LM#33--Gettysburg's 160th anniversary, part 2

Listen, those of the drums of liberty. 160 years ago today, those drums sounded in south central Pennsylvania, in a sleepy little town named Gettysburg. Yesterday we talked about day one. Today let's talk about day two on this special Liberty Minute.

Welcome to the Theory to Action podcast, where we examine the timeless treasures of wisdom from the great books in less time, to help you take action immediately and ultimately to create and lead a flourishing life. Now here's your host, david Kaiser.

Hello, i am David and welcome back to this special Liberty Minute. It's the 160th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg. Now I'm sure I will be getting a text message from someone telling me that I'm pronouncing the name wrong Gettysburg. It's not that way, it's Gettysburg. Well, i was actually saying it wrong Gettysburg the whole time, until I went to the National Battlefield at. Gettysburg and one of the Battlefield guides corrected me, and these Battlefield guides? they go through a tremendous amount of training and research to be qualified as a Battlefield guide. He gently corrected me on the name pronunciation, so we have that settled. Nevertheless, it's a very small detail and such a big topic. But today we're going to go back in time before the Battle of Gettysburg to answer one of the puzzling questions which we brought up in yesterday's show. Where is General Robert E Lee's cavalry, led by his best cavalry, commander, jeb Stewart, and why is he late to the battle by almost 24 hours? That's one of the most vexing questions for historians. Even to this day The debates rage back and forth, but one we think, with the help of our author. Today we have a convincing answer for, and to give us that answer is our guide and author, one of the most incredible still living historians On this topic, stephen Sears. In his remarkable one volume book titled Gettysburg Now, sears is written prolifically on military history, with a heavy concentration on the Civil War, especially the Army of the Podomic, with over seven books to his credit. We will not name them all here, but that gives you an idea of the author. So for now let's check out Stephen Sears writing and let's go to the book for our first pull quote. The question going to the heart of Stuart's quote right around Hooker is why it was undertaken at all. Longstreet on June 22nd noted that if Stuart's cavalry should cross the Potomac along with the rest of the army that is passing from the Shenandoah Valley I'm sorry, the Shenandoah Valley into the Cumberland Valley, it would quote disclose our plans. That seems the flimsiest of answers. If the gaps in the Blue Ridge continued to be securely held, as Lee's orders specified, surely the Yankees would continue to be mystified as to the Confederates intentions. In any event, by Lee's design he needed to have the enemy follow him if he was going to shift the seat of war into Northern Territory. It was merely a matter of timing. Fast moving cavalry starting promptly could easily catch up with Yule's infantry by this direct route through the valley, half the distance of the more easterly roundabout route. Should there be the threat of congestion at Shepardstown, a Potomac crossing, a short detour would take the cavalry to Williamsport, one of Yule's earlier crossing points. Perhaps the true answer to this question is inherent in Dorsey Pender's remark in his June 23rd letter Quote. It is stated on all sides that Hooker has a small army and that very much demoralized The general says he wants to meet him as soon as possible. General Lee's contempt for fighting Joe Hooker, mr F J Hooker, which was actually a derisive term And for Hooker's army, had only been reinforced by Chancellorsville. Lee never grasped how much dame fortune had shaped his victory on that battlefield. Jeb Stewart had no doubts at all that he could ride around or even through the hapless Yankees to achieve all General Lee wanted of him to a harvest of glory. And Lee fully subscribed to his attitude. The very concept of Stewart's expedition was fueled by overconfidence and misjudgment at the highest command level. As soldier historian Porter Alexander judged the matter, quote we took unnecessary risk, which was bad war And only bad war too, i think. In all our tactics. Historians since the last shot fired at Gettysburg have been debating why Jeb Stuart's cavalry was ordered to ride around Hooker's Army by General Robert E Lee, as Sears puts it here. We get the evidence of most likely the truth when looking at all the available information. Quote the very concept of Stuart's expedition was fueled by overconfidence and misjudgment at the highest command level. The eight days that Stuart's cavalry was not the eyes and ears of Lee's army created a torrent of controversy, as Sears put it. During those days, twice Stuart sent couriers but neither got through. Stuart had to avoid hindrances during the ride, zigzagging to avoid Yankees along his ride around Hooker. All of these cost Stuart precious time. His arrogance was as full as Lee's in the aftermath of Chancellorsville. Sears' writing of this escapade is brilliant. He, as the author, jockeys between Lee's army and Hooker's army, which was following, while keeping Washington DC in between themselves and Lee's army, while not knowing where General Lee's intentions lie. Then Sears supplements this with great storytelling. As Stuart gallivants around Hooker's army. So in almost real time, much like you see in a movie, you can follow all three plots as they progress. If Robert E Lee was marching blind into the north and into Pennsylvania without the aid of his cavalry, fighting Joe, hooker was inundated and overwhelmed with his Union intelligence. The army of the Potomac was massed to protect Washington and poised to push across the Potomac on command. Solid intelligence about the rebel army was at last beginning to come in. The decision to start Jeb Stuart on his ride around Hooker would prove a boon to Federal Intelligence Gathering. Without Stuart's tight cavalry screen, lee's hidden army became visible. To be sure. Stuart had left two cavalry brigades under Beverly Robertson and Grumble Jones with the army, but Lee put them to guarding the Blue Ridge gaps rather than furnishing security during the army's advance. As a consequence, information began to funnel into General Hooker's headquarters from no fewer than fifteen organized intelligence gathering groups. The Potomac's army bureau of military information ran several spying operations, as did General Couch and Harrisburg. The Signal Corps established observation posts. The railroads in the region directed scouting parties that reported over the line telegraph facilities On the scene. scouting parties such as that of David McConaughey, a leading citizen of Gettysburg, supplied eyewitness testimony. Gradually, the hazy picture of the invading army began to clear. On July 1, 1863, lee's army of Northern Virginia was just west of Gettysburg and Meade's army was scrambling to get north of the state line of Maryland and into Pennsylvania, while still protecting the nation's capital. It was there, at Gettysburg, where both armies would clash. The first day's battle was the Confederates' limited victory. The Union cavalry and corps barely held off the Confederates' advances, only to manage to keep the high ground on Cemetery Hill just south of the town. This small fact would become decisive later on, the limited engagements west and north of the town and then escalations throughout the town of Gettysburg from the south, culminating in Union fighting and retreating, fighting and retreating until settling in on defensive positions at Cemetery Hill. Keep in mind, lee only had a rough idea of what was in front of him. Stuart's cavalry wouldn't be seen until 3 am on July 2, when he provides confirmation for what Lee had only heard from spies and scouts about the strength of the Union army. So, to sum up, the intelligence for the Confederates and General Robert E Lee was extremely unreliable, but the intelligence of troop movements and total soldiers and locations of those corps and their cavalry and artillery for the Union side was getting better and better, eventually pouring into General Hooker's office until the end and then turned over to General Mead as he took command of the army of the Potomac just three days before the Battle of Gettysburg Gettysburg. So to answer the question on why General Robert E Lee was fighting blind all the way through day one, it was because he didn't have his cavalry led by Jeb Stuart. Now some interesting information surrounds this question, that's Jeb Stuart ever taken this type of trip before? quote, riding around the whole Union army to gain incredible intelligence? The answer is yes. In fact, twice he had done this very thing In 1862, both times he had ridden all the way around the Union army, to their chagrin and to his glory. Now Stuart was a glory hog. He cultivated his reputation very closely. So throughout all of day one, general Lee was without solid intelligence from his most trusted and best cavalry commander. It wasn't until early on day two, in the early hours of the morning, that Stuart and Lee were reunited. That conversation, as Sears has written, was painful beyond description. Lee saying well, general Stuart, you are here at last. That stinging re rebuke, however muted, had a lasting impression on Stuart. Stuart's orders then were, once he got to Gettysburg, were to attack the rear and help support picket's charge. On day three, if there was a breakthrough, stuart's cavalry was worn out from eight hard days of fighting and riding. Lee and his cavalry were ineffective against the Union cavalry three miles east of Gettysburg and many clashes throughout day two and day three. Now let's pivot to the Union left flank to talk about another part of the battle. The fourth Texas made its first attack, inspired by the rebel yell, but after they were driven back, the Texans did not waste breath and further yelling. There was little coordination in this or subsequent advances At one point, the fifth Texas, in the center, found itself out in front all alone while its neighboring regiments fell back onto their own orders. After two raggedly conducted assaults were repelled, the attackers proceeded more slowly and carefully, using the cover of rocks and trees, stressing marksmanship. Casualties grew heavy on both sides. Every tree rock stump that gave any protection from the rain of mini-balls that were poured down upon us from the crest above us were soon appropriated, wrote Texan Val Gills. John Griffith and myself preempted a moss-covered, cold old boulder about the size of a 500-pound cotton bale, colonel Oates. Two regiments now joined the fight, focusing on the Union left, manned by the 20th Maine. His opening assault was met Oates, remembered by the most destructive fire I've ever saw. His line wavered like a man trying to walk against a strong wind And Colonel Chamberlain's phrasing. They pushed up to within a dozen yards of us before the terrible effectiveness of our fire compelled them to break and take shelter. Using his 15th Alabama, primarily, oates now began to work around to the west, passing the federal's far flank. To counter this threat, chamberlain stretched and thinned his line until it was only a single rank deep and refused his left at a sharp angle. At the same time, the Texans, on the other hand, on the other end of the battle line, pressed hard against Colonel Vincent's right flank, The 16th Michigan, in isolation from the rest of the battlefield. The fight for Little Round Top settled into a bitter, grinding battle of attrition among the rocks and ledges and trees, with both flanks of the Yankee line coming under growing pressure. There is much fighting on day two at Gettysburg and it would take hours to go over. However, the battle within the battle on the extreme left flank of the Union line is one of the most pivotal areas of the Union line. For the rest, i highly encourage you to check out Sears' book for the full coverage, as it is fascinating and his writing is gripping. The 20th Maine, led by Colonel Joshua Chamberlain, fought its most famous engagement on this extreme left of the Union line on day two of Gettysburg. The grounded fought on is known as Little Round Top, the smaller of the two rocky hills south of Gettysburg, gettysburg, pennsylvania. The other hill is known as Big Round Top. The 20th Maine was part of Fifth Corps, led by Major General George Sykes. To the right of the 20th was the regiments of the 83rd Pennsylvania, to their right, the 44th, new York, followed by the 16th Michigan. These four regiments were led by 26-year-old Vincent Strong, brigade commander, who acted swiftly, without consulting his superiors when he heard that the left flank of the Union line had inadvertently been exposed. Strong's quick and decisive action stopping a courier to ask his orders and then demanding that the courier give those orders to him many believe saved the day for the Union and perhaps the whole battle itself. Upon Strong positioning his men arriving only 10 minutes before the advancing Confederates, he impressed upon them to take their position. Quote take cover and wait on the Union left and then order Chamberlain to hold his position at all cost, making sure he knew his position Because he was the extreme left of the Army of the Potomac. Chamberlain's 385 men sat waiting. Opposite of Strong's Union brigade was the Rebel's brigade, general Evander Laws 4th, 15th and 47th Alabama and the 4th and 5th Texas regiments. Exhausted at having forced march 20 miles to get to the battle, they were given their orders before they could refill their canteens. As the brutal fighting began on Little Round Top quickly the Union 16th of Michigan faltered and staggered back. Patti O'Rourke's, the leader of the 140th New York, saw this and let's go to the book to hear straight from Sears Returning to his troops, patti O'Rourke swung off his horse, waved his sword and shouted down this way, boys, and led the way to where what remained of the 16th Michigan was about to fall under Rebel's rush. It was about this time, wrote Sergeant James Campbell, that Colonel O'Rourke, cheering on his men and acting as he always does, like a brave and good man, fell, pierced through the neck by a Rebel bullet. His enraged men rushed past their fallen Colonel and into the vacated line, meeting a storm of fire and delivering a storm of fire of their own. As for Colonel O'Rourke's killer, one of the first New Yorkers to reach the battle line wrote that was Johnny's last shot, for a number of companies, a and G, fired instantly. It was said that this particular Johnny was hit by actual count 17 times On the opposite flank, the little round top drama rushed toward another climax here at the 20th main, like the 140th, new York was undergoing its first real test in battle. He strode along his line, crying forward men to the ledge, but in the smoke and din of musketry he could not be easily seen or heard. He would have led by example. I passed through the column waving my sword, rushed forward to the ledge and was promptly followed up by my entire command. In splendid style, from one of his fallen men he paused to snatch up a rifle and fire off several shots of his own. The Alabamians managed to gain the ledge and there was a savage, often hand-to-hand, struggle as they tried to hold it. As Chamberlain remembered the scene, the edge of the conflict swayed to and fro with wild whirl-pulls and eddies. At times I saw men around me more of the enemy. At times I saw around me more of the enemy than of my own men. Gaps opening, swallowing, closing again with sharp, convulsive energy. The 20th Company officers held the wavering line together by gripping their swords in both hands and pressing the blades flat against the men's backs. There was a despicable, desperate scramble for the 15th Alabama's flag. It was saved, said Oates, only when Sergeant Pat O'Connor stove his bayonet through the head of a Yankee who fell dead. At the peak of the action, colonel Oates witnessed his own brother, lieutenant John Oates, fell mortally wounded, in the minds of the Confederates. Then the unthinkable happened. Joshua Chamberlain also took a decision, one he, like William Oates, believed to be inevitable. His men around him were displaying empty cartridge boxes. His line, he thought, was thinned far beyond the point of holding off another charge. At the foot of the slope in front of him he saw the hostile line now rallying in low shrubbery for a new onset. All Chamberlain could think of to do now to meet his orders to hold the position at all costs was to launch a charge of his own to surprise and break up the rebels before they could form for another attack. So the extreme left flank held the important line on day two of the battle of Gettysburg. However, its victory was drenched in blood. As Sears describes, vincent's Brigade and the 140th New York suffered 485 casualties, or just over 20% of those engaged. They lost their leaders too. Colonel Strong Vincent and Colonel Patio Roark of the 140th New York were mortally wounded. Absolute bravery on both sides of this pivotal battle. And there's so much more we could cover, but we have run out of time Again. I will offer two recommendations. First, i highly, highly recommend you physically make the trip to Gettysburg, to the National Military Park. As an American, the importance of this battle cannot be understated. The men and women who gave their lives during this battle and, more broadly, during the Civil War continue to shape our nation even to today. So I hope you will do that sometime in your life to really understand the history of the battle and understand the importance of the Civil War and our history as a country. And second, be sure to check out those great YouTubers. I talked about yesterday, the American Battlefield Trust, the armchair historian in the Gettysburg Images channel. But if you were to click on one, if you were just to check out one, I will put a special link in the show notes for today's show. The American Battlefield Trust, like I said, has been putting out some great stuff and I have found or maybe I just overlooked their Gettysburg animated battlefield map. It's fantastic. In just over 16 minutes you get a great sense of the battle and its ebbs and flows. So be sure to check that out. So, as best we are able to do in this limited amount of time, we have covered day one and day two of the Battle of Gettysburg. To summarize, jeb Stuart has finally shown up as one of General Lee's best Confederate cavalry commanders, but his troops were ineffective in battle on day two. General Robert E Lee is fought to a standstill so far at Gettysburg, but his overconfidence is brimming to win a battle on northern soil and to strike a blow at the Union cause. The Army of the Potomac under General Mead, newly formed, or newly led, rather, general Mead has fought in a repulsed, blow after blow after blow from the south, especially at Little Round Top where Vincent Strong's and Joshua Chamberlain's leadership came up very big. So 160 years ago today, day two of one of the most pivotal battles ever fought on American soil has turned bloody and very ferocious. To give an idea of the fighting on day one some 17,000 soldiers both sides that total is for both sides were injured or died. On day two, estimates are rising rapidly, approaching 35,000 killed, not just injured but killed. The fighting is fierce all over the battlefield. We didn't have time to talk about the Peach, orchard, or Devil's Dan or the Weedfield, and then on the back over by Culp's Hill, on East Cemetery Hill. But as darkness falls, on day two, the Union has defended their entrenched positions well. But tomorrow will be day three. General Robert E Lee believes his enemy to be weakened. So come back tomorrow for the conclusion of our Gettysburg 160th anniversary special you.