Freedom is not free. Thank you to all our veterans.

A casualty is someone injured, killed, captured, or missing in a military engagement. The Civil War had plenty of all these. The casualty totals in the Civil War can only be treated as estimates. The exact numbers cannot be exactly known.

Dead at Spotsylvania, 1864.

Due to exhaustive research by many credible and earnest Civil War scholars, the casualty numbers presented here can be considered to be as accurate as possible. I have relied on trustworthy sources for the numbers and statistics I share in this post. The exact number of Civil War casualties will forever be a topic for debate.

One fact we can be certain of regarding Civil War casualty counts, the carnage of the Civil War was immense. War and disease provided the Grim Reaper with all he desired.

Let us not neglect to know that the cold numbers and statistics shown in this post are facts that represent real people. People who fought in a vicious war, who bled red blood whether they were clothed in blue or gray. People who lost limbs or were severely disfigured, people who died miserable, slow deaths of disease or injury, people who perished instantaneously in groups during battle, or slowly had life ebb away as they sprawled alone and incapacitated in the aftermath of a major battle or minor skirmish. Many died agonizing and feverish deaths of disease. These numbers are human beings.

Dead Yankee at Petersburg, 1864.

How Many Died in the Civil War? The quick and simple answer is that no one knows for sure exactly how many died in the Civil War, neither for the North or the South. An estimate of the deaths in the Civil War is 623,026. This means that of men of service age, one out of eleven men died during the Civil War years between 1861 and 1865.

Below is a chart showing how the Civil War compares in total deaths to other wars:

A severe facial wound suffered in the Civil War.

How Many Casualties in the Civil War? For both sides in the Civil War, 471,427 can be considered as a minimum number of those wounded. When added to the estimate of 623,026 deaths, the total estimate of Civil War casualties is 1,094,453.

Greatest Union Battle Losses

+ Not including South Mountain and Crampton’s Gap.
++ Includes Chantilly, Rappahannock, Bristoe Station, and Bull Run Bridge.
Source of table: William E. Fox, Regimental Losses in the American Civil War, 1861-1865

The Union Armies lost 110,070 killed or mortally wounded, and 275,175 wounded; for a total of 385,245. This does not include the missing in action. Of the 110,070 deaths from battle, 67,058 were killed on the field and the remaining 43,012 died of wounds.
This table shows how this loss was divided among the different arms of the service:

Source of table: William E. Fox, Regimental Losses in the American Civil War, 1861-1865

The losses in the three main categories of Union troops were:

Source of table: William E. Fox, Regimental Losses in the American Civil War, 1861-1865

DIED BY DISEASE. NOT INCLUDING DEATHS IN PRISONS.

Source of table: William E. Fox, Regimental Losses in the American Civil War, 1861-1865

Deaths in the Union Army, from all causes, as officially classified.
DEATHS FROM ALL CAUSES:

NOTE: The deaths from accidents were caused, principally, by the careless use of fire-arms, explosions of ammunition, and railway accidents; in the cavalry service, a large number of accidental deaths resulted from poor horsemanship.

Source of table: William E. Fox, Regimental Losses in the American Civil War, 1861-1865

DEATHS IN CONFEDERATE ARMIES
James B. Fry, United States Provost Marshal-General, provides a report in 1865-1866 that includes a tabulation of Confederate losses. Fry’s report is compiled from the muster-rolls which are on file in the Bureau of Confederate Archives. This report is incomplete, as Confederate records can be, and often are, spotty. For example, in these records the Alabama rolls are mostly missing. Nonetheless, the numbers are worth noting. From General Fry’s report, the following table was created by William E. Fox in his Regimental Losses in the American Civil War, 1861-1865:

Source of table: William E. Fox, Regimental Losses in the American Civil War, 1861-1865

Confederate Deaths of Disease:

Source of table: William E. Fox, Regimental Losses in the American Civil War, 1861-1865

Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain

Eighty men without ammunition. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain at Gettysburg, an example of leadership and why it is important to Learn Civil War History.

NOTE: At the beginning of his talk, Andrews is in error about the date of Chamberlain’s actions. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain and the 20th Maine performed their heroics at Gettysburg on July 2, 1863.

Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain

During the Civil War, soldiers would speak about "Seeing the elephant." The "elephant" was battle, combat, being under enemy fire.

Both the Confederacy and the Union had armies made up mostly of volunteers, with much fewer soldiers actually belonging to the Regular Army. Whether volunteer or Regular Army, the vast majority of these young men had never faced enemy fire. Many were away from home for the first time in their young lives. They had lived quietly and peacefully in small towns, farms, or cities. Now, they were learning to kill, and facing the great possibility of being killed. As these men trained and marched, preparing for battle, the thought of "Seeing the elephant" for the first time weighed on their minds.

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”It’s just like shooting squirrels, only these squirrels have guns.”
– A Federal veteran instructing new recruits in a musket drill.

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“Bang, bang, bang, a rattle, de bang, bang, bang, a boom, de bang…whirr-siz-siz-siz–a ripping, roaring, boom, bang!” – Confederate Sam R. Watkins describing a "fire fight." Sam Watkins was twenty-one years old and from Columbia, Tennessee when he joined up to fight in the Civil War. He kept a journal and recorded his experiences and thoughts during the war. His words give us great insight into the Civil War.   “It was eyes right, guide center! Close-up, guide right, halt, forward, right oblique, left oblique, halt, forward, guide center, eyes right, dress up promptly in the rear, steady, double quick, charge bayonets, fire at will, is about all that a private soldier knows of a battle.” – Confederate Sam R. Watkins.

I was a ploughboy in the field,
A gawky, lazy, dodger,
When came the conscript officer
And took me for a sodger.
He put a musket in my hand,
And showed me how to fire it;
I marched and counter-marched all day;
Lord, how I did admire it!
– This tune is "The Valiant Conscript" and it is sung to the music of "Yankee Doodle."

“Our men are not sufficiently impressed with a sense of honor that it is better to die by fire than to run.”
– General William Hardee of the Confederacy.

“War is at best barbarism…Its glory is all moonshine. It is only those who have neither fired a shot, nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, more vengeance, more desolation. War is hell.”
– William Tecumseh Sherman. These words are from his June 19, 1879 address to the Michigan Military Academy.

“We made a bargain with them that we would not fire on them if they would not fire on us, and they were as good as their word. It seems too bad that we have to fight men that we like.”
– Words of a Union soldier.

Perhaps some of you reading the LearnCivilWarHistory.com blog are veterans or soldiers who know full well what it is like to under fire. However, for most us, we can only wonder and imagine what it is like to be "Seeing the elephant," just as the young men of the Civil War wondered and imagined so many years ago.

Below are the experiences of being under Civil War fire as described by Captain Frank Holsinger. Try to imagine yourself in Captain Frank Holsinger’s shoes (or rather, brogans) as you read this stirring account of what it was like to be "Seeing the elephant” in the Civil War:

Excerpts from: How Does One Feel Under Fire?
by Captain Frank Holsinger, 19th United States Colored Infantry.

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"When the nerves are thus unstrung, I have known relief by a silly remark. Thus at Antietam, when in line of battle in front of the wood and exposed to a galling fire from the cornfield, standing waiting expectant with “What next?” the minies zipping by occasionally, one making the awful thud as it struck some unfortunate. As we thus stood listlessly, breathing a silent prayer, our hearts having ceased to pulsate or our minds on home and loved ones, expecting soon to be mangled or perhaps killed, some one makes an idiotic remark; thus at this time it is Mangle, in a high nasal twang, with “D—–d sharp skirmishing in front.” There is a laugh, it is infectious, and we are once more called back to life.

At the completion of Captain Frank Holsinger’s military service, he was given a brevet rank of major. Holsinger settled in Kansas.

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The distance the sound is heard may be great, even hundreds of miles, yet nearby (sometimes mere miles away), the sounds are not heard. Battles where the Acoustic Shadow phenomenon occurred in the Civil War are Gettysburg, Seven Pines, Iuka, Fort Donelson, Five Forks, Perryville, and Chancellorsville. Acoustic Shadow could have a profound effect on a battle. During the Civil War, it was common for armies to be spread out over large distances and timely communication between the split parts of an army was crucial to battlefield success. Army commanders must make decisions based on current knowledge of the situation before them. The sound of a battle would be a form of communication, signaling to a Civil War commander and his staff where a battle is taking place, and what troops (including enemy) may be involved. If Acoustic Shadow hides battle action from being heard by a commander, then communication has been lost and dire consequences may follow as the commander does not respond as needed to the battlefield situation.

Examples of Acoustic Shadow During Civil War Battles:

• Battle of Gaines’s Mill – More than 91,000 men were engaged in battle at Gaines’s Mill, Virginia on June 27, 1862. Confederate commanders and troops were less than two miles from the battlefield and could plainly see the smoke and flashes from the guns and artillery, but not a sound could be heard of the battle for two hours. Strangely, the battle sounds from the Battle of Gaines’s Mill were easily heard in Staunton, Virginia over one hundred miles away.

Five Forks – Fives Forks was fought from March 30 to April 1, 1865 and was part of the Appomattox Campaign. Confederate Generals George Pickett and Fitzhugh Lee were enjoying a shad bake with other generals north of Hatcher’s Run when the battle of Five Forks began a short distance away. Because of Acoustic Shadow, Pickett and Fitzhugh Lee were unaware a fight was under way. Pickett finally responded, but arrived late for the battle. Pickett and Fitzhugh Lee have been criticized by Civil War historians (please see Lee’s Lieutenants, III, 665-670) for not acting on "the dread immediacy of the crisis" (ibid., 665) at Five Forks.

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• The Battle of Gettysburg – The battle sounds from Gettysburg fought on July 1, 2, and 3, 1863 could be heard over one hundred miles away in Pittsburgh, but were not heard only ten miles from the battlefield.

Today marks the 146th anniversary of The Battle of Gettysburg.

The Battle of Gettysburg

After the battle of Chancellorsville, General Robert E. Lee took the Army of Northern Virginia north into Maryland and Pennsylvania.

On July 1, 1863 the Army of Northern Virginia and the Army of the Potomac began a monumental three-day battle at a small crossroads town in Pennsylvania named Gettysburg.   Gettysburg was one of the most important battles of the Civil War. At Gettysburg, the Confederates suffered more than 30,000 killed, injured, or missing. For the Union, the number came to 23,000.   Gettysburg was a Union victory.

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"Fighting the same fight, that we’re still fighting amongst ourselves … today."

"… Listen to their souls, man …"

"You listen, … and take a lesson from the dead …"

-Excerpts from Coach Boone’s speech, in the movie "Remember the Titans."

Today it still matters and it is important, to Learn Civil War History … so we can learn from it.

"A little, slim, pale-faced consumptive man just concluded the very best speech of an hour’s length I ever heard."
–Illinois Congressman Abraham Lincoln describing Alexander Hamilton Stephens of Georgia after Stephens completed a speech to Congress. Lincoln and Stephens became friends while they served in Congress before the Civil War, but later slavery ended their friendship. During the Civil War, Stephens was the vice president of the Confederacy.

Alexander Stephens was never a picture of health. He was 5′ 7", a height in line with the norms of the 19th century, but only carried about ninety-pounds on his frame, he was pale and sickly. From birth, he was small, and during his childhood was given the nickname of "Little Aleck." Stephens suffered many maladies including angina, bladder stones, colitis, migraine headaches, pneumonia, pruritus, arthritis, and sciatica. The word cadaverous would come to mind when seeing Alexander Stephens. He clothed himself layer upon layer trying to stay warm, and once defined his idea of happiness as; "To be warm."

Alexander Hamilton Stephens

Despite Stephens’s sickly body, behind his dark eyes he was blessed with a brilliant mind. His childhood was a difficult one, Stephens’s mother died soon after he was born, then his farmer and schoolteacher father died when Little Aleck was 14-years-old. Fortunately, a few benevolent mentors realized the potential of the highly intelligent young Stephens and funded his education at Franklin College (later to become the University of Georgia). Alexander Stephens finished at the top of his class at Franklin College.

Stephens became a lawyer and owned a plantation named Liberty Hall. If there can be such as thing as a good master, then perhaps Stephens was. He never beat or whipped his slaves, and he never split slave families apart. None of his slaves tried to escape, perhaps a testament of his care for them. Nonetheless, Stephens held human beings captive as slaves on his Georgia plantation and profited from their bondage.

Alexander Stephens served in the United States Congress for 17 years and became an authority on the Constitution. Though he had an odd, girl-like, high voice, his brightness brought him fame as an orator. Stephens was a moderate Unionist and voted against Georgia’s secession. When Georgia did leave the Union, out of honor Stephens chose the South.

The new Confederate Congress met in Montgomery, Alabama (later Richmond, Virginia became the Confederate Capital) in February, 1861 to establish the foundation of the Southern country. Although he at first was opposed to disunion, Alexander Stephens was a favorite to become the president, but he lost that position to Jefferson Davis. Instead, Stephens became the vice president of the Confederate States of America.

On December 22, 1860 Abraham Lincoln wrote a letter marked as "For Your Eyes Only" to Georgia Congressman Alexander Stephens. In this letter Lincoln, before taking office, is telling Confederate Vice President Stephens in a private, personal letter, that he has no plans for his Republican administration to interfere with slavery: "The South would be in no more danger in this respect, than it was in the days of Washington. I suppose, however, this does not meet the case. You think slavery is right and ought to be extended; while I think it is wrong and ought to be restricted. That I suppose is the rub."

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Stephens had been a Unionist, but he was also loyal to the South. A moderate, he was a supporter of a peaceful resolution between the North and the South, he hoped to avoid war. Seeing that it was inevitable, he became a supporter of secession.

As the South formed its government at the Montgomery Convention, Alexander Stephens contributed significantly to the creation of the Confederate Constitution. He chaired the Rules Committee and also the Committee on the Executive Departments.

Stephens gave what is known as his Cornerstone Speech on March 21, 1861 at Savannah, Georgia. This speech is probably what Stephens is best known for. In this speech, Stephens fundamentally lays out what the conflict between the North and the South is all about. One sentence (that gives the speech its name) of this extemporaneous speech stands out as the definition of the Confederate cause and what its government stood for:

"Our new government is founded upon exactly the opposite idea; its foundations are laid, its corner- stone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery subordination to the superior race is his natural and normal condition."
— Vice President of the Confederacy, Alexander Hamilton Stephens.

With these words from his Cornerstone Speech, Alexander Stephens is stating in a nutshell the reason for secession … slavery. In our modern world of today, these words by Stephens are shocking and ugly. His words are so contrary to our times, that it may be necessary to read them twice, to see if what you thought he said, is really what he said. Stephens’s words show the way it was back in Civil War times. Because of this cornerstone difference between the North and the South, a brutal war of brother against brother was fought.

Soon there was conflict between Vice President Stephens and President Jefferson Davis. As Stephens was a moderate, he disagreed with Davis over various topics. The two Confederate leaders did not get along. Stephens refused to go on several missions that Davis wanted him to make. Finally, Davis had to order Stephens to go to the still independent state of Virginia as a Confederate commissioner.

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Stephens remained a strong supporter of state sovereignty, so he disagreed with Davis over the Confederate draft and the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus. Alexander Stephens continued to support negotiated peace, this gave Davis an edge in weakening Stephens’s strength within the Confederate government. Stephens’s role in the Davis administration was minimal and he felt that Davis ignored whatever advice or council he offered. For months at a time, Little Aleck was absent from Richmond, he would be at his Liberty Hall plantation in Georgia, avoiding the problems and cares of the Confederate government.

Davis was able to get Stephens out of Georgia long enough to send him on a peace mission to Washington to meet with President Lincoln in 1863. It was Stephens’s idea that by June, 1863, with the success of Southern armies, and the "failure of Hooker and Grant," (in Stephens’s words) that the timing was right for peace negotiations. Alexander Stephens offered to meet with President Lincoln, his old pre-war friend from their days in Congress, under a flag of truce to talk about prisoner-of-war exchanges. It was hoped that this tact of approach might lead to discussion of peace. Jefferson Davis liked the idea and gave Stephens instructions that limited his powers to prisoner exchanges.

On July 3, 1863 Stephens took a boat down the James River, on his way to Washington to meet with President Abraham Lincoln and to hopefully discuss peace. Also on that July 3 day, at a town named Gettysburg, the Army of Northern Virginia led by General Robert E. Lee suffered a climatic loss to General George G. Meade’s Army of the Potomac.

President Jefferson Davis was expecting a Confederate victory at Gettysburg and thought that as the Army of Northern Virginia was approaching Washington from the north, that Vice President Stephens would be approaching from the south … and with good timing, they both might arrive at the same time. President Lincoln would then have a choice (and either way, the Union loses), discuss peace negotiations with Stephens, or suffer conquest by Robert E. Lee.

Things flip-flopped fast. The Union won at Gettysburg, President Lincoln got word at the same time of the Union battlefield victory, and that Confederate Vice President Stephens was coming to Washington on a mission. Lincoln sent word that refused a request of Stephens’s to pass through the lines under a flag of truce. Lincoln thought if the Confederacy wanted to discuss prisoner-of-war exchanges, then there were military ways for that. The fortunes of war had changed and Stephens’s mission was for naught.

Alexander Stephens met with President Lincoln in another peace attempt, at the Hampton Roads Peace Conference on February 3, 1865 as the Civil War was soon coming to an end. Confederates Stephens, Senator Robert M. T. Hunter, and Judge John A. Campbell met with Lincoln and Secretary of State William Seward on board the steamer River Queen in Hampton Roads.

The three Confederates wanted Southern independence, Lincoln and Seward refused any plan that continued slavery. For Little Aleck, this meeting proved to be a total failure. Jefferson Davis knew that this meeting would prove fruitless for Alexander Stephens, and humiliate him. Stephens had to return to Richmond for a report of the meeting’s failure to the Confederate Congress, thus proving that Stephens’s interests in a negotiated peace were impossible.

At the end of the Civil War, Stephens was imprisoned at Boston’s Fort Warren. The year after being released from prison he was elected as a United States Senator of Georgia, but was denied his seat in Washington. Afterwards, Little Aleck bought the Atlanta Southern Sun, and wrote A Constitutional View of the Late War, in this 2 volume book he was critical of Jefferson Davis. Stephens’s public service was not yet complete, he returned to the United States House of Representatives from 1873 to 1882. He was elected as governor of Georgia, but died within only a few months of taking office. Alexander Hamilton Stephens is buried at his Liberty Hall plantation near Crawfordville, Georgia.

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Some Alexander Stephens Quotes:

"We are without doubt on the verge, on the brink of an abyss into which I do not wish to look."
–Alexander Stephens, after Abraham Lincoln was elected president on November 6, 1860.

"This step, secession, once taken, can never be recalled. We and our posterity shall see our lovely South desolated by the demon of war."
–Alexander Stephens, January 18, 1861.

"It will probably end the war."
–Alexander Stephens, regarding the secession of Virginia from the Union on April 17, 1861.

"We shall be in one of the bloodiest civil wars that history has recorded."
–Alexander Stephens after Fort Sumter.

"War I look for as almost certain … Revolutions are much easier started than controlled, and the men who begin them … themselves become the victims."
–Alexander Stephens, 1861.

General John Buford held the high ground for the Union at Gettysburg on July 1, 1863.

"They will attack you in the morning and they will come booming–skirmishers three deep. You will have to fight like the devil until supports arrive."
– Words of General John Buford at Gettysburg.

The Battle of Gettysburg began when two brigades of unmounted Union cavalry led by John Buford, clashed with Confederate soldiers of General Henry Heth’s division. Buford and his cavalry were reconnoitering ahead of the army in Pennsylvania and discovered the Confederates as they were advancing on Gettysburg. Buford knew the importance of Gettysburg as a transportation junction, and the value of the high ground northwest of town. His cavalry dismounted and held McPherson Ridge for the Union. The resulting skirmish on the outskirts of Gettysburg was the beginning of the three-day Battle of Gettysburg. Without John Buford’s actions early on the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg, the Union may not have triumphed at Gettysburg. Sadly, within six-months of the Battle of Gettysburg, John Buford would die of typhoid fever.

John Buford

Buford’s clear and quick thinking allowed the Union troops to occupy the high ground of Cemetery Ridge. Part of the reason Buford was able to hold the high ground at Gettysburg is because his unmounted cavalry used Spencer carbine rifles, you may learn more in this post, General John Buford’s Spencer Carbine Rifles.

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Holding the high ground was a crucial advantage for the Union during the Battle of Gettysburg. There is a statue today along the Chambersburg Pike at the Gettysburg National Military Park, of General John Buford. Buford’s monument at Gettysburg depicts him standing and looking to the west, holding a pair of field glasses, wearing cavalry boots, with sheathed sword at his side … as he did on July 1, 1863. John Buford was born in Kentucky on March 4th, 1826, but early in life his family moved to Illinois. From age eight, he lived in Rock Island, Illinois. Buford’s father did not support Abraham Lincoln, as he was a politician in the Democratic Party of Illinois. The Buford family had a long history of serving in the military, both Buford’s grandfather and great uncle had fought in the Revolutionary War. Buford had a half-brother who served in the Civil War and became a major general for the Union Army, and he had a cousin who fought for the Confederates as a cavalry brigadier general.

Buford spent only one year at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois before entering West Point (the United States Military Academy) as a member of the class of 1848. Others attending West Point while Buford was there included classmates who would eventually fight in the Civil War for the Union, such as Fitz-John Porter, George B. McClellan, George Stoneman (Buford and Stoneman would become close friends), and Ambrose Burnside. Others at West Point during Buford’s time there, would fight for the Confederacy, like Thomas Jonathan Jackson (during the Civil War he would obtain the nickname of "Stonewall"), Ambrose Powell Hill, and Henry Heth. Both Powell and Heth would meet against Buford that fateful day of July 1, 1863 at Gettysburg. John Buford graduated from West Point in 1848, and ranked 16th in his class of 38 cadets.

John Buford’s Civil War service and assignments:

• 2nd Dragoons captain from March 9, 1854.

• 2nd Cavalry captain (this was a renaming that took place on August 3, 1861 of his same role as the 2nd Dragoon’s captain).

• A major, and then promoted to Major Staff Assistant Inspector General beginning November 12, 1861.

• Performed staff duty in 1862 for the defense of Washington, D.C., then joined General Pope’s staff.

• Promoted to brigadier general, United States Volunteers, on July 27, 1862.

• From July 27 to September 12, 1862, commanding Cavalry Brigade, 2nd Corps, Army of Virginia. Buford commanded this brigade during Second Bull Run. This is when John Buford’s abilities as an exceptional cavalry commander were demonstrated. At Second Bull Run (also known as Second Manassas) Buford led a charge, and was struck in the knee by a spent bullet. Buford’s injury was certainly painful, but not life threatening. Nevertheless, some Northern newspapers reported him killed. On August 27, 1862 Buford’s brigade alone opposed the advancement of Longstreet’s corps at Thoroughfare Gap.

• From February 12 to May 22, 1863, commanded the Reserve Brigade, Cavalry Corps, Army of the Potomac. During this time, Buford’s cavalry units fought at Fredericksburg and took part in Stoneman’s Raid during the Chancellorsville Campaign.

• From May 22-27, June 9 – August 15, and September 15-November 21, 1863, Buford commanded the division. Buford commanded at Brandy Station, Aidie, Middleburg, and Upperville.

• Early on July 1, 1863 at Gettysburg, General John Buford saw the tactical importance of holding the high ground for the Union. Northwest of the town of Gettysburg, Buford’s unmounted cavalry engaged the Confederates, until his final defensive stand was made at McPherson’s Ridge. Buford’s men had stalled the Confederate’s advancement, buying valuable time for the arrival of John Reynolds’ Union infantry. The Union now held the high ground of Cemetery Ridge at Gettysburg.

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After Gettysburg, Buford served and fought until the end of the Bristoe Campaign. He became sick with typhoid fever and because of his poor health, Buford gave up his command on November 21, 1863. Buford’s illness was very serious and by the middle of December it was plain he would die. Buford was on his deathbed at the home of his good and long-time friend, General George Stoneman, in Washington. Stoneman made a proposal on December 16, that John Buford be promoted to major general. President Lincoln wrote: "I am informed that General Buford will not survive the day. It suggests itself to me that he will be made Major General for distinguished and meritorious service at the Battle of Gettysburg." When told of this, John Buford was dubious and asked "Does he mean it?" When he was told it was true, Buford replied, "It is too late, now I wish I could live." Buford died later that afternoon. Major General John Buford is buried at West Point. Next to Buford’s grave is the grave of Lieutenant Alonzo Cushing. Cushing fell at Gettysburg while fighting to hold Buford’s chosen high ground.

A few selected quotes of Major General John Buford:

"During the whole campaign, from June 27 to July 31, there has been no shirking or hesitation, to tiring on the part of a single man so far as I have seen; the brigade commanders reported none."
– John Buford

"Found everybody in a terrible state of excitement on account of the enemy’s advance upon this place."
– John Buford

"If I have any choice I would prefer Western Troops."
– John Buford

"Shortly after this, I placed my command on our extreme left, to watch and fight the enemy should he make another attack, and went to Cemetery Hill for observation."
– John Buford

"The zeal, bravery, and good behavior of the officers and men on the night of June 30, and during July 1, was commendable in the extreme."
– John Buford

"We entered Gettysburg in the afternoon, just in time to meet the enemy entering the town, and in good season to drive him back before his getting a foothold."
– John Buford

Following are two videos demonstrating the difference between loading and firing a Civil War musket, and a Spencer carbine. The musket must be reloaded after each firing, while the Spencer could fire seven times before a reload. In the heat of a battle, which one would you prefer to have?

This is a demonstration of the steps, and time, required to load and fire a musket. A Civil War soldier would be loading and firing faster than in this demonstration.

In this video, the gentleman fires the Spencer three times. I don’t think he is particularly skilled or fast with his firing, but we’ll cut him some slack because as the video text indicates he may be doing some test firing after converting the rifle to centre-fire. You will notice that between the first and second shots he fumbles somewhat with the cocking. At the start, you will see him load a round into the magazine, which would hold seven rounds total. All seven rounds could be fired in under a minute. Confederates called the Spencers; "the damnyankee rifles you could load on Sunday and fire all week."

POST ADDENDUM
General John Buford’s Spencer Carbine Rifles

Readers of this blog will notice that this post has generated some comments with discussion, and controversy regarding whether or not John Buford had Spencers on the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg. Below we have two opposing views on this matter.

I’ll provide the view supporting Buford having Spencers at Gettysburg, and Professor John Vogt of Newman University in Wichita Kansas, provides us the viewpoint that Buford did not have Spencers at Gettysburg.

I think both points of view are worthy of consideration as both are backed up by credible sources. Sometimes history is messy.

In the end, I’ll leave it up to the reader to decide for him or herself regarding John Buford’s use or non-use of Spencer carbines/rifles on the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg. If anyone has information to add, then please contribute!

I thank Professor Vogt for his participation in, and contribution to, www.learncivilwarhistory.com.

BUFORD’S CAVALRY COULD NOT HAVE HAD SPENCER CARBINES AT GETTYSBURG

The history of the Spencer company is chronicled in the book, ‘Spencer Repeating Firearms’ by Roy Marcot (Irvine, CA: Northwood Heritage Press, 1983). This well-regarded but out-of-print work appears on the Smithsonian list of Selected Bibliography on Firearms (http://www.si.edu/Encyclopedia_SI/nmah/firearms.htm) and is an indispensible resource for anyone interested in Spencer firearms. Tony Beck has relied on it heavily for his article ‘Spencer Carbines’ (http://www.civilwarguns.com/spencer1.html).

Marcot’s impeccable research leaves little room for doubt. The first Spencer carbines were delivered in early October, 1863 (Marcot, pgs 66-67.) Whatever repeaters Buford’s men might have had that first day of July in 1863, they were not Spencer carbines!

Prof. John Vogt
Newman University
Wichita KS

JOHN BUFORD HAD SPENCER CARBINES AT GETTYSBURG

In addition to sources I have provided further below in my reply comment to Mr. Ken James, I’ll quote some passages from the book They Met at Gettysburg by General Edward J. Stackpole (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Stackpole Books, 1956).

From pages 55-56, Stackpole is writing about the Affair at Hanover which occurred on June 30, 1863. Near Hanover, there was a skirmish between Stuart’s cavalry and a squadron of Yankee cavalry that was part of Judson Kilpatrick’s cavalry division.

The first passage I’ll use from my source is to support and setup the second passages I’ll use. Here we see, according to Stackpole, that Spencers were in use by Federal cavalry in June, 1863 during the Gettysburg campaign:

"Stuart’s weary troopers were in no condition to contest the right of way with the Federal cavalry, whose new lease on life and improved morale had recently been given a special fillup with the issue of the new Spencer rifle, a seven-shot repeating arm that was the equivalent of at least quadrupled manpower for dismounted fighting.

"The 6th Michigan and 1st West Virginia Cavalry regiments, of Custer’s and Farnsworth’s brigades respectively, are known to have been recently armed with the Spencer repeater, and both were engaged with Stuart’s troopers in the Hanover skirmish. Whether they used their Spencers effectively from horseback is questionable, but the fact remains that Kilpatrick definitely blocked Stuart from the two roads leading north from Hanover to Carlisle."

Now, quoted below are various passages from pages 120-122 of the section Buford’s New Tactics from Stackpole’s book that I believe support the argument of Buford having Spencers at Gettysburg. I’ll include some passages that talk about Buford’s style, and background of fighting with cavalry, which I think are interesting and pertinent to how Buford and his cavalry fought at Gettysburg:

"For his part Buford considered the saber to be of little practical value. He thought of the horse as a means of transportation, useful chiefly because of the greatly increased mobility which it gave to the mounted troops. He treated the cavalry as mounted infantry, and instilled that belief in his brigade and later his division, until it became practically instinctive. The procedure was to move rapidly to a critical position and dismount the troops to quickly form an infantry skirmish line while one out of every four men became horseholder for the group, under cover to the immediate rear, ready at all times for the set of fours to remount in an instant and gallop off to a new position.[...]

"[...] The extent to which the Spencer seven-shot repeating rifle contributed to Buford’s success in Virginia is not entirely clear, but careful researching in the last few years has uncovered material which may cause historians to reappraise the relative cavalry capabilities of the opposing sides and the resulting impact on Civil War campaigns and battles following Chancellorsville.** What is certain is that Buford’s cavalry division was armed in part with the repeater before leaving Virginia for the Gettysburg campaign and concurrently several regiments of Kilpatrick’s division received an issue of the same new weapon prior to their fight with Stuart at Hanover on June 30. It is therefore not difficult to imagine the superior firepower that the Federal cavalry was enabled to bring to bear against the Confederates who in the main were still forced to rely on their muzzle-loading single shot muskets both at Hanover and at Gettysburg on the morning of the first day."

**J. O. Buckeridge, Lincoln’s Choice, The Stackpole Company, Harrisburg, 1956.

Artillery Glossary

Arsenal – Used to store and upgrade small arms, Ordnance, and ordnance stores. Where construction and repair of ordnance takes place. It is a military installation.

Battery – A group of at least two artillery pieces, in the field, working together. An emplacement of artillery. In the Civil War, a Union Battery was six cannon, usually of similar caliber. For the Confederacy, a Battery was most likely only made up of four cannon.

Bore – The size of the opening of a gun barrel, its inside diameter.

Breech – The rear part of a gun barrel, not where the projectile come out.

Breech-Loading – A gun that has its projectile and powder charge loaded at the rear of the barrel. Breech Loading greatly lowers the time it takes to reload, a good thing when you are in a battle.

Caisson – Used to transport two chests of ammunition. The number of rounds in the chest depended on their Caliber.

Caliber – The size of the Bore of a gun’s barrel, the diameter of the bore. Is a decimal fraction in hundredths or thousandths of an inch. Is also used to describe the size of a projectile.

Carriage – A two-wheeled cart used to move field artillery. They were light and easy to move, this meant artillery could go with an army into the field.

Friction Primer – Used to fire a cannon. Was made up of two small brass or copper tubes, and a serrated wire. The larger tube was filled with gunpowder and the smaller tube was soldered onto the larger at a ninety-degree angle. The smaller tube had fulminate of mercury in it. The Friction Primer acted like a match.

Fuse – There were three kinds of fuses in the Civil War, timer-fuses, percussion fuses, and combination fuses. A fuse causes an artillery shell or case shot to blow at a certain set length of time after firing from the cannon.

Limber – A two-wheeled cart that was attached to the Carriage. The Limber had one ammunition chest, it was used for fast, immediate gun supply. The Limber and the Carriage combined to make a four-wheeled cannon mover

Muzzle – Is the front end of the gun barrel. where the bullet or artillery round comes out.

Muzzle Loader – A cannon (or other small arm) that is loaded by pouring a powder charge down the barrel and then seating the bullet or artillery round on top. A primer percussion cap at the Breech was used to ignite the powder charge.

Ordnance – Used to describe all weaponry, its ammunition, and needed equipment to maintain it.

Rifling – Rifling is when grooves or channels have been cut into the inside of a gun barrel (the Bore). The rifling will give spin to the projectile and this spin creates greater accuracy and range.

Smoothbore – This type of a gun barrel has no grooves (Rifling) cut into it.

Light Artillery

Field cannon were often pulled into place by a team of horses, the number of horses depending upon the size and weight of the cannon (or gun). After the gun was unlimbered, the horses and caissons were moved back to the relative safety of the rear or perhaps other nearby safe spot. The gun’s crew would then align the aim and trajectory by hand, load and fire. A competent crew might fire its cannon twice a minute, but under the heat of battle and with the adrenaline pumping, four canister shot a minute was known to occur. When the cannon fires, it would recoil from a few feet up to maybe a dozen yards, all depending on the particular powder charge amount and ammunition used. The gun crew would swab and load the gun as it is rolled back into place by hand.

How the Guns Were Fired

Here is a typical and general process of firing a muzzle-loading artillery weapon:

* One soldier drops a bag of gunpowder down the gun barrel. The gunpowder weight or amount has been chosen for the particular target.

* Another soldier rams a projectile down the barrel so it seats on top of the gunpowder charge.

* A third soldier at the back of the gun puts a friction primer into the breech. The friction primer has a lanyard, it will ignite the gunpowder charge.

* A fourth soldier pulls the lanyard and the gun fires, hopefully it is not a dud round and the target is hit.

* Now another soldier cleans the gun barrel out with water by using a sponge/swab on the end of a pole. A very important step because any remaining embers must be extinguished before the next gunpowder charge is placed into the barrel. A premature powder charge explosion because of remaining embers was a very bad thing.

* While the cannon was being fired, other soldiers would be busy holding horses, carrying ammunition to the gun, and performing other support duties.

Barnes&Noble: Field Artillery Weapons of the Civil War

Swabbing the cannon barrel was a very important step that could not be eliminated. Swabbing cooled the barrel and put out any remaining sparks that would ignite the next charge prematurely … injuring or killing the gun crew. Black powder was used, so billowing, great clouds of smoke would soon fog the battleground as multiple artillery pieces fire. The cannon and their ammunition were dangerous to the crew, plus enemy infantry regarded an artillery battery as a prime target. Capture of a cannon was a great prize and the gun crews were targets for enemy bullets. When a gun was being limbered up for movement, attacking enemy would often shoot the horses and then the gun would have to be abandoned. If a cannon was going to be captured, then the crew would spike it by driving a piece of metal into the firing vent, this would make the cannon useless to the enemy for a period of time, until the metal spike could be removed. Gun crews would even shoot the horses themselves if cannon capture was unavoidable in order to prevent the enemy from moving the piece.

On the third day of the battle at Gettysburg, the Confederates unleashed a huge artillery bombardment. This artillery fire was directed at Cemetery Ridge where the Union troops held a strong defensive position. This artillery fire came from close to 150 guns and it lasted for nearly two hours. The noise from this massive artillery fire was heard in Pittsburgh, 140 miles away. At the time, this was one of the loudest sounds ever heard on the North American continent.

Acoustic Shadow is a strange thing. It is a phenomenon where sound, such as artillery, is unheard close to the cause of the sound, but the same sound is heard a far distance away from its source. The distance that the sound is heard may be great, even hundreds of miles, yet nearby, mere miles away, the sounds are not heard. Battles where the Acoustic Shadow phenomenon occurred in the Civil War are Gettysburg, Seven Pines, Iuka, Fort Donelson, Five Forks, Perryville, and Chancellorsville.

Some Artillery Ammunition

The ammunition for field artillery during the Civil War generally fell into four categories; solid, shell, case (or shrapnel), and canister. Each was used for a specific purpose.

Solid
This was simply a solid iron shell, like a bowling ball. In fact, the solid shot acted like a bowling ball. It was fired at enemy cavalry, or at infantry aligned in column or at its flank. The solid shot was like a deadly bowling ball rolling through pins, only the pins in the Civil War were men and horses made of flesh and blood. As the solid shot bowled through the line of enemy in position of column or flank, man after man would be bowled down, the result was often slaughter.

Explosive Shell
Shell was a hollow projectile filled with black powder. They had fuses that were cut in length to time the explosion of the shell after it was fired from the cannon. Usually the shell could be timed to explode in 0 – 50 seconds and the firing charge of the cannon lit the fuse. Targets for shell were often enemy fortifications and artillery.

Case or Shrapnel General Shrapnel of the British Army came up with the idea of case shot. It was similar to shell shot, but differed in that it was filled with iron balls in addition to the explosion charge inside its shell. This ammunition was used against infantry positioned at long range of over 400 yards. It was most successful when it could be timed to explode at about 15 feet above the target so it could rain its iron ball shrapnel downward. Canister Think of a thin-walled metal can(similar to a coffee can) packed with iron or lead balls in sawdust. As canister was fired from a cannon, the can would disintegrate as it left the gun muzzle and then it would act like a blast from a huge shotgun with the iron or lead balls plowing through the enemy. Canister was effective against attacking infantry.

Barnes&Noble: Civil War Heavy Explosive Ordnance

All this artillery ammunition was effective when it worked, but it was not reliable. Results were variable, but duds were common, sometimes as much as half the cannon fire were failures.

Some Various Cannon Types

12-pounder Napoleon
A commonly used cannon in the Civil War was the 12-pounder Napoleon. Napoleon cannons were muzzle-loading and bronze barreled of a ninety percent copper and ten percent tin mixture. They were used as field artillery. Napoleons could fire four canister shots a minute and killed infantry efficiently. These cannons weighed 2,600 pounds and it took a crew of six men to man each cannon. Six horses were needed to pull the cannon and its caisson.

The Napoleon was officially named the "Twelve-Pounder Field Guns, Model 1857." The French emperor Louis Napoleon (he was Napoleon III) began this cannon’s development in France. It is the most widely used cannon of the Civil War. Approximately 40% of the artillery used by the Union Army of the Potomac and the Army of Northern Virginia were Napoleons. Napoleons were manufactured in both the North and the South, the North made more than 1,000 and the South somewhere between 500 and 600. Southern Napoleons can be identified because they don’t have a muzzle swell as the Northern Napoleons have. The Tredegar Iron Works in Richmond, Virginia made Napoleons of iron, instead of bronze. Because the Napoleon was a smooth-bore it was not as accurate, nor did it have the range of a rifled gun. However, they could be loaded fast and were very good at defending against enemy infantry.

Napoleon cannons were smooth bored. The 12-pounder Napoleon was named such because the weight of one round of its solid shot was 12 pounds. Because of its smooth bore design, Napoleons had a low muzzle velocity. Their range was under a mile (1700 yards) for solid shot and for shell under 1300 yards.

At Gettysburg on the afternoon of July 3, 1863, Union Napoleon cannon had crushing effect against Rebel soldiers in Pickett’s Charge.

Whitworth Guns
The Whitworth Gun (also called the Whitworth Rifle) was a breech loading cannon with a rifled barrel. The Whitworth had a unique hexagonal bore and fired an elongated projectile that was called a bolt. Various calibers were found, and with the breech loading, a tighter rifling was possible. This meant these artillery pieces had increased range and accuracy. Whitworth Rifles were brought into the South through the blockade from England, but they were never available in sufficient numbers for the South. The bolts used by the Whitworths were an elongated twelve-pound shell that emitted a strange whine during its flight toward a target. Interestingly, the Whitworths imported after 1863 were muzzle-loaders instead of breech.

Parrott Gun
This was also called the Parrott Rifle. The Parrott Gun was a rifled and muzzle loading cannon. The barrels were cast-iron and this made them apt to burst. To strengthen the guns, a reinforcing band of wrought-iron was added around the breech where the pressure of firing projectiles was greatest. Robert P. Parrott developed the wrought-iron breech reinforcement band of the Parrott Gun. Compared to smoothbore guns, the Parrotts were less expensive to make and because they were rifled, more accurate. The reinforcing band of wrought-iron gives the Parrott cannon a very distinctive look. They are easy to identify when you visit the various Civil War battlefields, like Gettysburg. Both the North and the South used the Parrott guns in the Civil War. Despite the reinforcement near the breech, Parrotts still had a tendency to burst. Ten-pounder and twenty-pounder Parrotts were available and popular.

3-Inch Ordnance Rifle
3-Inch Ordnance Rifles were light-weight and long-ranged cannon made by wrapping boiler plate around a core. They were patented by John Griffen in 1855 and made of wrought iron. Their barrels were much stronger than the Parrott. Horse Artillery used 3-Inch Ordnance Rifles because their barrels weighed only 820 pounds, making it 100 pounds lighter than the Parrott. Although 3-Inch Ordnance Rifles had a range of about 1,835 yards, the Parrott had a range of around 2,000 yards (both using a five degree elevation). This cannon was also a favorite
of regular army artillery batteries. It was a muzzle-loader and had a range of approximately two miles (4,000 yards).

The Napoleon, the Parrott, and the 3-Inch Ordnance Rifle were the three guns that made up most of the artillery of the Civil War.

How Artillery Was Organized

Union – The Union artillery batteries were usually made up of six guns that were used in three, 2-gun sections. There were left, middle, and right sections. Because the North had a better a supply system and great resources, all of the guns in a battery were of the same type. This made supplying ammunition easier. Around a hundred men made a Union battery.

Confederate – A Confederate battery was made up of four guns. They usually had a mixture of different guns, so the Confederate ammunition supply to artillery batteries was very difficult. Around sixty-eight men made up a Confederate battery.

Learn More About Civil War Artillery With The Swamp Angel…

Barnes&Noble: The Encyclopedia of Civil War Usage

Overtime, it is natural for language to change and develop as new words are added to the dictionary. For example, your BlogMaster can sometimes be accused of being a mouse potato. The term "mouse potato" is a recent addition to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. It means I spend too much time at the computer, just as a couch potato spends too much time sitting on the couch watching television. Can you imagine asking someone from the Civil War what the words Internet and BlogMaster mean! Words also fall from use and become forgotten. Many of the words used during the Civil War are not often heard, read, or understood today.

Here’s a brief story I’ve written about a Billy Yank, only for the purpose of using some Civil War jargon. See if you can understand what my imaginary Jonathan (a Yankee) soldier is talking about. I’ll translate it further below:

The Latin farmers and I came upon somebody’s darlin, he was from the so-called seceded states and probably a Tar Heel. He had been a snake in the grass, but was now a true lead mine after meeting up with some of us Lincoln hirelings. He was a tough looking butternut, there certainly would have been no social intercourse with him and he looked liked he’d been on partial rations for too long. He was messed up good, a victim of solid shot from a smoothbore, he wasn’t lucky enough to experience a spent ball. Now he would not have to worry about contracting soldier’s disease, or becoming a pickled sardine. Maybe he served under Square Box or Lee’s Old War Horse, maybe too, Little Powell. They all had been through here. We had whipped them good and when the Long-Legged Donkey hears about it he will be glad, yes sir, Long Shanks will be joyful. By the looks of him, he could too have been part of Old Tom Fool’s Lousy 33d, but Old Jack has been sacred dust since Chancellorsville.

Anyway, we were hungry so we sot down for some Lincoln pie, old bull, and coffee, but had no desire to get some lobscouse going. Despite the miasma of this area, we’ll set up a merrimack and break out some oh-be-joyful and get corned. If we get time later on, maybe we’ll have ourselves a louse race. Better get a fire going and try to dry out our mudscows. We should be safe from Old Granny and Old Jubilee tonight. We are proud one-hundred-day-men and serving under Old Four Eyes, as far as we’re concerned there is no one better than Old Snapping Turtle because he is the biggest toad in the puddle. Maybe tomorrow we’ll open the ball. We intend to exfluncticate the graybacks. I snore, I’ll spend all night slapping gallnippers!

I only hope I won’t have to deal with Virginia quickstep tomorrow, like I did today. It sure made things all-overish for me and I almost had a conniption fit dealing with it. Sakes alive, it’s not your funeral. I’ve been like a book here, but I’ll shut pan now.

Translation:

The well-educated German immigrants fighting in the Union Army and I came upon an unidentified corpse, he was a Confederate and probably from North Carolina. He had been trying to camouflage himself, but now was dead with several wounds after meeting up with some of us Union soldiers. He was a tough looking Southern soldier, there certainly would have been no pleasant conversation with him and he looked liked he’d been on less than the daily allowance of food for too long. He was messed up good, a victim of chunks of cast iron from a cannon or other firearm without rifling, he wasn’t lucky enough to experience a projectile or bullet that did not have enough velocity to cause any damage. Now he would not have to worry about contracting a chronic ailment suffered by veterans such as morphine or opium addiction, or becoming a prisoner of war who had been imprisoned for many months. Maybe he served under General Thomas Jonathan ’’Stonewall’’ Jackson or General James Longstreet, maybe too, General Ambrose Powell Hill. They all had been through here. We had beat them good and when President Abraham Lincoln hears about it he will be glad, yes sir, Lincoln will be joyful. By the looks of him, he could too have been part of Stonewall Jackson’s 33d Virginia regiment, part of the Army of Northern Virginia, but Stonewall Jackson has been a corpse since Chancellorsville.

Anyway, we were hungry so we sat down for some hardtack, salted horse meat, and coffee, but had no desire to get some stew of hardtack, vegetables, and salted meat going. Despite the unpleasant air of this area, we’ll set up a lean-to for one night’s use and break out some hard liquor and get drunk. If we get time later on, maybe we’ll have ourselves a contest where body lice are placed on the center of a saucer or plate, and wagers are taken as to which louse will scurry and fall of the edge of the plate or saucer first. Better get a fire going and try to dry out our shoes [shoes were also often called brogans]. We should be safe from Confederate Generals Robert E. Lee and Jubal Early tonight. We are proud to be Pennsylvanians who signed up for one hundred days’ service after Gettysburg and serving under General George G. Meade, as far as we’re concerned there is no one better than Meade because he’s the most important person in our group. Maybe tomorrow we’ll start a battle. We intend to utterly destroy the Confederates. I swear, I’ll spend all night slapping large mosquitos! I only hope I won’t have to deal with diarrhea tomorrow, like I did today. It sure made things uncomfortable for me and I almost had a fit of hysteria dealing with it. Good heavens, it’s none of your concern. I’ve been eloquent here, but I’ll shut up now.

Webb Garrison’s Civil War Dictionary

President Abraham Lincoln gives a speech that "won’t scour."

On November 19, 1863, Abraham Lincoln was in Pennsylvania to help dedicate a new national cemetery at a small crossroads town named Gettysburg. The Battle of Gettysburg was fought on July 1-3, 1863. It was a Union victory.

President Lincoln received the below invitation from the organizers of the new cemetery’s dedication ceremony. The invitation asks President Lincoln if, after another speaker has given his speech, he would say "a few appropriate remarks" for the occasion.

"It is the desire that after the oration, you, as Chief Executive of the nation, formally set apart these grounds to their sacred use by a few appropriate remarks."

Lincoln was not the main speaker at this cemetery dedication. Edward Everett was the keynote speaker, he was a famed orator and supporter of the Union cause. Everett spoke for two hours at Gettysburg.

Barnes&Noble: Lincoln at Gettysburg

Here is a description of the events at Gettysburg that November day, according to a Philadelphia journalist named John Russell Young: "The procession from town was a ragged affair. We all seemed to get there as best we could. A crude platform looked out over the battlefield. On one side sat the journalists; the eminent people had the other side. When the President arose, he stood for an instant, waiting for the cheers to cease, slowly adjusted his glasses and took from his pocket what seemed to be a page of ordinary paper, quietly unfolded it and began to read."

Abraham Lincoln began his "few appropriate remarks" at Gettysburg. His speech was brief.

"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.   Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate — we can not consecrate — we can not hallow — this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain — that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

Lincoln’s time at the Gettysburg podium lasted only about two minutes. The President spoke a mere 272 words. The gathered crowd applauded Lincoln politely, but without much enthusiasm.

Lincoln was displeased with his effort. After he completed his short speech of a few appropriate remarks, Lincoln (in his frontier manner of speech), said to Ward Hill (Lamon in the following quote) who had introduced Lincoln during the dedication, "Lamon, that speech won’t scour. It is a flat failure." Later, Lincoln would also have this self-criticism of his speech at Gettysburg saying: "I failed, I failed, and that is about all that can be said about it."

Others too, were unhappy with Lincoln’s words at Gettysburg. The Chicago Tribune newspaper wrote: "The cheek of every American must tingle with shame as he reads the silly, flat and dishwatery utterances of the man who has to be pointed out to intelligent foreigners as the President of the United States."

Barnes&Noble: The Gettysburg Gospel

However, not all thought so poorly of Lincoln’s words at Gettysburg as Lincoln, and the Chicago Tribune. John Hay was Abraham Lincoln’s assistant private secretary. Hay wrote in his diary entry for November 19, 1863, "The President, in a fine, free way, with more grace than is his wont, said his half dozen words of consecration." Edward Everett wrote these words of praise to Lincoln: "Permit me also to express my great admiration of the thoughts offered by you, with such eloquent simplicity & appropriateness, at the consecration of the cemetery. I should be glad, if I came as near to the central idea of the occasion, in two hours, as you did in two minutes." Everett realized the worth of Lincoln’s speech at Gettysburg. Lincoln was still not convinced his speech had scoured. His reply to Everett: "In our respective parts yesterday, you could not have been excused to make a short address, nor I a long one. I am pleased to know that, in your judgment, the little I did say was not entirely a failure."

The Gettysburg Address is one of the greatest speeches ever made.

Abraham Lincoln’s "few appropriate remarks" at Gettysburg scoured just fine.

As the third day of battle began at Gettysburg, the North and South combined had already suffered approximately 35,000 casualties. This casualty number was highest yet for a Civil War battle. Yet on July 3, the number of casualties would only increase, with more and more injuries and deaths. After this day, the normally peaceful crossroads town of Gettysburg would forever be in the lore of American history.

Barnes&Noble: Gettysburg A Battlefield Atlas

On the second day of battle at Gettysburg, the management of the Army of Northern Virginia had not been at its best. It’s a fact that during the Battle of Gettysburg General Robert E. Lee was suffering from a common malady of soldiers in the Civil War…Lee had a bad case of diarrhea. Diarrhea was not a laughing matter for a Civil War soldier. Diarrhea, with its accompanying weakness and dehydration, was a leading killer in the Civil War. During the Civil War, disease killed twice as many soldiers as battle injuries.

The Confederate assaults were not coordinated, while the Union had been effective in responding with counterattacks during the second day of battle. The Union left and right flanks, Lee’s targets for destruction on July 2, remained securely in Union control. Lee’s ailment at Gettysburg may have affected his clarity of mind and judgment, but this is speculation.

Late the evening of July 2, General George G. Meade held a council with his generals. They determined to stay at Gettysburg and wait for Lee to attack, and if Lee did not attack their lines, then they would attack his lines. General Lee had tried the left and right flanks of the Union line without success. Now on July 3, he would try the center of the Union line. The Union army would be waiting.

General Lee planned a three-pronged attack upon the Union line on the third day of battle. After an artillery barrage, General George Pickett’s division was to attack the center of the Union line. Cavalry led by General Jeb Stuart (Stuart and the cavalry had arrived late at Gettysburg. Stuart’s cavalry was the eyes and ears of the Army of Northern Virginia, it was supposed to keep Lee apprised of the location of the Union army, but had failed to do this. During much of the Gettysburg campaign, Lee did not know exactly where the Union army was, and this put Lee at a disadvantage.), would take a circular route around the Union rear and attack there. General Ewell would again be attacking the Union right flank. With both ends of the Union line pinched, Lee expected to break through the Union line’s center…and win.

The center of the Union line would first have to be weakened before it could be overcome and broken. General Longstreet used a huge artillery concentration of 150 guns for a two-hour bombardment of the Union line on Cemetery Ridge. The Union artillery responded in kind, so the artillery duel consisted of approximately 300 guns, all blasting away at once. This was an enormous amount of artillery in action at once, it was heard 140 miles away in Pittsburgh. The artillery fire on the third day of Gettysburg, was described as one of the loudest noises ever heard in North America.

Despite the extraordinary noise and clamor of the Confederate artillery bombardment upon Cemetery Ridge, it was for the most part, ineffective. The Confederate artillery aim was too high and many of the awful missiles soared harmlessly over the Union infantry that was safely hunkered down behind stone walls and breastworks. There was still death and destruction, but not as much as the Rebels needed before their infantry attacked the Union center. In a cunning move, the Union artillery had slackened its fire. By slowing its artillery fire, the Yankees kept their guns ready and spared ammunition for use on the Rebel infantry when it advanced. The Yankees hoped that by slowing their rate of fire, they might lead the Confederates to believe they were running out of ammunition, and that the bombardment had been successful in blowing apart Union guns and troops. However, the Union guns and troops had not been totally blown apart, and there was still plenty of ammunition.

Friday July 3, 1863 at Gettysburg was a steamer, the morning was hazy with the air humid and heavy. Around noon, the sun burned through and added to the heat. The Yankees on Cemetery Ridge were busy the night before reinforcing their defensive breastworks with limbs, stones, dirt, and whatever else, would provide them cover. The Confederate attack was soon sure to come, and troops shifted into position.

Barnes&Noble: The Gettysburg Campaign

The time spent by the Union troops on Cemetery Ridge as they waited and prepared for the Confederate attack, must certainly have been a nervous ordeal. Perhaps there was enough time and composure of mind for these soldiers to tend to a few common tasks like eating, heating and drinking coffee, tending to equipment, writing a letter (perhaps the last to ever be written) home, or praying. There can be little doubt that across the great open field and pasture that separated the men dressed in blue from their enemy, the men dressed in gray used some of the same tasks and prayers to pass their own nervous time, before whatever was to become of them all.

Barnes&Noble: Pickett’s Charge at Gettysburg Into the Fight

"General Pickett rode to confer with Alexander, then to the ground upon which I was resting, where he was soon handed a slip of paper. After reading it he handed it to me. It read: If you are coming at all, come at once, or I cannot give you proper support, but the enemy’s fire has not slackened at all. At least eighteen guns are still firing from the cemetery itself. Alexander. Pickett said, ‘General, shall I advance?’" -General James Longstreet, describing events before Pickett’s Charge. Edward Porter Alexander commanded Longstreet’s artillery.

"Up, men, and to your posts! Don’t forget today that you are from Old Virginia!"

-General George E. Pickett, to his men just before Pickett’s Charge. Many of these men never returned to "Old Virginia."

"It ain’t so hard to get to that ridge – The hell of it is to stay there."

-The thoughts of a Confederate soldier, just prior to Pickett’s Charge.

At 1:45 in the afternoon, General James Longstreet ordered the attack on the Union center. Confederate infantry numbering 15,000 began to move across a half mile of open ground. Pickett’s Charge had begun. Union artillery opened fire upon the advancing Confederates, quickly mowing many of them down. Union infantry, protected behind breastworks, held their fire…waiting for the enemy lines to come closer into better range. The Confederates paused a few hundred feet from the Union line to somewhat reorganize themselves for the final assault. A small clump of trees near an angle of a stone wall became the aim of the Confederate’s advance. Now the Union artillery used canister and its shotgun-like fire tore Confederate men apart into bits and pieces. The Confederates continued to come closer to the Union line.

Despite the instant death from canister and infantry fire, which was now raining hard down on them, General Pickett’s men bravely held their lines. Pickett’s division lost 75% of its men. Incredibly, about two or three hundred Confederates from Virginia and Tennessee were able to break through the Union line. Confederate General Lewis Armistead was able to place his hand on a Yankee cannon, just before he was mortally injured. The few charging Rebels able to break into the Union line were met by deadly point-blank fire. Soon hand-to-hand fighting began. It all only lasted about half an hour, then it was over, the Confederates began their retreat from Cemetery Ridge. Of the 15,000 Confederates who advanced across the open field toward Cemetery Ridge, only about half returned across the half-mile. The "High Tide of the Confederacy" was washed away.

"It’s all my fault, it is I who have lost this fight, and you must help me out of it the best way you can. All good men must rally."
-General Robert E. Lee, to the men of Pickett’s Charge as they return to their lines after being repulsed by the Yankees.

"This has been a sad day for us, Colonel, a sad day; but we can’t always expect to gain victories."
-General Robert E. Lee, to Colonel A.J. Lyon Fremantle of the British Army, at the end of fighting at Gettysburg on July 3, 1863.

Meade and the Union had won a major victory at Gettysburg. General Lee’s invasion of the North was both incomplete and unsuccessful, but it was finished. Both Meade’s and Lee’s armies were exhausted and spent after the three-day battle at Gettysburg. Meade cautiously pursued Lee’s retreating Army of Northern Virginia, but the Confederates crossed the Potomac River and escaped. President Abraham Lincoln wanted the Army of Northern Virginia destroyed and was unhappy Lee’s army escaped back to Virginia. Lincoln said Meade’s chase after Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia was like "an old woman trying to shoo her geese across a creek."

"You will, however, learn before this reaches you that our success at Gettysburg was not so great as reported-in fact, that we failed to drive the enemy from his position, and that our army withdrew to the Potomac. Had the river not unexpectedly risen, all would have been well with us; but God, in His all-wise providence, willed otherwise, and our communications have been interrupted and almost cut off."
-General Robert E. Lee, writing to his family after the Confederate defeat at Gettysburg. This quote is from; Recollections and Letters of General Robert E. Lee, by Captain Robert E. Lee, His Son.

"In many instances arms and legs and sometimes heads protrude and my attention has been directed to several places where hogs were actually rooting out the bodies and devouring them."
-A description of the Gettysburg battlefield three weeks after the July 1-3, 1863 battle. This quote is from a letter written to Andrew Curtain, the governor of Pennsylvania, by David Willis. Willis was a banker and civic leader.

Today at the Gettysburg National Military Park, you will find many monuments and statues. The Virginia Memorial at Gettysburg was dedicated in 1917 by the state of Virginia. This statue shows Confederate General Robert E. Lee on his famous gray warhorse, Traveller. All of Traveller’s legs are on the ground, this indicates that General Lee died of natural causes.

Barnes&Nobel: Jennie Wade Story

The Battle of Gettysburg was fought on July 1, 2, and 3, 1863. July 3, was a Friday. Around 8:30 that morning, 20-year-old Miss Mary Virginia (Jennie) Wade was at home and busy baking bread for hungry Union soldiers. At the Farnsworth house, almost two blocks away from Jennie Wade’s home, a Rebel sharpshooter was perched in hiding. Thinking the Wade house was a Union headquarters and hoping to pick off a Yankee officer or soldier, the Confederate sharpshooter fired a single bullet toward the Wade home.   The sniper’s bullet passed through two doors of the Wade house before it struck Jennie Wade in the small of her back just below the left shoulder blade. Jennie died instantly as the bullet tore through her heart.

Jennie Wade began each day reading from the Bible. The passage she happened to read on July 3, was; "Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart." Death was abundant at Gettysburg in early July of 1863. The Union suffered approximately 3,155 killed and the Confederacy approximately 3,903 killed. Miss Jennie Wade was the only civilian killed at the Battle of Gettysburg.   You can visit the Jennie Wade House in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. When you visit Jennie’s home, you can see where the north side of the house is blemished with over 150 bullet and shell holes from the Gettysburg battle. On display at the Wade house, is the bullet that killed Jennie Wade, the young bread baker.

Barnes&Noble: Days of Darkness

Congress later declared that the United States flag be flown over Jennie Wade’s tomb. The United States flag still flies there now in honor and memory of Jennie Wade and of all innocent civilians killed in the Civil War.

During the night of July 1, the Confederate and Union armies continued to arrive at the crossroads town of Gettysburg. As dawn came on July 2, approximately 65,000 Rebels faced 85,000 Yankees over Gettysburg’s terrain. The Union held the high ground with a fishhook-shaped line that stretched along Cemetery Ridge. At each end of the Union line, there were hills. On the right end, there was Culp’s Hill and Cemetery Hill, on the left was Little Round Top and Big Round Top.

Confederate General Robert E. Lee wanted the high ground taken from the Federals. In a discussion with his "Old War Horse" General James Longstreet, Lee explained as he pointed towards Cemetery Hill; "The enemy is there, and I am going to attack him there."

Barnes&Noble: Gettysburg the Second Day

Longstreet had doubts about attacking the Yankees at Gettysburg. Longstreet did not think attacking the enemy on their high ground was the wisest thing, he preferred another plan. Longstreet’s idea was for the Army of Northern Virginia to turn the Union’s south flank and position itself between the Army of the Potomac and Washington. Longstreet’s plan would compel General Meade and his troops to attack on ground the Confederates had chosen. Longstreet thought the tactical defensive position was best, but General Lee preferred aggressive offensive movements, right here and now at Gettysburg. The Army of Northern Virginia would follow Lee’s plan.

It is one of the great questions of the Civil War…what if the Confederates had followed Longstreet’s plan instead of Lee’s at Gettysburg?

Lee’s strategy was for Longstreet to attack the Union’s left flank at Little Round Top and Big Round Top. Meade would have to send troops to the left flank to answer Longstreet’s attack. General Ewell would attack the Union right flank at Culp’s Hill. If this plan worked, the Confederates would overtake both of the Union flanks, gain the high ground, and win the battle…and maybe the war.

Lee wanted Longstreet to begin his attack as soon as possible on the morning of July 2. Due to various reasons (in light of Longstreet’s disagreement with Lee over the Gettysburg battle plans, some historians question Longstreet’s diligence in proceeding with his attack on the Union left flank) Longstreet did not have his troops into position until 4:00 in the afternoon. Part of the problem Longstreet had getting his men into position, was that the Yankees were not where they were supposed to be on their left flank. It was Union General Dan Sickles and the 3rd Corps who were to be in position and hold the Union left flank.

Dan Sickles is an interesting character and he deserves some attention.

Before the Civil War, Daniel Edgar Sickles was a lawyer and a legislator. From 1853 to 1855 he served as President Franklin Pierce’s London Legation (at the time, the United States did not yet have formal embassies). Sickles was elected to the New York Senate, and then served as a Democrat in the United States Congress from 1857 to 1861.

In 1859 while serving in the United States Congress, Dan Sickles shot and killed Philip Barton Key at LaFayette Park, which was located across the street from Sickles’ home and the White House. Key was having an affair with Mrs. Sickles, so Sickles killed him. By coincidence, Philip Barton Key also happened to be the son of Francis Scott Key, the composer of "The Star Spangled Banner".

Sickles chose Edwin Stanton as his defense attorney (Stanton would later serve as Abraham Lincoln’s Secretary of War). Stanton used a unique and new tactic to defend Sickles. Stanton claimed Sickles was innocent of murder because he was temporarily insane when he killed his wife’s lover. The jury agreed and Congressman Sickles was found innocent.

After killing her paramour, Sickles publicly forgave his wife and took her back. This outraged the public. It seems the public understood the business of an outraged husband shooting and killing his cheating wife’s lover (Sickles had the public’s understanding and sympathy during all this drama), but for the husband to then forgive his wife and take her back, well, that was just too much for people to stomach in 19th century America. With the loss of voter support, Sickles’ political career ended.

At the start of the Civil War, Dan Sickles saw opportunity and a fresh start for himself. After all, there is nothing like a war to help turn your life around. He raised the Excelsior Brigade of New York City, and later in June of 1861, he was commissioned as Colonel Sickles of the 20th New York. The politician Sickles new military career was now successfully underway. Perhaps the former congressman (and also formally temporarily insane) Dan Sickles went off to war humming the "The Star Spangled Banner" to himself…fighting as he was to save the Union. Nevertheless, Sickles was now back on both of his feet. Would he be able to hang onto both of the legs those feet were attached to?

On July 2, 1863, Dan Sickles found himself at Gettysburg as the General of the 3rd Corps. As fate would have it, it was Sickles who had the duty of holding the crucial left flank of the Union line. The terrain at the south end of Cemetery Ridge where the politician now turned general Sickles was positioned, concerned him. It was low and exposed ground. Without orders, General Dan Sickles took it upon himself to make an unauthorized movement of his two divisions half of a mile forward to ground that was higher and along a road running from Gettysburg. Now his troops were positioned at the Peach Orchard and in an area congested with rocks and large boulders below Little Round Top. This rocky area was Devil’s Den. Sickles unauthorized move had provided his troops and himself with better ground, it was higher and easier to defend, but now his troops were no longer connected with the rest of the Union’s line. More importantly, in terms of the grand scheme of the battle, the Union crucial positions of Little Round Top, Big Round Top, and the Union left flank, were now all completely undefended.

Barnes&Noble: American Scoudrel

General Meade was furious when he learned what Sickles had done. Meade ordered Sickles back to his original position. Sickles had no time to follow Meade’s orders, at 4:00 in the afternoon Longstreet finally (Lee had wanted Longstreet to make this attack as early as possible on the 2nd) began his attack on the Union left.

The Confederate troops advanced upon the Yankees. Confederate Colonel William C. Oates and the 15th Alabama made their way to the top of Big Round Top. From there, three hundred feet above the field of action, Oates could see that if he could move artillery to the heights of Little Round Top, he could then tear the Federal lines apart. A brigade of Alabamians advanced upon the smaller of the two Round Tops, since only a Union signal station occupied Little Round Top. General Meade had sent General Gouverneur K. Warren (Warren was the chief topographical engineer for the Army of the Potomac) and a young lieutenant named Washington Robeling to Little Round Top to scout out the situation.

Warren and Robeling quickly realized the dire circumstances for the Union at Little Round Top. Dan Sickles and his men had their hands full fighting the advancing Confederates in the Peach Orchard, and even as Warren and Robeling surveyed the situation Hood’s Rebel Texan troops were busy advancing up the rocky ravine between Little Round Top and Big Round Top. Warren called for reinforcements and four regiments were sent from the Union 5th Corps. One of these regiments was the 20th Maine, led by Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain.

These Union troops were desperately needed to hold Little Round Top secure. If Little Round Top fell to the Confederates, then the entire control of the Union lines would be lost, and probably so too, the Battle of Gettysburg.

Barnes&Noble: Through Blood and Fire at Gettysburg: General Joshua L. Chamberlain and the 20th Maine by Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain

Chamberlain was ordered to hold Little Round Top "at all hazards." The 350 men of the 20th Maine double-timed up Little Round Top and took positions behind boulders and whatever cover they could find. With no time to spare, Chamberlain sent troops from his Company B to between the two Round Tops to cover the left flank. Soon, very soon, Colonel Oates and his Alabamians came upon them and for almost two hours, the men from Maine and Alabama fought it out in deadly fighting. The Confederates made repeated assaults and finally one-third of Chamberlain’s men were either injured or killed, and the rest were completely or nearly out of ammunition. The Confederates were now preparing for another assault. Colonel Chamberlain and the 20th Maine, and the Union left flank, were in very serious trouble. With quick thinking, Chamberlain ordered part of his remaining line to drop back until it formed a right angle with the rest of the Union line.

Chamberlain had two choices, either advance or retreat. He chose to advance and ordered his men to fix bayonets. The right of the Maine regiment held its position while the left side made a running advance down the hillside of Little Round Top towards the Alabamians. The Union advance wheeled to its right during this advance, "like a great gate upon a post" according to a witness.

The Confederates were shocked and taken by surprise with this bold movement, some surrendered and others ran. As the Confederates ran they took more fire from Chamberlain’s Company B, which had taken cover behind a stone wall. The Alabamians were now caught in crossfire. Colonel Chamberlain and the 20th Maine had held Little Round Top for the Union. The left flank of the Yankee line was secure. Later, Chamberlain would receive the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions at Gettysburg.

Barnes&Noble: In the Hands of Providence

General Sickles and his troops were still fighting the Confederates in the Peach Orchard, and they were in bad shape. The Rebels were giving them Hell. Soon Sickles himself would personally be in bad shape too. Confederate artillery was tearing into Sickles’ men and they were giving up ground as they fought in places called the Wheat Field, Devil’s Den, and the Valley of Death.

During all this, General Dan Sickles’ right leg was blown off below the knee. Sickles was carried from the field calmly smoking a cigar. He would survive his wound, but no longer would he stand on both of his own two feet. Sickles donated his amputated right leg to an army medical museum. In the years after the Civil War, Sickles would stop by the museum to visit his leg.

Union reinforcements from Cemetery Ridge had hurried to the Wheat Field and this opened a gap in the center of the Union line on Cemetery Ridge. Now an Alabama brigade saw the weakness in the center of the Union line and rushed to take advantage of it. A small regiment, the 1st Minnesota, was ordered by General Winfield Scott Hancock to meet the advancing Confederates. With only 262 men in its force, the 1st Minnesota charged down a slope toward 1,600 advancing Confederates. Of the 262 Minnesotans, only 47 of them were not hurt or killed. The 1st Minnesota had 82 percent of its men fall within the first five minutes of their fight. The casualties suffered by the 1st Minnesota was the highest taken by a Union regiment in the entire Civil War. The Minnesotans were successful despite their severe losses; they had filled the gap in the center of the Union line.

Confederate General Ewell staged an attack on the right flank of the Union line just before dark. For various reasons Ewell’s attack had been delayed, this action was supposed to be coordinated with Longstreet’s advance upon the Union left flank – which itself occurred later than planned. Ewell’s attacks on Culp’s Hill and East Cemetery Hill, were repulsed.

Night came on Gettysburg’s second day of battle.

In June of 1863, Confederate General Robert E. Lee marched his invading Army of Northern Virginia into the Northern states of Maryland and Pennsylvania. This was Lee’s second attempt of invading the North, Antietam in September of 1862 being his first try. The goal of this second Confederate invasion was Washington, with Southern victory and a negotiated end of the Civil War. The Confederate plans of invasion and victory would die at the Battle of Gettysburg.

The Army of the Potomac had gained a new commander just before Gettysburg. President Abraham Lincoln had decided by the end of June that General Joseph "Fighting Joe" Hooker was not the man to lead the Army of the Potomac. On June 28, Lincoln made Major General George Gordon Meade his new commander of the Army of the Potomac. Meade would not have long to become familiar with his new position before he faced a huge challenge. Only three days after becoming the commander of the Army of the Potomac, Meade would fight against Confederate General Robert E. Lee and his invading Army of Northern Virginia at the quiet and peaceful crossroads town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

Barnes&Noble: Gettysburg the First Day

The Battle of Gettysburg began on July 1, 1863. Early in the morning Confederate soldiers belonging to General Henry Heth’s division (A. P. Hill’s corps) met up with unmounted Union cavalry led by General John Buford. The Confederates were heading towards Gettysburg in hopes of finding a supply of shoes supposedly stored in the town. The resulting skirmish on the outskirts of Gettysburg was the beginning of the three-day battle. General John Buford’s cavalry arrived at Gettysburg only slightly before the Confederate troops. General Buford realized Gettysburg was a key position because of the many roads from all directions leading into the town, and because of the high ridges and hills, which made up Gettysburg’s terrain. Buford’s clear and quick thinking allowed the Union troops to occupy the high ground of Gettysburg. This was an important advantage for the Union troops during the Battle of Gettysburg.

Buford’s unmounted cavalry had a technological advantage over the Confederates. Buford’s men were using seven-shot Spencer carbine rifles and single-shot breech loading Sharps carbines. These rifles allowed the Union men to fire at a rate comparable to a larger unit of men. The Yankees had fewer guns firing, but their guns could be loaded and fired faster than the Confederate’s guns. Buford’s unmounted cavalry successfully held off three times their number for two hours, allowing time for more Union troops to arrive.

Major General John Reynolds arrived on the field at Gettysburg at approximately 8:30 in the morning. Buford’s cavalry had held the high ground for the Union, and now they were under heavy fire and pressure from the advancing and gathering Confederates. Reynolds and the infantry Union I Corps were needed to relieve General John Buford’s unmounted cavalry. Reynolds met with Buford at the Lutheran Seminary and decided to hold the field position. Reynolds then rode to the field to direct the Union I Corps.

"The enemy is advancing in strong force. I will fight him inch by inch, and if driven into the town I will barricade the streets and hold him back as long as possible." -Words of General John Reynolds at Gettysburg on July 1, 1863.

Barnes&Noble: Stars in their Courses The Gettysburg Campaign

"Forward! For God’s sake, forward!" -General John Reynolds at Gettysburg on July 1, 1863, shortly before being killed by a Confederate sharpshooter’s minie bullet. At the time, Reynolds was directing Meredith’s Brigade into position at the edge of McPherson’s woods.

Reynolds died on the edge of McPherson’s woods. He was killed instantly when struck in the head by a minie bullet fired by a Confederate sharpshooter.

Reynolds was born only fifty miles from Gettysburg in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He was buried at Lancaster three days after his death. At the Gettysburg National Military Park, there is a statue on McPherson’s Ridge where Reynolds fell. Reynolds was forty-three years old when he died at Gettysburg. He was a brilliant soldier and would be missed by the Union.

By afternoon of the first day, all nearby Confederate and Union troops began to make tracks for Gettysburg. The fighting was furious. A division of the Union I Corps met the Rebel assault and stopped it. This division of the Union I Corps had a unit called the Iron Brigade, it was made up of five regiments from the Midwest. The Iron Brigade was known for its hard fighting and was distinctive because its members wore black hats. The Iron Brigade lived up to its hard-fighting reputation at Gettysburg. Two-thirds of the black-hatted Iron Brigade members were lost in this battle. General O. O. Howard’s 11th Corps arrived north of Gettysburg around noon; they faced units of General Ewell’s 2nd Corps who were arriving after a fast march from the Susquehanna. More and more troops from both sides arrived at Gettysburg. Eventually, approximately 24,000 Rebels faced approximately 19,000 Yankees along a line in the shape of a semicircle running north and west of Gettysburg.

Lee arrived at Gettysburg and ordered Generals Hill and Ewell to send all they had against the Union lines. The Yankees began to retreat through Gettysburg towards the high ground of Cemetery Hill. Fighting continued street by street, house by house, and yard by yard as the Yankees retreated.

The Union retreat through Gettysburg was harried, hurried, and full of confusion. Approximately two or three thousand Yankees were captured as they tried to escape through the streets of Gettysburg. Not knowing the layout of the town streets led to confusion and entanglement for the fleeing Yankees. The men in blue could never be sure as they ran down an unfamiliar Gettysburg street; there might be Confederates waiting for them behind a house or hidden in an alley, or the street may lead to safety. Afterward, some of the Yankee soldiers could joke about the situation. They said the Rebels caught them because the names of some of their 11th Corps officers had tripped them up. Some of the names of the 11th Corps officers were Lieutenant Colonel Detleo Von Einsiedel, Colonel Waldimir Kryzanowski, and Brigadier General Alexander Schimmelpfennig.

The Confederates pushed the retreating Yankees through the town of Gettysburg until General Winfield Scott Hancock organized strong Union positions on the high ground of Culp’s Hill and Cemetery Hill. General Howard had earlier placed a reserve division and artillery on Cemetery Hill. The Confederate advance ended late in the afternoon of July 1. Lee ordered General Richard Ewell to renew the attack on the Yankee troops holding the high ground before night fell. In his orders to Ewell, Lee said the attack should happen "if practicable." However, General Ewell thought his men needed rest, and renewing the attack on the Yankee-held high ground was impracticable. Therefore, Ewell chose not to attack.

Barnes&Noble: The Killer Angels

At the close of the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg, the Union held the high ground of Culp’s Hill and Cemetery Hill. During the night, General Meade and three Union corps arrived at Gettysburg. The Yankees held a formidable defensive position. Their lines stretched two miles in the shape of an inverted hook around Culp’s Hill, Cemetery Hill, and another hill named Little Round Top.

The Union held a convex interior line at Gettysburg. Picture a rainbow. The Union troops are inside the rainbow and the Confederates are on the outside of the rainbow’s arc. This meant the Yankees were able to move their troops faster from position to position than the Rebels could, and communication between Yankees was faster because the distance between the Union troops was shorter.

The holding of the high ground on the first day was an important advantage for the Union at the Battle of Gettysburg.

President Abraham Lincoln died on April 15, 1865 at 7:22 in the morning.

Upon Abraham Lincoln’s death, it was reported Secretary of War Edwin Stanton said; "Now he belongs to the ages." Abraham Lincoln’s assassination was a tragedy. The nation was in mourning.

Barnes&Noble: They Have Killed Papa Dead

Some in the defeated South were joyous over the news of Lincoln’s death…it had been a long, hard, bitter, and bloody war.

Others in the South realized they had lost a friend on their path to reconstruction and healing after the war. Lincoln’s death was not good news for the people of the South. Some leaders coming to power after Lincoln’s death would not have Lincoln’s conciliatory ideas for the South.

Almost immediately after his assassination, discussion begins for a memorial of some type for President Abraham Lincoln. The Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. was dedicated in 1922. The Lincoln memorial has 36 columns to signify the number of states that were in the Union during Abraham Lincoln’s presidency. Carved into the marble of the south wall of the memorial is Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.

The Lincoln Memorial faces toward Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s former home of Arlington House, located across the Potomac River.