The Civil War-Gettysburg Essay Essay, Research Paper

Gettysburg is arguably the Army of the Potomac’s (AOP) only great victory on the battlefield. Antietam, certainly a strategic victory, showed Robert E. Lee’s unstoppable killing machine was indeed stoppable. And the AOP did, of course, eventually force Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia (ANV) from its impregnable Petersburg trenches. But Lee’s surrender at Appomattox Courthouse finally came when the Rebel army was so weakened that surrender was almost a foregone conclusion. Therefore, such Union victories as the ones at Sayler’s Creek and Five Forks in the final weeks before the historic surrender on April 9, 1865 can hardly be called great battlefield victories. While the AOP can only notch one momentous battlefield win onto their belt, they were, of course, on the winning side in lesser battles that did not significantly impact either the tactical or strategic situations. Malvern Hill, the last major action of the Seven Days campaign where Confederate forces were severely and boldly repulsed, is one such example.

When analyzing Gettysburg, therefore, it has become commonplace to ask why Lee and his army failed to win a great victory. Fewer people look to the other side of the equation and ask why Meade and the AOP won. What circumstances changed to enable the AOP to transform a long string of defeats into a great victory? The odds were certainly against them in many ways. The AOP had become accustomed to losing–a dangerous thing for any military unit where life and death depends, to a large degree, on the confidence of its officers and troops. Fresh from two devastating defeats within the past six months, the AOP was chasing a seemingly invincible fighting machine. A machine with the confidence, and the leadership, to continue its winning ways. To heighten the odds against the blue underdogs, they were given a new commander, Major General George Meade, only four days before they were to fight what would become the battle of their lives.

So why did the Yanks win at Gettysburg? The men in blue fought like demons along their line, of this there is no doubt. But these Billy Yanks had fought admirably before–Gaines Mill and Fair Oaks being only two examples–only to be ultimately defeated. While it was the 90,000 front-line men who held their own, ultimately giving better than they got, in the final analysis something else must help explain this rather unusual occurrence–a spectacular, indisputable Federal victory in the East. The answer is found in the performance of the AOP’s officers. Gettysburg was clearly the best-led fight the AOP would ever engage in (and this includes later battles when U.S. Grant would be on hand to conduct the proceedings).

Everyone from lowly Lieutenants to Major Generals performed exceptionally well under the most dire circumstances. Perhaps even more impressive, the officers in blue were in “top form” for three consecutive days. A failure or let-down from even one of the critical players over that three day period could have easily erased R.E. Lee’s only out-right defeat from the history books. Day 1, July 1, 1863 saw the start of the best three days of the AOP’s life. Brigadier General John Buford, recognizing the fact that whoever held the high ground south of Gettysburg would control the killing fields, dismounted his cavalry for a showdown with Major General Henry Heth’s infantry division.

Deployed to the west of Gettysburg to slow Heth’s advance, the 2,700 dismounted troopers, firing rapidly with their breech-loading carbines, stalled the 7,500 Confederates for one crucial hour. Colonel Thomas Devin’s and Colonel William Gamble’s cavalry brigades fought ferociously under mounting pressure, and held on long enough for infantry reinforcements to arrive from Major General John Reynolds’ I Corps. Reynolds became the ranking Union commander when he arrived on the field, and he never gave retreat a thought. Like Buford, he recognized the importance of holding the high ground south and east of Gettysburg. Within an hour and at Reynolds’ urging, the famous Iron Brigade quick-timed onto the field and slammed into Heth’s Rebels. Suddenly the graybacks, facing infantry and not just dismounted cavalry, retreated back across Willoughby Run, a small stream a mile or so west of Gettysburg. Reynolds’ decisiveness in committing his troops without delay was the last contribution he would make for his country.

Within minutes of arriving on the field, directing sorely needed reinforcements to Buford’s hard-pressed cavalry, this excellent general (some would say the best general in the AOP) fell, struck behind the ear by a Minie ball. Major General Abner Doubleday then became the senior officer on the field. Doubleday’s performances before and after Gettysburg can best be described as mediocre. On July 1, however, he fought the battle of his life. The fury of this first day’s fighting is often overshadowed by the carnage of July 2 and 3, but Doubleday did not hesitate to commit all the troops he had on hand in a desperate attempt to blunt the Confederate attack. Even Doubleday’s unit placed in reserve, the Iron Brigade’s 6th Wisconsin, engaged the 2nd Mississippi when that Confederate regiment was roughly handling the 147th New York.

These Federal regiments, charging under the leadership of Major Edward Page of the 90th New York and Lt. Colonel Rufus Dawes of the 6th Wisconsin, finally captured close to 1,000 prisoners in Gettysburg’s infamous unfinished railroad cut. History does not usually treat the fourth Union commander of the day, Major General Oliver Howard, kindly. His XI Corps was disgraced at Chancellorsville by Stonewall Jackson’s famous flank attack on May 4, 1863, less than nine weeks prior to this fateful Pennsylvania day. Many historians even treat Howard’s performance on July 1 harshly. Yet the fact remains that Howard, like Buford, Doubleday, and Reynolds before him, saw that the ground at Gettysburg was the best the AOP could hope for in their death struggle with the ANV. Leaving a division under Brigadier General Adolph von Steinwehr in reserve on Cemetery Hill south of Gettysburg, Howard rushed the rest of his winded men, who had come into Gettysburg on the run, to meet a new threat from Lieutenant General Richard Ewell sweeping down from the North of town.

A. Wilson Greene makes a compelling argument defending Howard’s strategic performance in his essay, “From Chancellorsville to Cemetery Hill.” Howard’s XI Corps deployed north of Gettysburg shortly after noon, and Howard knew that he was performing a delaying action, desperately holding on until more reinforcements arrived. “I immediately determined to hold the front line as long as possible and when compelled to retreat from the Seminary Line as I felt I would be, to dispute the ground obstinately; but to have all the time a strong position at the Cemetery . . . that I could hold until at last Slocum and Sickles, with their eighteen thousand reinforcements, could reach the field.” [Greene, pp. 73-74] To this end Howard succeeded admirably, holding back the Confederates until well after 4 P.M. Howard’s men, partly because of their reputation gained from Chancellorsville, are treated with contempt because they eventually retreated through the streets of Gettysburg. The fact remains, however, that the XI Corps took 2,900 casualties on this crucial day of fighting. The ground they gave up was covered in their blood, and the XI Corps, by delaying the Confederate advance, saved the Union position on Cemetery ridge. Without Cemetery Ridge, a Union victory at Gettysburg would have been impossible.

As the sun began to dip toward the western horizon, the fifth general to assume command of the Federal forces arrived: Major General Winfield Hancock, known to his men and to history as “Hancock the Superb.” Arguably the best Corps commander in the AOP, his first task was to tactfully assume command from Howard, who was technically senior to Hancock by virtue of obtaining the rank of Major General first. Howard protested on these grounds, but Meade had specifically placed Hancock in command until the army commander himself could arrive, and with good reason. The newly arrived Hancock quickly ordered the critically important Culps Hill, the extreme right of the Federal line, to be reinforced before the Confederates could mount an attack. Hancock’s commanding presence rallied the nearly spent bluecoats, and a defensive line on Cemetery Hill, including Culps Hill was secured.

The AOP (or at least the portion that was currently on the field) had fought better than they had ever fought before. This record was short-lived however, for on Day 2 uncommonly desperate fighting would be commonplace. Meade himself arrived at the battle a few minutes after midnight, July 2. This sixth and final commander of Union forces at Gettysburg would rely upon his valiant men, both the officers and the men in the ranks, to hold back the demonic fury about to descend upon them. Tens of thousands of pages have been written on this epic battle, and Day 2 may be the recipient of the lion’s share of this attention. On a day when leadership and bravery was everywhere along the Federal line, it is perhaps unfair to single out one man’s action in saving the Union on July 2. Yet, Brigadier General Gouverneur Warren did save the day for the North. Noticing that Little Round Top held the key that would unlock the security of the Federal line if taken by the Rebels, and noticing that the hill was literally undefended, Warren, on his own initiative, frantically searched for reinforcements. Even Major General George Sykes, whose nickname was “Tardy George” because he moved so slowly, reacted quickly to Warren’s appeal on this all-important day. He ordered a brigade from his V Corps to rush to Little Round Top.

The brigade turned out to be that of Colonel Strong Vincent, who took it on his own initiative (Brigadier General James Barnes, the division commander, could not be found) to rush his men into position. He got them there with ten minutes to spare. Any hesitation on the part of Warren, or Sykes, or Vincent, could very well have meant disaster for the AOP–every minute counted. Vincent would pay for his initiative with his life, and one of his regimental commanders, Colonel Joshua Chamberlain, would earn the Medal of Honor for holding the Union left flank. Some of the greatest heroes of the War, Chamberlain and his men simply refused to succumb to repeated and determined attacks. The famous 1st Minnesota bought their fame with blood, incurring the highest casualty rate of any Union regiment during the War. A Confederate brigade was coming disastrously close to piercing the Union line when Hancock desperately looked for men to plug the gap. He found the 1st Minnesota. With only 262 men in their ranks, they charged the Confederate brigade, gaining precious time for other blue units to fill the gap. But it cost the valiant unit 200 casualties in only 15 minutes.

The third and final day saw more of the carnage, and more of the bravery so ably displayed on July 1 and 2. Many people now view the repulsed “Pickett’s Charge” as a foregone conclusion, but desperate fighting, and superior leadership, was needed to repel the gray attack. Hancock was seriously wounded on this day, but he refused to leave the field until he knew the charge was repelled. Artillery work from Lieutenant Alonzo Cushing and Captain Andrew Cowan devastated the Confederate lines as they approached the stone fence that marked the blue line. Brigadier General Alexander Webb furiously tried to rally beaten Yanks while Colonel Arthur Devereux led a decisive counterattack against the few Rebels that penetrated the Federal line.

These are only a few of the heroes of Gettysburg. Many, many pages would be required to list all the men that performed great deeds on July 1, 2, and 3. The men of the Army of the Potomac had always known they could fight, if properly led. At Gettysburg, they were, and they did. From Meade, to virtually all of the Corps commanders, to divisions and brigades, to regiments and companies, and to individuals who fought the fight of their lives, goes the credit for saving the Union at Gettysburg. Decisive, and correct, decisions were made and properly executed throughout the three days. When events looked bleakest, it was Federal skill and daring that saved the day, and the country. The Army of Northern Virginia did not lose the momentous Battle of Gettysburg. The Army of the Potomac won it.