Lee's Surrender at Appomattox

The reconstructed McClean House, where the negotiations took place

With his army out of supplies and hemmed in by the Federals on every side, Robert E. Lee realized that it was hopeless to continue to resist the Federals. He therefore, with the agreement of most of his officers, wrote to Ulysses S. Grant to ask for terms. As he rode off to meet Grant, Longstreet shouted after him, “General, if he does not give us good terms, come back and let us fight it out!” Grand and Lee met at the house of Wilmer McLean. McLean had lived on the battlefield of Manassas, one of the war's first battles, and had moved to Appomattox to escape the fighting. Now it could be said that the war began in his backyard and ended in his parlor.

Lee arrived at the house first, wearing an exquisite uniform. When Grant appeared he wore a old uniform covered in mud from riding, with little significance of rank. He had not had the opportunity to change before the conference. The two men had met during the Mexican-American War, and Grant mentioned it briefly before Lee brought the meeting onto topic. Grant offered him the same terms as he had a few days earlier, when he suggested that Lee surrender. They were that all the Confederate officers and men be paroled and sent home, not to fight again without being exchanged. Their supplies and weapons would be turned over to the Federals, excepting only the officers' sidearms and the horses that men had brought with them to the war. These were good terms, far better than the unconditional surrender that Grant was famous for offering on other occasions, and Lee happily accepted. Grant wrote of the meeting:

I said to Lee that I hoped and believed this would be the close of the war; that it was most important that the men should go home and go to work, and the government would not throw any obstacles in the way. Lee answered that it would have a most happy effect, and accepted the terms.

As Grant and Lee rode away some Federal soldiers began too cheer at their victory, but Grant forbade it.  “The Confederates were now our countrymen,” he wrote, “and we did not want to exult over their downfall.” Word spread quickly of the agreement, and before long the McLean House was ransacked by soldiers hoping for a souvenir from the momentous occasion. The armies intermingled, adversaries talking, and old friends from the Mexican War meeting again, and reminiscing about old times. 

The parlor in which the generals met

28,000 Confederates surrendered at Appomattox, a sad remnant of the once great Army of Northern Virginia. Although many thousands of Confederates remained in arms, in armies across the south, Lee's surrender was the deathnell of the Confederacy. Their greatest general and army had fallen, and most in the south saw the war would soon be over. 

Union troops in front of Appomattox Court House

Battle of the Wilderness – Longstreet Attacks

Longstreet's Flank Attack

The line on the southern front was stabilized, but Lee was not content with that. He wanted to go on the offensive. Longstreet's engineer reported that there was an unfinished railroad that gave a covered approach to the Union flank. The plan was approved, and Longstreet gave Moxley Sorrel, his chief of staff, the role of putting four brigades into position to make the attack. At 11 am the Confederates charged. The attack surprised the Federals, and Hancock himself acknowledged that the Federal line was rolled up like a wet blanket. Wilbur Fisk of the 2^nd Vermont in Getty's division wrote:

The Plank Road

There was no chance for us when the left gave way but to run or be taken prisoner. We were between two fires, and the enemy had every advantage. ... I found myself with a squad belonging to the division that broke and caused the defeat – decidedly bad company to be in. Some of their officers drew their swords and revolvers and tried their utmost to rally them again. They might as well have appealed to the winds. ...  

I was shamelessly demoralized. I didn’t know where my regiment had gone to, and to be candid about it, I didn’t care. I was tired almost to death, and as hungry as a wolf. ... I should have been ashamed of such conduct at any other time, but just then all I thought of was a cup of coffee, and a dinner of hard tack. ... My patriotism was well nigh used up, and so was I, till I had some refreshments.

The Confederate attack was successful, but it was not long before it stalled. James Longstreet rode to the front to get his men moving again. But as he came down the Orange Plank Road with his staff, the 12th Virginia confused his party for Federal cavalry. Their fired into the group, hitting General Micah Jenkins, a staff officer, a courier and Longstreet himself. It was almost exactly a year before that Stonewall Jackson had been shot by his own men on nearly the same ground. Longstreet was wounded severely in the neck, and he turned over command to Charles Field, giving him orders to press the enemy. For a time it was not known whether Longstreet would survive the wound. He did, but he could not return to the army for months.

Longstreet's wounding was the doom of the Confederate attack. It took time to transfer the command, and by the time the troops were moving again, Hancock had taken up a new line of earthworks.

Wounded soldiers from the Wilderness

Battle of the Wilderness – Lee to the Rear

Hancock Attacks

Grant's plan for the second day of the Battle of the Wilderness was to focus his attacks on Hill's corps. His V and VI Corps were to continue their attacks on Ewell, to keep him from coming to Hill's defense, while Hancock continued his attacks on Hill, and Ambrose Burnside's IX Corps hit Hill's flank and rear through the hole in the center of the Confederates. On the Confederate side, Longstreet's First Corps was coming up, and Lee ordered it to go to Hill's aid. Longstreet miscalculated how long it would take to reach Hill and allowed his men some rest during the night. Thus, as the Federal attack began at 5 am on May 6, Longstreet had not yet come up. Hill's men, with their lines still disorganized from the previous day's fighting, were thrown into disarray by the large numbers of Federal forces. Broken Southern units streamed by the Tapp House, and the 16 guns in that field were the only thing holding the Federal advance back.

It was at this critical moment that Longstreet's forces finally began to arrive. At the head of the column was the Texas Brigade now under Brigadier General John Gregg. “I am glad to see it," Lee exclaimed, "Texans always move them!" He told Gregg, "When you go in there, I wish you to give those men the cold steel – they will stand and fight all day, and never move unless you charge them." As the Texans formed up, Gregg stood in his stirrups and shouted, "Attention, Texas Brigade! the eyes of General Lee are upon you. Forward, march!" As the line moved out, Robert E. Lee fell in behind them. He recognized the danger his army was in, and it was apparent that he intended to charge with Gregg's brigade. The Texans would not allow it. “Go back, General Lee," they cried. "Go back! We won’t go forward unless you come back.” Finally Lee was taken to the rear and the Texans' charge. Their attack, ably followed by two more divisions from Longstreet, stemmed Hancock's advance. When Burnside arrived on Hill's flank, he did not make a coordinated and forceful attack, and so the Confederates prevented disaster on that front.  

Longstreet Attacks

Battle of Fort Sanders

Ambrose Burnside, having gotten ahead of the pursing army of James Longstreet at the Battle of Campbell's Station, arrived in the works around Knoxville, Tennessee on November 17. The Confederates came up as well, and began to consider an attack. Longstreet decided that Fort Sanders was the most vulnerable point on the Yankee line. It was west of the town, positioned at a salient in the earthworks. It was 70 feet high and surrounded by an 8 foot ditch.

The Confederate positions were 2,400 yards from the fort. Longstreet's attack plan called for three brigades to be used. No artillery bombardment would be made, to avoid alerting the Federals of the attack, but this advantage was lost anyway because skirmishers were deployed long before the actual attack was made.

The southerners attacked at dawn on November 29th, after a cold night, with rain and snow falling. Moving out, they encountered obstacles made of telegraph wire which strung to trip the men. Alerted to the attack, the Federals opened fire and began shooting the rebels down. Eventually the Confederates made it to the fort, and jumped down into the ditch. But here they were confronted with a problem. Looking through binoculars at the position, Longstreet saw a Union soldier walking across the ditch. Not realizing that the man was on a narrow plank, he concluded that the ditch was very shallow and that scaling ladders would not be needed. But down in the ditch, the Confederates discovered the truth was much different. It was nearly impossible to climb out of the ditch onto the wall, especially slippery frozen as it was. The Confederates fruitlessly tried to dig footholds in the earth, as the Federals poured musketry into the packed men and stabbed with their bayonets, even tossing down artillery shells as hand grenades. Some southerners made it to the parapet by standing on each others shoulders. Several flags were planted on the top, but no breakthrough was made.

Union engineers on the battlefield

After 20 minutes Longstreet recalled his men. It was one of the most disastrous attacks of the entire war. The attack had been badly planned, and victory was nearly impossible without ladders. The Confederates lost 813 men, the Federals only 13. This reverse. Combined with the defeat of Bragg at Chattanooga, ended the Siege of Knoxville, and the Confederate's attempt to gain control of East Tennessee.

Knoxville Campaign - Battle of Campbell Station

While the Confederates were concentrating on Rosecrans' army around Chickamauga and Chattanooga, on the Tennessee-Georgia line, Ambrose Burnside took advantage of transfers of Confederate troops away from East Tennessee. He was successful, and in September Cumberland Gap and Knoxville fell to the Federals. The siege of Chattanooga freed up some of the other Confederate troops, and Braxton Bragg sent James Longstreet with his corps to deal with Burnside. Longstreet disagreed with the order, as both parts of the Confederate army would be outnumbered by the Federals they were facing, but he had to go nonetheless.

Burnside had ignored requests to reinforce the Federals in Chattanooga, but as Longstreet advanced toward him he determined to go out and engage him, and fall back slowly to Knoxville, thereby ensuring that Longstreet did not return quickly to aid Bragg. Longstreet's movements were hampered by problems with the railroad, but finally his men were dropped off at Sweetwater, halfway to Knoxville, on November 12. Then commenced a race between the Confederates and Burnside, who had advanced as planned.

The two armies first seriously engaged each other on November 16^th, 150 years ago today. The armies marched on parallel roads towards Campbell's Station. Whoever arrived first would control the route to Knoxville. The Yankees arrived there first, but just fifteen minutes later the Confederates showed up. Longstreet tried to hit the Federals on both flanks, and although the Union right was driven back, the attack on the left did not materialize. Burnside ordered his men to fall back, but they had won the first section of the race, and were able to continue on the road to Knoxville. In this fight the Federals lost about 400, the Confederates, 570. 

Siege of Chattanooga - Battle of Wauhatchie Station

When Grant arrived in Chattanooga to take command of the army under siege by Bragg's Confederates, he was told of a plan that had been devised by the army's chief engineer William “Baldy” Smith, to get supplies into the town. He liked it, and ordered that it be put into execution. It was called the Cracker Line. The plan was for supplies to be brought to Kelley's Ferry on the Tennessee, then overland through Cummings Gap in Raccoon Mountain, cross the river again at Brown's Ferry, then brought across the river directly into the city.

To use this line however Bragg's men would have to be driven across Raccoon Mountain. Grant planned to have Hooker move under cover of darkness to meet up with two columns of troops from Thomas, one of which would silently float pass Lookout Mountain while the other would march overland as reinforcements. He ordered that it be put into execution early on the morning of October 27th. The men from Thomas were successful in passing Lookout Mountain without being sighted. They set up a Pontoon bridge and captured Brown's Ferry with little resistance, as few Confederate units had been stationed in the area. The next day Hooker arrived, and the Cracker line was secured right under Bragg's noose. It was put into operation, and know there was no trouble getting men or supplies into Chattanooga.

The Confederates were upset that the siege had been lifted, and immediately began trying to cut the Cracker Line. Longstreet decided to strike at Wauhatchie Station, where John Greary's division was in a weaker position than the rest of Hocker's men. Longstreet ordered a night attack to be made, and it went into effect early on the morning of October 29, 150 years ago today. The strike was scheduled for 10 pm, but the darkness delayed the march for two hours. Greary's men were surprised, and were driven back into a V shaped position anchored on the river. Two Union corps were sent to his aid, and the Confederates fell back in co fusion. The battle had been badly planned on both sides, and the confusion of a night attack destroyed the Confederate chances for victory.

Battle of Chickamauga – Day 2

As the day dawned over the bloody field of Chickamauga on, Sunday, September 20th, William Rosecrans, commander of the Union army, was riding along his lines, encouraging the troops. They had been sorely tested the day before with several Confederate attacks nearly breaking their line, but Rosecrans urged them to fight on, saying, “Fight today as well as you did yesterday, and we shall whip them!”

Across the field, Confederate commander Braxton Bragg had planned to attack at daylight, but the orders he had sent to D. H. Hill had been lost. When morning came Hill was unprepared, still getting his troops into position. They would attack on their right, where the Federal right had formed into a semicircle around the Kelly House. The Yankees had spent their night profitably, building breastworks to better defend themselves. Finally, at about 9:45 am, the Confederate attack began.

On the Confederate far right was Breckinridge's division. It was in such a position that his two rightmost brigades extended beyond the left of George Thomas's breastworks. Thomas, seeing that he was flanked, requested reinforcements. He withdrew two brigades from his line and threw them in front of Breckinridge. They fought hard, and although they were driven back, they bought enough time for Van Cleve to bring his division up from the right. Thomas was able to hold back the Confederate attack with these troops, but he did not feel his line was secure. As the battle raged, he requested Rosecrans to send him more troops from the center and right. Breckinridge and Cleburne continued to press forward, meeting heavy resistance. Liddell's and Gist's men were brought up and the attack was renewed, but fresh Union troops were moved to that portion of the line and no progress could be made. Stewart's division gained some success, but they were driven back by a Federal counter attack. Nathan Bedford Forrest's cavalry were dismounted and fighting on foot. When Hill saw them, he asked what infantry they were. When he was told they were Forrest's cavalry, he said:

General Forrest, I wish to congratulate you and those brave men moving across that field like veteran infantry upon their magnificent behavior. In Virginia I made myself extremely unpopular with the cavalry because I said I had not seen a dead man with spurs on. No one could speak disparagingly of such troops as yours.

By noon, the attacks slowed down. Polk and Bragg had failed to break Thomas's line, protected as it was by breastworks. As on the previous day, Bragg had not concentrated enough strength on one point to crush the line, and instead dispersed the blow. But Rosecrans had a problem. Because of the heavy pressure on the left, he had sent Thomas many reinforcements, leaving only four divisions on the right.

It was Longstreet's turn to attack. Because of all the troops rushed to Thomas, a hole had developed in the center of the Union line. Rosecrans had received false information about a gap in his line, and in giving orders to correct it, actually created a gap. Longstreet got permission from Bragg to attack with his wing. Instead of the piecemeal attacks used in the battle so far, throwing in only one a division at a time, Longstreet marshaled four divisions with which to crush the Federals. He ordered his men forward at 11:15 am. Confederate Bushrod Johnson wrote:

The scene now presented was unspeakably grand. The resolute and impetuous charge, the rush of our heavy columns sweeping out from the shadow and gloom of the forest into the open fields flooded with sunlight, the glitter of arms, the onward dash of artillery and mounted men, the retreat of the foe, the shouts of the hosts of our army, the dust, the smoke, the noise of fire-arms—of whistling balls and grape-shot and of bursting shell—made up a battle scene of unsurpassed grandeur.

Longstreet's men went right through the hole in the Federal line, past the Brotherton Farm, crushing any resistance they encountered. By noon he was a mile deep in the Federal center, having capturing 17 cannon and over 1000 prisoners along the way. Soon the entire left and center of the Yankee line was one race to get away from Longstreet's advancing men. But the Texas Brigade was struck with a counterattack from a Union unit, and driven into retreat. Hood, seeing his old brigade in full retreat, rode to rally them. He was shot through the leg, and carried off the field. Although such woods were frequently fatal during, he had his leg amputated and survived. This left him with only two limbs, as he had lost the use of his arm in another battle.

Having crushed through the Union center, Longstreet ordered his men to execute a right wheel and turn on Thomas. This complicated maneuver took time to preform, and during the lull he ordered that his men be fed to prepare them for further fighting. Bragg was annoyed that his battle plan had was unsuccessful, and that Longstreet had developed his own plan, and it was winning the day. So he rode off the field and left the management of the battle to his subordinates.

Rosecrans

Bragg was not the only commander leaving the field. Rosecrans himself, joined by two of his corps commanders and thousands of men, was making off as fast as possible, believing further defense useless. Most officers completely lost their heads and tried to get away just like the common soldiers. But not all of the Federals were retreating. George Thomas remained on the field to organize the Union defense, and his firmness in stemming the Union rout would earn him the title the “Rock of Chickamauga.” He established a line of defense on Horseshoe Ridge, at right angles to the original position. Many Federals rallied there, still determined to resist the victorious southerners. They declared with resolution, “We will hold this ground or go to heaven from it.”

Through the afternoon waves of Confederates attacked Thomas's troops on Horseshoe Ridge. At 4:30 pm Longstreet's troops advanced. The fighting centered around Snodgrass Hill, upon which Longstreet made 25 attacks. The Federals were holding firm with hard fighting, but Thomas knew that this could not last forever. He was attacked on two sides by forces twice his number. He realized that at some point the position had to fold, and so he determined to conduct an orderly retreat. The gradual retreat began at 5:30 pm and continued over the next two hours. A rearguard of three regiments was left to defend the hill to the last. When they ran out of ammunition, they stood firm with bayonets. Refusing to abandon the position, they were finally surrounded and forced to surrender.

Horseshoe Ridge

The Federals retreated during the evening, routed but not destroyed. Thomas, the Rock of Chickamauga had been able to put up a last ditch defense so that the Union army was saved from complete destruction. This good defense would have important implications in the campaign, and it prevented a Union army from being nearly wiped off the map.

Thomas

The Confederates were elated at their victory, the first real victory won by Bragg's army. They let out cheers the like of which would be never heard again. They had captured 8000 prisoners, 51 cannon, over 23,000 rifles and much ammunition and other supplies. It was the largest quantity of supplies captured in one battle in the war. But it had been a costly battle. Rosecrans had lost 16,170 men, Bragg, 18,454. The total of almost 35,000 was a huge number. It was the second bloodiest battle of the war, only exceeded by Gettysburg. D. H. Hill wrote after the war,

There was no more splendid fighting in '61, when the flower of the Southern youth was in the field, than was displayed in those bloody days of September, '63. But it seems to me that the elan of the Southern soldier was never seen after Cickamauga .... He fought stoutly to the last, but, after Cickamauga, with the sullenness of despair and without the enthusiasm of hope.

Battle of Chickamauga – Day 1

On September 18th Braxton Bragg's advance units encountered the Union army and captured a crossing over Chickamauga Creek. But as had been done several times during this campaign, the Confederates failed to exploit any surprise they might have gained. When he advanced on September 19th, 150 years ago today, the fighting would develop into one of the bloodiest battles in the Civil War.

As the Confederate units prepared to move toward the Yankees, they did not know the information on which their plan was based was faulty. The Federal troops were further north than they expected. Bragg had planned to strike Crittenden's crops, at Lee and Gordon's Mill, which he assumed was Rosecrans's left flank. What he did not know was that the Union command had moved Thomas's corps beyond Crittenden. The battle began almost by accident this morning, with a skirmish over water resulting in a Union division being sent to clear off what was believed to be a single Confederate brigade on the west side of Chickamauga Creek. In fact, it was the entire rebel army.

September 19, Morning

These northern soldiers encountered much more resistance than they anticipated from men which turned out to be Forrest's cavalry men on the Confederate flank. The battle swayed back and forth throughout the morning as each side, threw more men into the increasing fight on the northern portion of the battle. Colonel John T. Wilder wrote this portion of the fight lines which apply well to the entire battle:

All this talk of generalship displayed on either side is sheer nonsense. There was no generalship in it. It was a soldier's fight purely, wherein the only question involved was the question of endurance. The two armies came together like two wild beats, and each fought as long as it could stand up in a knock-down and drag-out encounter. If there had been any high order of generalship displayed, the disasters to both armies might have been less.

September 19, Afternoon

The fighting was furious in the thick woods of Chickamauga. In the rolling, wooded ground, commanders could see little, and it was what historian Steven Woodworth called “a soldier's battle.” As the day progressed, each side brought up more troops to add to the battle in the upper part of the field. The third wave of men Bragg threw into the fight was the division of Alexander Stewart. He was ordered to move to the Confederate right, but instead he attacked the left on his own authority. It was an opportune moment, and hitting three of Thomas's brigades around Brotherton Farm, he drove them into a rout after a fierce fight he drove them into a rout. The rebels rushed through the woods after the retreating bluecoats, and succeeded in crossing the Lafayette road. George Thomas brought up two more divisions and threw them into the fight against Stewart, driving the weary men back.

Brotherton Farm

Seeing an opportunity John Bell Hood ordered in his Texas division from Lee's Army of Northern Virginia to aid Stewart, striking on the left of his position. Hood's gallant boys chard through the woods and again broke the Federal line. Pressing forward, they penetrated so deep that some units were very close to Rosecrans's headquarters. But at this critical juncture two more Federal divisions arrived from the south, and falling into line, halted Hood's men and pushed them back some distance.

September 19, evening

As darkness was falling over the bloody field, Bragg ordered Patrick Cleburne's men to make another attack on the Union left, where there had been a lull in the fighting. Cleburne's three brigades stretched a mile through the woods, and they rushed forward, striking hard the blue line with twice their numbers. One Federal wrote of the attack:

On they come, in the very face of fire and lead, until the strike the right of our regiment... but when too close to load and fire, the rebels were clubbed over the head and checked for the moment, while, instinctively, both sides recoiled a few steps without breaking the lines, and with that cool, deliberate determination and recklessness which characterizes all soldiers after breathing an atmosphere strongly impregnated with powder smoke, these deadly foes practiced the art of loading and firing in a manner that I believe was never surpassed on any battle field during the rebellion.

Confederate attack

Cleburne's men pushed the Federals back, but were ultimately unable to break the line. When darkness made further fighting impossible, the men made camp all across the battlefield wherever they happened to be. The Confederates could hear the Federals digging entrenchments that they would have to attack the next morning. Both sides suffered as they lay on the fields over which they had fought. As one Yankee recorded,

How we suffered that night no one knows. Water could not be found; the rebels had possession of the Chickamauga, and we had to do without. Few of us had blankets, and the night was very cold. All looked with anxiety for the coming of dawn; for although we had given the enemy a rough handling, he had certainly used us very hard.

Daniel Harvey Hill

The day's fighting was over. The Confederates had hit the Federals hard. On several occasions they had even penetrated the line. But in the end, Union reinforcements arrived and the Confederates were unable to give the final blow to rout them. Confederate General D. H. Hill explained what he thought had hindered their success:

Unfortunately for the Confederates, there was no general advance, as there might have been along the whole line - an advance that must have given a more decisive victory on the 19th than was gained on the 20th. It was desultory fighting from right to left, without concert, and at inopportune times. It was the sparring of the amateur boxer, and not the crushing blows of the trained pugilist.

Bragg did not focus on one area of the Union line and throw all his strength into it. He had come close to victory, two attacks came within sight of the Federal headquarters, but not enough reserved arrived to finish the blow. He moved his focus the line. Aiming everywhere, he hit nowhere hard enough.

Although the attacks had been uncoordinated and the Federals had not been broken, the Confederates were hopeful for the morrow. More of Longstreet's men arrived from Virginia late that night, bringing fresh reinforcements to Bragg. Bragg reorganized the army into two wings, the right was given to Leonidas Polk and the left to Longstreet. This arrangement offended the testy, D. H. Hill, the other Lieutenant General on the field, who was angry that he was not made a wing commander.

On the other side of the field Rosecrans held a council of war with his generals. They agreed that an attempt to attack would be futile, as they had only a few fresh troops and were outnumbered by the Confederates. Rosecrans decided not to retreat, hoping that Bragg would fall back the next day, as he had at Perryville and Murfresborro. But Bragg would not retreat, and the terrible fighting would resume the next day.

Gettysburg – Pickett's Charge

As the fighting was raging on Culp's Hill, Longstreet was still trying get Lee to cancel the attack entirely. He later remembered telling him:

General, I have been a soldier all my life. I have been with soldiers engaged in fights by couples, by squads, companies, regiments, divisions, and armies, and should know, as well as anyone, what soldiers can do. It is my opinion that no fifteen thousand men every arranged for battle can take that position.

Lee would not listen to Longstreet, remaining unconvinced and believing it was too late to change the plan. But he did decide to shift the focus of the attack from the Confederate right to the center as the troops on the right were too hard to disengage. Supporting Pickett would be brigades from Heth and Pender. These divisions suffered heavily on the first day, and they were now commanded by Pettigrew and Trimble. The charge would be very difficult, across a long portion of open ground on the Federals on Cemetery Ridge. To make the assault easier, it would be preceded by an artillery bombardment by Colonel Porter Alexander. Alexander, however, only had enough ammunition for one more bombardment. The fate of the battle of Gettysburg would hang upon this change.

Union line

At about 1 pm 163 Confederate guns along a mile long artillery line opened upon the Cemetery Ridge. It was the largest artillery bombardment of the Civil War. It was a terrible experience for the Union troops at which it was directed. One veteran later wrote:

It makes my Blood Tingle in my veins now; to think of. Never before did I hear such a roar of Artillery, it seemed as if all the Demons in Hell were let loose, and were Howling through the Air. Turn your eyes which way you will the whole Heavens were filled with Shot and Shell, Fire and Smoke.

Although noisy and terrifying, the Confederate bombardment did did not do terrific damage. It was well nigh impossible to aim with the clouds of smoke which quickly covered the ridge, and most Confederate shells went over the Union soldier's heads. Even many which were aimed properly failed to explode. After an hour bombardment, the time had come for the infantry to advance. Pickett found Longstreet and asked him if he should attack. Longstreet, believing the attack would be useless, could not bring himself to give the order, and so simply sadly nodded his head. The orders were given, and the attack moved out. Riding along his lines, Pickett said, “Up, Men, and to your posts! Don't forget today that you are from Old Virginia!” Nine brigades containing 13,000 men moved out, with more available to support a breakthrough.

Pickett Charging

The Confederates advanced in an imposing line across a mile of open ground toward a corpse of trees. The Union artillery immediately opened on them, tearing great gaps in the Confederate line. Some batteries had held their fire during the Confederate bombardment, and so had plenty of ammunition to beat back the infantry. Onward the Southerners pressed across the field. In 15 minutes they reached the Emmitsburg Road, and after climbing the fences reformed their line, closed the gaps and moved forward. The Union troops shifted to canister and the infantry opened fire. Many rebels fell, but some still pressed forward. As the officers were hit the organization began to fall apart. The attack began to falter.

Armistead

Brigadier General Lews Armistead, at the head of his brigade, with his sword in hand and his hat upon the top, shouted out, "Come on, boys, give them cold steel! Who will follow me?" Several hundred men rushed with him towards the position called the Bloody Angle. The rebels, with Armistead at their head, rushed in among the Yankees fought hand to hand occurred. They captured and turned around two Union guns, but there was no ammunition to fire them.

Union reinforcements quickly pressed down on the Confederates who had made it over the wall, overcoming the remnants of Garnett's and Armistead's brigades. The Southern officers had fallen, so the men either made their way back to their lines, or were rounded up and captured. 5,600 men had been lost in this charge, 50% of the men engaged. The Union defenders lost only about 1,500. Lee came out to meet his beaten soldiers, telling them the defeat was all his fault. When he ordered Pickett to rally his division to defend against a possible Union counter attack, the young general replied, “General Lee, I have no division.” Lee had believed his men were invincible, and the break down of coordination doomed the unlikely attack.

Gettysburg – Cemetery Ridge and Culp's Hill

The division to the left of McLaws was that of Major General Richard Anderson of A. P. Hill's Third Corps. He was to attack in support of Longstreet. His line set out with a cheer about 6 pm. Anderson's men were helped in their attack by Barksdale's charge, which struck the Federals they were facing in the flank. The Union division Anderson struck was able to hold together, although it was forced to fall back and give up several cannon. But Anderson's attack stalled. It was getting dark, the air was filled with smoke, and no troops were sent forward to help push forward the attack. But one brigade did gain very noteworthy success. Ambrose Wright reported that he had gained the top of Cemetery Ridge, and held it for some time before behind forced off for lack of reinforcements. This success may have convinced Lee to order Pickett's Charge the next day.

As these attacks were going on along the Confederate right an attack was also being made on the left, against Culp's Hill. It was intended as a diversion to keep Federal forces pinned down. There had been constant skirmishing throughout the day, but the lines did not move forward until it was nearly dark. The Union right was in great peril, as a 1/2 mile of ground was held by only one brigade, the rest having been pulled out to bolster other sections of the line. But unusually for this period of the war, they had built entrenchments and when the division of Edward "Allegheny" Johnston attacked, they were able to make a good defense. The rebels charged forward through the darkness, and halted within 100 yards of the Federals to exchange fire with them. The Confederates gained some success and captured portions of the Federals breastworks, but Union reinforcements were rushed to the area, and the battle ended in the darkness, with the Confederates retaining a portion of the Union works.

Attack on Culp's Hill

Gettysburg – Peach Orchard

While part of McLaw's division were fighting in the Wheatfield, more of his men were fighting at the Peach Orchard. McLaws was to move forward to capture the high ground around the orchard, and then assist Hood in rolling up the Union right. The Federals were along the Emitsburg Road, but did not have enough men to adequately cover that line. Leading McLaw's assault was William Barksdale's Mississippi Brigade, famous for their gallant defense of Fredericksburg. At their head rode Barksdale himself, mounted on a horse with his sword in hand and his long white hair flowing in the wind. As the Mississippians advanced they took hits from Federal artillery fire, but they closed their ranks and rushed towards the Yankee infantry. Having twice their numbers, they were able to smash through the Federal defense. The rest of the Peach Orchard line soon crumbled. But Barksdale's glorious charge eventually stalled. The Mississippians could only advance so far without becoming very disorganized, and Barksdale himself was wounded, hit in the left knee, and then had his foot hit by a cannon ball. A third shot in the chest knocked him from his horse. He was left on the field for dead, and was later captured and died in a Union field hospital.

Barksdale

Sickle's advanced position had turned out into a disaster. Devil's Den was captured, Little Round Top was severally pressed and the Peach Orchard lost. It appeared that his decision might cost the Federal army the battle. During the fighting, an artillery shot hit him the right knee. Strangely enough, the horse he was riding did not spook. He was helped down and his wounded was dressed. Turning over his command over his command to Davis Birney, he was taken to the rear to have his leg amputated. An experienced politician, he insisted on being taken to Washington, and began a public relations campaign to ensure that every one believed that he saved the day for the Union. In this he was successful, not being court marshelled because of his wound and eventually receiving the Medal of Honor for his actions.

Gettysburg - Wheatfield

While Hood's first brigades were fighting for Devil's Den Little Round Top, more troops were fighting over a Wheatfield. Sickles had reinforced his jagged line with troops from Sykes V Corps. Southern troops advanced against the Federal line, and were met with bursts of cannon and musketry. They began to get around the Federal left flank, but as the Union troops began to fall back the Confederates lost their momentum, exhausted from their charge.

Capture of the Wheatfield

With Hood's attack stalled Longstreet ordered McLaws' division forward forward, and some of his troops struck the area of the Wheatfield. The seasoned Confederate veterans were at first driven back but came on again, pressing the Federals back. Meade had brought up a division from Hancock's line, and sent it into the Wheatfield as reinforcements. One of these soldiers, Major Peter Nelson of the 66th New York, wrote the fight:

Very soon we were under fire of musketry, but, nothing daunted, we pressed steadily forward through wheat-fields, woods, over rail fences 10 feet high, stone walls, ditches, deep ravines, rocks, and all sorts of obstructions, every one of which had served as cover for the enemy, and from which a murderous fire was poured upon us as we advanced, but without avail, as nothing could stop the impetuosity of our men, who, without waiting to lead or even fix bayonets, rushed eagerly forward at a run, their cry being constantly, Forward! Charge! ... Arrived at a rocky ridge about 300 yards from where we commenced our victorious advance, we halted, taking the movement from the right, and engaged the enemy at short range. ... By this time, owing to the distance we had advanced in line of battle at a run, and the irregularity of the ground we had advanced over, we were in a deplorable state of confusion; men from every regiment in the division were intermingled with ours in one confused mass. While personally engaged in endeavoring to reform the regiment, and obtain something like order, I perceived the right of the line retiring. On inquiring the cause, I earned that the enemy had turned our right flank; also that all the senior officers of the brigade were either killed or wounded. In accordance with instructions received previous to entering the engagement, to regulate our movement by the right, I gave orders to retire...

As the sun was setting the Confederates were pushing through the Wheat Field after the retreating Federals. It appeared, on this portion of the field at least, that Lee might have won a victory in Pennsylvania.

Confederate in the Wheatfield

Gettysburg - Little Round Top

The attack on the Union left would be made by two divisions from Longstreet, McLaws' on the left and Hood's on the right. At about 4:30 pm, as the guns fell silent from a 30 minute bombardment, Hood, standing in his stirrups at the head of the Texas Brigade, shouted "Fix Bayonets, my brave Texans! Forward, and take those heights!" As Hood's division rushed toward the Round Tops the encountered rough, boulder stone ground in an area called Devil's Den. The division shifted off to the east as united struggled to avoid the obstacle. As the attack was being made the commander was lost, the mounted Hood was struck with a bullet and put out of action, Evander Law taking his place.

Confederate sharpshooter in Devil's Den

The Northern troops put up a fierce resistance around the rocky outcroppings, but they could not hold for long. Confederates began to get on their flank and even in their rear. Finally the Confederates pushed through Devil's Den, capturing three cannon that had defended it. The Confederates continued to push on around Big Round Top and towards Little Round Top. Until very recently the smaller hill had been bare of Federal troops other than a few signal men. Sickles had been instructed to anchor his line there, but had disobeyed the order. Brigadier General Gouverneur Warren, chief engineer of the army, rode to the hill and instantly saw the situation. He recognized that the hill was the key to the whole battlefield. Confederate artillery here could wreck havoc on the Federal lines. Warren quickly rode back and on his own authority sent Colonel Strong Vincent's 1,000 man brigade to occupy the hill, along with a battery of artillery. Vincent arranged his regiments on the hill, and they were soon attacked by troops from Hood's division. Already disorganized from the charge, their lines were broken as they tried to climb the rocky sides of Little Round Top. As they approached the top, they came under fire from Strong's men and were driven back. They came on again and again and a fierce fight developed. Reinforcements arrived for the Federals in the form of the 140th New York, a Zouve regiment with colorful uniforms. Which rushed forward and helped stabilize the Union line.

Hood's Attack

The unit on the far left of the Union position was the 20th Maine, commanded by Colonel Joshua Chamberlin. Today it is one of the most famous unites of the entire Civil War. The Confederates pushed hard against this regiment. Chamberlin remembered counting five separate attacks on his line. His troops were stretched very thin and his men were running low on ammunition. It was thought that the line was about to break, so he ordered a bayonet charge. The 20th Maine rushed down the hill, hit the Confederates and drove them into retreat, capturing a number of retreating rebels.

Through the quick action of Gouverneur Warren, the hard fighting of Vincient's brigade and the disorganization of the Confederates, Little Round Top was held for the Union. The man who got much of the glory for this fight was Joshua Chamberlin, although were other Union units on the hill that fought just as hard against the Confederate attacks.

Gettysburg - Preparations for Attack

Lee's Plan

The commanders of both armies around Gettysburg were up before dawn on the morning of July 2nd. Meade was posting his troops on the hills of south of Gettysburg, preparing to receive the attack he expected. Meanwhile Lee was looking for an opportunity to make that attack. He sent out scouting parties and one, venturing out in the direction of the Union left, reported that he had ridden to Little Round Top and there were no troops in the area. According to this report, there was nothing to stop Lee from moving around the Federal line and hitting them in the flank or even rear. This was just the opportunity he had been looking for, so he began seeing to the preparations for the attack. But in this he did not have the willing cooperation of Longstreet, who would be commanding the assault. Longstreet still wanted to fight a defensive battle. Lee had made it clear it was not going to happen, but his lieutenant was not content to just obey orders. Worse still, Lee's plan was based on faulty information. Somehow the scouting party must have been confused about their location, as Union reports show that there would have been plenty of troops visible in the Little Round Top area at that time.

Sickles examines his lines

The commander on the far Union left, where Lee planned to attack, was Dan Sickles. Sickles was not a military man, but a politician looking to overcome a bad reputation. Sickles was not satisfied with his position on Cemetery Ridge. He was concerned because of some higher ground a little over a half mile in front of him around a peach orchard. He thought that Confederates holding the slight rise would be able to break his line. About noon, without authorization from Meade, he moved his corps forward to cover the higher ground. Writing after the battle, Sickles acknowledged that it was done outside of his orders:

It was not through any misinterpretation of orders. It was either a good line or a bad one, and, whichever it was, I took it on my own responsibility.... I took up that line because it enabled me to hold commanding ground, which, if the enemy had been allowed to take - as they would have taken if I had not occupied it in force - would have rendered our position on the left untenable; and, in my judgment, would have turned the fortunes of the day hopelessly against us. 

Sickles

 But this move jeprodized the Union line. The new position was nearly twice as long, spreading his troops very thin and making them neglect the truly important position of Little Round Top, leaving it free to be captured by the Confederates. When Meade heard of this move, he was very angry. Without waiting a moment he gave orders that the stituation be corrected. But it was too late. For as he rode up to Sickles position, he discovered that the Confederates were massing for an attack.

Sickles

Lee Moves Towards Gettysburg

The Gettysburg campaign began 150 years ago as Lee began breaking contact with the Federal army at Fredericksburg, Virginia. The Confederates filed off to the northwest, leaving A. P. Hill's Third Corps to cover the movement. Hooker heard of the movement, but Hill's troops were able to skirmish with him and stop him from pressing forward.

Lee's plan for his invasion of the north would be to move through the Shenandoah Valley. The mountain range to the east would screen him from Hooker's army and allow him to easily defend his line of march, using the mountain passes. First Ewell with the Second Corps would clear the Federal forces out of the valley. Then while Longstreet with the First Corps covered the east side of the Blue Ridge, Hill's Third Corps would follow Ewell down the Valley.

Siege of Suffolk

Longstreet

After the Battle of Fredericksburg in December, 1862, the decision had been made to send Longstreet and his troops away from the rest of the Army of Northern Virginia. There wasn’t an immediate need to defend against a Federal attack, supplies were low in Northern Virginia, and there were other places troops could be used. For these reasons, Longstreet was made commander of the Department of Virginia and North Carolina. His missions were to protect Richmond, gather supplies, and capture Suffolk, Virginia, if possible.

Siege Gun

Longstreet began moving to Suffolk 150 years ago today. He had about 25,000 men against a garrison of 20,000, under the command of John Peck. Confederate reconnaissances and probes showed that a frontal attack was unlikely to succeed. Therefore, the Confederate troops dug entrenchments and their commanders looked for an opportunity to strike. The siege lasted until May 1st, when Longstreet withdrew to support Lee at the Battle of Chancellorsville. There were several engagements in the fighting around Suffolk in which the Union troops attacked several Confederate positions. However, none of them were decisive in breaking the siege. Casualties totaled for the Union about 50 killed and 200 wounded, for the Confederates 500 killed and wounded, and 400 captured.