|E 475 .53 .F79 Copy 1 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, COPYRIGHT OFFICE. No registration of iitle of this book- as a preliminary to copyright protec- tion has been found. r A A . r^^ n- ■ ■ f<^^- 29 ISO! ^orwarded to Order Division (Date) (Apr. .5, 1901—5.000.) ^^ AUTHORIZATION. CHAP. 466, LAWS OF 1886. AN ACT to provide for designating the positions and movements of the troops- of the State of New York on the battlefield of Gettysburg. Section i. Daniel E. Sickles, Henry W. Slocum, Joseph B. Carr, Charles A. Richardson, and the adjutant-general of this State are hereby appointed com- missioners for the State of New York to determine the positions and move- ments, at the battle of Gettysburg, of the several military organizations of this State that took part in that battle, and to do such other acts relating thereto as may be hereafter required. § 2. Said commissioners shall determine such positions and movements by means of such records, reports, maps and surveys as may be had, and by such other aids and means as they may judge necessary therefor; and they shall report their proceedings to the legislature at its next session, with such recom- mendations as they shall judge proper to secure the permanent marking of the movements and positions of such troops. § 3. The sum of five thousand dollars, or so much thereof as may be neces- sary, is hereby appropriated out of any money in the treasury, not otherwise appropriated, to defray the expenses of said commissioners in carrying out the provisions of this act. § 4. In case of the resignation, refusal to serve, death or inability of either of said commissioners to perform the duties required, the Governor shall fill the vacancy by appointment. CHAP. 932, LAWS OF 1895. * * * For defraying the expenses of the final report of the commis- sioners appointed by and pursuant to chapter four hundred and sixty-six, Laws of one thousand eight hundred and eighty-six, of their proceedings under said act, and all acts supplementary thereto, the sum of six thousand dollars, which report shall contain a representation of each monument erected by them, with a statement of its location and cost, and the dedication ceremonies, and also o brief history of each Neiv York regiment and battery that took part in the battle of Gettysburg as authenticated by official reports and records. * * *• 2 3u To his Excellency, the Governor of the State of New York : Sir : — Pursuant to the provisions of chapter 932, Laws of 1895, the New York Monuments Commission for the Battlefields of Gettys- burg and Chattanooga has the honor to submit herewith its final report on that part of the work relating to the Battlefield of Gettysburg. Yours obediently, DANIEL E. SICKLES, Chairman. New York, Dec. i, 1899 NEW YORK AT GETTYSBURG WILLIAM F. FOX, Lieut.-CoL 107th N. Y. Vols. 3 AUTHOR'S PREFACE. The following chronicle of events at the battle of Gettysburg is inserted here as introductory to the main body of the report. Something of the kind seemed necessary in recounting the services of the New York troops on that historic field, to show not only their participation in the fighting, but, also, the relation which their action bore to other and more general events as to time, order, and place. The movements of each New York regiment and battery during the bat- tle are fully described elsewhere in the historical sketches and addresses pub- lished in this report; but the bearing which their action had on other movements can be explained only in some connected narrative reciting the entire story of the battle, and in which the services of each command is told in its due connection. Another history of Gettysburg may seem superfluous and presumptions. But there were New York regiments and batteries in every corps, in every division except one, and in forty-six brigades of the Union army. They fought and fell on every portion of the field. Any fair statement of their participation in the general action involves a story of the entire battle. At the request of the Board, the author, who had already undertaken the work of editing the final report, reluctantly assumed this addi- tional task. This history of the battle — if it may be called a history — does not purport to be the story of an eye-witness, but is based on the official reports made at the time, together with some other authentic accounts which have passed unchal- lenged during the many years that have elapsed. But the official reports are not infallible. They are somewhat conflicting at times, and on each side there is a noticeable tendency to make scant mention of any misfortune or reverse that may have occurred ; and, although a full record of such event may be found in the report of the other side, it is apt to be accom- panied by exaggerations that make it worthless for historical purposes. This is especially the case in statements as to losses inflicted on an enemy or the number of prisoners captured. With a hope of reconciling discrepancies, and obtaining information where it was needed, the author has read carefully all of the voluminous literature, written on both sides, relating to the battle and its accompanying campaigns. Considerable difficulty was experienced in determining the order in which events occurred ; for the reports show a surprising variation in this respect. Some officers dififer three hours or more in their statements as to when certain mcidents happened, — when troops arrived on the ground, the hour when they went into action, or, when some position was carried or abandoned. But by harmonizing so far as practicable the contradictory statements, and retaining all that agreed, a schedule was finally evolved by which the various movements were accounted for, as to time and succession, without inconsistencies or con- 5 6' Author's Preface. tradictions. Fortunately, in some of the reports the officer, instead of using the word " about " in stating when the event took place, gives both the hour and the minute with exactness, which shows that he looked at his watch and noted it precisely. Such statements were accepted in preference to others. Reference is made to this matter here, because the various movements during the battle cannot be understood until the exact order in which the events occurred is definitely determined. In the course of his work the author has made frequent and protracted visits to the battlefield, where all the various movements, together with the official reports, have been carefully studied on the ground, a task which became difficult at times owing to the erroneous location of regimental monuments and inaccu- rate inscriptions. It has been his good fortune, also, to meet on the field, from year to year, participants in the battle from each army, men whose rank and connection with important events on the field enabled them to explain clearly much that hitherto was doubtful or misunderstood. Through the liberality of the Board of New York Commissioners, substantial assistance was rendered by furnishing everything available in the way of maps, histories, official documents, and transcripts from the records of the War Departments at Wash- ington and Albany. Ft may seem to some that the following narrative contains matter that does not necessarily pertain to the story of New York at Gettysburg. But when a State furnishes nearly one-third of an army, some discussion of the total strength becomes necessary to establish the proportion of troops thus furnished. When almost one-third of the killed are from that State, this heroic record will be better appreciated after an examination of the entire casualty lists. And when one-third or more of the corps, division, and brigade generals are froni one State, their participation, responsibility, and achievements can be fully under- stood and recognized only when the story is told in full, together with its legiti- mate deductions and conclusions. There is an unwritten law of literature that contemporaneous history must not be accepted as conclusive. Recognizing the justice of this decree the story has been conscientiously told, with no thought or care for the approbation of the present, but with a hope that the historian of the future may find something in its pages that will lighten his labors, and receive the indorsement of his pen. W. F. F. NEW YORK AT GETTYSBURG. This is the story of New York at Gettysburg; it is the story of what the men of New York did there. If, in the telling, there is little mention of other regi- ments, it is because such mention is outside the province of this narrative. Their gallant deeds will be better told by their own historians. Of the many States represented on this historic field, the Empire State, in proud fulfillment of its duty, furnished the most men and filled the most graves. More than one-fourth of the Union army marched there under the flags of the State of New York ; more than one-fourth of those who fell there followed those colors to their graves. The battle of Gettysburg has long been a fruitful theme in history. There yet remains the epic story of each State whose gallant sons fought on that field, not only for the perpetuity of the Nation, but for the honor and glory of their Commonwealth. THE FIRST DAY, Wednesday, July i, 1863. On June 30th the armies of Meade and Lee, each unaware of the other's movements, were moving towards Gettysburg. The Northern army was ap- proaching from the South ; the Southern army, from the Nortli. The collision at Gettysburg was unexpected. Lee had no cavalry in front of his leading division. Part of his mounted troops were absent on a raid ; and part had been assigned to other portions of his army. Cavalry squads are the antennae of an army. Scattered along the line of advance, they are the feelers through which the body of the army perceives obstacles. About 10 o'clock, on the day before the battle, some Confederate infantry — Pettigrew's Brigade of Heth's Division — made their appearance near the Lutheran Theological Seminary in the western suburbs of the town and halted, their pickets advancing close to the residences along the outskirts. This brigade had been ordered to Gettysburg with instructions to search the town for army supplies, shoes especially, and return the same day. These troops did not enter the place, the officers contenting themselves with examining it through field glasses and conversing with such citizens as they could find. Learning that the advance guard of Meade's army was approaching, they withdrew towards Cashtown, leaving their pickets about four miles from Gettysburg. At II a. m., two brigades of Buford's Division of Union cavalry entered the town. The citizens, already in a state of excitement and terror over the great invasion, gazed with interest and satisfaction as the long column of veteran troopers, with trampling horses and fluttering guidons, moved through their 7 8 New York at Gettysburg. streets. It was the opening scene in the grand pageant which was to make the name of Gettysburg known throughout the world. Buford's column had left Emmitsburg that morning. Passing through the town it moved out upon the Chambersburg Pike, or Cashtown Road as some- times called, and halted there. Buford brought with him two brigades. Gam- ble's and Devin's, leaving the reserve brigade, Merritt's, at Mechanicsburg to guard his trains. Scouting parties were immediately sent out in various directions, and the information thus obtained throughout the night apprised Buford of the proximity of the enemy and the rapid convergence of their hostile columns on Gettysburg. Knowing that General Reynolds, who was in command of the left wing of the Union army, was in supporting distance with the First and Eleventh Corps, he decided to resist the Confederate advance. On the eve of the approaching battle it will be instructive to note the posi- tion of the two armies. Neither has been moving with closely connected col- umns. In each, the various corps or divisions are widely separated, and a concentration is yet to be effected. Lee's army is under orders to concentrate at Gettysburg. Meade has directed two of his corps to go there also as a cov- ering movement, but follows up his instructions the next morning with orders for a concentration on the line of Pipe Creek, fourteen miles south of Gettys- burg, in case the enemy assumes the offensive. On the evening of June 30th, the day before the battle opens, the three corps composing the Confederate Army are many miles apart. The First Corps, under General Longstreet, is resting at Chambersburg, where General Lee has his headquarters, twenty-four miles west of Gettysburg. The Second Corps, Gen- eral Ewell, returning from its advance on Carlisle, York, and the Susquehanna, is halted for the night near Heidlersburg, eleven miles north of Gettj'sburg, with one division, Johnson's, at Fayetteville, twenty-one miles west of Gettysburg. The Third Corps, General A. P. Hill, is extended along the Chambersburg Pike, with Heth's and Pender's divisions near Cashtown, seven miles west of Gettys- burg, and Anderson's Division at Fayetteville. Lee's right and left wings are twenty-eight miles apart. His cavalry is still more widely scattered. Three brigades, under General Stuart, have been absent on a raid, and are now making a wide detour around the right of the Union Army in order to rejoin Lee; three other brigades have been left near the Potomac to guard the rear; and the remaining brigade — Jenkins' — is with Ewell's Corps. There is no cavalry with Hill's column, the one which has the advance on Gettysburg. The seven corps of the Union Army also occupied positions covering a wide extent of territory. The First Corps, under General Reynolds, bivouacked along the road, leading from Emmitsburg, Md., to Gettysburg, with its advance division at Marsh Creek, five miles from the battlefield, and with one division at Emmitsburg. The Eleventh Corps, General Howard, was at Emmitsburg, ten miles south of Gettysburg. The Third Corps, General Sickles, lay at Bridgeport, on the road from Taneytown to Emmitsburg. The Fifth, Gen- eral Sykes, was at Union Mills, Md., seventeen miles southeast of Gettys- burg. The Twelfth, General Slocimi, bivouacked near Littlestown, Penn., eleven miles southeast of Gettysburg. The Sixth Corps, General Sedgwick, New York at Gettysburg. 9 occupied Manchester, thirty miles southeast of the battlefield. The Second, General Hancock, was resting at Uniontown, Md., sixteen miles south of Gettysburg. The cavalry, General Pleasanton, was covering the right and rear of the army, with two brigades of Buford's Division, already at Gettys- burg. Kilpatrick's cavalry division was at Hanover, Penn., fourteen miles east of Gettysburg, where it had encountered, earlier in the day, a part of Stuart's cavalry. The right wing of the Union Army was at Manchester; the left wing was at Emmitsburg, over thirty miles distant. General Meade's headquarters were at Taneytown, ten miles south of Gettysburg. The left wing, composed of the First, Third and Eleventh Corps, was under command of General Rey- nolds. The Fifth and Twelfth Corps, of the right wing, were under Genera! Slocum. A signal ofiicer attached to Buford's Division states* that on the niglit of the 30th, General Buford spent some hours with Colonel Devin, of the Sixth New York Cavalry, who was in conmiand of the Second Brigade. While commenting on the information brought in by Devin's scouts, Buford re- marked that " the battle would be fought at that point," and " he was afraid that it would be commenced in the morning before the infantry would get up." Devin, who did not believe in so early an advance of the enemy, said that he would " take care of all that would attack his front during the ensuing twenty-four hours." Buford answered, " No, you won't. They will attack 3'ou in the morning; and they will come 'booming' — skirmishers three deep. You will have to light like the devil to hold your own until supports arrive. The enemy must know the importance of this position, and will strain every nerve to secure it, and if we are able to hold it we will do well." It is interest- ing to note how accurately Buford's prediction was fulfilled on the morrow. In Gamble's Brigade there was a New York regiment, the Eighth Cavalry, under command of Lieut. Col. William L. Markell; in Devin's Brigade there were two New York regiments, — the Sixth Cavalry, Maj. William E. Beards- ley, and the Ninth Cavalry, Col. William Sackett. Thus it was that New York participated in the first operations on that field. During the night the brigade picket line, made up of details from each regi- ment in Devin's Brigade (Sixth New York, Ninth New York, Seventeenth Pennsylvania, and Third West Virginia), was pushed forward on the Chambers- burg Pike to Willoughby Run, from whence the line extended northerly and easterly across the Mummasburg, Carlisle, and Harrisburg Roads. The line was in charge of Colonel Sackett, Ninth New York, who was brigade officer of the day. At daylight the advanced picket post on the Chambersburg Pike was held by Corp. Alphonse Hodges, of Company F, Ninth New York Cav- alry, and three other cavalrymen. Men were seen approaching on the road, beyond Willoughby Run, and nearly a mile away. Acting under orders tlodges immediately sent his comrades to notify the line and the reserve, while he advanced across the Run till near enough to see that the approaching men belonged to the enemy; then he turned back, and as he did so they fired at him. Fie retired to the Run where, from behind the abutments of the bridge, he fired several shots at the enemy. This occurred about 5:30 a. m., and this * From Decisive Conflicts of the War; by J. Watts de Pcyster. Brev. Maj. Gen., N. G., S. N. Y. lO New Yokk at Gettysburg, exchange of shots between the Confederate videttes and a New York trooper are believed to be the first fired at Gettysburg.* In the skirmishing which ensued later in the morning Cyrus W. James, of Company G, Ninth New York Cavalry, was kihed, and he is said to have been the first Union soldier killed in the battle. Between 8 and 9 a. m., the pickets in front of Gamble's Brigade, gave notice that the infantry columns of the enemy, accompanied by artillery, were ap- proaching from the direction of Caslitown. The Confederate advance consisted of Archer's and Davis's Brigades, of Heth's Division, of A. P. Hill's Third Corps. No cavalry preceded them, for General Lee's mounted troops, as has been explained, v/ere on duty elsewhere or had become separated from his army, and he was thus deprived of their services at this critical time. Archer and Davis brought forward eight regiments in their two commands. Gamble confronted them with his small brigade, which he reported officially as 1,600 strong. As his men fought dismounted their effective strength was still less, every fourth man holding the " led horses " in the rear. Unequal as their number? were, Buford's men marched out boldly and " proudly " to the position assigned them. Moving out beyond the Seminary about one mile, Gamble formed his brigade with its right resting on the line of an unfinished railroad and its left near the Fairfield Road, the Chambersburg Pike passing through his line a little to the right of the centre and at right angles with it. Devin, with the Second Brigade, formed to the right, his line extending from the railroad to the Mummasburg Road. The opening gun of the battle was fired by the Confederates, the shot coming from a cannon in Marye's Virginia Battery, posted on the Chambersburg Pike on the first ridge west of Willoughby Run. Calef 's Horse Battery — A, Second United States Artillery, — which was attached to Buford's Division, replied promptly from its position near the Chambersburg Pike, and the battle of Gettysburg began. The Confederate artillery answered the fire of Calef's Bat- tery with twelve guns, while Heth's infantry pressed Gamble's men with a strong skirmish line. The cavalrymen responded with a rapid carbine fire from behind the trees, rocks, and stone walls along their advantageous position on the ridge, their sturdy resistance giving Heth the impression that he had infantry before him, and causing him to advance slowly and cautiously. Buford, though hard pressed, held his own stoutly, knowing that reinforcements must soon arrive. The fight had raged fiercely for over an hour, when the signal officer in the belfry of the Seminary turning his anxious eyes towards the Emmitsburg Road, saw in the distance the corps flag of General Reynolds' troops, the First Corps. Buford, on receiving the welcome news, climbed hurriedly into the tower, and, looking through the telescope of the signal lieutenant, said, " Now, we can hold the place." Reynolds came galloping up with his staff, and, seeing Buford in the tower, cried out, " What's the matter, John? " '.' The devil's to pay," said Buford. f The two generals rode out to the field, encouraging by their presence * From a paper prepared for the Gettysburg Battlefield Memorial Association, by Capt. Newel Cheney, Ninth New York Cavalry. t De Peyster. ¥^~^^ New York at Getxyscurg. ii Gamble's hard-pressed men. Reynolds exposed himself boldly to the fire of tlie enemy despite Buford's entreaties to be more careful, to all of which Rey- nolds only laughed and moved nearer to the front. Having made a brief survey of the field Reynolds rode back to meet his corps and hurry the troops forward to Buford's relief. Instructing Wadswortli, whose division was in advance, to press forward with all speed, he sent an aide to order the two other divisions of the First Corps, which were some distance in the rear, to come on without delay. He sent word, also, to How- ard to bring up the Eleventh Corps from Emmitsburg, where it was resting. Before meeting the head of Wadsworth's column, Reynolds, glancing at Cemetery Hill, expressed the opinion that if he formed his troops there the town might be destroyed; and that he did not know whether there was time enough to get his troops into position on the other side of the town. When Wadsworth rode up Reynolds had a momentary consultation with himf as to whether the troops should go into Gettysburg or take a position in front of it. Reynolds decided that if they occupied the town the enemy might shell and destroy it, and that they had better form their lines outside. Marching to the sound of the cannon, Wadsworth's Division, of the First Corps, approaches the town; but, leaving the Emmitsburg Road at the Codori House for a shorter route to the scene of the conflict, the division, composed of Cutler's and Aleredith's brigades, moves across the fields. As the column comes in sight, — the first infantry on that field, — it is seen that the blue flag carried by the leading regiment bears the coat of arms of the Empire State. It is the Seventy-sixth New York, a gallant regiment worthy of the historic numerals that form its designation. The leading brigade, Cutler's, containing four New York regiments, is formed across the Chambersburg Pike, deploying under artillery fire, with the Seventy-sixth New York, Fifty-sixth Pennsylvania, and One hundred and forty-seventh New York along a ridge on the right of a deep cut in the rail- road, and at a right angle with it; the Fourteenth Brooklyn (Eighty-fourth New York Volunteers) and Ninety-fifth New York on the left. The first infantry volley, as is meet and proper on this field, rings out immediately from the rifles of the Fifty-sixth Pennsylvania. With an echoing crash the Seventy-sixth New York follows with its fire. Hall's Second Maine Battery relieves Calef's guns, and takes position on the right of the road. Meredith's " Iron " Brigade enters the McPherson woods, on Cutler's left and south of the Chambersburg Pike, being placed in position by General Doubleday, who is now in command of the First Corps, General Reynolds having been placed in command of the left wing of the Union army. Gamble's cavalry brigade having fallen back from its advanced position was now relieved. While leading forward the Nineteenth Indiana, of Meredith's Brigade, Gen- eral Reynolds receives a fatal wound and falls from his horse, expiring without t See Wadsworth's testimony before the Committee on the Conduct of the War. 12 New York at Gettysburg. a word. By this most unfortunate event, which occurred about 10:15 a. m., General Doubleday succeeded to the command. To his able generalship in that trying- hour i« due much of the glory that the First Corps won on this bloody field. On the right, Davis' Brigade, composed of Mississippi and North Carolina troops, moving along the north side of the Chambersburg Pike, attacked the three regiments of Cutler's Brigade, which had gone into position tliere. The Seventy-sixth New York, which held the right, was outflanked by the more extended line of the enemy, but held its ground bravely, though suffering a terrible loss. In order to check the force — Fifty-fifth North Carolina — that was pressing their flank and theatening their rear, Major Grover, the comr mandant of the Seventy-sixth, ordered his five right companies to change front to rear, forming thus a line at a right angle to that of his left companies. He had just given the order when he fell mortally wounded, and Capt. John E. Cook succeeded to the command. General Wadsworth, seeing the perilous situation of Cutler's three regiments on the right of the railroad, ordered them withdrawn to a position in the woods on Seminary Ridge. The Seventy-sixth New York and Fifty-sixth Pennsylvania, although under a severe musketry fire, withdrew in good order and with well-closed ranks to the new position assigned them. But the One hundred and forty-seventh New York did not fall back as ordered. Lieutenant Colonel Miller, who was in command, was wounded in the head immediately after receiving the order, and failed to give the command to fall back. i\Iaj. George Harney, the next in command, held the regiment in its exposed position, unaware that an order had been given for the regiment to withdraw. In face of the musketry that was rapidly thinning its ranl