Witness to Gettysburg by Richard Wheeler

Author:Richard Wheeler
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780811741569
Publisher: Stackpole Books

One of the members of Rowley’s division was Thomas Chamberlain, a major with the 150th Pennsylvania Infantry, who tells how his regiment, with the men perspiring “in cascades,” covered the final mile of its approach: “Below the town the column was diverted from the highway through the fields and urged into a ‘double-quick,’ which presently brought the mass of our regiment to the neighborhood of the seminary, but left two or three scores of our men stranded along the line of march, to be gathered up and reported for duty a little later by Captain Dougal, himself a sufferer from the excessive heat and overexertion.

“Generals Doubleday and Rowley, with portions of their staffs, met us in the open field some distance west of the seminary, where we were halted and the former addressed us briefly, urging the importance of a victory and reminding us that we were Pennsylvanians and might safely be entrusted with the defense of our own soil. Shells were whizzing overhead at the time from rebel batteries beyond the ridge to the west, and the instructions to our brigade and regimental leaders were necessarily brief. ‘Forward!’ cried Colonel [Langhorne] Wister, when a dozen voices exclaimed, ‘Colonel, we’re not loaded yet!’ A burst of merriment followed in spite of the fact that we had just learned, with unfeigned sorrow, of the death of General Reynolds, whom all idolized, and who perhaps better than any other officer in the entire army met the limitless requirements of the ideal soldier.

“The loading was ordered, followed by the unslinging of knapsacks, and with full battalion front we moved rapidly westward to the brow of the hill overlooking Willoughby Run. On our immediate left lay the Iron Brigade, occupying the woods, while the 149th and 143rd Pennsylvania on our right extended beyond the McPherson farm buildings to the Chambersburg road or pike. The time of reaching our position was about 11:30 o’clock. … Evidences of hard fighting … by Wadsworth’s division were to be seen in every direction, but, except [for] a fitful cannonading from rebel batteries on the next parallel ridge, looking west, and on the prolongation of our line northwardly, there was, at this hour, comparative quiet.”

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