July 2, 1863

Here it is....the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg. 146 years ago to the day, the fighting in The Wheatfield, Devil's Den, Culp's Hill, Little Round Top, and Cemetery Ridge was raging. There is just so much to say about this day and yet the words just don't come to me.

Two of my favorites places on the battle (the Wheatfield and Culp's Hill) fought on this day. Neither one was an overwhelming victory for either side. On Culp's Hill, the Union (despite being outnumbered by a great amount) was able to hold their position until reinforcements arrived and the fighting there continued the next day...starting at 4am. The Wheatfield wasn't a win for either side. Despite the horrendous fighting and the back and forth taking of it, neither side ended up with the Wheatfield in the end and it remained no-mans land for the rest of the battle.

Devil's Den is a different story. The Union had Infantry and Artillery placed on this hill and around the rocks but they were unable to hold this ground. Eventually, the Confederates used the boulders in and around the Devil's Den as a sharpshooter's nest....constantly sniping at the soldiers on Little Round Top.

Little Round Top is probably is most famous fighting of July 2 thanks to the movie "Gettysburg" and Michael Shaara's novel "The Killer Angels". Oh the things I could say about this fighting, but I have to leave that to another post. Despite the celebrity around Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain (who I do not have a problem with, but do not like how he has overshadowed some of the other key figures in this fighting) there were at least 3 others who deserve the glory also. These others include Strong Vincent, Gouverneur K. Warren, Patrick O'Rourke and others. In the end, Little Round Top was held on to by the Union army and they continued to hold it until the end of the battle.

The most confusing part of the 2nd Days fighting (for me, at least) is the fighting that took place on Cemetery Ridge. There was a lot of artillery fighting. And we know that at least a few brigades made it across the fields that we have come to know as the Pickett's Charge field. The brigade of Ambrose Wright even claims to have pushed through the lines and made it almost as far as the Taneytown Road. There is quite a bit of controversy behind this statement. Many people do not believe that they made it that far. And even some who claim that they never even broke the Union line. Who do we believe? I'm not sure. Like I said, this part of the battle confuses me (and this is coming from a person who understands the fighting in the Wheatfield).

At the end of all the hostilities, the Union army got together and had a Council of War (see my post on that) to determine their next move. And tomorrow we shall see just what came of their next move.

July 2, 1863. This was a day of intense fighting and more deaths and woundings than I would like to imagine. The wastefulness of these lives is frightening. I've been re-reading a wonderful book by the late Greg Coco called "A Vast Sea of Misery"...a book about the hospitals that were in use during and after the battle. The more I read about these men and what they went through, the more horrific this battle becomes for me. Another book that really should be read by anyone who has an interest in the men who fought here is also written by Greg Coco and its called "Strange and Blighted Land". This one goes beyond the hospitals and centers more on the wounded, dead, and dying. It sounds awful but it is a very enlightening book and needs to be read by anyone who thinks that war is glorious. Greg shows you just what the fighting is capable of doing. Greg passed away this past February after a long fight with cancer and he will be missed....but on top of that, we won't get any more of his books that come from his deep and personal mission to tell about the dead and dying.

July 2, 1863. 146 years ago today. There is still one more day left to the fighting here in Gettysburg and tomorrow shall be one of the loudest and most horrible days in the history of North America. Tomorrow we shall see who wins.