Warren has found Col Strong Vincent, who has volunteered his brigade, without orders, to go to Little Round Top, where Vincent has thrown them into line on the south slope, attempting, as much as he can, to link his line to that in Devil's Den

By now, Vincent is laying mortally wounded, struck while encouraging the 16th Michigan: "Don't give an inch!" he ordered, brandishing the riding crop his young wife gave him. The 16th Michigan is facing Alabamans to its front but Texans have swarmed up the hill on their flank

They've been met by Col Paddy O'Rorke's 140th NY, screaming defiance with only bayonets and fury, and have been hurled down the slope. But Paddy lies dead, as does his classmate from West Point, 1861, Charles Hazlett from Zanesville, OH, dead by his guns on Little Round Top

The fighting has swirled around Little Round Top, two Alabama regiments trying hard to get around the flank of Vincent's left most regiment, the 20th Maine. But the 20th did not budge and swung its lines back to be practically firing in 3 directions.

Color Sergeant Andrew Tozier has stood on his rock in the center of the line, the color guard dead or wounded, the colors in the crook of his arm, calmly loading & firing his rifle. Col. Joshua L Chamberlain has received reports that the ammunition is almost gone.

With no options other than retreat or die, the Bowdoin College professor has ordered "Bayonet, Forward!" and the regiment has charged down the hill, capturing dozens of rebels and sending the rest fleeing. The flank is secure, for now. But the rest of the field is all battle.

In the Wheatfield, federal troops have been fighting off Confederates attacking from two directions. Their ammunition gone, the 17th Maine, too, has had to charge. Reinforcements coming from the II Corps charge across the Wheatfield, clearing it - only for a moment

Coming from 3 sides now, Hood and McClaws' rebels slam into the Wheatfield and drive the II Corps troops back, only to be met by the howling charge of the Irish Brigade - only about 400 strong - which checks the rebels. But only momentarily. The Wheatfield is a vortex of battle

The Wheatfield is still being fought over right now, units are sucked into it from every side and ground up in the meat grinder that this small open space has become. In all, 20,000 men will fight in this small space, with over 6,100 casualties.

There is no end to the fighting here, as the II Corps reinforcements are used up. The V Corps reinforcements are rushed in as once more the Confederate juggernaut that overwhelmed the Peach Orchard threatens to break through. The division of US Regulars is attacking now

In the Peach Orchard, the day has been a disaster. Hit from three sides, Sickles' line holds, bends, then collapses. He himself is hit, losing a leg, and is hauled off on a door, smoking a cigar. Blasted trees, branches, unripe peaches all litter the ground, with scores of dead

CPT Bigelow and his 9th Massachusetts Battery have been firing double canister, retreating by prolong, using the recoil of the guns to pull them out of reach of the Mississippians and South Carolinians coming down on them as the Peach Orchard becomes another place of carnage

Meade has been funnelling reinforcements towards his left flank, trying to shore it up as the battle seems to take on a life of its own. Charge and counter-charge, terrain is won, lost, won again, and then lost as the US troops are driven back towards Cemetery Ridge

The Regulars - those old Army veterans - attack in the Wheatfield. "For two years they taught us to fight like soldiers," one volunteer said. "That day, they taught us to die like soldiers." Their charge is repulsed. The fall back in perfect order, halting to about face & fire

Victorious and exhausted Confederates pour out of the Wheatfield, across the Valley of Death, and up the slopes of Little Round Top. They are met by a shattering volley, a shout, and then the bayonets of Gen Samuel Crawford's V Corps division, which now attacks

The rebels are driven back to the Wheatfield and then across it, before Crawford realizes that his charge has left his men too far forward. He pulls back to Houck's Ridge. The stunned and tired rebels do not attempt to attack again. The US left is finally secure.

But towards the center, the crisis persists. LTC Freeman McGilvery, commander of the III Corps artillery, is trying to extricate his batteries, but as he recons the ridge behind him, he finds there's no infantry. This is a new problem. He now must find a way to plug this gap

Riding up to Bigelow, McGilvery utters the now common words on the Gettysburg battlefield, words familiar to Joshua Chamberlain and many others: "Hold at all hazards." Just enough time to form a new line of guns to plug the gap in the line.

Bigelow holds, but is wounded

McGilvery forms a thin gun line but it is now threatened by advancing Confederate infantry, who open fire on the gunners, silencing gun after gun as the shadows lengthen. The colors of the 150th NY come suddenly into view as reinforcements from the XII Corps arrive

McGilvery's gun line has held long enough for infantry to seal the gap, and the 150th NY charges and retakes Bigelow's guns.

But another gap has opened, to his right. Winfield Hancock is on the scene, desperately looking for anything to throw in this gap as rebels approach

He spots the 1st Minnesota. To Col Colvill, he points at the colors of an enemy regiment and orders, "Advance, colonel, and take those colors!" With a howl, the Minnesotans hurl themselves off the crest, bayonets fixed, right into the mass of Wilcox's brigade, checking them

Only 18% of the regiment returns to Cemetery Ridge. Their charge, and renewed US artillery, sends the attackers scampering back.

Wright's George Brigade tries one more time, angling toward another gap in the II Corps line - its occupants had been chewed up in the Wheatfield

For a moment, only George Meade & his staff stand in their way. Victory, they feel, hangs there for the taking. A shattering volley from the 13th Vermont into their flank checks them. Batteries in the center take them under fire & the last vestige of Longstreet's attack breaks

The light is dying on Cemetery Ridge. The III Corps is a wreck. Half the II Corps and V Corps have been broken trying to save it. But the left has held. Unwittingly, Sickles created a defense in depth, forcing the rebels to attrite their forces until they could no longer attack

By the end, Longstreet and Hill know it was useless to keep attacking. Their units have been shockingly handled. Hood is wounded and multiple brigadiers are dead, including Mississippi's fire-eating Barksdale. The bloodletting has been appalling.

But July 2 is not over

By now, Ewell has decided to turn his demonstration in front of Culp's Hill into a full attack. Johnson's unbloodied division advances - 6,000 men against old Pap Greene's 1400. All that are left on Culp's Hill as the XII had gone to help the center. But Greene's men are dug in.

Johnson's Division advances up the rocky, wooded slopes but soon lose their unit cohesion. The advance is difficult because the terrain is so difficult. Greene's men open a particularly destructive fire from behind their protective works. Rebel return fire is ineffectual

In the growing darkness, soldiers fire at muzzle flashes in the gloom of the trees. Gunfire echoes off the rocks, rebounding in the tight space. The Stonewall Brigade of Jackson fame advances, falls back, advances again, retreats, chased by Yankee taunts

One of Johnson's brigades manages to envelop Greene's right flank and force the 137th New York, the extreme right of the Army of the Potomac, back. Behind the 137th is the Baltimore Pike - the supply and communication lifeline of the US Army back to Washington, DC

The 137th NY is commanded by Col David Ireland - an immigrant from Scotland. A pre-war militia officer from NY, Ireland has amassed considerable military experience since his first combat at Bull Run in 1861. He will need all of that now, as Confederate regiments try his flank

It is nearly fully dark. Sounds of battle still grumble from Culp's Hill. In the town of Gettysburg, Jubal Early decides to throw in 2,300 men in two brigades against East Cemetery Hill. Using the darkness to their advantage, they get within rifle range, when US artillery opens

Canister tears great gaps in their lines as the tired and battered remnants of the XI Corps try to stave off the howling Louisianans of Hayes' "Tigers" that are rushing up the slope. The infantry give way and the gunners are fighting with handspikes and rammers, hand-to-hand

For the second time in as many days, Howard is on the scene, rallying his men, pushing them back into the fray as the Confederates near the top of East Cemetery Hill. The 14th Indiana, double quicking from Cemetery Ridge, charges down into the fray

Early withdraws his troops

Even as the sounds of battle are dying on East Cemetery Hill, and the flashes of the artillery go out like wanting lightning bugs, Col Ireland is still struggling to hold his position on Culp's Hill. He orders one, then two bayonet charges, in the dark, to try to hold his line

In the fighting on Culp's Hill on July 2, numerous men from the XII Corps reported that they had been joined in the fighting by an African-American man, who appeared on the scene with rifle and accoutrements and fought alongside the US soldiers. We do not know who he was

(For more on this, see Alan Guelzo's work on Gettysburg, although I prefer Sears' work as a general description of the overall campaign and battle)

On the extreme left, the ordeal of the 137th New York and Col Ireland is coming to a close, as reinforcements arrive to help him bolster his line. The Confederates draw back into the darkness and an uneasy silence falls. Silent, save for the cries of the wounded

You must remember that through the spectacle of the monuments, the sheen of memoires, the gloss of history, these were ordinary human men, meeting soft lead, which tears the flesh and shatters the bone. Death was instant or brutally slow. Loss of blood was the main contributor.

Around a unit's position, there would be scores of dead and wounded humans. There would be blood, human waste, tissue, brain matter, spent cartridges, splintered trees, turned earth, smashed rifles and cantees, empty haversacks, dead or dying horses, shattered artillery...

And across the field on the night of July 2, some 20,000 dead, wounded, or missing men. Missing could mean captured. Could mean they cannot account for them. Could mean could not find enough remains to positively identify them.

20,000. Alone, the 10th bloodiest battle of the war

Lanterns bob across Plum Run Valley as parties of friends go in search of comrades. Stretcher bearers carry some lucky wounded to a field hospital. Many will remain trapped between the lines, vulnerable to hunger, thirst, shock, bloodloss, a random bullet, or looters

In their last moments, men might scribble a note to their loved ones, to assure them that they died a "good death" (see Faust's "This Republic of Suffering" for more on this). Colonel Avery of NC, hit on East Cemetery Hill wrote: "Tell my father I died with my face to the enemy."

Other than the occasional pop of a musket from a picket line, the firing is over. It is time for the generals to take stock of what has happened as their armies draw back to rest and refit for whatever the morning will bring

As we look to Lee's headquarters on Seminary Ridge, from where he will fight this battle, we can see that his plan came close to succeeding dozens of times. And dozens of times, some US colonel or captain was there with a regiment or battery to dash the plan to pieces

Almost, in this case, is not enough. Meade's skillful use of his troops - and his use of his interior lines - have allowed him to parry every new thrust by Lee.

Lee, however, does not see it that way. He sees a nearly beaten enemy. One good attack will finish them off.

It will be hours still before Meade can sit down with his corps commanders to discuss the day's events and next steps. He has been riding all over the field, from the Peach Orchard to Culp's Hill. He has been almost too close to the action for his son's, who is his ADC, comfort

The Army of the Potomac will once again stay and fight, on the defense. The VI Corps has finally arrived and so Meade has a proper reserve. On his 5th day on the job, Meade has his entire command present for the first time, in one of the most high stakes battles of the war

Dawn will arrive to Gettysburg in approximately six hours and forty-five minutes. For the soldiers of both sides, that will come too early.

For now, we leave them to history, until the morn.

Peace was shattered at dawn, when US artilley on Culp's Hill opened a 15 minute cannonade on Ewell's men, followed by a near simultaneous attack by the XII Corps, as well as Ewell's troops - the Federals to retake their positions, the Confederates to consolidate their gains

The fighting has lasted until about now, with Ewell's troops forced to withdraw from Cemetery Hill after more heavy fighting in that rough terrain. This has caused Lee to rethink his plan of striking Cemetery Hill from two sides. He now decides to strike the center

Now that JEB Stuart's errant cavalry has finally returned, with many captured wagons but little else of much use, Lee will use them to probe US defenses around the Baltimore Pike.

But the main action will be against the - apparently - thin US line south of Cemetery Hill.

Inexplicably, Longstreet's last division, that of George Pickett, is only just now reaching the field and was definitely not in place early enough to participate in the dawn attack that Lee wanted Longstreet and Ewell to make. But, it is the only fresh division in the army

Lee informs Longstreet - who still wants to push south around the Round Tops, unaware that the VI Corps occupies that ground - that Pickett and two divisions from Hill's Corps will make an attack at 3 PM, preceded by a massive artillery bombardment. Longstreet is skeptical.

Lee was perhaps thinking of the British frontal attacks at Alma, in the Crimean War, that had broken the spirit of the Russian defenders and caused them to give way. What he should have been thinking of was of Malvern Hill in 1862, where he had sent infantry into massed US guns

As Longstreet begins gathering his divisions for the attack and organizing the guns for the artillery barrage, small skirmishes erupt across the lines. In Devil's Den, fighting flares up between Georgians and Pennsylvania Bucktails, fighting from rock to rock

Rebel sharpshooters in Gettysburg prompt the guns on Cemetery Hill to grumble to life before being silenced by staff officers sent from Meade. Infantry advance to chase the marksmen out of their perches, sparking more flares of rifle fire

These personal little battles - unknown to us, mostly - held as much significance for those in them as the larger and better known actions. A minié ball still killed if it was fired in an insignificant skirmish. Life and death still hung in the balance.

The day is the hottest yet of the battle. Temperatures will approach 87 degrees Fahrenheit by 2 PM. The morning remains overcast, although it appears that there are some breaks in the sky that promise more clear weather. The heat, as many soldiers note, is oppressive

Stuart is moving four brigades of Confederate cavalry to swing east of Culp's Hill and then south, attempting to conceal his movements. However, the US system of intelligence - scouts, signal stations, and cavalry, all working together - quickly identifies the movement

A US cavalry division under General David Gregg is in place protecting the right flank of the Army of the Potomac. Gregg is supposed to send one of his brigades under a young officer named George Custer to Big Round Top, but he ignores the order on receipt of the new intelligence

Confederate sharpshooters and US sharpshooters have been trading shots around the Bliss Farm, just in front of Cemetery Ridge and in front of General Alexander Hays' Division. Hays has been spending the battle willing the enemy to attack him. They have not yet done so.

Hays has under his command a brigade of disgraced troops, labelled the "Harper's Ferry Cowards." Through no fault of their own, they had been a part of the debacle in 1862 where the garrison of Harper's Ferry, WV, surrendered to Jackson. The brigade was looked at with suspicion

Mostly New Yorkers, the brigade has helped clear its name somewhat the day prior when Hays' sent them left to "knock the hell out of some rebs." Now, they are back in position on Cemetery Ridge to the right of a copse of trees. They are still thinking about their reputation

Hays is annoyed, still, with the sharpshooters in the Bliss Farm. He sends the 14th Connecticut to go clear out the rebels and burn the buildings. After a quick firefight, the buildings are set alight and the Nutmeg Regiment scampers back. A pall of smoke hangs in the air

By now, a lull of sorts has settled across the field. On the US side, men have stacked arms and are dozing, writing letters, gathering water, cooking. Skirmishers are still out in front of the main lines to give early warning, still engaged in their own personal wars

Between 1 PM and 1:20 - time is hard to calculate during the Civil War because of mismatched timepieces and Daylight Savings Time not existing - the lull is broken by two guns firing. Not entirely out of the ordinary, US and CS artillery have been trading shots all morning

The puffs of smoke in the Peach Orchard hang there for a few seconds until suddenly the entirety of Seminary Ridge blossoms in flame and smoke. The shriek of projectiles fills the air as the reverberating sound of the Confederate cannonade echoes across the valleys & hills

Lee's has entrusted his 28 year old artillerist, E Porter Alexander with approximately 170 guns and most of the army's reserve of artillery ammunition for this stupendous display of firepower. Explosive shells, round shot, bolts, all manner of projectiles fill the air

The fire is concentrated mainly on Cemetery Ridge, just south of Cemetery Hill. There the infantry have grabbed their rifles and taken cover behind the low stone wall running along the ridge. Most shot and shell are hitting the artillery or passing over the ridge entirely

US guns are slow to respond, for chief of artillery General Henry Hunt wants to conserve ammunition for the infantry attack which he knows is coming. Still, he permits some return fire, causing the crescendo to grow and reverberate even more in the hot afternoon air

It is irksome for infantry to be shot at without response, so Hancock orders the guns of the II Corps to respond - the battery commanders are uncertain who they answer to, which leaves Hunt & Hancock to swear at each other before Hunt permits Cushing, Woodruff, & Rorty to respond

Behind the crest of Cemetery Ridge, there is chaos. Hospital tents are struck, Meade's headquarters is forced to move, wagons are splintered, teams are panicked. But on the crest, the infantry suffer very little from the antics of the whirring projectiles

Walking along the lines of infantry, they laugh and say things like "Oh we don't mind this," "This is bully," "We're beginning to rather like it," and other such bluster that men say under fire. The roar of so many guns blends into one massive roiling cauldron of sound

At around 2:30, the US guns slacken. Hunt orders his batteries to cease firing, one by one. Some roll off the crest entirely.

Alexander noticed the fire slackening. He also knows he cannot keep up this fire, as his ammunition is nearly done. He sends word to begin the attack

Longstreet cannot allow himself to utter the words but merely nods when asked if the attack should begin. Some 13,000 men begin to stand up and get into line formations behind Seminary Ridge as the thunder of the artillery wanes to near silence

On Cemetery Ridge, all is action. Fresh batteries are brought up to replace damaged ones, limber boxes are replenished, and all look around as if to ask, what next? The largest artillery bombardment in North America has ended but smoke and sulphur fumes still fill the air

Out of the woods, the serried ranks of gray and butternut emerge, sun glinting on a rippling sea of arms and bayonets. As they advance, it nearly seems to be a wave, as the lines move across the folds and ridges of land. A spectacle so profound that all stop to stare.

"None on this crest now need be told the enemy is advancing" writes General Gibbons aide, Lt Frank Haskell. The infantry could only wait. "The grand old ensign that first waved at Saratoga, and which these people coming would wish to rob of half its stars, stood up..."

"and the west wind kissed it as the sergeant sloped its lance towards the enemy. I believe not one above whom it then waved but blessed his God that he was loyal to it, as the emblem of the Republic before that treason's flaunting rag in front."

Every man watching knows what this attack means. For many, it means the sort of retribution that they have been wanting for years. In Hays' line, the 12th NJ loads double buck & ball in smoothbores. The 69th and 71st PA hold an angle in the wall. Spare rifles are loaded & ready

From Round Top to Cemetery Hill, the bark and rumble of Hunt's symphony of destruction begins, and now Longstreet and Lee are fully aware that their bombardment had no effect. The federal line spews flame for over a mile, the "compliments of a wrathful Republic"

Freeman McGilvery, who nearly lost his entire command the previous day, has his revenge as he rolls 44 guns from their positions behind the crest of the ridge and opens an enfilade fire down the long lines of rebel troops, round shot bowling men over & ricocheting into others

Both flanks of the Confederate advance are subject to enfilade fire which - combined with the terrain - is going to force the divisions to converge inwards. The fire is so fierce that some companies entirely disappear. Regiments badly damaged on July 1 now begin to break up

Pickett's division is the only one not yet to see action - Pettigrew and Trimble command the two divisions of AP Hill's, Corps that started this battle on July 1. They are already bloodied. This hell on earth, is growing to be too much. Regiments are halting to take cover

The 250 men of the 8th Ohio are still in front of Cemetery Ridge in an advanced position; they send a crashing volley into Mayo's rebel brigade, already suffering from plunging fire from Cemetery Hill's gunners. The brigade breaks and runs. The Buckeyes pivot & hit Davis's flank

Successive volleys from the Buckeyes catch Davis's brigade in the flank. They suffered serious losses in the railroad cut two days prior, and this is too much for them. They turn and run as well. The 8th Ohio, with the artillery, has sent two brigades running for their own lines

On the opposite flank, a brigade of 90 day Vermonters under GJ Stannard is ordered to swing out and put themselves square on the flank of Pickett's Division. Hancock watches nervously as the raw regiments go through the evolutions of this complex maneuver, but they complete it

A pause and then the 3 regiments let fly with a ripping volley, into the flank of Kemper's brigade, wounding Kemper & knocking down dozens of his men. "Glory to God, glory to God, see the Vermonters go at it!" cries Abner Doubleday, watching them in admiration

Trimble and Pettigrew's last troops are hitting the Emmitsburg Road, and with it, the concentrated fire of Hays' Division. First the Harper's Ferry Cowards, then the rest of the line, blazing to life in gouts of fire. The NJ men are employing their smoothbores as deadly shotguns

The attack in front of Hays surges to the wall, a color bearer plants his flag, and he is taken prisoner. The rest of the attackers are either fleeing headlong across the field, are laying in the carpet of dead & wounded, or are entering the US lines as prisoners

At the angle, where Webb's brigade is, the Pennsylvanians are firing shattering volleys into the masses of Virginians, who are slowing to stop and return fire. Lt Alonzo Cushing is wounded in the gut, but is firing double and triple canister as the rebels get to within 10 paces

Cowan's battery loads triple canister in all six of its guns and waits for the rebels to close up to the wall. The gunners pull the lanyards and after the belching flame and steel, nothing is to their front but a field of dead and maimed men where once came hearty soldiers

Henry Hunt is riding the line, with zero regard for his own safety, emptying his pistol into the packed ranks of rebels, shouting, "See em! See em!" Hancock is too close, as well; a bullet strikes his saddle, driving a saddle nail deep into his gut. He refuses to leave the field

Alonzo Cushing is dead, hit in the mouth by a bullet as he gives the order to fire, his thumb burnt off from using bare skin to plug the touch hole. His sergeant fires off their last round of canister as the tide of Garnett and Armistead's Virginians reach the wall

Garnett is blown from his horse and killed, Armistead, the last surviving brigadier of Pickett's division, is climbing onto the stone wall, hat on his sword. He puts a hand on Cushing's gun and is shot down. The 71st and 69th PA give way. The Virginians pour across the wall

For one brief moment, it seems to be happening - the miraculous victory. But if one of those rebels looks behind him, he will see that there is no one else left. The attack has failed. They are all there is. And then in front, the 72d PA opens fire, a deadly volley

From the flank come the 20th and 19th MA and the 19th ME. And then the 69th and 71st PA counterattack, the line surges to the wall and - the great assault of July 3 is over, collapsing in a bloody shambles no more than 20 yards past the stone wall. There is no breakthrough

Two late brigades from Hill's Corps sent to cover Pickett's flank are met with thundering artillery & volleys from the Vermonters, who merely about face and engage this new threat. These 2 brigades, too, pull back.

"Fredericksburg, Fredericksburg!" comes the shout from the wall

The II Corps line is jubilant. Webb, however, is downcast. "They came through my lines, Alex" he tells Hays. "Well they damn sure didn't come through mine!" replied Hays, who is not the person to go to for consolation.

Hays is in a mood. He kissed his aide, grabs a captured rebel flag, mounts his horse, and rides the length of his line, dragging the banner behind him in the dirt, followed by his staff doing the same, cheered by the men of his division

Across the field, JEB Stuart's run of bad luck with the US cavalry is continuing. He deploys two brigades to dislodge Gregg, who dismounts his troopers and keeps the mounted southerners at bay. Stuart sends a charge. "Come on you Wolverines!" cries Custer to the 7th Michigan

In a snarl of sabers and pistols, the Wolverines punch through the Virginians, only to be met by a counter charge that sends them galloping back. Stuart tries again, but Yankee troopers refuse to be budged. Reluctantly, Stuart gives up his attack

On Little Round Top and in Devil's Den, the skirmishing that had paused for the cannonade and charge resumes. Bearded, green-clad men appear on Little Round Top and tell the infantrymen to get low. These men of the 2d US Sharpshooters then unpack heavy rifles and spotting scopes

They proceed to do a deadly accurate destruction on the Georgian sharpshooters in Devil's Den, giving the Pennsylvania Bucktails a chance to finally advance and take Houck's Ridge. Their brigade commander gets orders to recon his front for the possibility of an attack

McCandless sends out the order to his brigade. They will advance in open order in heavy skirmish lines, highly unusual and presaging combat of later wars. They push into Rose Woods, dropping Confederate marksmen from the trees and scattering an entire regiment taken by surprise

After capturing the colors of the regiment and taking many prisoners, McCandless pills back, weary of going too far while unsupported. This will be the last brigade or larger sized action at the Battle of Gettysburg

The great battle of Gettysburg is nearly over, but none of the participants know that. Both sides prepare for more fighting as the sky grows overcast

They do not know that the death blow to the Confederacy was dealt today, on the farm of a freed Black man, Abraham Brian

By now, the clouds have turned from threatening, to a full blown thunderstorm that drenches the field. The area around Plum Run floods - drowning many of the wounded in the valley, the horrors of the battlefield unabating even now

Full night on the Gettysburg battlefield. Tomorrow, it will rain in torrents as the armies process what just happened. Lee will realize that his only hope for survival is escape. Meade will pursue, without jeopardizing the hard fought victory his army has gained here

The armies will leave. The dead will not. Over 7,000 dead men remain on the fields, in the woods, and along the roads of Gettysburg. Thousands of dead horses, too, litter the farms and yards of Gettysburg residents. Tens of thousands of wounded men clog every available house

The discovery of the dead will take years. Decades. Centuries. In 1996, remains were found along the railroad in Gettysburg. The work of identifying the missing goes on to this day. Families have been left without closure of a loved ones demise for generations.

Americans, north and south, are shocked by the carnage, and try to assign meaning to it. For the United States, the president will put it all into clear words that November: "that these dead shall not have died in vain. That the government of the people, for the people, etc"

Veterans, after the war, will interpret the battle in their own way with the monuments they erect on the battlefield. In 1917, Virginia will erect a monument. US veterans will object. In the era of reconciliation this will be ignored as nationalism subsumes the meaning of the war

Today, Gettysburg means different things to different people. To Faulkner, Gettysburg meant the promise of an unfulfilled southern manhood. To Eisenhower, it meant a refuge of peace after war. To the nation today, it has most recently served as a political battleground

To me, Gettysburg is both heroic and tragic. Glorious and despicable. Uplifting and depressing. It is a battle to make men free - free to be abandoned to Jim Crow. It is my own struggle with our collective national history. & to some extent, my own struggle with my profession

I truly believe that the American Revolution will not be won until the words of the Declaration apply to everyone, of all races, genders, identities. Until the promise of the Gettysburg Address is made universal: we do highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain.

I serve, because these dead will not have died in vain. Because someone will carry their memory, tell their stories, share their ideals. The dead will not have died in vain, because we will fight for equality and equity. This nation shall always experience a new birth of freedom

Sources used for this thread include works on Gettysburg by Stephen Sears, Harry Pfanz, Mark Grimsley, and Alan Geulzo. Thanks to the Gettysburg NPS conference papers as well, for all the wonderful details they have.

Thanks for following along in this tradition!