ORDER OF BATTLE
In the order of appearance
LITTLE ROUND TOP
Fiftieth Reunion Photo
Compiled by Alexander Cameron
UNION
JULY 1, 1863
12th Corps (-)
2nd Division (-)
1st brigade (-)
- 5th Ohio, Col. John H. Patrick
- 147 Pennsylvania, Lieut. Col. Ario Pardee, Jr.
The 5th Ohio and 147th Penn. were stationed on Little Round Top at 5 p.m.
and remained throughout the night of July 1. They were removed at 5 a.m. on
July 2 and ordered to the Union right.
- Signal Party, Lieut. J.E. Holland (12th Corps)
Holland's signal station operated on Little Round Top during the evening of
July 1 and left at 5 a.m. on July 2 with the 5th Ohio and 147th Penn.
JULY 2, 1863
Cavalry Corps (-)
1st Division (-)
- Signal Party, Lieut. Arron B. Jerome
Jerome operated a signal station on Little Round Top supporting Brig.Gen.
Buford from about 8 a.m. until about 12 p.m.
2nd Corps (-)
- Signal Party, Capt. James Hall
Hall supported the 2nd Corps with a signal station on Little Round Top from
about 1 p.m. until 5 p.m.
Headquarters Army of the Potomac (-)
- Chief Engineer, Brig. General Gouverneur K. Warren
Warren arrived at the signal station on Little Round Top sometime shortly
before 3:30 p.m. He was accompanied by Chauncey B. Reese, Randal S.
Mackenzie, and Washington Roebling.
5th Corps (-)
1st Division (-)
3rd Brigade
Col. Strong Vincent , Col. James C. Rice
Vincent detached his brigade and sent it to Little Round Top at about 4:30
p.m. It was hit by the Confederates at about 4:45 p.m. Command of the
brigade devolved to Rice when Vincent was killed at about 5:45.
- 44th New York, Col. James C. Rice, Lieut. Col. Freeman Conner
- 16th Michigan, Lieut. Col. Norval E. Welch
- 83rd Pennsylvania, Capt. Orpheus S. Woodward
- 20th Maine, Col. Joshua L. Chamberlain.
The 16th Michigan was allowed to pass the 44th New York so that the 44th and
the 83rd Pennsylvania ("Butterfield Twins") could fight together.
Chamberlain wrote that his regiment was the first up the hill. Oliver
Norton, Vincent's flag bearer, wrote that the 20th Maine was last. If the
20th Maine was indeed first, all of the other regiments must have passed
them to go to the right. This order reflects Norton's version.
The center
of Vincent's Brigade was hit at about 4:45 p.m. The extreme right, defended
by the 16th Michigan, was engaged at about 5:45 p.m. The 20th Maine became
engaged on the left at approximately 6:00 p.m. O.O. Norton recalled that
the fight against Vincent's Brigade ended sometime between 6:00 and 7:00
p.m. The left wing of Chamberlain's regiment was refused at about 6:15.
Chamberlain ordered his charge at approximately 6:45 p.m. The Confederates
had been swept from the front at about 7:00 p.m.
- Company B, 20th Maine, Capt. Walter G. Morrill
Morrill's company was placed about 150 yards to the left of the 20th Maine's
line to screen the front and left. They remained there during the fight
until the 15th Alabama began to retreat in front of Chamberlain's charge
when Company B stood up from behind a stone wall and fired into the
retreating Confederates.
- 2nd U.S. Sharpshooter Regiment
About a dozen men (led by a sergeant) of the 2nd U.S. Sharpshooters fell in
with Company B, 20th Maine.
- Brady's Independent Company of Sharpshooters, 16th Michigan
Brady's Sharpshooters were sent out as skirmishers with Company A, 16th
Michigan.
Artillery Brigade (-), Capt. Augustus P. Martin
- Battery D, 5th United States Artillery, Capt. Charles Hazlett, Lieut.Benjamin F. Rittenhouse
Hazlett and Martin came up the hill and conferred with Warren before Warren
was aware that Vincent was on the other side of the hill. Hazlett left and
came back with his battery. Rittenhouse replaced Hazlett when Hazlett was
killed trying to comfort Weed who was mortally wounded.
2nd Division (-)
3rd Brigade, Brig. Gen. Stephen h. Weed, Col. Kenner Garrard
- 140th New York, Col. Patrick H. O'Rorke, Lieut. Col. Louis Ernst
- 91stst Pennsylvania, Lieut. Col. Joseph H. Sinex
- 146th New York, Col. Kenner Garrard, Lieut. Col. David T. Jenkins
- 155th Pennsylvania, Lieut. Col. John H. Cain
The 140th New York was last in column as Weed's Brigade was being marched
toward the Emmitsburg Road. Warren acquired O'Rorke's regiment and it
became the first regiment of Weed's Brigade to ascend Little Round Top.
Command of the brigade devolved upon Garrard when Weed was mortally wounded.
Jenkins replaced Garrard as commander of the 146th New York. Command of the
140th New York devolved upon Ernst when O'Rorke was killed. The 91st
Pennsylvania went into position on the right of the 140th New York. The
146th New York and the 155th Pennsylvania continued the line toward the
northern crest of the hill.
Artillery Brigade (-)
- Battery L, 1st Ohio Light Artillery, Capt. Frank C. Gibbs
Gibbs' battery went into position to the right of Hazlett's on the northern
slope of the hill. The guns were unlimbered and moved among the boulders by
hand.
3rd Division (-)
3rd Brigade (-)
- 98th Pennsylvania, Maj. John B Kohler
3rd Division, Brig. Gen. Samuel W. Crawford
1st Brigade, Col. William McCandless
- 1st Pennsylvania Reserves, Col. William C. Talley
- 2nd Pennsylvania Reserves, Lieut. Col. George A. Woodward
- 6th Pennsylvania Reserves, Lieut. Col. Wellington H. Ent
- 13th Pennsylvania Reserves, Col. Charles F. Taylor, Maj. William R. Harshorne
3rd Brigade (-)
.
- 11th Pennsylvania Reserves, Col. Samuel M. Jackson.
Upon instructions from Maj. Gen. Sykes, Crawford formed McCandless' brigade,
along with the 98th Pennsylvania from the 6th Corps and the 11th
Pennsylvania from the 3rd Brigade, on the northern shoulder of Little Round
Top to the right of Vincent's Brigade. After waiting about 20 minutes, they
attacked down Little Round Top against elements of Anderson, Semmes and
Kershaw's brigades. The attack commenced after Vincent's fight was over and
continued until dark (8:25 p.m.) when they had swept the Confederates from
the Plum Run Valley and past a stone wall on the east side of the Wheatfield.
3rd Brigade, Col. Joseph W. Fisher
- 5th Pennsylvania Reserves, Lieut. Col. George Dare
- 9th Pennsylvania Reserves, Lieut. Col. James McK. Snodgrass
- 10th Pennsylvania Reserves, Col. Samuel M. Jackson
- 12th Pennsylvania Reserves (nine companies), Col. Martin D. Hardin
Fisher's brigade formed on Little Round Top behind Vincent's brigade and
served to secure the position after the Confederates had been repulsed.
6th Corps (-)
- Signal Party, Capt. E. C. Pierce
Pierce established his signal station shortly after 5 p.m. in the same
location which Hall had abandoned as "impracticable".
CONFEDERATE
JULY 1, 1863
Headquarters, Army of Northern Virginia (-)
- Engineer, Capt. R.S. Johnson
Johnson was sent by Lee to reconnoiter the enemy's left early on the morning
of the July 2. According to Johnson, he climbed Little Round Top as a part
of his reconnaissance at about 5:30 a.m. If so, it must have been right
after Geary's two regiments left and before Lieut. Jerome climbed the hill
to use it as a signal station.
Longstreet's Corps (-)
Evander Law and Staff
Hood's Division, Maj. Gen. John B. Hood, Brig Gen. E.M. Law
Law's Brigade, Brig. Gen. E.M. Law, Col. James L. Sheffield
- 4th Alabama, Lieut. Col. L.H. Scruggs
- 15th Alabama, Col. William C. Oates
- 47th Alabama, Col. James W. Jackson, Lieut. Col. M.J. Bulger, Maj. J.M. Campbell
- 48th Alabama, Col. James L. Sheffield
Robertson's Brigade (-)
- 4th Texas, Col. J.C.G. Key, Maj. J.P. Bane
- 5th Texas, Col. R.M. Powell, Lieut. Col. K. Bryan, Maj. J.C. Rogers
The initial attack is by the 4th Alabama and the 4th and 5th Texas. They
attacked twice and were repulsed twice. Command of the 5th Texas devolved
upon Rogers when both Powell and Bryan are wounded. Command of the division
devolved upon Law after Hood was wounded. Vincent's brigade is attacked a
third time by elements of Robertson's and Law's brigades. The 48th Alabama
had joined the fight on the left of the 4th Texas. The 48th Alabama and the
4th Texas continue to attack Vincent's right. The 16th Michigan begins to
fall back pressed by the 4th Texas and the 48th Alabama. The 15th Alabama
started the movement forward as the center of the battle line. Law moved
the two end regiments across the rear of the 15th to assist Robertson's
attack on Devil's Den. the 15th and 47th Alabama climbed Big Round Top and
then moved down hill toward Vincent's line on Little round Top, both
regiments under the control of Oates. The 15th Alabama attacked the 20th
Maine. The 47th Alabama attacks Vincent's line against the 83rd
Pennsylvania and the right of Chamberlain's line. The 140th New York
repulsed the attack on the far right of Vincent's line and the 20th Maine
repulsed the 15th Alabama on the left. Command of the 47th Alabama devolved
upon Campbell when Bulger is captured.
NOTES:
(-) Indicates less than the full organization.
Commanders are listed if they were directly involved in the action.
REFERENCES:
James R. Wright. "Time on Little Round Top", Gettysburg Magazine, Vol. 2,
Dayton, Ohio: Morningside
Alexander Cameron. "The Saviors of Little Round Top", Gettysburg Magazine,
Vol. 8, Dayton, Ohio: Morningside
O.O. Norton, The Attack and Defense of Little Round Top, reprint, Dayton,
Ohio: Morningside, 1983
U.S. War Dept. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official
Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Series I, Vol. 27, 3 Pts. Wash,
DC: GPO, 1889, reprint, Dayton: Morningside, 1993
Harry W. Pfanz, Gettysburg: The Second Day, Chapel Hill, NC: The University
of North Carolina Press, 1987
Coddington, Edwin B. The Gettysburg Campaign: A Study in Command, Dayton:
Morningside, 1979
Battles and Leaders of the Civil War. Vol. 3, New York: Yoseloff, 1956
and,