University of Toledo�Gettysburg Staff Ride
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Battle Analysis
Day #2
Lee’s Plan for Day 2
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Line of Communications: A route, either land, water, and/or air that connects an operational force with a base of operations and along which supplies and military forces move. Also called LOC.
Sickles Disregard
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- Meade instructs his divisions to fall in on their part of the fish hook, from Culps Hill around to the end of Cemetery Ridge
- Sickles follows orders until noon, when he decides the peach orchard, .7m in front of him, looks like higher, better ground. He relocates his troops, creating an assailable flank
- Meade is forced to reassign several of Sykes divisions to fill and block the holes Sickles created
- Upon discovering Sickles unexpected position, Hood again asks Longstreet if he can deviate and swing around, below and behind Round Top, but Longstreet refused the change to Lee’s order (as he had already tried this prior)
Assailable Flank: A flank which is exposed to attack or envelopment
Hood’s Assault – Devil’s Den
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- Longstreet’s attack began with a 30min artillery barrage, particularly damaging to the Union in Peach orchard and Houck’s Ridge. Hood was felled by artillery and his units continued easterly, rather than the NE direction Lee intended
- Law’s BDE came easterly, taking heavy artillery and heading into the area of Devil’s Den
- 3rd AR & 1st TX hit through Rose Woods
20th IN lost more than ½ in the first 30 min
- 44 AL & 48 AL attacked Ward’s flank
Ward pulled 99th PA from his right to support
- 124 NY led a counterattack, pushing back 1st TX
1st TX rallied, until 99 PA arrived
- 2nd wave by Anderson, found a gap to Trobriand’s left
- 2nd GA & 17th GA moved thru Plum Run Valley
rcvd fire from 99th PA on Little Round Top
- 40th NY & 6th NJ sent to block approach to Ward’s flank
40th fell back, covered by 6th, who lost 1/3 in-process
- Ward forced to call for a retreat
- Hood’s DIV secured Devil’s Den
- Center of fighting shifted to NW, Rose Woods, and Wheatfield
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Little Round Top
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-At 1600, Longstreets’ corp begins the attack. Hood’s division deviates from the orders to attack following Emmittsburg Road, and turns East, in the direction of the Round Tops
- BG Warren rides troops there immediately. He sends a dispatcher to get Barnes, but he finds COL Vincent enroute, who immediate redirects his troops
- Within 10 minutes of arriving, Vincents troops receive fire. They repel the first push by Laws units.
- 15th AL moves to right to find Union left flank
- Chamberlain moves end of his line around to right to protect his flank
- 20th MN held during 2 charges, then ordered bayonets for counterattack
- This halted and captured a good portion of 15th AL
- 16th MI was taking a pounding from 4th TX & 5th TX, but received reinforcement from 140th NY and a battery of 4 guns
- 140th charge pushed the Texans back
- Union gained additional reinforcement from V Corp & held the hill, enduring persistent fire from Confederate sharpshooters in Devils Den (took out GEN Weed of V Corp & LT Hazlett of the 140th)
McLaw’s Assault - Wheatfield
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- Anderson’s BDE attacked 17th MN, who held w/ assistance from Winslow’s Battery
- Around 1730 Barnes withdrew to a new position near the Wheatfield Road, causing Trobriand and 17th MN to follow suit
- Allowed the Confederates to seize Stony Hill
- Earlier, Meade ordered reinforcements which arrived around 1800, and pushed the Confederates off Stony Hill, sending Kershaw’s men back to the edge of Rose Wood
- By this time, Wofford’s assault had caused the Union to lose control in the Peach Orchard
- his assault continued down Wheatfield Road
- Wofford flanked the Union forces in the Wheatfield
- Confederates reclaimed Stony Hill
- Sweitzer’s BDE sent in to delay the Confederate advance via hand-to-hand combat
McLaw’s Assault – Peach Orchard
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- While Kershaw’s right wing attacked the Wheatfield, it’s left wing wheeled left to attack Graham’s PA troops
- Someone shouted a false CMD, causing Kershaw’s troops to turn to the right, toward the Wheatfield, leaving their left flank exposed to the Union artillery
- Meanwhile, Barksdale & Wofford charged directly at the “point” of Sickle’s bulge
- Some of Graham’s men still faced south, aiming at Kershaw’s men, leaving their flank vulnerable
- Barksdale wheeled left, collapsing Humphrey’s line, regiment by regiment
- Graham’s men retreated back towards Cemetery Ridge
Wheatfield – 2nd Phase
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- The final Confederate assault through the Wheatfield, past Houck’s Ridge, into the Valley of Death, was around 1930
- Met with a counterattack by V Corp, under BG Crawford
- Pushed all the way to Stony Hill,
- Realized his troops were too far forward
- Pulled back to east ride of the Wheatfield
- End of fighting in the Wheatfield for Day 2
- Of the 20,444 men engaged, 30% became casualties
Peach Orchard & Cemetery Ridge
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- Barksdale pushed toward the Trostle barn, the HQ of Sickles
- Sickles is hit by a cannonball & returned to Washington, D.C.
- The Union artillery were under great threat from the Confederate infantry assaults
- “Retired by prolonge”
- Held position at Trostle barn so infantry could retreat
- Union was overrun and Confederates captured 3 of their guns
Cemetery Ridge
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- Anderson attacked with 5 brigades in line, starting at 1800, beginning with Wilcox on the right
- Wilcox and Lang hit Humphrey’s front and right flank, pushing him back
- Hancock rode North to find reinforcements, and saw Wilcox nearing the base of the ridge, aiming at a gap in the Union line
- He told 1 MN to “Advance COL, and take those colors”
- W/ help from Willard’s BDE, they were successful
- At great cost (82% casualties)
- Forced AL to withdraw
- Wright crushed 2 regiments N of Codori farm
- Advanced toward gap in Union line S of the Copse of Trees
- Union reinforcements arrived and struck Wrights flank
- Posey made slow progress & never crossed Emittsburg Rd
- Mahone never moved and refused to advance, despite Gen Anderson’s orders to do so
Battle East of Cemetery Hill
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- Confederates attacked Culp’s Hill at about 1900
- Around 1930 Ewell sent 2 BDEs (Hays & Avery) to attack Cemetery Hill from the East, and directed Rodes to prepare an assault from the NW
- 41 NY and 33 MA were forward, expecting an attack from the East
- Had to pull back when hit by NC
- Hays attacked toward center, finding a gap in the Union line
- Some Confederates reached the batteries at the top of the hill
- Most of Hays units fought with the Union at the stone wall
- Steep slope on East side of Cemetery Hill limited Union artillery
- NC & LA cleared the heights & silenced the Union guns
- 58th & 119th NY reinforced Wiedrich’s unit from West Cemetery Hill
- COL Carroll reinforced Rickett’s PA, coming from the south slope
- With guns back under Union control, they swept NC back down the hill
- NY helped to push the LA back down the hill
- Ramseur saw the futility of a night assault against artillery-backed Union troops and did not help to support the attack
Culp’s Hill
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- Ewell was to create a demonstration against the right, & move into full attack if opportunity presented itself
- BG Greene made his troops construct breastworks (obstacles)
- Ewell began when he heard Longstreets guns (around 1600), using only artillery for nearly 3 hours
- Meade directed Slocum to send reinforcements to the left flank. Slocum left Greene’s BDE defending Culp’s Hill
- Ewell began his attack around 1900, and Greene immediately requested reinforcements from his left, which did arrive. Primarily due to the Union’s constructed breastworks, they were able to repel most of the Confederate advances
- 137 NY is outflanked, falls back to the traversing trench & held their ground; results in losses of 1/3 of the unit, but saves the Union right flank & LOC
Obstacle: Any natural or man-made obstruction designed or employed to disrupt, fix, turn, or block the movement of an opposing force, and to impose additional losses in personnel, time, and equipment on the opposing force.