Cemetery Hill - Part 3

153rd Pa

    Here we can see how the spur, and its knoll 120 yards in front of the 153rd Pa., created dead ground where attacking Confederate troops were protected from Union fire until they were in some cases only 50 yards from the road.  To compound the problem, the brigade commander, von Gilsa, for a time ordered his men not to fire, thinking the attacking Confederates were returning Union skirmishers.  Although the 17th Connecticut to its left held, the 153rd Pa, 68th NY, and 54th NY took flight after hand to hand combat, leaving a massive hole in the Union line.  Not noticing the mortal wounding of their brigade commander, Col. Isaac Avery, the 6th North Carolina continued past the road and up the hill to the Union guns.  The slope was steep enough that the guns couldn't be depressed to fire on the Confederates.


Hays Exploits a Gap in the Line   

    Along the road closer to town, the Yankees also had trouble.  The 107th Ohio faced toward the town of Gettysburg from behind a stone wall in an area now covered with trees.  The 25th OH extended the line down to the road, then bent the line back, or was refused, in order to follow the road.  Created by an earlier shift of troops, a gap the size of regiment existed between the 25th Ohio and the 75th Ohio, which held a position along the road to the right of the picture.  As the 75th Ohio successfully held its position, the Louisiana Tigers of Hays' brigade pushed back the 107th and 25th Ohio and exploited the gap, advancing up the hill to the gun positions.  Since the slope was steep, the guns couldn't be depressed to fire on all of the attacking Confederates.  With smoke, darkness, and intermingled Federals, effective artillery fire was probably impractical anyway.


    The Louisiana Tigers and the North Carolinians fought the artillerists and rallied infantrymen in hand to hand for possession of the guns and briefly captured some of them.  The Federals rushed Coster's brigade and two regiments from Kryzanowski's brigade to beat back the Confederates.  As it was getting dark, Carroll's brigade arrived and helped restore the Union line along the wall.

 


    Along the northern end of the fish-hook, the Confederate effort had been too little, too late.  Had a larger force capable of defending their gains attacked Cemetery Hill, the battle could have turned out much differently.  Had the Union army lost Cemetery Hill, they likely would have abandoned the whole position.  Union and Confederate armies had each lost over 15,000 men on the second day to no decisive effect, but the battle would continue the next day.


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