Brigades of Gettysburg by Bradley M. Gottfried

Author:Bradley M. Gottfried
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing
Published: 2018-03-20T16:00:00+00:00

2ND DIVISION—

Brigadier General John Geary

The 2nd Division was commanded by six-foot, six-inch John Geary. Because he was a large target, he had been wounded nine times prior to Gettysburg. Although he was not a West Point graduate, Geary did serve in the Mexican War, where he commanded a militia regiment. When the war broke out, Geary formed the 28th Pennsylvania and led it with distinction. Promoted to brigadier general in the spring of 1862, he participated in the Shenandoah Valley and Second Bull Run campaigns. He was elevated to division command and performed well at Chancellorsville. The “White Star” Division was a veteran unit under effective leadership as it marched northward.1

After breaking camp at Knoxville, Maryland, at 6:30 A.M. on June 28, the 2nd Division reached Frederick at 2:00 P.M. The march continued at 4:00 A.M. on June 29, and the column made good progress until it reached the XI Corps camp at 6:00 A.M. The men were forced to wait four hours while Howard's men cleared the road. Following Williams's 1st Division, Geary's men trudged through Taneytown, and reached Littlestown during the afternoon of June 30. Here they found the streets lined with well-wishers. After camping outside the town, the division backtracked to Baltimore Pike and headed for Gettysburg. Arriving at Two Taverns on July 1, the men were permitted to rest and eat their midday meal. The men received orders to form into column to complete the march to Gettysburg at about 4:00 P.M. and they made swift progress. One veteran wrote that an observer on Cemetery Hill at about 5:00 P.M. on July 1 would have seen approaching “amid clouds of curling dust, a column of Union troops carrying aloft the stars and stripes … the day was hot, sultry and cloudless … as the column drew nearer to the crest of the hill, it filed off to the left through open fields … with Geary's 2nd Division in the lead, whose headquarters flag of dark blue with its inspiring big white star emblazoned in the center, was at the head.”2

As he arrived in the vicinity of Gettysburg, Geary happened upon General Winfield Hancock, who told him that “the right could maintain itself, and the immediate need of a division on the left was imperative.” Kane's Brigade and two cannon were detached about two miles from Gettysburg and left by the side of the road while the rest of the division marched to the base of Little Round Top. By 5:00 P.M. they formed the left flank of the army.3

Geary's troops were relieved by Birney's Division (III Corps) at about 5:00 A.M. on July 2 and marched back toward Culp's Hill. Here they rejoined Williams's Division, which had spent the night northeast of Gettysburg. Geary was ordered to place his command on the heights of Culp's Hill with its left connecting at right angles with Wadsworth's Division (I Corps), and its right connecting with Williams's Division. Greene's Brigade was placed on the left, Kane's (Cobham's) on the right, and Candy's behind and in support of Greene's.

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