DEDICATION OF MONUMENT
42d REGIMENT INFANTRY
(THIRTEENTH
RESERVES, FIRST RIFLES)
ADDRESS
OF CAPTAIN JOHN
P. BARD
The Second Brigade did not join in the
movement, but remained in the Department of Washington, being stationed at Alexandria.
Early Friday morning, June 26, the First
Brigade broke camp at Fairfax Station and marched to Edwards' Ferry, where they crossed
the Potomac river, marching thence by Frederick City to near Uniontown, MD., arriving at
the latter place on Tuesday, June 30. In the meantime Lee had crossed the Potomac at
Williamsport with his entire army, except a large corps of General Ewell's and Stuart's
division of cavalry. The latter troops had crossed earlier and had advanced into
Pennsylvania. Several bodies of their Scouts had reached as far north as the Susquehanna
river near Harrisburg.
During the march to Uniontown, we received the
intelligence that General Meade had succeeded General Hooker in command of the Army of
the Potomac. Knowing that General John F. Reynolds was Meade's senior in rank, this
information caused some surprise among the Reserves. They felt, however, that no mistake
had been made in appointing General Meade, to that command.
Both these officers hall commanded our brigade
and division, and were quite well-known to the men. They knew their fighting qualities and
were quite well satisfied that either one would command the army with distinguished
ability. Being warm personal friends and wholly devoted to the cause, either would have
the hearty support and earnest co-operation of the other. It was it a source of great
satisfaction to the officers and men of the Reserves to know that: they would fight the
next battle on their native soil and under the leadership of a Pennsylvanian who had
commanded the division in the terrible battle of Fredericksburg.
The Reserves were
assigned to the Fifth Corps, commanded
by Major-General George Sykes and wore the Maltese cross, being the Third Division. On
Thursday morning, July 2, the Fifth, having been selected by General Meade as his reserve
Corps, took a position in the rear of the right wing of our army. From their position,
owing to the peculiar formation of Meade's line, they could in a very short time, reach
any given point. General Sickles, with the Third Corps, was to occupy the left of the
line, in the formation of which he was, to connect with Hancock's left and form on a
prolongation of his [Hancock’s] line, with his left resting on Round Top.
This
would bring the line of the Third Corps along the crest of Little Round Top. For some
reason, not necessary to discuss here, General Sickles advanced beyond the position
assigned him and formed his line on a plain, his left crossing the Emmitsburg road, with
both flanks exposed. The ground upon which he formed his line is certainly more than half
a mile in advance of the position which General Meade intended he should occupy.
About the time General Sickles had his line
formed General Meade arrived at Little Round Top, and, seeing the mistake Sickles had
made, sent for that officer and pointed out to him his error. General Sickles at once
proposed to withdraw his corps, and form on the line originally indicated. General Meade
replied that the enemy would not permit his withdrawal as it could then be seen he was
preparing to attack. While they were talking Longstreet's guns opened, and soon his long
lines of infantry began to emerge from the woods. It now became evident this was to be a
determined effort on the part of that able Confederate chieftain to destroy the Third
Corps before they could receive support. When the first gun was fired General Sickles
hastened to the front, and General
The
gallant Third Corps fought desperately to hold their ground, but the long line of
Longstreet's extending beyond both flanks, steadily drove them back. On the right of the Third the line of
the enemy was pushed rapidly forward, with the evident purpose of turning that flank and
getting between the Third Corps and the main line of our army. At the same time Longstreet's right was thrown forward,
making a vigorous attack on Round Top, while a very strong force from the Devil's Den made
a determined assault on Little Round Top, breaking the line of the Third Corps, which at
that point was thrown into confusion. By this time the Second Division of the Fifth Corps,
composed of regulars, arrived on the ground, and was formed on the left of Hancock's line.
When the Third Corps broke, General Meade ordered the Second Division to charge in the
direction of the wheat-field and peach orchard. The regulars went forward in splendid
form; when they reached the wheat-field they were met by a counter-charge of the now
victorious troops of Longstreet. The regulars received the charge gloriously, but, after
stubborn fighting and very heavy loss on both sides, being largely outnumbered, they were
forced back. They, however, kept their line and retired in good order, all the time
keeping up a steady fire. In this manner they retreated, closely followed by the
Confederates, across the swamp and half way up the side of Little Round Top, or rather
half way up the slope of the hill on the right of Little Round Top, the left of the Second
Division, when it fell back, barely reaching the base of Little Round Top. On the right
the enemy succeeded in capturing several guns, but were only able to hold them a few minutes; a murderous fire from Hancock's
batteries and the charge of the regulars checked their advance and re-captured the guns.
At this moment the situation on the left was
alarming; everything indicated a rout of that wing of the army. At this crisis General
Meade, who was fortunately present at this point, ordered a charge from in front of Little
Round Top by the First Brigade of the Pennsylvania Reserves. The Third Brigade, commanded
by Colonel Fisher, had been sent: to the extreme left to the support of General Vincent,
at Round Top.
Little Round Top, as its name indicates, is a
round hill rising about, two hundred feet above the streams which run at is base. The top
and side facing file enemy are covered with rough rocks, some of them very large; that
side is also very steep, and near the top difficult of ascent. At the foot and in our
front there is a small stream known as Plum Run, the course of which is parallel with our
line. Tile ground on both sides of this stream is swampy, forming a flat some fifty or
seventy-five yards wide.
On the opposite side of the stream, on our
right, the ground rises more gently, gradually falling off into a plain. In our front and
on the left it grows rougher and steeper until it reaches the Devil's Den, a cluster of
very large rocks on our left, the ground between them much broken and covered with scrubby
timber, covering an area of perhaps three acres. At that time the woods extended down to
the edge of the swamp in our front and continued over the hill till it reached the
wheat-field on our right. Beyond the wheat-field there was another strip of woods, and
beyond that the peach orchard fronting on the Emmitsburg road. The stone wall or fence
was, located across Plum Run close by the edge of the woods and to the right of the crest
of Little Round Top. The stone wall covered about one-half of our regiment when in line.
The Pennsylvania Reserves arrived on the ground
at the supreme moment. If Longstreet had obtained possession of Little Round Top,
Meade's position would have been turned. From this point the guns of the enemy would have
raked our center and left-center and from this position he could strike the right wing on
the flank and rear. General Meade's presence at that part of the line would indicate the
deep anxiety he felt in the result of the conflict for the possession of the Round Tops.
He knew it was of the utmost importance that the advance of Longstreet's exultant troops
should be checked before they reached the crest of Little Round Top, the real key to his
position, and which was, at the moment when we arrived upon the ground, almost within
their grasp.
The brigade marched upon the field in reverse
order, throwing the Bucktails upon the left of the line with the rear rank to the enemy.
Colonel Taylor gave the command to counter-march and while the movement was being executed
a rebel yell indicated the presence of the enemy, which caused
considerable confusion in the line, but ,when the command to charge was received, every
one of those veteran soldiers quickly found his place, and presented a solid and unbroken
line to the enemy, who had by this time almost gained the summit, those farthest in
advance being only a few yards from one of our batteries, whose gunners were about to
spike their guns. Shouting to the gunners to hold their pieces the Bucktails, springing
forward with a cheer, engaged the enemy in a desperate hand-to hand conflict lasting but
a short time when, for the first time that day, Longstreet's brave men were forced to
retreat. With a broken line and in considerable confusion they fled down the hill and
across the swamp, the Bucktails following close and capturing quite a number of prisoners.
At the foot of the hill Lieutenant-Colonel A. E. Niles fell on the front line severely
wounded. The Bucktails kept up a steady fire from their breech-loading rifles, as they
charged; the lines being very close they inflicted terrible punishment on the retreating
foe. At the stone wall the enemy made a feeble attempt to re-form, but were not able to
check the impetous charge of the Bucktails. It is needless to state that Colonel Taylor
and Major Hartshorne were to
be found in the front line all the time. Not taking any account of what was occurring on
the right of our line, the Bucktails pushed on after the now thoroughly routed enemy who fled through the woods, on up the hill, on, on, until near the edge of the wheatfield
when Colonel Taylor, discovering that he was a considerable distance in advance of our
line and unsupported, ordered a halt.
After we halted the enemy were either
reinforced or concentrated their scattered lines, as they kept up a heavy fire in our
front, but as we were still in the woods and our boys found good cover behind trees they
did us but little harm. Up to this time we had captured a large number of prisoners.
Just after the line
halted we received a heavy volley from our right-center. Colonel Taylor with two other
officers and fifteen or twenty men were on that part of the line at the time. Quickly
facing to the left they discovered, but a short distance away, two hundred or three
hundred rebels partly hidden by the timber. An officer promptly demanded their surrender
when nearly every man in their line threw down his arms. Just then a Confederate in the
rear of their line sang out with an oath, "I'll never surrender to a corporal's
guard." The rebels again grasped their arms when Lieutenant Kratzer called out to the
Bucktails, "Tree, every man of you," and, jumping behind a tree near him, he
turned to Colonel Taylor, who was near by, and urged him to hurry. Just is the colonel
laid his hand on Lieutenant Kratzer's shoulder, and was in the act of stepping under
shelter of the tree, a rebel sharpshooter sent a bullet through his heart---when our brave
and beloved commander died without speaking a word. When the few men that were there saw
Colonel Taylor fall they poured several volleys in quick succession into the enemy at the
same time calling upon them to surrender. About forty or fifty threw down their arms and
gave themselves up; the others retreated in the direction of the Devil's Den.
The command of the regiment now devolved on
Major Hartshorne., who was at the time on the left of the line. As soon as he was informed
of the death of Colonel Taylor and knowing that there was a considerable force on our left
and rear, he withdrew his line to the stone wall and sent Captain Kinsey with his company
out in the direction of the Devil's Den, with orders to form in line of skirmishers at
right angles with the line of the regiment, attack the enemy , and develop his strength
and position. When Captain Kinsey reached the edge of the Devil's Den, he was met with a
heavy volley from the enemy who were posted behind rocks and trees, taking such cover as
they could find, and a lively skirmish ensued. The rapid firing attracted Major
Hartshorne's attention, when he sent Lieutenant Kratzer to ascertain whether or not
Captain Kinsey could hold his position. Captain Kinsey urged Lieutenant Kratzer to support
him with his company, insisting, that with some help he could carry the rocks and capture
the force defending them. The lines were very close, only a few yards apart, and the
exposure of any part of the body called forth a shot from the watchful foe. Lieutenant
Kratzer agreed to go back, and if he could get Major Hartshorne's consent to bring up his
company. Just as he turned to go back, several shells fell in their midst and exploded.
This was promptly followed by a volley from the enemy in their front. Captain Kinsey was
severely wounded by a shell. In the confusion following, Lieutenant Kratzer got away and
reported the situation to Major Hartshorne. It being then dark and the enemy still in
strong force in his front, Major Hartshorne deeming it unsafe to attempt without support
to drive the enemy from his strong position, recalled Captain Kinsey’s company,
leaving only a few pickets to watch the movements of the enemy. A brisk firing was kept up
all along the line till 'about 9 o'clock, when it ceased, seemingly by mutual consent.
So
ended the battle of the 2d of July, in front of Little Round Top. The fighting from 2
o'clock P.M. had been of the most desperate character and the ground all around was strewn with killed
and wounded. Side by side in death lay the Blue and the Gray, while here and there
desperately wounded Yankees and Confederates
lying on the field would talk over the day's work and speculate on the result of the
battle to be fought on the morrow.
Very
early on the morning of July 3, Major Hartshorne sent Captain Frank Bell, with Company I
and Captain John A. Wolff with Company F, to attack and develop the strength of the enemy
on our left flank in the Devil's Den. These two companies, deployed in line of
skirmishers, cautiously advanced. When they reached the edge of the Devil's Den, they
encountered the enemy strongly posted behind rocks and trees. The fighting at once became
very severe; the enemy's fire indicated a large force, and their position was so strong
that any attempt to carry it by storm with so small a body of troops must prove
disastrous. Taking cover, the Bucktails opened a rapid fire, hoping to punish the enemy so
severely as to either compel him to retire or come out of his stronghold to drive
It was now near 2 o'clock p. m. and
preparations were being made for a general attack on this part of the line. Major
Hartshorne therefore called in the party sent
out with Lieutenant Kratzer. About 3 o'clock the brigade advanced in line; charging on the
enemy they drove him through the. woods to the wheat-field, on through the field and
through the strip of woods beyond into the peach orchard, capturing several hundred
prisoners and completely destroying the Confederate line in their front. Early that
morning Major Hartshorne had informed Colonel McCandless, commanding the brigade, of the
force on his left in the Devil's Den. Colonel McCandless having nothing to fear from the
line in his front determined to pay his respects to that party; He therefore directed
Major Hartshorne to change front to the left and charge with the Bucktails in that
direction, while he would form the rest of the brigade in column by regiment closed in
mass and follow him at supporting distance.
The Bucktails in line of skirmishers moved
forward through the woods at double-quick for several hundred yards, when they came upon a
line of the enemy in position. With a cheer they rushed on them, when they had another
hand-to-hand fight with what proved to be the Fifteenth Georgia Regiment. The Georgians
stood up bravely for fifteen or twenty minutes when threw down their arms, the Bucktails
capturing the entire command with their colors. Turning the prisoners over to the troops
in the rear the Bucktails pushed on through the woods into open country, when Colonel
McCandless deployed the brigade into line and moved forward capturing quite a number of
prisoners. He continued till there was no enemy to be seen in our front and night put all
end to our fighting, when the brigade rested for the night fully one mile in front of
Little Round Top. By this movement Colonel McCandless completely flanked the Devil's Dell
and forced the enemy to retreat from a position that it would have been next to impossible
to have driven him by a direct attack. So ended the battle of Gettysburg. The last shot,
the Bucktails claim, was fired by them on nearly the same ground where the battle of July
2 was opened by Longstreet's attack on Sickles.
In the two days' fighting the Bucktails total
loss was forty-seven. Killed, two officers and eight enlisted men; wounded, eight officers
and thirty enlisted men. The loss in officers was unusally severe, nine officers out of a
total loss of forty-seven.
It will be observed that from the time the
Pennsylvania Reserves entered the fight until the end the Confederates on this part of the
line fought entirely on the defensive; up to that time they were the attacking party and
were flushed with victory. They had driven the Third Corps, with terrible slaughter,
through the peach orchard, met the Regulars in the Wheat-field, and, after hard fighting
and heavy loss on both sides, drove them back across Plum run and were on the eve of
capturing Little Round Top, the real key to Meade’s position, when they met the
Pennsylvania Reserves and in less than twenty
minutes the tide was turned and we became the attacking party.
The "Bucktails" or "First
Rifle" Regiment, Pennsylvania Reserve Volunteer Corps was organized early in May,
1861, under a State law passed by the Legislature and approved by the Governor May 15.
They were not called into the United States service until the latter part of June,
The first battle in which the regiment was engaged was Dranesville, December 20, 1861;
the last battle was at Bethesda Church, May 30, 1864. A large number of the men
re-enlisted and served until the close of the war in the One hundred and ninetieth
Pennsylvania Veteran Volunteers.
The peculiar field tactics employed by this
regiment originated with Lieutenant-Colonel (later Brigadier-General) Thomas L. Kane. They
were much the same as those recently adopted by the War Department for the United States
Army. When exposed to a heavy fire the Bucktails were instructed to scatter, and at all
times were required to take advantage of whatever cover the ground afforded. If any part of the line was
better protected than another, the men in that location would push forward and vigorously
engage the enemy, under cover of their fire the more exposed part of the line would rush
forward. Great responsibility was thrown upon the individual soldier. They were taught to
take care of themselves and to take advantage of every opportunity for an advance of the
line. In many instances the men have, of their own accord, without orders, rushed forward
when under heavy fire and gained important advantage. They were taught to estimate
distances on various formations, the estimates being proven by actual measurements, and,
except when in general line of battle, to fire only when they had all object fairly in the
sights of their rifle. In addition they were skilled marksmen and were constantly
practicing at long range, from two hundred to one thousand yards. To their peculiar
tactics, constant practice, individual responsibility and good marksmanship, call be
credited the fearful punishment inflicted upon tile enemy in every action in which they
were engaged, without a proportionate loss to them.
 |
 |
 |