The First Day--July 1, 1863

Day One

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Early in the morning, about 6 A.M., The battle of Gettysburg started as an unplanned meeting engagement between the advance party of General Heth's Confederate infantry corps and the pickets of a Union cavalry division. And since troops coming up from the rear usually march to the sound of gunfire, divisions were deployed and thrown into the fight as fast as they converged on Gettysburg from all points of the compass.

As the Confederates came over Herr's Ridge, near the McPherson farm on McPherson's ridge, they became engaged with four squadrons of Buford's dismounted cavalry and Battery A of the 2nd U.S. Artillery. Fighting broke out and quickly heated up. With General Meade and most of the main body of the Army of the Potomac on the road from Taneytown Maryland, Buford was on his own to defend the high ground around the town as best, and as long as he could. The night before, he had sent word to General Reynolds, one of three corps commanders under Meade, that he would probably engage the Reb army in the morning. Buford's division fought gallantly and hoped and prayed throughout the morning for Reynolds and his infantry to arrive.

Brig. General John Buford

USA

Where were

Meade

and Lee?

Who fired

the first shot?

Maj. General Henry Heth

CSA

Wednesday July 1, 1863

Mistakes of

the first day

Who won

the first day?

Confederate view looking east

on Chambersburg Pike from Herr's Ridge toward

McPherson Ridge. Second dip is Wiloughby Run

and far ridge is McPherson Ridge

just beyond the line of trees

Union view looking west along

Chambersburg Pike. Line of trees is dip where Wiloughby Run is.

Union view looking west across field toward

Herr's Ridge. It was here the first shots

were fired on July 1, 1863

Lt. General A.P. Hill

CSA

Lt. General Richard S. Ewell

CSA

Maj. General John Reynolds

USA

Maj. General Oliver O. Howard

USA

The McPherson barn on McPherson's Ridge

Union view looking west. Heavy fighting took place across this field.

McPherson barn in background.

Cannons of Battery A

facing west along

Chambersburg Pike

Union view looking north toward Oak Ridge

in far background

View looking east from McPherson's Ridge

toward Seminary, in center background

General Reynolds Memorial Statue near the spot where he was killed, just off the Chambersburg Pike north of McPherson's barn. Notice that 2 legs of the horse are lifted, this signifies killed in action.

Peace Light Memorial Monument

Oak Ridge

View of Railroad cut looking northeast,

same as tablet. (above)

View of Railroad cut looking southeast.

Top of Seminary visible in top left corner

Maj. General Robert E. Rodes

CSA

Maj. General Abner Doubleday

USA

View above Railroad cut looking southwest. McPherson barn in background.

View looking from railroad cut

north toward Oak Ridge

Confederate cannon, near the Peace Light Monument, supporting Rode's attack, looking south toward Railroad cut

Panoramic view (same as tablet above) from Rode's position on oak ridge, looking left to the southeast, center is south (McPherson barn is white spot at base of tree line of McPherson Ridge in far background), to the right is southwest toward Herr's Ridge.

Maj. General Jubal A. Early

CSA

Maj. General Winfield S. Hancock

USA

Maj. General Henry W. Slocum

USA

Maj. General George G. Meade

USA

General Robert E. Lee

CSA

Maj. General J.E.B. Stuart

CSA

Day One

Dawn

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Day One

Morning

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Day Two

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Day One

Late Morning

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Day One

Afternoon

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Day One

Afternoon

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Day One

End Of Day

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Continue to DAY TWO

The stage was set for the next day's fight.

The advantage of Meade's position here was a short, convex line with flanks close to woods or rocky hills and with interior lines that provided quick communication and facilitated rapid troop movements. The morale and confidence of the Union troops was high, and they waited for the next fight.

Lee's position was a concave one, surrounding the Union on three sides, to the west, the north and to the east. This position was less advantageous because they came across the Union troops by accident, and in the course of throwing their troops into battle as they arrived from several points. This position posed serious problems of communication and coordination, but at the same time afforded a wide choice for the General in determining how and where to continue his offensive attacks. So now they were spread out over a very large area, where they could not retreat from, or the Union would gain more of an advantage. They had to stay in their positions and fight. They occupied a line running from part way down Seminary Ridge on the west, along the unfinished railroad to the north and eastward through the town itself, and to the northeast side of Culp's Hill on the east side of the town.

When Lee finally arrived on the field, he then directed his troops to attack on all three sides. He sent word to General Ewell to "attack that hill (meaning Cemetery Hill) if practicable". Ewell hesitated to attack, and eventually did not.

By nightfall of the first day, with most of the fighting over, the Confederates had assembled close to 35,000 troops, at least 10,000 more than the Union. However, within a few hours three more Union divisions had arrived in against only two of Lee's, and from that time on Meade's strength progressively improved. By daybreak of the next morning, July 2, Meade could count 68,000 men to Lee's 60,000 and by 4 P.M. that afternoon another 15,000 had completed their march from Maryland to give Meade a strength of 97,000. Confederate General George Pickett's division and General Stuart's cavalry also arrived late on July 2, to bring Lee's total to 75,000.

As the hours of the battle passed, General Meade weighed the reports coming in from Buford, Reynolds and Hancock. He became convinced that the entire Confederate army was concentrating on Gettysburg. Without waiting for Hancock's final recommendation, he discarded any plans of waiting to attack Lee on Big Pipe creek in Maryland and at 4:30 P.M. sent word to all corps commanders to march on Gettysburg without delay. Meade, riding up from Taneytown Maryland through the darkness, reached Cemetery Hill about Midnight of July 1 to find his army organizing the Cemetery Ridge area, with every means at their command. They set up a "fish hook" position along Cemetery Ridge, with the shank, (or straight line) running south toward the Round Tops, and the hook bending just south of the town and around to the east - southeast at Culp's Hill and McAllister's Hill.

Confederate General Lee had reached the field around noon or shortly after. Lee, coming up from Cashtown, initially could do little but observe. Far enough forward however to watch the withdrawal of the Union 1st corps. Following the route of the Union 11th corps, he noted the confused troop movements of the Union on Cemetery Ridge and realized the importance of pressing his advantage. Earlier in the day Lee had hesitated moving his main body forward, not knowing what lay ahead of him, due to the fact the the "eyes and ears" of his army, General Jeb Stuart and his cavalry were no where to be found.

It had been Hancock's afternoon role to restore order in the shattered ranks and stabilize the defense on Cemetery Ridge, and to advise Meade that Gettysburg was the place for him to fight his battle.

The attack of A.P. Hill was pressing the Union 1st corps back from Seminary Ridge, and the Union troops were in danger of being cut off by Rode's advance south toward their rear. After heavy fighting that left many dead or wounded in the fields on all sides of the Seminary, the survivors of the 1st corps retreated to Cemetery Hill.

The day's casualties were 10,000 Union and 7,000 Confederate.

The rest of the day and long into that night of July 1, the many divisions of Union and Confederate infantry and artillery had been moving in from the many roads that converged at Gettysburg like the spokes of a wheel. They were driven at a rapid pace by their commanders to get there first, but without knowing where they were going or what lay in-store for them when they got there, except for the sound of artillery cannon and the sound of musket fire.

Union General Meade, who was in Taneytown Maryland all that day, had sent General Winfield Hancock, commanding the 2nd corps, forward as his deputy to evaluate the situation. Hancock was the fifth Union general officer in top field command on the first day, with the responsibilities of the battle being placed in succession on Buford, Reynolds until he was killed, Doubleday, Howard, Hancock, and finally Maj. General Slocum, commanding 12th corps, before Meade would appear in person to assume full command of the armies and the engagement.

At 2:30 P.M., Confederate General Early's division arrived on the high ground across from Rock Creek, made a slashing attack from the northeast against the Union right flank north of the town, causing it to crumple.This threw the entire Union line of the 11th corps into confusion, which soon turned into a disorderly retreat back through the town. General Early pursued the beaten Union troops through the clogged streets of the town, capturing or killing thousands. He then stopped to regroup and sent part of his troops out the York road to protect his flank.

Rode's attack was repulsed along the east edge of the ridge, but the attack which drove toward the railroad cut made progress. However, Rode's suffered very heavy casualties with two brigades being nearly destroyed. General A.P. Hill was stepping up his attack from the west against Doubleday's corps, succeeding in enveloping the Union 1st. corps at McPherson's farm and driving them back to the Seminary.

Confederate strength on the battlefield was growing faster than the Union. The battle seemed likely to end in a matter of hours, with General Lee in control of all the important ground. The Union troops, not already casualties, would be driven back on the marching columns of General Meade's five uncommitted corps.

Confederate artillery from a position near what is now the Peace Light Monument,

began to shell the Union troops along an unfinished railroad cut, causing General Abner Doubleday to shift three brigades to meet the attack on his right flank.

Howard's divisions arrived in Gettysburg around 12:30 P.M. By 2 P.M. the long column of the 11th corps had closed up with one division being posted on Cemetery Hill, south of the town, and the other two deployed in the flat fields north of the town, where Devin's brigade of Buford's cavalry watched the advance of Confederate troops of Rode's division of Ewell's corps from the north. By that time, Rode's division had lined up on Oak Ridge, north of the Union right flank, and were on the point of linking up with General A.P. Hill's division, while General Early's division of Ewell's corps was still 3 miles to the northeast on the Harrisburg road. Exploiting the gap between the Union 1st and 11th corps, Rodes moved south out of the woods of the ridge to prepare an attack

Around 10 A.M., riding on horseback, General Reynolds recklessly exposed himself to the enemy at the forefront of the action. He was killed instantly on this spot at the eastern edge of McPherson's woods, (Herbst Woods) but not before he had sent an urgent message to Maj. General Howard to speed three divisions of his 11th corps to the scene.

*******Side Note****** It is rumored that a Confederate sniper shot Reynolds, but more likely it was an errant bullet that struck him.

As the battle raged on for hours, becoming heavier and with more Confederate reinforcements coming up, Buford finally spotted General John Reynolds and his corps of infantry marching in from the south at around 9:30 A.M. Reynolds quickly took command of the field and directed his troops to repel the invasion from the west and north.

Union General Buford watched the battle from the tower of the Lutheran Theological Seminary, for which Seminary Ridge is named.

As the battle ensued, Confederate General Heth's brigade of A.P. Hill's corps quickly came up from the west, while General Ewell's corps was coming in from the north-northwest over Oak Ridge.

Exposed Gap In Union Line

Seminary

McPherson's Barn

Herr's Ridge

First Shots Fired Here

Reynolds Killed Here

Seminary

McPherson's Barn

Oak Ridge

Howard & 11th Corps

Doubleday & 1st Corps

Wiloughby Run

Vicinity Where Gen. Reynolds Was Killed

McPherson's Barn

Directly to the Left

Oak Ridge

Seminary

Barn

Buford

Lee's HQ

Leading his men into the Herbst's woods farm woodlot, just south of the McPherson's farm, General Reynolds was shot in the saddle and died almost instantly. Shot through the neck he reeled from the saddle and was taken to the rear.

"Here is where it began"...

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new 2006

The battle rages on...

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new 2006

Monument were Gen. Reynolds fell. Front & rear view of Monument.

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new 2006

Reynolds & Buford