INCIDENTS OF THE FIRST DAY AT GETTYSBURG.
2 85
sions and hotly engaged, the former on the right ofthe line, extending to near the Mummasburg road,and the latter in the center between Meredith’sand Cutler’s brigades of Wadsworth’s division.
The advantages of position were, perhaps, favor-able to us, but in numbers the enemy was vastlysuperior. We had G brigades, numbering, with theartillery assigned to duty with us, 8200 men, andWe maintained our position for six hours and a halfagainst General A. P. Hill ’s corps of 13 brigades.General Archer and most of his brigade werecaptured early in the day by Meredith’s “IronBrigade.” He evidently had expected an easy‘ Walk over,” judging from his disappointed man-ner after he was captured. A guard brought himhack to General Doubleday, who, in a very cor-dial manner,— they having been cadets at WestPoint together,— said: “Good-morning, Archer!How are you ? I am glad to see you! ” GeneralArcher replied: “Well, I am not glad to see you,
hy a - sight! ” Very soon after this episode
Hie 6th Wisconsin, under Lieutenant-ColonelHawes, made a successful charge, resulting inthe capture of a force of the enemy in the rail-road cut north of the Cashtown road, and a littlelater General Baxter captured nearly all of Iver-son’s [Confederate] brigade.
About 2 o’clock in the afternoon the EleventhCorps reached the field and formed in line of battleat about a right angle to the general line of the FirstCorps, but did not connect with its right by severalhundred yards, so that both flanks were in the air.When Ewell’s troops approached from Carlisleand York they struck the Eleventh Corps in frontand on both flanks almost simultaneously. The re-sult was an easy victory to the enemy, giving themPossession of Gettysburg before the First Corps hadceased fighting or had left its position west of theSeminary. Thus the First Corps was enveloped°n its right and rear and was contending againstlastly superior numbers in its front.
About 4 o’clock in the afternoon General Double-nay sent me to General Howard for reenforcementsand orders. I found the latter in tho cemetery^ e ar the gate. He looked the picture of desxiair.Cn receipt of the message he replied: “TellGeneral Doubleday that I have no reenforcementsT ° send him. I have only one regiment in reserve.”
then asked if he had any orders to give, andcalled his attention to the enemy then advancingju line of battle overlapping our left by nearlyalf a mile. He looked in that direction and re-'s let l rather sharply: “ Those are nothing but rail®Uees, sir! ” I said: “I beg your pardon, General;
you will take my glass you will see somethingesides rail fences.” Turning to a staff-officer, heade him take the glass and see what it was. Thenicer looked, and in an instant lowered the glass,aying ; “General, those are long lines of the^nemy!” General Howard then turned to me andaid: “ Go to General Buford, give him my com-P Unents, and tell him to go to General Double-t’s support.” When asked where General Bu-
ford could be found,, he replied: “ I don’t know 7 ! Ithink he is over this way,” pointing toward theeast.
After riding in that direction as far as I deemedit wise or prudent, I returned to where GeneralHoward sat, just as General Hancock approachedat a swinging gallop. When near General Howard,who was then alone, he saluted, and with greatanimation, as if there was no time for ceremony,said General Meade had sent him forward to takecommand of the three corps. General How r ard re-plied that he was the senior . General Hancock said:“ I am aware of that, General, but I have writtenorders in my pocket from General Meade , which Iwill show you if you wish to see them.” GeneralHoward said: “No; I do not doubt your word,General Hancock, but you can give no orders herewhile I am here.” Hancock replied: “Very well,General Howard , I will second any order that youhave to give, but General Meade has also directedme to select a field on which to fight this battle inrear of Pipe Creek.” Then, easting one glance fromCulp’s Hill to Bound Top, he continued: “But Ithink this the strongest position by nature uponwhich to fight a battle that I ever saw, and if itmeets your approbation I will select this as thebattle-field.” General Howard responded: “Ithink it a very strong position, General Hancock;a very strong position ! ” “ Very well, sir, I selectthis as the battle-field.” General Hancock im-mediately turned away to rectify our lines.
There was no person present besides myselfwhen the conversation took place between Howard and Hancock. A number of years since I remindedGeneral Hancock of that fact and what I had heardpass between them. He said that what I haverepeated here was true, and requested a writtenstatement, which I subsequently furnished him.
When I left General Howard to return to thefront, I discovered General Buford’s cavalry onlya little to the west of the cemetery and deliveredthe order I had received from General Howard .Buford rose in liis stirrups upon his tiptoes andexclaimed: “ What does he think I can do againstthose long lines of the enemy out there f ” “I don’tknow anything about that, General; those areGeneral Howard ’s orders.” “Very well,” said he,“I will see what I can do,” and, like the truesoldier that he was, he moved his command out inplain view of the enemy and formed for the charge.The enemy, seeing the movement, formed squaresin echelon, which delayed them and materiallyaided in the escape of the First Corps, if it did notsave a large portion of the'remnant from capture.The formation of squares by the enemy that day hasbeen doubted by nearly every one with whom Ihave conversed upon the subject, and not until themeeting of the survivors of the First Corps atGettysburg , in May, 1885, was I able to satisfyColonel Bachelder, who has made a study of thatbattle, of the correctness of my statement, andonly then after it had been corroborated by two ofBuford’s officers who were in the engagement.