Gettysburg Live 150 – 4:15pm – Attacks on Devil’s Den

The part of SicklesIII Corps line that is farthest to the south is held by the brigade of Brig. General J.H.H. Ward. His left flank is resting on the end of Houck’s Ridge, at a unique rock formation known to locals as “The Devil’s Den“.

There are several stories about how this name came to be. One such story is about a large snake (so large that it was named “The Devil”) that had at one time made the area its home. Snakes aside, the place is full of dark crevices and caves between the rocks, and its size makes it somewhat forboding. You can see it being the kind of place that the Devil himself might feel at-home in.

The name of this place would take on a new meaning with the brutal fighting that would begin there right about now, 150 years ago.

Hood’s division would attack this area, by brigades, “en echelon”. There is some debate as to whether this move was brilliant, or an accident of mis-communication. Essentially, each of Hood’s four brigades would attack one at a time, from right to left along his front. His right-most brigades, commanded by Brig. General Evander Law and Brig. General Jerome Robertson, respectively, would take part in the attack on Little Round Top in a few minutes. His other two brigades, under Brig. General Henry Benning and Brig. General George Anderson, would assault Devil’s Den, and the Wheatfield, respectively.

Because of the way Devil’s Den extends a little farther south than other locations on the field, Ward’s and Benning’s men would start this fight, and it was extremely bloody combat. Within the first few minutes, Hood himself was wounded in the arm, and command of the division fell to Brig. General Law – a fact that led to communication problems and tactical uncertainty on the Confederate side.

The Union men held the good, high ground, but there weren’t enough of them to do it effectively. Capt. Smith, commanding the 4th New York Independent Battery had 4 of his 6 guns on the ridge to provide artillery support, and the other 2 (along with the men of the 4th Maine Infantry) were tucked behind, facing south to blast away at any Confederates attempting a flanking movement around the end of the ridge. Surprisingly, the position held for nearly an hour before being overwhelmed and flanked.

When the Confederates took Devil’s Den, it turned into a platform for sniping at officers on Little Round Top, and they were able to do quite a bit of damage that way, but they couldn’t convert it into further gains. The western slope of Little Round Top proved to be too difficult to assault directly.

Gettysburg Live 150 – 3:45pm – Longstreet’s Ready to Attack

It would take Lt. General Longstreet’s Corps over 3 hours to travel the 4 miles between General Lee’s headquarters and the point where their attack would begin. They ended up marching much farther than 4 miles.

Longstreet was not especially excited about his chances for success, so that certainly may have been a factor. The main issue was the lack of a route to the southern end of the field that had been properly scouted.

Taking the most direct route down Seminary Ridge, Longstreet’s men were under the cover of trees and thus concealed from Union eyes. About half-way down though, they came to a clearing that would expose their movement. That obviously couldn’t happen, as the element of surprise was important. Longstreet made the decision to turn his men around and head back up the ridge to the north, cut farther to the west, and hope to find a route behind the ridges that would keep him hidden.

All of this marching and countermarching added a significant amount of time and distance to the move. All of the men, but especially Evander Law’s brigade – who had been marching all day, since about 3:30am – were becoming more fatigued.

By this time, 150 years ago, the two divisions of Longstreet’s Corps that will make the attack today are in position. Within a few minutes, they will step out to confront the over-extended line of Maj. General Dan Sickles’ III Corps.

From Little Round Top, a scared group of Union signalmen, and Maj. General Gouverneur Warren – sent to find a vantage point from which he could see the whole of Sickles’ position – observes the Confederates moving into line of battle to the southwest. Riders are immediately sent out to find someone – anyone – who can occupy that hill.

Gettysburg Live 150 – 12:30pm – J.E.B. Stuart Finally Arrives

His long misadventure finally at a close, J.E.B. Stuart arrived at General Lee’s headquarters outside Gettysburg 150 years ago right now.

Though there had been cavalry with Lee during the entire campaign, Stuart took the best of the Confederate cavalrymen with him, leaving the Army of Northern Virginia in a precarious position. He would be chastised by Lee in private, but neither man left a record of the details of the conversation, so we don’t know how stern the talking-to was.

It must not have been too bad, because Stuart maintained his command, though he and his men would be of little use for the rest of the battle.

Gettysburg Live 150 – 12:00pm – Longstreet Starts His Move

While Lt. General James Longstreet lost the argument that morning about whether to attempt an attack on the Union left, he at least insisted that the attack wait until all of the men of McLaws’ and Hood’s divisions arrived. The stragglers at the end of the column were the men of Brig. General Evander Law’s Alabama brigade.

150 years ago right now, Law’s men came off the road and were ready for combat. Now, Longstreet could finally start his march to the south, and get his Corps in position for the attack that General Lee wanted.

And the longer Longstreet waits, the more Union troops are coming off the road and strengthening their line.

This thing would be easier said than done.

Gettysburg Live 150 – 11:30pm – Berdan’s Reconnaissance

Maj. General Dan Sickles had been confused and upset all morning. He had been ordered to hold a position with his III Corps along Cemetery Ridge, on the left flank of the Union army.

The problem was that this wasn’t especially good ground. There was a patch of woods directly in front of him that made detecting an approaching enemy difficult, and made deploying artillery nearly impossible. Beyond the woods, there was a stretch of higher ground where a Peach Orchard was located. Sickles feared that he could be easily dominated if enemy troops took position there.

He desperately wanted to move. He had begged all morning for someone from headquarters to come take a look at this area with him. General Meade was too busy. General Warren couldn’t be sparred. Finally, General Hunt – the Chief of Artillery – went to inspect the left flank.

Hunt agreed with Sickles that the Peach Orchard would make for a good artillery platform (at least better than the position the III Corps currently held). Hunt was careful to point out that he wasn’t authorized to order such a move, though – Sickles would still need to talk to General Meade. If Hunt were going to make the move, he’d want to be sure that the woods over on Seminary Ridge were clear first.

Sickles thought that was a good idea, and 150 years ago right now he sent a party of sharpshooters led by Col. Hiram Berdan into those woods to check things out. It didn’t take long for them to run into (and exchange a few shots with) troops from Brig. General Cadmus Wilcox’s brigade, who were at that point the right flank of the Confederate army.

When word of this encounter got back to Sickles, he knew that he had no choice but to move his men forward to meet the threat.

Gettysburg Live 150 – 5:00am – Lee Surveys the Field

Standing on Seminary Ridge 150 years ago right now, Lee devises his plan for the day’s fighting.

Lt. General Longstreet’s Corps hasn’t gotten into the battle yet. It’s just coming off the road. Two of his divisions will participate today. The third, under Maj. General George Pickett, is too far away to be of use.

Lee want’s Longstreet’s men to attack the Union left. This area was scouted by some of Lee’s aides overnight and found to be vulnerable. This attack was to be  coordinated with Lt. General Ewell, who will attack the Union right at the same time – to prevent the Yankees from shifting their troops to meet Longstreet’s threat.

With his most trusted subordinate leading the attack, Lee is confident of success. Longstreet isn’t so sure, and spends the morning arguing for a move around the Union left, placing the Confederate army on ground that they chose in between the Army of the Potomac and Washington, DC. In that scenario, the Federals would be forced to attack the Confederates, and would be at a disadvantage.

Lee would hear nothing of it. They had beaten the enemy yesterday, and they would do it again today. Today, it would be Lee’s way.

Gettysburg Live 150 – 6:00pm – J.E.B. Stuart at Carlisle

While the main battle has raging all day, Confederate cavalry commander, J.E.B. Stuart kept finding ways to distract himself from the task at hand, namely, finding the rest of the Confederate army.

When he reached the outskirts of York, he found out that, while Lt. General Ewell’s men had been there, they weren’t any longer. They had been ordered to the west, to join up with the rest of the army. Stuart got back on the road to look for them.

Just about now, 150 years ago, the Confederate cavalry arrived at Carlisle expecting to find Ewell’s Corps, but once again, Stuart just missed them. Instead, he found Union militia troops under the command of Brig. General William “Baldy” Smith. Unlike some of the other militia commanders, Smith was determined to defend the town.

Stuart sent a messenger into town demanding surrender. Smith refused. After an hour or so of back-and-forth, Stuart had had enough. He brought up his artillery and shelled Carlisle, causing few injuries and starting several fires in the process.

Gettysburg Live 150 – 5:00pm – “If Practicable”

The Confederates had pushed the Union army out of their defensive position. The Yankees were seemingly fleeing in confusion and panic. The Confederates had seized the initiative. General Lee wanted to exploit that advantage as much as possible.

150 years ago right about now, General Lee sent one of his aides to find General Ewell and ask him to take possession of the high ground on the south end of town – Cemetery and Culp’s Hills. The problem is the way Lee went about asking for this.

Ewell wasn’t used to Lee’s command style. He had been under “Stonewall” Jackson’s command and “Stonewall” kept his subordinates on a tight leash. They got direct, plain, un-ambiguous orders. Lee was more nuanced.

The order Ewell received was to take the heights “if practicable”. Since his men had just marched all the way from Carlisle, fought their way through the XI Corps, and chased the stragglers through town, Ewell decided they had enough. It was also getting late in the day, and he didn’t want to make an attack over un-scouted ground.

In short, rather than pressing forward like Jackson would have done, Ewell came up with a slew of reasons why the attempt wasn’t “practicable”. Lee would have to learn to adjust his style from now on.