Culp's Hill
Culp's Hill,
During the Battle of Gettysburg, July 1–3, 1863, Culp's Hill was a critical part of the
Opposing forces
Union
Confederate
Battle
Battle of Gettysburg, First Day
Culp's Hill was occupied originally on the nightfall of July 1, 1863, by troops of the Union Army, along with neighboring
Johnson did not take Culp's Hill. He sent a small party to reconnoiter, and they encountered the 7th Indiana Infantry of the I Corps, part of Brig. Gen. James S. Wadsworth's division, which had been in the rear guarding the corps trains and was now linked up with the Iron Brigade, digging in following their fierce battle on Seminary Ridge. Johnson's party was taken by surprise and almost taken prisoner before fleeing.[8]
Ewell's failure to take Culp's Hill or
Second day
By mid-morning of July 2, 1863, the XII Corps arrived and fortified the hill. Brig. Gen. George S. Greene, who at 62 was the oldest Union general on the field, was a brigade commander in the division of Maj. Gen. John W. Geary. As a civil engineer before the war, he had a natural understanding of the value of defensive works. His division and corps commanders did not believe they would be stationed at Culp's Hill very long and did not share his enthusiasm for constructing breastworks, but they did not oppose his efforts. He set his troops to the task of felling trees and collecting rocks and earth to create very effective defensive positions.[11]
The Union defensive positions on July 2 began in the north with artillery batteries on Stevens's Knoll, followed by Wadsworth's division of the I Corps, Greene's New York brigade in positions running north to south on the upper slope, and the brigade of Brig. Gen.
That morning, Confederate
Ewell began his demonstration at 4 p.m. upon hearing the sound of Longstreet's guns to the south. For three hours, he chose to limit his demonstration to an artillery barrage from Benner's Hill, about a mile (1,600 m) to the northeast. But despite this demonstration, Ewell did not hold the attention of
Greene extended his line to the right to cover part of the lower slope, but his 1,400 men would be dangerously overextended if a Confederate attack came. They were only able to form a single battle line, without reserves. Only three of the five brigades of Union troops that were dispatched from the hill saw combat. The remainder of Geary's division marched down the Baltimore Pike and missed a key right hand turn. By the time they realized where they were, the crisis on the Union left flank and center had subsided.[17]
Around 7 pm (19:00), as dusk began to fall, and the Confederate assaults on the Union left and center were slowing, Ewell chose to begin his main infantry assault. He sent three brigades (4,700 men) from the division of Maj. Gen. Edward "Allegheny" Johnson across Rock Creek and up the eastern slope of Culp's Hill. The brigades were, from left to right, those of Brig. Gen. George H. Steuart, Col. Jesse M. Williams (Nicholl's Brigade), and Brig. Gen. John M. Jones.[18] The Stonewall Brigade, under Brig. Gen. James A. Walker, had been dispatched earlier in the day to screen the Confederate left flank to the east of Rock Creek. Although Johnson ordered Walker join the dusk assault, he was unable to do so as the Stonewall Brigade sparred with Union cavalry under Brig. Gen. David M. Gregg for control of Brinkerhoff's Ridge.[19]
As the fighting started, Greene sent for reinforcements from the I Corps and XI Corps to his left. Wadsworth was able to send three regiments, and Maj. Gen.
On the Confederate right flank, Jones's brigade of Virginians had the most difficult terrain to cross, the steepest part of Culp's Hill. As they scrambled through the woods and up the rocky slope, they were shocked at the strength of the Union breastworks on the crest. Their charges were beaten off with relative ease by the 60th New York, which suffered very few casualties. Confederate casualties were high, including General Jones, who was wounded and left the field. One of the New York officers wrote "without breastworks our line would have been swept away in an instant by the hailstorm of bullets and the flood of men."[21]
In the center, Nicholls's Louisiana brigade had a similar experience to Jones's. The attackers were essentially invisible in the dark except for brief instances when they fired, but the defensive works were impressive, and the 78th and 102nd New York regiments suffered few casualties in a fight that lasted four hours.[22]
Steuart's regiments on the left occupied the empty breastworks on the lower hill and felt their way in the darkness toward Greene's right flank. The Union defenders waited nervously, watching as the flashes of the Confederate rifles drew near. But as they approached, Greene's men delivered a withering fire. The 3rd North Carolina "reeled and staggered like a drunken man."[23]
Two regiments on Steuart's left, the
In the confusion of fighting in the dark, the 1st North Carolina, brought up from the reserves, fired on the Confederate
During the heat of the fighting, the sound of battle reached II Corps commander Maj. Gen. Winfield Scott Hancock on Cemetery Ridge, who immediately sent additional reserve forces. The 71st Pennsylvania filed in to assist the 137th New York on Greene's right.[27]
By the time the rest of the XII Corps returned late that night, Confederate troops had occupied some of the Union defensive line on the southeastern slope of the hill, near Spangler's Spring. This caused considerable confusion as the Union troops stumbled in the dark to find enemy soldiers in the positions they had vacated. Gen. Williams did not want to continue this confused fight, so he ordered his men to occupy the open field in front of the woods and wait for daylight. While Steuart's brigade maintained a fragile hold on the lower heights, Johnson's other two brigades were pulled off the hill, also to wait for daylight. Geary's men returned to reinforce Greene. Both sides prepared to attack at dawn.[28]
Third day
On July 3, 1863, General Lee's plan was to renew his attacks by coordinating the action on Culp's Hill with another attack by Longstreet and
Since the fighting had stopped the previous night, the XI Corps units had been reinforced by additional troops from the I Corps and
In the final of the three Confederate attacks, around 10 am (10:00), Walker's Stonewall Brigade and Daniel's North Carolina brigade assaulted Greene from the east, while Steuart's brigade advanced over the open field toward the main hill against the brigades of Candy and Kane, which did not have the advantage of strong breastworks to fight behind. Nevertheless, both attacks were beaten back with heavy losses. The attacks against the heights were again fruitless, and superior use of artillery on the open fields to the south made the difference there.[33]
The
The end of the fighting came near noon, with a futile attack by two Union regiments near Spangler's Spring. General Slocum, observing from the distant Powers Hill, believing that the Confederates were faltering, ordered Ruger to retake the works they had captured. Ruger passed the order to Silas Colgrove's brigade, and it was misinterpreted to mean a direct frontal assault on the Confederate position. The two regiments selected for the assault, the 2nd Massachusetts and the 27th Indiana, consisted of a total of 650 men against the 1,000 Confederates behind the works with about 100 yards (100 meters) of open field in front. When Lt. Col. Charles Mudge of the 2nd Massachusetts heard the order, he insisted that the officer repeat it: "Well, it is murder, but it's the order." The two regiments attacked in sequence with the Massachusetts men in front, and they were both repelled with terrific losses: 43% of the Massachusetts soldiers, 32% of the Hoosiers. General Ruger spoke of the misconstrued order as "one of those unfortunate occurrences that will happen in the excitement of battle".[35]
Despite receiving reinforcements and attempting his assaults again, Johnson was repulsed with terrible losses from one end of his line to the other. Colonel O'Neal wrote that his brigade "charged time and again up to their works but were every time compelled to retire. Many gallant men were lost."[36] The losses at Culp's Hill included approximately 2,000 men in Johnson's division, nearly a third. An additional 800 fell from the reinforcing brigades on July 3. The XII corps lost about 1,000 men over both days, including 300 men in Greene's brigade, or one fifth. Alpheus Williams summed up the futility of this fighting: "The wonder is that the rebels persisted so long in an attempt that the first half hour must have told them was useless."[37]
One of the sad stories of the war involved the Culp family. Henry Culp, the owner of Culp's Hill, was the cousin of Esais Culp, the father of John Wesley Culp and William Culp. Wesley joined the
Aftermath
Culp's Hill became a prime tourist attraction after the battle. It was close to the town and, unlike most battles in open fields, it was heavily wooded and the extreme firepower took a very visible toll on the trees, some of which were completely sheared off. Geary's division alone on July 3 reported that they expended 227,000 rounds.[39] It took over twenty years before the scars of battle faded and nature reclaimed the breastworks.[citation needed]
Today, Culp's Hill is unoccupied except for numerous monuments and an observation tower, all maintained by the
See also
References
- ^ a b "Culps Hill (1172821) Entry Date 02-Aug-1979". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2011-11-10.. The modern U.S. Geographic Names System refers to "Culps Hill".
- ^ "Culp's Hill and Wesley Culp (1839-1863)". EncyclopediaVirginia.org. Archived from the original on 2012-02-27. Retrieved 2011-11-10.
- ^ Gottfried, Maps of Gettysburg, p. 226.
- ^ Pfanz, Culp's Hill, pp. 111–12.
- ^ "The Field of Gettysburgh: Interest Concerning the Great Battle Ground -- Thirteen Generals Revisit the Scene of their Struggle ..." (Google News Archive). The New York Times. Oct 31, 1865. Retrieved 2011-10-20.
- ^ Pfanz, Culp's Hill, p. 25; Pfanz, Battle of Gettysburg, p. 21.
- ^ Coddington, pp. 297–99.
- ^ Sears, p. 233.
- ^ Sears, pp. 233–34.
- ^ Coddington, pp. 314–16.
- ^ Murray, pp. 4, 13–16; Pfanz, Culp's Hill, p. 111; Sears, p. 312.
- ^ Pfanz, Culp's Hill, pp. 112–14.
- ^ Pfanz, Battle of Gettysburg, p. 21.
- ^ See William Frassanito, "Gettysburg: A Journey in Time", pp. 128-129.
- ^ See William Frassanito, "Early Photography at Gettysburg", p. 206.
- ^ Pfanz, Culp's Hill, pp. 194–96; Sears, pp. 282–83, 312.
- ^ Sears, p. 312; Trudeau, pp. 398–99; Pfanz, Battle of Gettysburg, p. 21.
- ^ Pfanz, Culp's Hill, pp. 207, 213–15.
- ^ "The Stonewall Brigade at Gettysburg - Part Two: Clash on Brinkerhoff's Ridge". The Stonewall Brigade. 2021-03-20. Retrieved 2021-03-20.
- ^ Murray, pp. 25–28.
- ^ Sears, pp. 327–28.
- ^ Sears, p. 328.
- ^ Pfanz, Culp's Hill, p. 217.
- ^ Pfanz, Culp's Hill, pp. 220–22; Pfanz, Battle of Gettysburg, p. 40; Sears, p. 329.
- ^ Sears, p. 330.
- ^ Hawthorne, p. 93.
- ^ Pfanz, Culp's Hill, pp. 220–21.
- ^ Pfanz, Culp's Hill, p. 234.
- ^ Goldsborough, p. 109.
- ^ Sears, pp. 36–61.
- ^ Pfanz, Battle of Gettysburg, pp. 42–43.
- ^ Murray, p. 47; Pfanz, Culp's Hill, pp. 288–89.
- ^ Pfanz, Culp's Hill, pp. 310–25.
- ^ Sears, p. 364.
- ^ Sears, pp. 366–68.
- ^ Sears, p. 365.
- ^ Sears, p. 371.
- ^ Pfanz, Culp's Hill, pp. 328–29, 353.
- ^ Pfanz, Culp's Hill, p. 352.
Bibliography
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- Gottfried, Bradley M. Brigades of Gettysburg. New York: Da Capo Press, 2002. ISBN 0-306-81175-8.
- Gottfried, Bradley M. The Maps of Gettysburg: An Atlas of the Gettysburg Campaign, June 3 – June 13, 1863. New York: Savas Beatie, 2007. ISBN 978-1-932714-30-2.
- Grimsley, Mark, and Brooks D. Simpson. Gettysburg: A Battlefield Guide. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1999. ISBN 0-8032-7077-1.
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- Hawthorne, Frederick W. Gettysburg: Stories of Men and Monuments. Gettysburg, PA: Association of Licensed Battlefield Guides, 1988. ISBN 0-9657444-0-X.
- Murray, R. L. A Perfect Storm of Lead, George Sears Greene's New York Brigade in Defense of Culp's Hill. Wolcott, NY: Benedum Books, 2000. ISBN 0-9646261-2-8.
- Petruzzi, J. David, and Steven Stanley. The Complete Gettysburg Guide. New York: Savas Beatie, 2009. ISBN 978-1-932714-63-0.
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- Pfanz, Harry W. Gettysburg: Culp's Hill and Cemetery Hill. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1993. ISBN 0-8078-2118-7.
- ISBN 0-395-86761-4.
- Trudeau, Noah Andre. Gettysburg: A Testing of Courage. New York: HarperCollins, 2002. ISBN 0-06-019363-8.
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