MILITARY: One Hundred and Fiftieth Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, Second Regiment, Bucktail Brigade, Chapter 14 Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by JRB & JP Copyright 2006. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/pafiles.htm Table of contents for the book with graphics, may be found at http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/1pa/military/cw/150-bucktails/150-bucktails.htm ________________________________________________ HISTORY OF THE ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTIETH REGIMENT PENNSYLVANIA VOLUNTEERS, SECOND REGIMENT, BUCKTAIL BRIGADE. BY LIEUTENANT-COLONEL THOMAS CHAMBERLIN, HISTORIAN OF THE SURVIVORS ASSOCIATION. REVISED AND ENLARGED EDITION, WITH COMPLETE ROSTER. PHILADELPHIA: F. McMANUS, JR. & CO., PRINTERS, 1905. PENNSYLVANIA VOLUNTEERS 117 CHAPTER XIV. GETTYSBURG - FIRST DAY. ON the morning of July 1 the officers of the regiment cast about rather anxiously for the wherewithal to "piece out" a breakfast, having lost touch for two or three days with the wagons of the commissary department. Captain Sigler and a lieutenant or two formally asked permission to send out to buy a sheep, but as there was a prospect of an early movement, this could not be accorded, and they had to be satisfied with the regulation coffee and hard-tack. The field and staff fared no better. The First Division (Wadsworth's) was started towards Gettysburg at or before eight o'clock, and the Third (Rowley's, - General Doubleday being in command of the corps) was put on foot about nine, but for some reason - probably the withdrawal of the pickets and the bringing up of the Second Division (Robinson's) - did not move until half or three-quarters of an hour later. It then marched rapidly over the Emmittsburg road, incited to unusual effort by the frequent boom of field-pieces at a distance of some miles in front. The morning was bright, after an early drizzle, but intensely sultry, the air being charged with moisture, and the men quickly felt the weight of their campaigning outfit, and perspired as they had rarely perspired before. On either hand long stretches of golden grain and luxuriant growths of corn looked beautiful in the sunlight, and it was hard to believe that this armed host was approaching the scene of a battle. Soon, however, citizens were met driving cattle and horses before them in search of a safe retreat, and when, a little later, two children - a boy and a girl - rode past 118 ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTIETH on one horse, crying as if their little hearts would break, it was painfully apparent that the miseries of war had penetrated to this hitherto quiet pastoral region. A mile or two below Gettysburg, on the Emmittsburg pike, a staff-officer met the head of the column with instructions to hasten the march, and diverted it from the road into the fields, where the division took, the double-quick and maintained it until it reached the ground a little to the south and west of the theological seminary. The exertion proved too great for many of the men, and quite a number of the 150th were compelled to fall out of the ranks. Captain Dougal, of Company D, the largest and most corpulent officer in the regiment, found himself unequal to the telling pace, and, having asked permission to drop behind, was instructed to gather up the stragglers and bring them to the front,-an order which he executed most satisfactorily. When the troops were halted near the seminary, Generals Doubleday and Rowley, who with portions of their staffs sat upon their horses at that point, addressed a few words of encouragement to the several regiments, reminding them that they were upon their own soil, that the eye of the commonwealth was upon them, and that there was every reason to believe they would do their duty to the uttermost in defence of their State. Meanwhile, shells were flying overhead from rebel batteries beyond the ridge to the west, and there was no longer any doubt that there would be trying work that day. The untimely death of General Reynolds had already been whispered to many of the officers, and soon became known in the ranks, occasioning a feeling of profound sorrow, for, whatever views individuals may have had of his temperament and bearing, all recognized in him one of the ablest and most skilful commanders in the Army' of the Potomac, and lamented his unfortunate taking-off. Had he lived to guide and encourage his troops, though this first day's fight against vast odds might MAJOR-GENERAL S. W. CRAWFORD. [portrait] MAJOR-GENERAL JOHN R. KENLY. BRIGADIER-GENERAL THOS. A. ROWLEY. BRIGADIER-GENERAL EDWARD S. BRAGG. PENNSYLVANIA VOLUNTEERS 119 not have been entirely successful, it would certainly have been more brilliant in achievement. On receiving instructions where to post his regiment, Colonel Wister ordered knapsacks to be unslung and piled on the ground, and then gave the command, "Forward!", forgetting that the muskets were not loaded. Instantly a score of voices reminded him of the omission, and amid some merriment the loading was ordered. Then, with colors unfurled and full battalion front, the 150th moved rapidly westward to the brow of the hill overlooking the little valley of Willoughby Run, and occupied a part of the space between the wood on the left, in which the Iron Brigade lay, and the McPherson farm-buildings. The 149th and 143d Pennsylvania took position on the right, extending to the Chambersburg road. It was then about eleven o'clock, - possibly a little later. Of the 150th, the whole number present for duty, including seventeen field-, staff-, and line-officers, together with the morning's stragglers, whom Captain Dougal brought up in good order, was-as nearly as could be ascertained - three hundred and ninety-seven. A number of dead and wounded lay scattered over the field some distance in the rear of the line, giving evidence of sharp work by Wadsworth's division before Rowley's arrival, but beyond a fitful cannonading from rebel guns on the next parallel ridge westward, there was at this hour comparative quiet. Colonel Stone having ordered one company from each regiment of the brigade to be thrown forward as skirmishers, Company B of the 150th was detailed for this duty, and Captain Jones was instructed by Colonel Wister to "advance until he met the enemy, and engage him". Deploying his men after passing the brow of the hill, the captain speedily dislodged the rebel skirmishers from a fence some distance below, and posted his command advantageously on the line of Willoughby Run. Supposing that our entire army was sufficiently concentrated to bear a part in the day's engagement, the spirit of the troops 120 ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTIETH could not have been better; and in their eagerness for the fray, some of the men indulged in hilarious exclamations which would have sounded strangely enough an hour or two later, when the disproportion of the two forces had become sadly apparent. Sergeant William R. Ramsey, in his extended diary, says:- "After taking position in the orchard, and while the shells were flying dangerously close to the recumbent line, John S. Weber, of our company (F), stood up and yelled: 'come, boys, choose your partners! The ball is about to open! Don't you hear the music?' He adds: 'Poor 'Dutchy' (Weber's nickname in the company)! He danced to another tune before night, having received a terrible wound in the arm, near the shoulder. He was never able to rejoin the regiment." During the lull which prevailed on the field, there was ample . opportunity to observe the numbers and disposition of the enemy to the west, consisting of Heth's and Pender's divisions of A. P. Hill's corps, some of whose brigades were still arriving and moving in plain view into position south of the Chambersburg road. While the Union line was but a skeleton, with noticeable gaps between the several brigades as well as between the regiments, the enemy was formed in continuous double lines of battle, extending southward as far as the accidents of the ground permitted the eye to reach, with heavy supporting columns in the rear. It was a beautiful spectacle, but their preponderance in force was so obvious that the Union troops might have predicted the certainty of their own defeat, if they had not counted on the timely arrival of re-enforcements. An incident which occurred about mid-day did much to create good feeling and stimulate the courage of the regiment. While watching and waiting, the attention of some of the men was called to an individual of rather bony frame and more than average stature who approached from the direction of the town, moving with a deliberate step, carrying in his right hand a rifle JOHN BURNS. PENNSYLVANIA VOLUNTEERS 121 at a "trail". At any time his figure would have been noticeable, but it was doubly so at that moment, both on account of his age, which evidently neared threescore-and-ten, and the peculiarity of his dress. The latter consisted of dark trousers and waistcoat, a blue "swallow-tail" coat with brass buttons, and a high black silk hat, from which most of the original sheen had long departed, of a shape to be found only in the fashion-plates of a remote past. Presumably on account of the heat, no neckwear of any kind relieved the bluish tint of his clean-shaven face and chin. As his course brought him opposite the rear of the left battalion, he first met Major Chamberlin and asked, "Can I fight with your regiment?" The major answered affirmatively, but, seeing Colonel Wister approaching, added, "Here is our colonel; speak to him". "Well, old man, what do you want?" demanded Colonel Wister. "I want a chance to fight with your regiment." "You do? Can you shoot?" "Oh, yes;" and a smile crept over the old man's face which seemed to say, "If you knew that you had before you a soldier of the war of 1812, who fought with Scott at Lundy's Lane, you would not ask such a question". "I see you have a gun, but where is your ammunition?" For answer, he slapped his disengaged hand on his trousers pockets, which were bulging out with cartridges. "Certainly you can fight with us", said the colonel, "and I wish there were many more like you". He then advised him to go into the woods on the left, to the line of the Iron Brigade, where he would be more sheltered from sun and bullets, with an equal chance of doing good execution. With apparent reluctance, as if he preferred the open field, he moved towards the woods, and history has written the name of JOHN BURNS-for it was he - in the roll of the nation's 122 ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTIETH heroes, and his deeds of that day are inseparably linked with the glories of Gettysburg! Colonel Stone, observing the approach of a rebel force from the north, promptly changed the position of a portion of the brigade to meet an attack from that direction. Leaving the left wing of the 149th to occupy McPherson's lane, facing west, the right wing was faced to the north on the Chambersburg road, the regiment thus forming a right angle, while the 143d continued the line eastwardly on the same road. A little later a rebel battery, which had established itself on Oak Hill, opened fire, enfilading the line of the left battalion of the 149th and also the 150th; whereupon the former was thrown forward, uniting with the right wing on the Chambersburg road and facing north, while the 150th was ordered by Colonel Wister, who saw no immediate threat of an attack from the west, to move to the shelter of the McPherson barn. Just as the movement began a shell exploded in the midst of Company C, killing four men and dangerously, if not fatally, wounding several others. At that very moment Dennis Buckley, a private of Company H, 6th Michigan cavalry, who had lost his mount in the earlier encounters of the day, presented himself, carbine in hand, and received permission from the major to join the ranks of the regiment. Seeing the misfortune which had befallen Lieutenant Perkins's command, he said, "That is the company for me", and, hurrying forward, overtook it and performed manly service throughout the afternoon. While the regiment enjoyed the protection afforded by the barn, Captain Jones was hotly skirmishing on the banks of the run, and several of his men soon came back in a disabled condition, among them Sergeant Kulp and Corporal Buchanan. This was too much for Lieutenant Chancellor, of the same company, who had that morning been assigned to the command of Company G, none of whose officers were present for duty. He at once begged to be allowed to join the skirmishers, PENNSYLVANIA VOLUNTEERS 123 and pleaded with such warmth that his request was finally granted. At the instant of starting forward one of his men fell dead, pierced by a bullet from beyond the road. Finding the skirmish line sufficiently manned, Lieutenant Chancellor remained for a time in reserve and then returned to his proper place. In its position on the Chambersburg turnpike the 149th was exposed to a destructive fire from a rebel battery to the west, and, with a view to draw the fire away from the men, its colors were detached and planted on the eastern edge of a wheat-field a little beyond the left flank of the regiment and somewhat to the front, where the color-bearers and guards sheltered themselves behind a pile of rails. Colonel Stone, in his official report, mentions half-past one P.M. as the hour of Early's attack on the Union line north of the pike, and says of the formation of the enemy, "It appeared to be a nearly continuous double line of deployed battalions, with other battalions en masse as reserves. Their line being formed not parallel, but obliquely to ours, their left became first engaged with the troops on the northern prolongation of Seminary Ridge. The battalions engaged soon took a position parallel to those opposed to them, thus causing a break in their lines, and exposing the flank of those engaged to the fire of my two regiments on the Chambersburg road. Though at the longest range of our pieces, we poured a most destructive fire upon their flanks, and with the fire upon their front scattered them over the field. A heavy force was then formed parallel to the Chambersburg pike and pressed forward to the attack of my position. Anticipating this, I had sent Colonel Dwight, with the 149th, forward to occupy a deep railroad cut about one hundred yards from the pike". Captain Bassler, of Company C, 149th Pennsylvania, says of Dwight's movement, "The order now came for our regiment 124 ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTIETH to advance to the railroad cut, but Colonel Dwight, unfortunately, took us across the cut into a very unfavorable position. On the right of the regiment, where the colonel was, the cut was comparatively shallow, but in the rear of the left and centre it was deep, and the banks, which were of aluminous shale, were steep and difficult to climb. "We were presently attacked by a strong line of the enemy (Daniels's North Carolina brigade of Rodes's division), and, after firing a few rounds, the colonel, now fully realizing the danger of our position, gave the command, 'Retreat!' Companies A and F got through the cut easily enough, but the farther to the left the deeper the cut. Some lost their hold when near the top and slid back again; some were shot while climbing up; some ran to the right to get out, and numbers on the left never got out, except as prisoners, for the enemy was upon them before they could clear the cut. "The consequence of all this was that the regiment got back to the pike in a very scattering order." Colonel Wister, observing the movement of the 149th and the approach of Daniels's brigade, ordered the 150th to change front forward, to bring it into line with the other two regiments on the pike. This was effected quickly and with precision, and the regiment by an active fire assisted in checking the enemy's advance at the railroad cut. About this hour (between half-past one and two P.M.) Colonel Stone, who had ably directed the operations of his brigade, exposing himself fearlessly at all times, went forward a short distance to reconnoitre, when he received severe wounds in the hip and arm, which entirely disabled him. Colonel Wister succeeded him in the command, and Lieutenant-Colonel Huidekoper assumed charge of the regiment. A converging fire from the rebel batteries west, northwest and north now made the position of the 150th most uncomfortable. The projectiles from the enfilading guns to the west, PENNSYLVANIA VOLUNTEERS 125 near the Chambersburg road, were at times plainly visible in the air, but most of them struck the ground and ricocheted without exploding. A marvelous escape from serious injury was that of Sergeant-Major Lyon, whose chest was grazed by a shell which tore away his clothing, discoloring the skin and causing intense pain, but without lacerating the flesh in the slightest. Sergeant Edward K. Hess, of Company F, who had been severely wounded in the arm, narrowly missed death while going to the rear, being struck in the back by a bullet which penetrated thirty-five thicknesses of his gum blanket and shelter-tent (carried in a roll over his shoulder) before reaching his body. Others were severely wounded, whose names are not recalled. The fire of these batteries was much more accurate when some Union pieces went into service at the edge of the wood, near the right of the Iron Brigade, and ventured a response. Immediately the concentrated play of the enemy's guns necessitated a "shift", and after several changes of position in quick succession, the ground was abandoned as untenable. Daniels's brigade of North Carolinians, though twice driven from the immediate vicinity of the railroad cut, was persistent in returning to that line, and his sharpshooters, from the convenient shelter of the excavation, kept up a rapid and effective fire. The colors of the 149th, which still remained planted in the wheat-field in front of the right of the 150th, proved an irresistible attraction to the enterprising enemy. Suddenly a battalion, which had crossed the railroad bed beyond the deep cut without being discovered, appeared among the wheat with the evident intention of capturing the colors or striking the line of the brigade in flank and doubling it up. In an instant Colonel Wister ordered a charge of the 150th, and, drawing his sword, crossed the fence, calling upon the regiment to follow. Lieutenant-Colonel Huidekoper repeated the command, and swiftly wheeled the three right companies - A. F 126 ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTIETH and D - to the left until they were within pistol-shot of the rebel line, which, after delivering a destructive fire, gave way and fled in confusion. Two or three volleys were poured into the retreating foe, after which Lieutenant-Colonel Huidekoper drew back the right companies to their former position. In this brief but successful encounter the companies named lost heavily, especially Company F, which numbered Private Northrup killed; Privates Charles F. Gibson, John Boyer and George W. Young mortally wounded; and Sergeant John C. Kensill, Corporals George W. Bates and F. M. James, and Privates John K. Himes and John S. Weber, all more or less seriously wounded. The severest loss sustained by the regiment in this charge was in the death of Lieutenant Charles P. Keyser, of Company B. temporarily serving with Company F. He was a young officer of great promise, who, by his manly bearing and general efficiency, had attracted the favorable notice of the field and staff, and by his many admirable qualities had endeared himself to the entire command. Among others who were severely wounded on this occasion was Captain Dougal, of Company D, an officer held in the highest esteem by his superiors, and whose services could not easily be dispensed with. Adjutant Ashhurst relates that after conveying the order to charge to Lieutenant-Colonel Huidekoper, he himself joined in the movement, between D and F Companies, immediately alongside of Dougal, who was wounded as he was turning around to draw his pistol, being near enough to the rebel line to use it with effect. Of this movement Lieutenant-Colonel Huidekoper, in his official report of the battle, says: "Almost immediately, by order of Colonel Wister, a change of front forward on first company was made with regularity and promptness, and in that new position, protected by a fence, our men awaited the charge of a rebel regiment which was attempting to flank the 143d and 149th Regiments, which had gallantly PENNSYLVANIA VOLUNTEERS 127 repulsed an attack in their front. At the distance of fifty yards a volley was poured into the rebels, which staggered them so completely that a second one was fired before an attempt was made to advance or retreat. At this juncture Colonel Wister ordered the regiment to charge and led it in person. The rebels were utterly routed. The 150th then fell back to the position from which it had advanced". The centre and left wing of the 150th, being well down the slope of the hill towards Willoughby Run, did not hear the order to charge, and were at the time busily engaged in breaking up a force which had gathered in the corner of a field beyond the railroad bed, and, partially concealed by a fringe of bushes along the fence line, was obviously meditating a crossing, thus seriously menacing the left flank of the brigade. This body of men was completely scattered. As the enemy continued in force beyond the railroad cut, north of the McPherson buildings, and his skirmishers maintained an annoying fire from that stronghold, Colonel Wister's next care was to order a charge of the 149th, which was led by Colonel Dwight, and resulted in driving Daniels's men well back from that line. After superintending this movement, and while returning to his position near the barn, Colonel Wister was shot through the mouth and face, and, although not actually disabled, found himself incapacitated from giving further commands by the excessive flow of blood, and reluctantly yielded the active direction of the brigade to Colonel Dana, of the 143d. Between half-past two and three o'clock the rebel batteries began to increase the rapidity of their fire. A glance to the west showed the troops of Heth's and Pender's divisions in motion, descending rapidly towards Willoughby Run, regiment upon regiment en echelon, followed by supporting columns extending southward from the Chambersburg road as far as the eye could reach. A change of front on the part of the 150th, to meet this new and apparently overwhelming 128 ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTIETH danger, became at once imperative. With no undue excitement, and in thoroughly good order, the regiment wheeled back to its original position, facing the west, leaving, however, a large gap between the left flank and the woods, which it was impossible to 'fill. The movement occupied but a minute or two, but, under a searching fire from the old assailants north of the road, it was attended with some loss. Among those who were singled out by the enemy's bullets was Major Chamberlin, who fell, dangerously wounded, some distance in front of the new line, and was brought back by volunteers from several companies, at great risk to their own lives and limbs. One of those who assisted in this trying office was disabled by a ball before the line was reached. The major was carried to the McPherson House. The 149th and 143d continued to face north. For some reason the strong force approaching from the west moderated its movement, as if awaiting developments on other portions of the field, and by the time it came within musket reach the 150th was well established in its new position. By the advance of Heth's troops, Captain Jones was forced back from the skirmish line and borne considerably to the left, into the woods, where his company fought for a time as an independent command, but eventually joined the ranks of the Iron Brigade. Suddenly - as if elsewhere something decisive, for which they had been waiting, had occurred-a large portion of Heth's command marched obliquely to the right and was soon hidden from view by the woods. The withdrawal of this force from its front gave the 150th a moment to breathe and listen to the sounds of conflict farther southward, where Biddle's brigade had been posted in the fields, slightly to the left and many rods to the rear of the prolongation of the line of the Iron Brigade. The attack on Biddle necessitated a readjustment of the line on his right, and Meredith withdrew from his advanced position in the woods to one CAPTAIN HORATIO BELL. [portraits] Company G. (Killed at Wilderness, May 6, 1864.) FIRST LIEUTENANT HENRY CHANCELLOR. Company B. (Mortally wounded at Gettysburg, July 1, 1863.) SECOND LIEUTENANT CHAS. P. KEYSER. Company A. (Killed at Gettysburg, July 1, 1863.) SECOND LIEUTENANT ELIAS B. WEIDENSAUL. Company D. (Killed at Gettysburg, July 1, 1863.) PENNSYLVANIA VOLUNTEERS 129 much less advantageous about two hundred yards farther back. By this change, of which the 150th was not immediately cognizant, the gap between its left flank and the Iron Brigade was greatly widened and its exposure correspondingly increased. The lull in the fighting in the neighborhood of the McPherson buildings was very brief. The rebel batteries soon reopened and played with an accelerated fire for some minutes, when Brockenbrough's brigade from the west, and Davis's and Daniels's brigades from the northwest and north, pushed in towards the barn and renewed the contest. The afternoon had worn on to about a quarter of three o'clock. The enemy drew closer and closer, firing and loading as he advanced, but was met by a resistance which time and again staggered him, though it could not shake him off. Greatly superior in numbers, he kept urging the attack, only to find the defence as stubborn as his own advance. If for a moment the line of the 150th bent backward a few steps, it promptly moved forward again at the word of command, forcing the enemy to recoil in turn. At last, by sheer weight, the thinned ranks of the regiment were pushed some rods to the rear, but without. panic. To encourage his command, Lieutenant-Colonel Huidekoper instructed the color-bearer Sergeant Peiffer, of Company I, a man of large stature and boundless courage-to move forward with the colors. This he did without hesitation, in the face of a galling fire, and the line moved automatically with him. A storm of lead constantly sought the flag, and the color-guard especially bore witness to the accuracy of the rebel aim. Corporal Roe Reisinger, of Company H, was disabled by three balls; Corporal Joseph J. Gutelius, of D, received a death-wound; and Corporals Samuel Barnes and Rodney Conner, of A and C respectively, were seriously injured. Sergeant Peiffer fell, bleeding from a mortal shot, while proudly flaunting the colors in the face of the foe. This is undoubtedly the incident which drew 130 ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTIETH from General A. P. Hill, who was approaching on the Chambersburg road, the expression of regret at the death of so brave a man, as detailed by an English officer in an article published soon after in Blackwood's Magazine. From the conformation of the ground and the situation of the McPherson buildings, no other Union color-bearer could well have been visible to General Hill at the time. A moment after the fall of Sergeant Peiffer, Lieutenant-Colonel Huidekoper, who had previously been struck in the leg by a ball which cut to the bone, felt his right arm shattered by another missile, and was forced to visit the barn to obtain aid in bandaging his wounds. A little later Adjutant Ashhurst was shot through the shoulder, and simultaneously a spent ball struck him on the shin, but failed to penetrate the heavy riding-boot which he wore at the time. The concussion, however, produced the liveliest pain, and lamed him for some days. Almost at the same moment a third ball broke the scabbard of his sword, showing the hotness of the rebel fire. He bravely kept the field in spite of these injuries, and rendered important service in the subsequent retreat. Lieutenant Chancellor, of Company B, was shot through the thigh a few moments after the adjutant was wounded, sustaining a painful fracture, from the effects of which he died on the 7th of August. He had hardly passed the limits of boyhood, but in intelligence, courtesy, courage and all the traits which constitute a useful and efficient officer, he had few superiors. In the same fierce encounter Captain Sigler, of Company I, was slightly wounded in the leg, but continued at his post; Lieutenant Perkins, commanding Company C, received a ball in the thigh; and Lieutenant Sears, of Company F, was injured in the hand, but clung to the front with a spirit which deserves commendation. PENNSYLVANIA VOLUNTEERS 131 Lieutenant-Colonel Huidekoper, as soon as his broken arm could be hurriedly cared for, returned to the line, which continued to be maintained in the face of discouraging odds; but pain and faintness from shock and loss of blood presently compelled him to retire. In his official report of the day's work, a part of which has already been quoted, Lieutenant-Colonel Huidekoper, after mentioning the change of front to meet the attack from the west, says: "Four companies again changed front to resist the flank attack (from the north), while the remainder of the regiment fought one entire brigade, which was prevented from advancing by a high fence. The severe loss attending fighting at such odds soon compelled our men to give way; but a battery coming up on our left, another stand was necessary, and again was the regiment moved forward until the battery had wheeled around and moved to the rear. At this moment (weakness from) a wound compelled me to relinquish the command to Captain Widdis, Major Chamberlin having been severely wounded some time before". The battery referred to seems to have been two sections of Battery L, First New York Light Artillery, commanded by Lieutenant George Breck, - Captain Reynolds having been disabled at an earlier hour by the enemy's fire. Lieutenant Breck states in his official report: "After an engagement of nearly an hour's duration in the last named position (500 yards in rear of his first position), I moved my battery to the crest of a hill to the left and front, and fired about six rounds at the lines of the enemy, which were very steadily extended around our left". Before quitting the firing line, Lieutenant-Colonel Huidekoper sent word to the commander of the battery that the enemy was in the woods directly opposite the 150th, and that a moment's delay in moving to the rear would result in the capture of the guns. 132 ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTIETH Nearly one-half of the original force of the regiment had now been killed or wounded, and scarcely an officer was left unharmed. The enemy was pressing in on all sides, even from the woods on the left, and the little brigade, already beginning to feel the effects of a cross-fire, was in imminent danger of capture. At last, between half-past three and four o'clock, Lieutenant Dalgliesh, of the brigade staff, brought the order to withdraw; but as the regiment was fighting in two directions, with its line broken by the McPherson farm buildings, and the enemy at close quarters, it was impossible to execute the movement as one body, or with anything like regularity. Captain Widdis, as ranking line-officer, - to whom Lieutenant-Colonel Huidekoper had entrusted the command when forced by his wounds to leave the front, - should have conducted the retreat; but in the face of the difficulties already outlined no military genius, perhaps, could have availed to bring the divided wings together and maintain a solid formation in retiring. Probably because his services were needed in that quarter, Captain Widdis seems to have been in the neighborhood of the barn when the retreat was ordered, and to have fallen back with a portion of those engaged at that point. Adjutant Ashhurst, to whom the men naturally looked for leadership in the absence of field- and the scarcity of line-officers, quickly grasping the situation, and, ignoring his painful wound, succeeded in holding together remnants of several companies, which fell back through the open ground towards the seminary, fighting as they went. Captain Sigler, also wounded, but less severely, assisted in the movement, and was ably seconded by Sergeant George Bell, of Company H, who had just been commissioned as second lieutenant, but had not yet been mustered. He well justified his promotion by his conduct that day. At the very outset of the retreat, Private Isaac R. Martindell, of Company A, had his left arm shattered by a minie-ball, necessitating amputation. CAPTAIN GEORGE BELL. [portraits] Company H. CAPTAIN JOHN H. HARTER. Company D. LIEUTENANT-COLONEL C. C. WIDDIS. CAPTAIN ALFRED J. RORER. Company B. CAPTAIN JOHN Q. CARPENTER. Company E. CAPTAIN BENJ. W. TOPPING. Company H. PENNSYLVANIA VOLUNTEERS 133 Companies A, F and D were mostly engaged in the vicinity of the barn, struggling in conjunction with the 149th against the increasing pressure from the northwest and north. Colonel Wister, although prevented by the lacerated and swollen condition of his mouth and face from again taking active command, had remained on the field, doing what he could by his presence and example to animate the men; and, recognizing the difficulty of withdrawing this portion of the line, he undertook the dangerous task in person. In his effort to bring away not only the fighting men, but the numerous stragglers from different regiments who had on one pretext or another sought shelter in the barn, he delayed his own departure a moment too long, and found himself temporarily a prisoner. A considerable number of the 150th and 149th, much intermingled in the final struggle, retired under the guidance of Lieutenant-Colonel Dwight in a direction nearly parallel to the Chambersburg road. Others were headed off near the barn or house by the rapid closing in of the rebel lines on both sides, and captured. Captain Jones and his company, as already stated, had joined forces with the Iron Brigade, whose line ran north and south near the spot where Reynolds fell. Sergeant McGinley, of Company E, with a handful of men, retreating in that direction, threw in his lot with the same command. The united groups of the 149th and 150th took advantage of every favorable spot to make a defensive stand, and gave and received severe punishment. At one point where a halt was made to support some guns which had not yet been retired, a number of 150th men were killed or wounded, among the former First Sergeant Weidensaul, of Company D, whose commission as second lieutenant had arrived only the previous day. Adjutant Ashhurst, seeing him bend over and press his hands to his body, as if in pain, called to him, "Are you wounded?" "No", he replied, "killed!" and, half turning, fell 134 ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTIETH dead. He was a brave soldier, in whom the military instinct had been strong from his early youth. Concerning the withdrawal from the McPherson place, Adjutant Ashhurst says, "When Lieutenant Dalgliesh brought us the order to retreat, I do not remember seeing any officer higher in rank than myself on the line. I suppose Captain Sigler must have been there, as I saw him later near the seminary. He was probably at the extreme left and I at the right of the regiment. I gave the order to fall back. Bell, just promoted as lieutenant in Company 14, protested to me against the retreat, saying, 'Adjutant, it is all damned cowardice; we have beaten them and will keep on beating them back!' At this time we could see the Iron Brigade on our left falling back by echelon of alternate battalions. I remember with me, at this moment, Lieutenant Sears, of F; Bell, of H; and Weidensaul, of D. When we reached the seminary we found a battery* to its right in an orchard or grove. As we came up the officers of the battery ran out to us and begged us to make a stand and save the guns. I hardly thought it possible, but Colonel Dwight, who was with me, joined me in an appeal to the 149th and 150th for one last effort, and they gallantly responded . We kept the enemy at bay until, after a few more volleys, the guns were limbered up and moved off. We did not leave our position until the officers of the battery told Dwight and myself it was safe, and they would not ask us to remain longer. I remember with me at this time Captain Sigler, Lieutenant Sears and Lieutenant Bell". The battery referred to by Adjutant Ashhurst was one of several which Colonel Wainwright, chief of artillery of the First Corps, had put in position near the seminary, when it became evident that the advanced line was being sorely pressed and must soon fall back. Here the retiring regiments-most _____ *In all probability Lieutenant Wilbur's section of Battery L, First New York Light Artillery PENNSYLVANIA VOLUNTEERS 135 of them in a more or less disorganized state - made a final stand behind hastily improvised breastworks of rails. This line, which was the last to be seriously defended, was attacked by the converging forces of the enemy about four o'clock. For some time their advance was disputed with success, and the artillery especially, at short range, did good execution. But both flanks of the defence were "in the air", and against the overwhelming odds a long-continued resistance would have been suicidal, exposing the thinned battalions to destruction or capture. Besides, the two divisions of the Eleventh Corps which had battled ineffectually against Ewell's heavier columns north of the town, were already in retreat, rendering Double-day's situation still more precarious. The latter accordingly ordered a withdrawal to Cemetery Hill. Already the artillery had lingered too long, and in getting away was exposed to the fire of the enemy's sharpshooters. The remnants of the 149th and 150th came in very opportunely on the northerly side of the field, which still remained comparatively open, to assist a New York battery out of its trouble. Of the infantry, the southern portion of the line, moving by the lower branch of the Hagerstown road, which forks near the seminary, was comparatively undisturbed and reached the town in fair order;but the portions of regiments constituting the northerly end of the line naturally sought escape in the direction of the Chambersburg pike and the railroad embankment, where their chances of success were diminished by the swift approach of swarms of rebel skirmishers, supported by well-ordered lines of infantry. Under such conditions it was impossible to maintain a proper formation or make a serious show of resistance. The larger portion reached the town in safety, but a few officers and a considerable number of men of Stone's and other brigades were cut off before reaching the shelter of the houses, and made prisoners. Captain Gimber, of Company F, unwisely undertook to cross the garden of the seminary, but before he could clear the 136 ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTIETH second fence, was brought to a stand-still by menacing bayonets. Even those who found themselves in the closely built streets of the town were not beyond danger, as some of these were already occupied by Ewell's troops, who had followed up the retreat of the Eleventh Corps with great celerity, and kept firing at the fugitives wherever seen. Captain Widdis and Lieutenants Carpenter and Chatburn were taken in or near the town. Many hair-breadth escapes were made by leaping fences, traversing gardens, or passing through shops and dwellings, in order to reach streets to which the pursuit had not yet penetrated. Of this final stage of the retreat Adjutant Ashhurst says, "By the long pause near the seminary so much time had been lost that the enemy was pouring in on both sides of us, and it was impossible longer to keep much order, particularly as we found ourselves mingled with a crowd of fugitives from another direction. Many of the men, to get out of the fire of some batteries playing from the north upon us, went too far over to gain the shelter of the railway embankment, and were thus captured. When I reached the houses the enemy was so close upon us that I found it my only chance of escape to climb over fences and cross private grounds, so as to get into another street. Here I found the Second Division retreating up the street, and was fortunate enough to get into an ambulance, which was the last representative of our troops coming from that direction. From the back of the ambulance we could see the rebel skirmishers coming down the street towards us, firing upon us as they came. One wounded man was killed in the ambulance while I was in it. There was an officer bringing up the retreat, and the ambulance driver kept just behind him, so as to screen him from fire by interposing the white cover of the vehicle. The ambulance drove up within the line on Cemetery Ridge, where I found Colonel Dana in command of the remnants of our force, reported to him, and by his direction went to an SERGEANT WILLIAM ADAMS. [portraits] Company H. MUSICIAN DANEY STRICKLAND. Company G. WILLIAM T. STRICKLAND. Company G. ORREN B. EDGETT. Company I. TRUMAN H. TRYON. Company I. ROBERT J. EDMONDS. Company I. PENNSYLVANIA VOLUNTEERS 137 provised field hospital, where my wound was dressed, after which I obtained his permission to go to the rear". Captain Jones, who, by following the more southerly route, where the Hagerstown road forks, had been able to keep his company in column, relates that in hurrying through the town he received a peremptory order to halt from a rebel field-officer riding at the head of a regiment which was rapidly approaching on an intersecting street, when Private Terence O'Connor, of his company, by a well-aimed shot, brought the officer to the ground, O'Connor coolly remarking, "We take no orders from the likes of you!" In this too long deferred movement from the seminary to Cemetery Hill, which for a part of the line necessarily partook more of the nature of a scramble for safety than a retreat, one of the standards of the 150th was lost. This was naturally a source of deep regret to the regiment, which however, could not reproach itself with any neglect of its colors or lack of courage in their defence, having maintained its position for hours in the face of superior numbers, losing nearly one-half of its original force in killed or wounded. Moreover, scarcely a commissioned officer was left unhurt, and at the time of the final retreat from the vicinity of the seminary many of the streets of the town were already invaded by the enemy, making the escape of any considerable portion of the command extremely problematical. In letters written at St. Joseph, Missouri, dated August 1x and 30, 1889, Corporal Rodney Conner, of Company C, who was one of the color-guard, states that when Sergeant Peiffer was killed, Corporal Samuel P. Gilmore, of Company C, first took the colors, but that he himself, although suffering from a minie-ball in his side, relieved him of them, and carried them through the rest of the fight. In the letter of August 11, he says, "As we were going through the town, and just when I was opposite the stone-yard (Flaharty's, at the northeast corner 138 ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTIETH of Washington and High Streets), a column of the rebels came charging down a cross-street and cut off about a hundred men with me. A rebel captain seized the colors from my hand, and the next minute he went down. Another officer went to him, and he gave him the colors and told him to present them to President Davis, with his compliments". In the letter of August 30, after repeating substantially the foregoing statement, he adds, "I have always felt so humiliated at having the colors taken from me that I have tried to forget it". There is no reason to doubt the correctness of Corporal Conner's story. It is confirmed by George Hopkins, of Company F, who says: "I saw Conner and the flag in the town, on the same street I was on"; also by the statement of George P. Ryan, of Company C, which reads: "Our color-bearer, the courageous Sergeant Peiffer, of Company I, carried the colors in front of the regiment until nearly all of those around him were struck down by bullets and shells. The color-guards were all wounded, one of them killed. Sergeant Peiffer remained almost alone at that place. At last orders were received to fall back from our advanced position at the McPherson farm. Comrade Samuel P. Gilmore, of Company C, was near the colors, and had gone only a short distance when he saw Sergeant Peiffer fall. Comrade Gilmore ran to him, but he was dead, shot through the head. Gilmore took the colors out of the dead sergeant's hands and carried them back towards the town. While en route he met Lieutenant Dalgliesh, of the brigade staff, and reporting the death of Sergeant Peiffer, asked what he should do with the colors. The lieutenant told him to carry them. Near the town of Gettysburg he overtook Corporal Rodney Conner, of Company C, who had been wounded early in the day. Conner was one of the color-guards and demanded possession of the colors. For a time FIRST SERGEANT W. F. HARPST. [portraits] Company C. SERGEANT CHARLES A. FREY. Company D. FRANK H. ELVIDGE. Company A. GEORGE P. RYAN. Company C. JACOB FILLMAN. Company D. JACOB NEES. Company D. PENNSYLVANIA VOLUNTEERS 139 Gilmore refused to give them up, but finally did so under protest. Later on Conner was captured, also our colors". This stand of colors was duly transmitted by Governor Vance, of North Carolina, to the President of the Confederacy, accompanied by a letter in which the governor stated that it had been "captured from a Pennsylvania regiment, which Lieutenant (the name is no longer recalled) had put to flight with a handful of sharpshooters!" It was found with Jefferson Davis's baggage, when he was made a prisoner in 1865, and was held by the Secretary of War until October 25, 1869, when it was forwarded to the Adjutant-General of Pennsylvania, and is now preserved, with other similar relics of the war, in the capitol at Harrisburg. By five o'clock the troops of the First Corps were in position on Cemetery Hill, to the left and a little to the rear of Steinwehr's division. Of the 150th, eighty-six were present, including Captain Jones and Lieutenant Kilgore, the only remaining commissioned officers. In this number was Edward B. Fowler, of Company F, who had been wounded in the ankle by a buckshot during the day, but remained on the fighting line and took part with the regiment in its further operations in the great battle. He returned with his company to Virginia. William A. Garrett, of the same company,-a boy of seventeen-was also one of the eighty-six. He had been wounded in the left wrist and right hip, while fighting with the regiment near the McPherson barn, but when the new line was formed on Cemetery Hill, he came limping up, and in spite of the protests of his comrades, took his place with the remark: "I guess I'm good for another round with them yet". On the following morning he was so weak from loss of blood that he was compelled to go to the rear. He was mortally wounded at Laurel Hill, May 10th, 1864. 140 ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTIETH The 149th was reduced in about the same proportion as the 150th, having fought side by side with the latter on the same unequal terms. In the many published accounts of the battle, scanty justice has been accorded to General Doubleday for the part he took in the engagement of the first day. Coming upon the field without knowledge of what had already taken place, upon him, by the death of the lamented Reynolds, suddenly devolved the assignment and direction of the troops; and but for his prompt and able dispositions, and the magnificent stand made by every portion of his line, retarding the enemy's advance until the afternoon was nearly spent, Cemetery Ridge might not have been the scene of the Union defence on the following days, and Gettysburg might not have witnessed the victory which proved to be the turning-point of the war. Brevet-Major R. L. Ashhurst, late adjutant of the 150th, has made a critical study of the battle, examining and comparing the official reports of both sides most painstakingly; and a paper read by him February 10th, 1896, before the Pennsylvania Commandery of the Loyal Legion, shows conclusively that the First Corps, in the first day's fight, for seven hours successfully resisted the attacks of more than twice its number of the best troops of the Army of Northern Virginia; that the final retreat of the corps did not take place until nearly five o'clock P.M.; and that at the close of the day's struggle the larger portion of the forces of Hill and Ewell had been so severely punished, and were in such a state of disorganization and exhaustion, that a successful attack upon Cemetery Hill, the same evening, was out of the question. By permission, the following extracts are made from Major Ashhurst's pamphlet:- "As shown by the Confederate official reports, the higher officers of the Southern army were quite ignorant of what a relatively small force had held them at bay so long. Thus PENNSYLVANIA VOLUNTEERS 141 General Lee in his official report of the battle, after mentioning the repulse in the early morning of two brigades of Heth, by, as he reported, largely superior numbers, says that General Heth in his attack, with General Pender's support, 'pressed the enemy steadily back, breaking his first and second lines, and attacking his third with great resolution. About 2.30 P.M. the advance of Ewell's corps, consisting of Rodes's division, arrived, and, forming on Heth's left, nearly at right angles with his line, became warmly engaged with fresh numbers of the enemy.' Knowing, as we do, that so far from our having three lines to encounter Heth and Pender, we had but one thin line, consisting for part of the time of four and afterwards of but three, brigades, viz., Meredith's, Stone's and Rowley's, Cutler's having been transferred to the right of our line to meet a part of Rodes's advance, we cannot but be amazed at General Lee having been so extraordinarily misinformed. So far from there being three lines on the left of the First Corps fronting westward, the numbers of our forces were inadequate to establish a continuous line and some gaps had to be left in the formation, and the brigade on our extreme left, Rowley's (afterwards Biddle's), could not be extended far enough southward for safety, so that it was ultimately unavoidably outflanked by Perrin's brigade of Pender's division, which was the immediate cause of our being compelled to fall back through the town. The forces which Rodes encountered were in large part not fresh troops, but Cutler's and Stone's brigades, who had already sustained and repulsed Heth's vehement attacks. "General Hill's report makes no mention of the supposed three lines of the Union forces, and General Lee must probably have derived the idea from General Heth's report, which states: 'After breaking through the first and second lines of the enemy, and several of the regiments being out of ammunition, General Perrin's division relieved my own and 142 ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTIETH continued the pursuit beyond the town of Gettysburg.' As is now, however, clearly shown by the diagrams of the Commission, Heth's division never broke through our first and only line, but his repeated assaults had been steadily repulsed by the few brigades holding the line up to McPherson's barn. As a matter of fact, Archer's and Davis's brigades were so roughly handled in the earlier part of the day as to be of little subsequent availability. Archer and a large part of his brigade had been captured by General Doubleday's brilliant manoeuvre, and as to Davis's brigade, General Heth admits,;from its shattered condition it was not deemed advisable to bring it again into action on that day'. "Pettigrew and Brockenbrough, notwithstanding General Heth's repeated statement that Pettigrew 'broke through his first, second and third lines', and that Brockenbrough after being 'held in check for a short time finally succeeded in driving the enemy in confusion before him', both failed to make any permanent lodgment in our position, and when Pen-der came up their condition was as described by General Perrin in his official report - 'They found the men of Pettigrew's brigade much exhausted and passed them', while General Scales mentions that he found Heth's men (probably Brockenbrough's brigade) halted and lying down, and that their officers told him they were out of ammunition and would not advance further. Scales therefore passed them and went on to the attack, in which, as he afterwards relates, 'his line was broken up, only a squad here and there marking where regiments had rested.' The condition of Heth's division some two days later was such that Colonel Venable, of Lee's staff, says that it was a mistake to put it in the assaulting column. "'They were terribly mistaken about Heth's division in this planning. It had not recuperated, having suffered more PENNSYLVANIA VOLUNTEERS 143 than was reported on the first day'. (Longstreet's History, page 398.) "It would thus seem as if General Heth and his immediate subordinates were responsible for this misinformation as to the supposed three lines of Union troops opposed to Hill's advance, the alleged defeat of the first two lines, who were evidently nothing but skirmishers, being set up to minimize the disaster his division had met with at the hands of a force considerably smaller than his own. * * * * * "The natural advantages of the ground would not have enabled the First Corps to maintain its position against such odds had it not been for the skill and boldness with which the command was handled after Reynolds's death by Doubleday and his division and brigade commanders. It was a splendid example of the offensive defensive, where an army holds a position by alternating its defense with bold offensive dashes upon the attacking enemy. To illustrate this view I need but refer to the brilliant defeat of Archer by Wadsworth and Meredith in the early morning; the complete overthrow of Davis by Cutler a little later; the discomfiture of Daniels by Stone and Wister in the afternoon. But perhaps no instance is so brilliant as the overwhelming defeat inflicted on Iverson's and O'Neal's brigades in the engagement with Cutler and Paul about half-past two in the afternoon. As described by General Cutler and Colonel Coulter in their official reports, this success was accomplished by repeated changes of front and charges of great gallantry, which, as our original positions were in a measure screened by woods, naturally led the enemy to believe our forces were much larger than they were in reality. Cutler describes this incident as follows: 'A column of the enemy moved on the Second Division. I at once pushed my brigade through the woods, came in on their flank, and opened so hot a fire on them that one regiment threw down their arms and surrendered. By this time the enemy was so close on my 144 ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTIETH left flank that I again changed front and came into line on Robinson's left'. Colonel Coulter describes a series of changes of front by Paul's brigade, and a sally, as he calls it, by the 97th New York and 11 th Pennsylvania, capturing five hundred men. Another brilliant charge is described by General Baxter, (Page 307). Iverson's brigade was almost destroyed as a combative force in this engagement, and O'Neal's fared little better. General Ewell in his account of this engagement says that of three regiments of Iverson's brigade the greater part fell where they stood in line of battle. General Rodes comments upon the rashness of the advance of our troops from the woods to attack him, but admits the brilliant success of the movement, for which result he blames Iverson and McNeal, (Pages 553 and 554). He says, 'Iverson's left being thus exposed, heavy loss was inflicted on his brigade. His men fought and died like heroes. His dead lay in a distinctly marked line of battle. His left was overpowered, and many of his men, being surrounded, were captured'. (See also Iverson's and McNeal's reports pages 579 and 591). General Rodes noticed, as shown in his official report, some of these changes of front, by which judicious dispositions our comparatively small force was enabled for the time to produce the effect of much greater numbers, and to repulse alternately the attacks made more or less disconnectedly upon them. "General Daniels, in his account of the movement of the right of his brigade to endeavor to outflank the position of the left of Stone's brigade at McPherson's barn, mentions that he found 'that the railroad cut so often mentioned could not be carried except by moving a force across the cut to support the line advancing on the left of the cut, which could only be crossed by moving a regiment by the flank in rear and on the right of my position, and in front of some troops of Hill's corps who were lying down in line of battle, to whom I sent an officer with a request that they should act in con- SERGEANT CHARLES P. HAUPT. [portraits] Company A. SERGEANT HENRY LAUT. Company A. SERGEANT HENRY C. BOYD. Company A. CORPORAL JOHN HAUSMAN. Company A. CORPORAL ALBERT KOOKER. Company A. CORPORAL FRANK W. CLARK. Company A. PENNSYLVANIA VOLUNTEERS 145 junction with me in my advance, which request they, for some cause, failed to comply with'. This force was a portion of Heth's division, perhaps Davis's brigade, who had been thoroughly fought out. The regiment of Daniels who made this attack probably was Brabble's 32d North Carolina, who were repulsed as above mentioned. Thus through the long hours of the morning and afternoon the thinned but unbroken lines of the First Corps repulsed every assault on their position, and from time to time assumed the offensive, inflicting upon the enemy losses which their brigade and regimental commanders considered unexampled. I have already given you several instances from the official reports of the rebel commanders - let me read you a few lines from a letter from Captain Gray, quartermaster of the 26th North Carolina, to Governor Vance, which has found its way into the official records: 'Dear Governor, I will trespass a few minutes on your indulgence to communicate the sad fate that has befallen the old regiment'. Referring to the first day's fight he says: 'We went in with over eight hundred men in the regiment. There came out but two hundred and sixteen, all told, unhurt. Eleven men were shot down the first day with the colors'. This regiment was in Pettigrew's brigade of Heth's division, and the letter is especially valuable from its simple candor in the unvarnished relation of facts. "But the unequal conflict could not last forever. Perrin, of Pender's division, outflanked and drove back Biddle's brigade on our extreme left. The two divisions of the Eleventh Corps having been defeated by Early, his troops came in to the assistance of Doles's brigade, which had already outflanked Baxter on our right. Our position being thus turned at both extremities, although the centre at McPherson's farm and by the railroad cutting held fast, there was no alternative but retreat, and about four o'clock in the afternoon (not earlier) General Doubleday gave the order for the First and Third Divi- 148 ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTIETH necessarily disordered probably to encounter fresh troops of the enemy'? * * * * * "Besides the important results of saving and securing the position on Cemetery Hill and giving the army by their prolonged resistance time for concentration, the portion of our army engaged on the first day practically disabled or disorganized so large a part of the enemy's force that they were most seriously crippled in their attacks on the succeeding days. "The soldiers of the First Corps, therefore, who stood unrelieved through that long day against continuous and repeated assaults, and were not recalled until so late that they seemed to have been forgotten, and until their position was turned on both flanks, can feel that their sacrifice was not in vain, and that although technically defeated, their prolonged resistance and cruel loss was a most important factor in bringing about the glorious results of the battle as a whole". AT THE MCPHERSON FARM, GETTYSBURG, ON THE CHAMBERSBURG PIKE The 150th Pennsylvania Volunteers at 4 P.M., July 1st, 1863, resisting the combined attack of Scales's brigade (Hill's Corps), from the west, and Daniel's brigade (Ewell's Corps), from the north.