Battle of Gettysburg: Confederate General Richard Ewell’s Failure on the Heights

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Greene had graduated from West Point in 1823 and had served 13 years in the Regular Army before resigning and pursuing a career in civil engineering. In 1862, Greene joined the army as a volunteer. At Chancellorsville, two months earlier, he and his brigade held the Union salient against overwhelming odds and in a large part were responsible for providing time to extricate the right wing of the army. Now, Greene found himself in a similar situation.

Along the northern slope of Culp’s Hill, the Federal line was held by Brig. Gen. James Wadsworth’s division, or more accurately, what was left of it. The day before, July 1, the two brigades of the division, the legendary Iron Brigade and the hard-fighting 2nd Brigade, had suffered more than 50 percent casualties in a heroic effort to stave off the determined assaults of three Confederate divisions. That they eventually failed was inevitable, but the price extracted from their enemy was exorbitant. While the casualty list for I Corps was swollen with the names of brave men, the fighting spirit of the remnant was not diminished.

Wadsworth’s line formed along the crest of Culp’s Hill, while Greene’s gradually descended toward Rock Creek as it moved southeastward. Greene had just started his movement to occupy the vacated works when his entire front came alive with the sharp reports of musketry and the nerve-shattering Rebel battle cry. The brigade was caught in motion, the worst fate that could befall a fighting unit.

Nicholl’s brigade of case-hardened Louisianans (the 1st, 2nd, 10th, 14th and 15th Louisiana) under the command of Colonel Williams, fell on Wadsworth’s redoubt while J.M. Jones’ brigade of Virginians struck Wadsworth’s right and Greene’s left. In the darkness on the severe slopes, Johnson’s veterans were having a terrible time of it. Not only did the terrain seem to rise up against them but also sharp-eyed bluecoats were firing volleys by companies, secure behind abatis and trenchworks. The Federals cut down each and every attempt to seize their works and left the northeast slope of Culp’s hill littered with Confederate dead and wounded.

Greene’s 1,400-man brigade was next stunned by Steuart’s assault on the right. The vanguard of Steuart’s attacking column was the 23rd Virginia, which poured destructive fire on the New Yorkers and rolled them back. The Virginians, their battle blood up, pursued the federals through the works until they reached a part of the line perpendicular to the enemy and opened an enfilading fire. The staccato sound of individual musket fire followed moments later by the roar of a volley cut through the air and filled the participants with a sense of dread known only by combat veterans. The New Yorkers were in an untenable position.

Greene saw all to clearly that even courage and heroism couldn’t hold the position for long; he sent couriers to adjacent commands desperately seeking support. Wadsworth, having secured his line, sent the 6th Wisconsin and 84th New York, while Maj. Gen. O.O. Howard, commanding the XI Corps, sent over the 82nd Illinois, 45th and 157th New York, and 61st Ohio. From II Corps on Cemetery Ridge, due west of Culp’s Hill, the 71st Pennsylvania arrived — and just as quickly returned as a result of staff errors. The six regiments that came to aid Greene had already suffered terrible casualties on the first day of the battle and, as a result, only 700 soldiers were able to answer muster.

The 37th and 10th Virginia regiments and the 1st Maryland Battalion moved up in support of the 23rd Virginia and extended the line westward. The Rebel movement was countered by the appearance of Greene’s reinforcements, arriving peacemeal on the field. Faced with increased resistance and oncoming darkness, and forewarned that Lt. Gen. James Longstreet’s infantry was coming to his aid, Steuart was anxious to secure his gains and await further developments. In the meantime, elements of the 1st and 3rd North Carolina regiments pushed westward in the darkness toward the Baltimore Pike, groping in the night before retracing their steps and rejoining the brigade. At 10 P.M.., Steuart’s brigade had established a lodgement on the right of the Federal line, near the top of Culp’s Hill.

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Tags: 19th Century, America's Civil War, American Civil War, Historical Conflicts

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