Friday, July 3, 1863
The Twentieth Massachusetts suffered severe casualties at Gettysburg. Among the officers killed were Colonel Paul Joseph Revere, First Lieutenant Henry Ropes, and Second Lieutenant Sumner Paine. Among the officers wounded were Lieutenant Colonel George Macy and Adjutant William H. Walker. The Twentieth Massachusetts reported one-hundred twenty-two casualties, included forty killed, eighty-one wounded, and one missing. The regiment incurred the majority of the casualties during the hand-to-hand combat at the copse of trees to seal the Union line.1
References:
1George A. Bruce, The Twentieth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry 1861 - 1865 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Riverside Press, 1906), 297-98. Richard F. Miller, Harvard's Civil War: A History of the Twentieth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry (Lebanon, New Hampshire: University Press of New England, 2005), 273.
Showing posts with label Gettysburg. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gettysburg. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
Oliver's Story - Battle of Gettysburg
Friday, July 3, 1863
The Twentieth Massachusetts suffered heavy casualties at Gettysburg, particularly during the hand-to-hand combat to seal the Union line at the Angle near the copse of trees. Private Oliver Stanton Bates was most likely wounded during this hand-to-hand fighting. His service records state that he received a head wound, but no other details concerning his wounding were listed. Apparently his wounding was severe, as he did not report again for military duty until January 1864. This six-month interlude after Gettysburg was the only time during his entire military service that he did not report for duty.1
References:
1Compiled service record, Oliver S. Bates, Pvt., Co. A, 20th Massachusetts Infantry; Carded Records, Volunteer Organizations, Civil War; Records of the Adjutant General's Office, 1780s-1917, Record Group 94; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
The Twentieth Massachusetts suffered heavy casualties at Gettysburg, particularly during the hand-to-hand combat to seal the Union line at the Angle near the copse of trees. Private Oliver Stanton Bates was most likely wounded during this hand-to-hand fighting. His service records state that he received a head wound, but no other details concerning his wounding were listed. Apparently his wounding was severe, as he did not report again for military duty until January 1864. This six-month interlude after Gettysburg was the only time during his entire military service that he did not report for duty.1
References:
1Compiled service record, Oliver S. Bates, Pvt., Co. A, 20th Massachusetts Infantry; Carded Records, Volunteer Organizations, Civil War; Records of the Adjutant General's Office, 1780s-1917, Record Group 94; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
Battle of Gettysburg - Day 3
Friday, July 3, 1863
The Twentieth Massachusetts remained in their position at the center of the Union line, about 150 yards south of a copse of trees located near a stone wall. Union General George Meade advised Second Corps General John Gibbon to prepare for an attack on the center of the Union line directed squarely at the Second Corps. At 9:00 A.M. First Lieutenant Henry Ropes of Company K was tragically killed by an artillery shell that misfired from a Union battery. Lieutenant Ropes was greatly respected by officers and enlisted alike, and the Twentieth was deeply affected by his sudden loss.
At 1:00 P.M. a heavy artillery barrage commenced from the Confederate line clustered in the line of trees approximately one mile across the field from the Union line. All along the Union line the infantry regiments hugged the ground and hoped that they would not be torn to bits by Confederate artillery shells. The majority of the Confederate shells fell well behind the infantry lines and hit several Union artillery batteries.
At 3:00 P.M. a line of Confederate infantry emerged from the trees. The Confederate line stretched nearly a mile long and numbered nearly twenty-thousand men, comprised from the divisions of Generals George Pickett and James Johnston Pettigrew. As the Confederates advanced through the fields, long-range Union artillery posted securely along the Round Tops began to exact casualties among the Confederates. As the Confederate line approached the Emmitsburg Road, which bisected the fields, they took fire from the Union batteries along the center of the line. Although suffering numerous casualties the Confederates continued their advance.
The Twentieth Massachusetts remained on the ground as the Confederates continued to approach their position. They were ordered to hold their fire until the Confederates were one-hundred yards away. Confederate General James Kemper's brigade of George Pickett's division immediately faced the position of the Twentieth Massachusetts. As Kemper's brigade neared to within range of the Twentieth Massachusetts rifles the Twentieth arose from the ground and poured blistering rounds of rifle fire into Kemper's men. General George Stannard positioned two Vermont regiments at a ninety-degree angle and poured rifle fire along Kemper's flank. Union artillery behind the Twentieth Massachusetts sent several bursts into the Confederates, and Kemper's advance was repulsed.
As the Twentieth Massachusetts celebrated their successful repulse the remnants of two Confederate brigades of General George Pickett led by Generals Richard Garnett and Lewis Armistead breached gaps in the Union line along the stone wall near the copse of trees. Captain Henry Abbott was the senior ranking officer on the field for the Twentieth Massachusetts, as Colonel Paul Revere had been wounded on the previous day and Lieutenant Colonel George Macy had just been wounded by a minie ball in his left hand as the Confederates breached the line. Abbott, immediately sensing the new Confederate threat and fearing that his line would be flanked, led the Twentieth Massachusetts immediately to the right to the new conflict at the copse of trees. Severe hand-to-hand combat ensued for the next twenty minutes until the breach was sealed and the Confederate advance was repulsed. The Twentieth Massachusetts suffered the majority of their casualties during the fierce hand-to-hand combat. Among the casualties were Lieutenant Sumner Paine of Company A, who fell from artillery and rifle fire as he approached the breach in the Union line with his men. Among the wounded during the conflict was Private Oliver Stanton Bates of Company A. 1
References:
1George A. Bruce, The Twentieth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry 1861 - 1865 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Riverside Press, 1906), 284-98. Richard F. Miller, Harvard's Civil War: A History of the Twentieth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry (Lebanon, New Hampshire: University Press of New England, 2005), 262-72. Edwin R. Root and Jeffrey D. Stocker, Isn't This Glorious! The 15th, 19th, and 20th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiments at Gettysburg's Copse of Trees (Bethlehem, Pennsylvania: Moon Trail Books, 2006), 17-44.
The Twentieth Massachusetts remained in their position at the center of the Union line, about 150 yards south of a copse of trees located near a stone wall. Union General George Meade advised Second Corps General John Gibbon to prepare for an attack on the center of the Union line directed squarely at the Second Corps. At 9:00 A.M. First Lieutenant Henry Ropes of Company K was tragically killed by an artillery shell that misfired from a Union battery. Lieutenant Ropes was greatly respected by officers and enlisted alike, and the Twentieth was deeply affected by his sudden loss.
At 1:00 P.M. a heavy artillery barrage commenced from the Confederate line clustered in the line of trees approximately one mile across the field from the Union line. All along the Union line the infantry regiments hugged the ground and hoped that they would not be torn to bits by Confederate artillery shells. The majority of the Confederate shells fell well behind the infantry lines and hit several Union artillery batteries.
At 3:00 P.M. a line of Confederate infantry emerged from the trees. The Confederate line stretched nearly a mile long and numbered nearly twenty-thousand men, comprised from the divisions of Generals George Pickett and James Johnston Pettigrew. As the Confederates advanced through the fields, long-range Union artillery posted securely along the Round Tops began to exact casualties among the Confederates. As the Confederate line approached the Emmitsburg Road, which bisected the fields, they took fire from the Union batteries along the center of the line. Although suffering numerous casualties the Confederates continued their advance.
The Twentieth Massachusetts remained on the ground as the Confederates continued to approach their position. They were ordered to hold their fire until the Confederates were one-hundred yards away. Confederate General James Kemper's brigade of George Pickett's division immediately faced the position of the Twentieth Massachusetts. As Kemper's brigade neared to within range of the Twentieth Massachusetts rifles the Twentieth arose from the ground and poured blistering rounds of rifle fire into Kemper's men. General George Stannard positioned two Vermont regiments at a ninety-degree angle and poured rifle fire along Kemper's flank. Union artillery behind the Twentieth Massachusetts sent several bursts into the Confederates, and Kemper's advance was repulsed.
As the Twentieth Massachusetts celebrated their successful repulse the remnants of two Confederate brigades of General George Pickett led by Generals Richard Garnett and Lewis Armistead breached gaps in the Union line along the stone wall near the copse of trees. Captain Henry Abbott was the senior ranking officer on the field for the Twentieth Massachusetts, as Colonel Paul Revere had been wounded on the previous day and Lieutenant Colonel George Macy had just been wounded by a minie ball in his left hand as the Confederates breached the line. Abbott, immediately sensing the new Confederate threat and fearing that his line would be flanked, led the Twentieth Massachusetts immediately to the right to the new conflict at the copse of trees. Severe hand-to-hand combat ensued for the next twenty minutes until the breach was sealed and the Confederate advance was repulsed. The Twentieth Massachusetts suffered the majority of their casualties during the fierce hand-to-hand combat. Among the casualties were Lieutenant Sumner Paine of Company A, who fell from artillery and rifle fire as he approached the breach in the Union line with his men. Among the wounded during the conflict was Private Oliver Stanton Bates of Company A. 1
References:
1George A. Bruce, The Twentieth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry 1861 - 1865 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Riverside Press, 1906), 284-98. Richard F. Miller, Harvard's Civil War: A History of the Twentieth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry (Lebanon, New Hampshire: University Press of New England, 2005), 262-72. Edwin R. Root and Jeffrey D. Stocker, Isn't This Glorious! The 15th, 19th, and 20th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiments at Gettysburg's Copse of Trees (Bethlehem, Pennsylvania: Moon Trail Books, 2006), 17-44.
Monday, July 1, 2013
Battle of Gettysburg - Day 1
Wednesday, July 1, 1863
After resting one day at Uniontown the Second Corps was rushed to Taneytown, Maryland, where they heard the news of the wounding of Union General John Reynolds, commander of the First Corps, at Gettysburg. General George Meade dispatched Second Corps Commander Winfield Scott Hancock to Gettysburg and placed General John Gibbon in temporary command of the Second Corps. As the Twentieth Massachusetts approached Gettysburg they heard artillery fire and knew that a fierce battle was in progress. The Second Corps formed a close marching column and no one was allowed to fall out of rank for any reason. By nightfall the Second Corps arrived at Gettysburg, where the men learned of the events of the day. General John Reynolds had been killed just west of Gettysburg in the morning as he led the Iron Brigade of the First Corps into battle. The First and Eleventh Corps fought desperately until the afternoon, when the Union line collapsed and the Confederates rushed into Gettysburg. General Winfield Scott Hancock rushed to the newly-formed Union line on Cemetery Hill and ordered the men to hold this line at all costs. The Confederates rushed Cemetery Hill but were beaten back by the Union forces. Although the day was viewed as a Confederate victory the Union forces held the high ground around Gettysburg and were in a superior position for a renewed contest. 1
References:
1George A. Bruce, The Twentieth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry 1861 - 1865 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Riverside Press, 1906), 268-73.
After resting one day at Uniontown the Second Corps was rushed to Taneytown, Maryland, where they heard the news of the wounding of Union General John Reynolds, commander of the First Corps, at Gettysburg. General George Meade dispatched Second Corps Commander Winfield Scott Hancock to Gettysburg and placed General John Gibbon in temporary command of the Second Corps. As the Twentieth Massachusetts approached Gettysburg they heard artillery fire and knew that a fierce battle was in progress. The Second Corps formed a close marching column and no one was allowed to fall out of rank for any reason. By nightfall the Second Corps arrived at Gettysburg, where the men learned of the events of the day. General John Reynolds had been killed just west of Gettysburg in the morning as he led the Iron Brigade of the First Corps into battle. The First and Eleventh Corps fought desperately until the afternoon, when the Union line collapsed and the Confederates rushed into Gettysburg. General Winfield Scott Hancock rushed to the newly-formed Union line on Cemetery Hill and ordered the men to hold this line at all costs. The Confederates rushed Cemetery Hill but were beaten back by the Union forces. Although the day was viewed as a Confederate victory the Union forces held the high ground around Gettysburg and were in a superior position for a renewed contest. 1
References:
1George A. Bruce, The Twentieth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry 1861 - 1865 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Riverside Press, 1906), 268-73.
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