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Gettysburg -- The First Day
By James Emery Vigh of profbruno.com
As dawn breaks on the morning of July 1st, 1863, Union pickets from one of John Buford's cavalry brigades spot the Confederate picket line moving out of the mist towards Gettysburg to the east. They fire a few shots and then retreat back to their lines. Thus starts the greatest battle of the Civil War, and the greatest battle ever fought on American soil. Buford has dismounted his cavalry. He has also outfitted them with repeating rifles giving them a much faster rate of fire. His men are deployed on a ridge line to the west of a Lutheran Seminary on the north end of Seminary Ridge just west of Gettysburg. He also has a screen of troopers to the north where he is expecting to be attacked by a large Confederate force under Richard Ewell a bit later. He also has one 6-gun battery of artillery which is deployed looking west down the main road. The first division coming down the road from Cashtown under A.P. Hill is commanded by General Henry Heath. Neither Heath, nor Hill believe the earlier reports that Union cavalry is in Gettysburg. They instead believe that they are dealing with local militia which can be easily swept aside. They don't believe that the Union army is as close as it is. So Heath attacks with only a small portion of his division -- a single brigade. Buford's men easily break up the attack. Heath now realizes that he is dealing with regular cavalry and not militia, but gets "his dander up" and decides to deploy his whole division and go after them. Miles to the west, General Robert E. Lee hears cannon fire off to the east. He is upset because he had given strict orders to all of his commanders to not force a general engagement until his whole army has been concentrated. He has been seemingly disobeyed. He rides off to investigate. In the meantime, General John Reynold's infantry corps has arrived to reinforce Buford. Now Heath not only is attacking dismounted cavalry, but infantry from the Army of the Potomac. He is beaten back again. During this action, Reynolds is killed. This causes a command crisis for the Union army. The other two divisions of A.P. Hills corps now arrive on the scene and continue to press the action. Now Ewell's corps of 3 divisions totaling around 20,000 men arrives on the scene to the north almost behind the Union forces. By this time, Lee has also arrived on the scene. But another Union corps has arrived also from the south and they are deployed to meet Ewell. Ewell's men overwhelm this new corps causing a wild, and frantic retreat of the entire Union force through the town of Gettysburg onto the hills and ridge beyond. Lee sees the Union forces scatter and wants Ewell and Hill to press the enemy and take position of the high ground beyond the town. This high ground is known as Culp's Hill, and Cemetery Hill. Hill's divisional commanders complain to Lee that they had been in a hard fight, are tired and worn out, and are in no shape to press the issue. This leaves it up to Richard Ewell to win the day. General Richard Ewell has command of Stonewall Jackson's old corps, who is dead. But he is not Stonewall Jackson. Ewell had recently lost a leg in battle and now sports a wooden one. His wound saps some of the fire from him, and he is now a very cautious man who defers to his subordinate commanders. Ewell gives Lee the same excuse that Hill's commanders gave him. He tells him that his men are just not up to it. The result is that the Union forces end up entrenched on very good ground to the east and south of Gettysburg. Reinforcements arrive hourly. Soon there are 5 union corps in position. Lee has won the first day tactically, but has strategically failed to decisively defeat the Army of the Potomac. His army will pay dearly for this over the next two days. |
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