Esteemed member "Anthony G. Mollo"
Even though Hancock had ordered the entire brigade up to Culp's Hill, Doubleday ordered ONLY the 7th Indiana (his only fresh regiment - they had not been engaged on July 1st). Thus, Cutler's Brigade was the vanguard sent to seize Culp's Hill.
Not long AFTERWARDS, the Iron Brigade was sent to the support of the 7th Indiana. They all immediately began constructing breasworks. The rest of Cutler's depleted force was then allowed to bivouac that night opposite the cemetery entrance. While here, Colonel Fowler (of the 14th Brooklyn) was struck in the hand by a spent bullet. However, he was unhurt.
Hi, Anthony
Where did you find that the 7th was sent first? I was under the impression that Robinson's men were sent over, followed by the 7th. Dawes' letter to Bachelder certainly indicates that, saying that he had placed his men in line and begun constructing breatworks when the 7th came up on his flank, and Pfanz's phrasing also placed the Iron Brigade first. Martin's "First Day" has the most to say about the issue, and definitely places the 7th there after the Iron Brigade.
Most of the reports, however, are fairly silent on the issue, (not that it's > a big one) so I assume there's a regimental that might speak more completely about the sequence? The timing on first day arrivals of the non-engaged troops has always been pretty spotty - the 7th Indiana, for instance, was variously reported as being on the field as early as 4PM and as late as 7 PM.
The information was taken from the book "Cutler's Brigade at Gettysburg" by James L. McLean, pages 143 through 150. McLean references the following in his footnotes when making this singular claim These footnotes are referenced in McLean's book on pages 144 (footnote 14) and page 146 (footnote 2):
Hoffman, Bvt. Brig.-Gen. J. Wm. "Remarks on the Battle of Gettysburg". Philadelphia: A.W. Auner, 1880. Page 7
Hoffman, Bvt. Brig.-Gen. J. Wm. "The 56th Pennsylvania Volunteers in the Gettysburg Campaign". Philadelphia Weekly Press. January 13, 1886
Truitt, P. "The Seventh Indiana Fighters at Gettysburg", National Tribune, November 19, 1925.
Dawes, Rufus. "Service with the Sixth Wisconsin". Dayton: Morningside House, Inc. 1980. Page 179, 180
Coddington, Edwin B. "The Gettysburg Campaign... page 712n
Stine, J.H. "History of the Army of the Potomac". Philadelphia: J.B. Rodgers Printing Co., 1892. Page 492
Thomson, Orville "Narrative of the Service of the Seventh Indiana Infantry in the War for the Union". n.p., n.d. Pages 162-163
Hubbard, J.N. "Gettysburg, Wadsworth's Division on Culp's Hill", National Tribune, March 15, 1915.
Pearson, Henry Greenleaf. "James S. Wadsworth of Genesco..." London: John Murray, 1913 Pages 223-225
Lieutenant H.H. Lyman to Bachelder, undated, Bachelder Papers Transcript.
O.R. Part 1, page 283