Fighting and Dying for the Colors at Gettysburg

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As he watched the dark masses of enemy infantry heading toward Devil’s Den, Munsell studied the countenances of his companions, noting their ghostly appearance. The color-sergeant realized that all of them thought he was “the only man in the regiment not frightened half out of his senses.” However fearless he looked outwardly, Munsell later admitted, “I mechanically prayed as I never prayed before or since. My heart was in my mouth….

Frightened almost to death, and not a soul in the regiment knew it but myself…I would have sooner died two hundred thousand times than to continue in the terrible suspense when seconds seemed hours.”

When the fighting erupted, the soldiers of the 99th looked to Munsell and his flag as a guide. The sergeant inspired them to stand “as firm as the rocks beneath their feet” as he took his accustomed place at the front of the line. Munsell’s clothing was rent by 11 bullets, but he remained unharmed. The worst was yet to come.

During the Union retreat from the area, the color-bearer navigated the first several hundred yards without incident. Suddenly shells whizzed past him. One struck near his feet, and the concussion sent him tumbling to the ground on top of his flag. Several nearby comrades thought he had been killed instantly by the blast. Munsell was merely “playing possum,” however. Later, when the coast was clear, he “jumped up and ‘skedaddled’ to the rear.”

Upon reaching his regiment, he quietly took his place in line and nonchalantly unfurled the standard. “Such a shouting I have never heard before or since,” recalled Munsell. “Men who saw me fall…came up and looked at the flag, and felt of me to see if there wasn’t some mistake or humbug about it”

The veteran soldier thought he had accomplished more during that one eventful afternoon than he previously had in his entire life. Major John W. Moore, commander of the 99th, agreed, writing that the sergeant’s “courageous conduct” was “worthy of the most decided approval.” Munsell would later receive the Medal of Honor for his efforts.

The 28th Virginia vs. the 1st Minnesota

Unable to break through the main enemy line during the fighting on July 2, Lee eventually opted for an all-out assault upon the Federal center on the third day. Following a massive artillery barrage to soften the enemy position, more than 12,000 infantrymen stepped out from behind Seminary Ridge and advanced briskly across a mile of open terrain to punch a gaping hole through the Union line on Cemetery Ridge.

A low stone fence that originated near a copse of trees and ran northward to the Abraham Bryan farm offered some protection for the blue-coated defenders. Just north of the copse, the fence abruptly turned east for a short distance before resuming its northerly course, forming a sharp angle in the line.

Major General George E. Pickett’s Division of Longstreet’s corps, about 6,000 strong, was a logical choice to spearhead the infantry attack, since it had been held in reserve following its arrival on the field on July 2. Pickett’s three fresh brigades formed up on the low ground near Spangler’s Woods.

At about 3 p.m., after a cannonade that lasted roughly two hours, the Southern infantrymen rose to their feet and marched briskly toward Cemetery Ridge. As the soldiers of Richard Garnett’s Brigade closed in on the Nicholas Codori farm along the Emmitsburg Road, they entered the most lethal phase of the attack. One officer recalled that “the storm of lead and iron seemed to fill the air, as in a sleet storm, and made one gasp for breath.” He noticed that many of the men bent over in a half stoop as they marched up the slope.

Garnett shouted above the tumultuous roar: “Faster, men, faster! We are almost there!” An instant later, he fell dead from his horse. Color-Sergeant John Eakin of the 28th Virginia received three wounds as he rushed toward the stone fence near the Angle. After a bullet struck him in the upper arm, he finally relinquished the flag to a comrade, who advanced only a few steps before being shot dead.

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