Words Behind The Pictures (Part 2)
The
men of the 9th uncoiled the prolongs and prepared the limbers under the
endless, murderous fire of the Confederate sharpshooters. The swarming
Confederate troops had recognized the designs of their Union foe and stepped
up their attempts to disable the remaining horses. Finally the battery
was prepared; the dead and dying horses were cut from their harnesses,
the guns were loaded, and the limbers manned. The beleaguered Massachusetts
battery was now heading back across the field they had previously charged,
their destination was a small gateway leading to the Trostle farm road
and safety.
The retreating battery was firing solid shot and canister into the ubiquitous
Confederate troops, who, because of the total collapse of the Union front
and flanks, were able to surround the 
artillerists
on three sides. To make matters worse the Confederate artillery, under
Colonel E. Porter Alexander, had advanced their pieces into the vacated
Peach Orchard and began firing into the backs of Bigelow and his men.
Both man and beast were the recipients of this terrible and severe fight.
Horses were decapitated by flying balls while men were swept away by the
deadly canister shot. The progress of the 9th was continually slowed by
the need to remove the dead horses from the teams and these discarded
animals along with the badly wounded men marked a bloody path of this
desperate retreat. Also slowing the battery was the boulder-strewn field
over which the lumbering wooden wheeled vehicles had to travel. The fight
was not all one sided though. The double canister and bouncing solid shot
were decimating the Confederate attackers. Whole lines of men were mown
down from the deadly projectiles emanating from the guns of the 9th whose
vigorous fire was keeping the Confederates at bay.
Finally the battery reached the gateway leading to the farm lane but found
it to be only wide enough to allow the passage of one limber at a time.
Just as Bigelow was ordering his men to limber up their guns for a dash
through the narrow gate, up reined Lt. Col. Freeman McGilvery on his bullet
ridden horse. McGilvery commanded the four-battery brigade of which Bigelow’s
was one. His orders were for Bigelow to sacrifice his battery and to "hold
your position at all hazards" while the Union army attempted to form
a line of defense along Cemetery Ridge. The men were stunned. After fighting
for their lives and just moments from their escape, a certain death warrant
had been issued. Without wasting time Captain Bigelow issued orders to
quickly unlimber and assume a defensive posture.
The position they were ordered to defend was a corner formed by two perpendicular
stone piled walls. The battery was arranged in a semi-circle and to their
right was a wall and the gateway leading to the Trostle farm lane and
safety. To their rear was another low stone wall. To the 9th’s front was
the 21st Mississippi and portions of other rebel units mixed together
during the whirlwind of conflict. Scattered amongst the harried defenders
were large boulders making it near impossible to work the guns. Again
the cannons began to spew forth their deadly projectiles. Fuses were cut
short on case shot and shell so that they would explode soon after exiting
the muzzles. Double canister tore through the overwhelming enemy troops.
But each murderous discharge of the guns propelled them backwards decreasing
the area between the guns and the stone walls. Dead, dying, and wounded
horses as well as soldiers were piling up in this shrinking postage stamp
sized battleground.
The fighting became hand-to-hand as the Confederates, sensing victory,
surged forward to capture their hard fought prize. The artillerists used
the rammer heads, sponge staffs, and hand spikes to fight off the unstoppable
rebel attackers. Unable to stem the swell of the Confederate tide, Bigelow
yelled, " cease firing, and get back to our lines the best you can."
With most of the horses dead the precious cannons were left on the field
as the men ran for their lives. More men fell as this Dantesque melee
was finally reaching its’ bloody conclusion. Captain Bigelow was wounded
and fell from his horse but was saved from certain capture as Bugler Charles
Reed, halting his retreat, returned to help him from the field. A feat
for which Charles would win the Congressional Medal of Honor. In the end
Bigelow’s Battery successfully held the Confederates long enough for the
Union Army to regroup, but at a high price. Three quarter of the officers
and sergeants as well as 19 enlisted men were lost to Confederate fire.
A staggering 80 of the original 88 horses were killed, 45 fell across
from the Trostle House alone.
The
picture accompanying this article was composed by Timothy O’Sullivan on
July 6, 1863 from inside the semi-circular defensive position taken up
by Bigelow and his brave men. The dead horses seen are some of the 45
scattered in and around the Trostle farmhouse. The Trostle barn is in
the background (note the cannon ball hole in the upper stone wall, the
lower mark to the right) and the narrow gateway is to the left where the
fence post is leaning against the boulder.
If you found this article interesting you can read a fuller account of
the 9th Massachusetts, Captain Bigelow, and his brave men in, "Baptism
by Fire: The Ninth Massachusetts Battery at Gettysburg July 2, 1863"
by Eric Campbell in The
Gettysburg Magazine, issue number 5. The monograph is 32 pages long
and will make you shake your head wondering how anyone could have possibly
survived to tell such a tale. Also I suggest you read the book A Grand
Terrible Drama edited by Eric Campbell. The book contains the story of
the Union Army from Gettysburg to Petersburg as chronicled by Bugler Charles
Reed in letters and accompanying sketches to family and friends during
his service. His superb detailed drawings were later used in the book
"Hardtack and Coffee" by John Billings. The sketches
used in this article were drawn by Charles Reed.
Click on images for links to additional information.
