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The opportunity of victory? Day One.The story goes that Confederate Major General Henry Heth, commanding a division in A.P.Hill’s corps, ordered one of his brigades to go into Gettysburg to search for supplies, as it was thought that a large store of shoes had been deposited in the town. This either shows great naivety on Heth’s part, as the town had already been passed through by the Confederate division of General Jubal A. Early, or, and this is the more probable explanation, that Heth was just spoiling for a fight. To send a full brigade, without a cavalry escort to procure shoes without knowing the location of the enemy is certainly not the action of a professional field officer. As it turned out the brigade commander, Brigadier General James Johnston Pettigrew stumbled upon the Union troops in Gettysburg, and managed to pull back without bringing on a general engagement [1]. However, Heth and Hill considered that their chances of brushing aside what elements of the Union army that had thus far arrived in the town better than average, and ordered their men forward. The troops that Pettigrew had met belonged to the cavalry division of Major General John Buford who was reconnoitring ahead of the Union army. Buford immediately saw the importance of holding Gettysburg as it formed the centre of a network of roads, which converged at this point. At around 8.00 am on the morning of 1st July elements of Heth’s division drove-in the Buford’s picket line and soon a very sharp action began to develop which escalated into a full blown battle as more troops from each side came on the field. By 10.30 am the Confederates had established a strong position on McPherson Ridge, about a mile northwest of Gettysburg, while the Union forces formed a straggling defensive line about 600 yards to the east on Seminary Ridge. The fighting became fierce as A.P. Hill now came up with more of his corps, which he threw into the fray, and Ewell’s Second Confederate corps also began to debouche from the northeast. Heth was wounded, and one of his brigade commanders, Brigadier General James J. Archer was captured. On the Union side, Major General John Fulton Reynolds commanding the I Corps had been killed by a sharpshooter early in the battle, and two divisions of Major General Oliver Otis Howard’s XI Corps, which had come up to support Reynolds right flank were driven back through Gettysburg in disorder, but managed to reform on its reserve division on Cemetery Hill south of the town. Owing to this the Union I Corps also fell back to a defensive position on Cemetery Hill.
When Lee finally arrived in the afternoon he was confronted by the fact that he now had a battle on his hands which he had not intended, but that the results thus far, and the commitment made, caused him to tip his hand and go for a full blown attempt to sweep the Union forces from the field. To this end he ordered Ewell to attack the Union position, but phrased his orders in such a way that they included the expression, ‘if practical’ [2]. This was enough for Ewell to decide that such an undertaking was not possible at this time. Not only this, but Lee had made it clear that no help could be expected from Hills corps, owing to the shattered state of some of its brigades and regiments. Whether Lee had consulted Hill in regard to giving Ewell assistance, or if Hill himself had made it clear to Lee that his corps was in no condition to combine in the attack is unclear. What does emerge is the fact that Lee’s vague orders and his corps commanders interpretation of them were to cause even greater misunderstandings during Pickett’s advance on the 3rd July. Could Ewell’s corps have pushed the Union forces off Cemetery Hill without assistance from other Confederate troops? Possibly not. When we allow for the fact that Ewell’s troops had lost their impetus, and not only had to re-group, but also look after thousands of captured Union prisoners who had been taken during their confused retreat through the town, then the idea of a successful attack before dark seems highly improbable. Meanwhile, reinforcements were coming up to bolster the Union position and by 6.00 pm more than 20,000 troops were holding a line from Culps Hill, northwest of Cemetery Hill, continuing around the latter and spreading south along Cemetery Ridge as far as the Little and Big Round Top’s which marked the limit of their left flank. By 8.00 pm their numbers had increased to 27,000 with 85 cannon, and more were on the way. These were enough to hold against any offensive actions on the part of the Confederates until the rest of the Union army reached the field.
Day 1 (click to enlarge) Though inwardly he may have been disappointed at not being able to press home the advantages gained on this first day of the battle, Lee now sought a way of capitalising on the undoubted success his troops had thus far gained. While meditating on this matter from his position on Seminary Ridge, he was joined at about 5.00 pm by General Longstreet who had rode forward ahead of his corps to discuss the situation with his chief. It was during their discourse that Longstreet suggested a turning movement around the Union left flank, however he never made it clear if this was to be a tactical or a strategic movement. What he did state was that he considered a direct attack on the Union position should be avoided. It was, after all Longstreet’s corps that had held the sunken lane at Fredericksburg the previous December, and he was well aware of what determined troops could do to any attacking columns when properly entrenched and covered by massed artillery. Lee thought about alternatives and finally decided that he could not justify a flanking movement. He would hit the enemy where they stood, and hit them hard. With his boys geared-up for another victory he saw no reason to cool their enthusiasm by more marching which would, in all probability only result in the Union forces conforming to his movements and taking up an even stronger defensive position than the one they now occupied. This seems to have liberated a growing depression in Longstreet’s mind, which would cause him to become, if not complacent, then certainly only half hatred in his attitude towards carrying out Lee’s orders, and once again this would result in serious repercussions on day three of the battle. Having made up his mind to remain on the offensive, Lee now consulted his other corps commanders to discuss a plan of action for the next day. It was eventually decided that Longstreet’s corps (less Pickett’s division which was still some miles from the battlefield) would assault the southern end of Cemetery Ridge, there axis of advance would be northeast towards the Emmitsburg Road which Lee considered would bring them down directly on the Union left flank causing their whole line to be rolled up. As soon as he heard Longstreet’s guns announce the commencement of this attack, Ewell’s II Corps would make a strong demonstration against the Union right. Hill’s corps would also open with its guns on the Union centre, and in so doing add to the uncertainty of just where the real blow was about to fall. [1] Edwin B.Coddington, The Gettysburg Campaign, A Study in Command, page 263 [2] Ibid, page. 315
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