School history of Pennsylvania, from the earliest settlements to the present time online

18. "What information did Meade receive, and what action did he
take?

19. "What did General Reynolds do? How was the battle opened?
How was Reynolds killed?



BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG. 303

also carried orders to General Howard, directing him to
move his corps forward. When Howard arrived on the
hill on the Baltimore turnpike, east of the town, he was met
by a courier, who informed him that Reynolds had fallen.

21. General Howard directed General A. von Stein wehr
to post the reserve artillery of the 11th Corps on Ceme-
tery hill, and to place his troops in position to hold that
point. He then rode forward, where he found Reynolds'
troops, under the command of General Abner Doubleday,
fighting desperately against an overwhelming force. They
were soon outflanked on both right and left, and at the same
time hard pressed in the front. They finally gave way
and retreated through the tOAvn in haste and confusion to
the hill, where they found protection behind Steinwehr's
troops.

22. As soon as Meade received the report that an engage-
ment was in progress near Gettysburg, he ordered the whole
army to advance rapidly, and to concentrate in front of the
enemy. A line of battle* was formed during the night on
the hills, to the right and left of the Cemetery, on the Balti-
more pike, and, when the morning of the 2d of July dawned,
the national troops were strongly posted and ready for the
terrible work of that day.

* General Meade formed his line on the hills in the shape of a
horseshoe, with the toe nearest the enemy. The 11th Corps was in
the center; part of the 1st, and the whole of the 12th Corps, were on
the right; the 2d and 3d Corps were on the left. The 5th and Gth,
and TDart of the 3d Corps were held in reserve.



20. What troops had been ordered forward?

21. What did Howard do? What occurred in front?

22. What did General Meade do? How was the line of battle
formed ?



304 HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.

23. At four o'clock in the afternoon, the enemy's batteries
opened a furious fire on the 3d Corps, which held the left of
the line ; the rebels emerged from the woods and advanced
against the front and right flank of this corps. General
Sickles, who commanded these troops, was, at that moment,
in the rear, consulting with General Meade ; at the first sound
of the rebel batteries he galloped forward to his men, and
exerted himself with conspicuous gallantry to preserve his
lines and steady his troops, as they fell back across the
ravine ; but early in the onset he was severely wounded in
the thigh, and was carried from the field.

24. General Humphreys, who commanded the advance
division, made heroic efforts to retire the troops, over-
whelmed by superior numbers, in good order; every staff
officer, even to his last orderly, had been shot down at his
side; his horse fell under him; but still, at the head of his
command, he encouraged his troops, and withdrew steadily
to the line of the 5th Corps.

25. As the 3d Corps, now commanded by General Birney,
was pressed back, the rebel column came under the fire of
Hancock's* guns, which opened a terrific discharge of shell

* Winflold Scott Hancock was born February 14th, 1824, in Mont-
gomery county ; in 1840 he entered the Military Academy at West
Point, as a cadet, aged sixteen years ; he graduated in 1844, and was
promoted to a brevet second lieutenant in the 6th Regiment of In-
fantry. In 1847 he iiccompanied his regiment to Mexico, where he
won promotion by gallant conduct in battle. At the close of the war



23. How did the battle of the second day open?

24. Who commanded the advance division of the 3d Corps, and
what did he do?

25. What occurred when the 3d Corps was pressed hack? How
did the assault on the left end ?



BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG. 305

and canister, carrying fearful havoc through the Confederate
masses that were struggling up the hill; but on they came,
to the very muzzles of the guns — driving the artillerymen
from them at the point of the bayonet. In the instant of
supposed victory, two reserve batteries, that had been posted
by General Warren, of Meade's staff, opened an enfilading
fire at short range, with such accurate aim that it swept the
Confederate troops from the hill with a destructiveness ap-
palling to behold ; at the same time the infantry of the 2d
Corps poured in their deadly volleys of musketry, recapturing
their guns, which again opened a raking fire that increased
the fearful carnage. The right wing of the attacking columns,
broken and disordered, fell back to the ravine, and retreated
beyond the range of the artillery. Thus the assault on the
left had been successfully repulsed.

26. At dark, a division of the enemy advanced to attack
Slocum's line on the right, which had been weakened to re-
inforce the left, and at the same time another force made an
assault on Cemetery hill, held by Howard's corps. The

ho was ordered to the northwestern frontier, but afterward went to the
Jefferson Barracks, at St. Louis. In 1855 he was appointed assistant
quartermaster, with the rank of captain, and in the following year
was ordered to Florida, and then to the Territory of Utah. From
there he was transferred to the Pacific coast. When the rebellion
broke out, in 1861, Captain Hancock was ordered to report for duty
at Washington. On the 23d of September of that year he was pro-
moted to the rank of brigadier-general, and was assigned the com-
mand of a brigade in the Army of the Potomac. He served with
distinction through all the campaigns of that army, and rose to the
rank of major-general of volunteers and brigadier-general in the
reirular army.



26. How was the attack made and met on the right?
26*



806 HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.

troops received the attack with firmness, and, from their
secure positions behind intrenchments and a stone wall,
easily repelled the enemy ; but, suddenly, the brigade of
''Louisiana Tigers" sprang from its concealment in a deep
ravine, and charged Howard's right. These desperate fighters
rushed upon the batteries, drove the artillerymen from their
guns and the infantry from their rifle-pits, and were in the
act of turning the batteries upon the Union line, when a
brigade of German troops fell upon the victorious Tigers,
and, in a hand to hand encounter, in which the bayonet
was freely used on both sides and crushing blows from
clubbed muskets were given and taken, hurled the enemy
from the crest; and the artillery then, with murderous rounds
of grape and canister, swept the broken regiments from the
hillside.

2Y. On the extreme right, the enemy had forced Slocum's
men from their intrenchments, and when the battle closed,
at ten o'clock in the night, the rebels held the breastworks
of the 12th Corps, but elsewhere the line was intact. Though
Sickles had lost a large number of prisoners, Sykes and
Hancock had captured about an equal number from the
enemy. The battle of the second day, therefore, closed
without decisive advantage to either party.

28. General Meade directed Slocum to wrest his intrench-
ments from the grasp of the enemy, and for that purpose his
own corps was reinforced by the 6th.

29. At daylight, on Friday morning. General Geary,*

* John White Geary was born in Westmoreland county, Decem-
ber 20th, 1819, and was educated at Jefferson College. He taught



27. In what position were the opposing forces when the battle of
the second day closed?

28. What did Meade direct ?



BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG. 30T

commanding the left division of the 12th Corps, opened his
batteries on the enemy. The rebels responded to the fire of
Geary's men by a furious charge. The battle burst fiercely
along the whole of Slocum's line, at times extending toward
the left and overlapping the 1st, and engaging the right of
the 11th Corps, on Cemetery hill.

30. The enemy's charge in response to Slocum's fire was
terrific; during six hours the rebels hurled their solid masses
against the well-defended lines. iSothing during the war had
surpassed this scene of carnage. In front of Geary's position,
there were more rebel dead than there were killed and wounded

school, studied engineering, and finally read law, and was admitted ~
to the bar in Pittsburg. He entered the military service as captain
of a company of volunteers in the Mexican war, and by gallant con-
duct rose to the rank of colonel. At the close of the war, Colonel
Geary was appointed postmaster at San Francisco, and in 1849 was
elected "First Alcalde" and Judge of "First Instance" (Mexican
names for the chief officers of a city, such as mayor, sheriff, and
judge). When California was fully organized, in 1850, Geary was
chosen first mayor of San Francisco; he left the Pacific coast in
1852, was appointed governor of Kansas in July, 1856 ; resigned that
office in March, 1857, and retired into private life. "When the Presi-
dent called for troops, in 18G1, Colonel Geary recruited a regiment
and joined the army at Harper's Ferry, and was wounded in the
battle of Bolivar Heights, October 16th, 1861. He served with dis-
tinction in the Army of the Potomac until after the battle of Gettys-
burg, was then transferred to the army in the southwest, and com-
manded a division in Sherman's army in its great march from the
mountains to the sea ; received the surrender of the City of Savannah,
and was promoted to the rimk of major-general, January, 1865. In
1866, General Geary was elected governor of the Commonwealth.

29. How did the battle of the third day open ?

30. How did the rebels respond to the fire of Slocum's men? What
was the effect of this attack ?



308 HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.

in the whole line of the 12th Corps. The slain were lying
in heaps, wounded and mangled in every conceivable manner,
from a single shot through the head to bodies torn to pieces
by exploding shells.

31. At ten o'clock, Slocum had repulsed the enemy at every
point and reoccupied his original position. The battle ceased
before eleven, and for nearly three hours a pause like to the
stillness of death rested on the armies.

32. During this interval of repose, the enemy massed his
artillery, numbering one hundred and fifteen guns, on a
ridge about a mile in front of Cemetery hill; beyond the
woods, Locgstreet's and Hill's corps were formed in heavy
columns, ready, at a given signal, to charge upon the left
center of Meade's line.

33. General Lee had determined to sweep the hill with
the fire of his artillery; thus he expected to demolish the
national batteries, and to shatter and drive the infantry
from the heights; then, by pushing forward his heavy
columns, he hoped to seize the intrenchments of the Union
army.

34. From his headquarters on the hillside. General Meade
calmly but with earnest eye surveyed the field, carefully
and minutely noting every visible movement of the enemy.
He soon comprehended the plans of the rebel chieftain, and
thoroughly understood his tactics. The batteries on the hill
and in the earthworks on the slope were ordered to respond
promptly and vigorously and with the full power of their

y

31. What was the result of this engagement, and what followed?

32. What was done ?

33. What was Lee's plan?

34. What was going on in the Union army ? What orders were
given to the gunners ?



BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG. 309

metal, to the expected cannonade from the rebel lines ; the
gunners were directed, after a short time had elapsed, to
gradually diminish their fire, to use their pieces deliberately,
and to save their ammunition. General Meade was prepared
to meet Lee both with stratagem and with men.

35. Suddenly, the report of a single gun broke the dead
silence, that since half-past ten o'clock had been undisturbed.
It was the signal gun. Immediately, from a hundred and
fifteen iron throats pealed forth the thunder of battle, and
the air was filled with the missiles of death, that wliizzed
and screamed in converging lines from the circle of Semi-
nary ridge, and fell upon the left center of Meade's line, held
by Hancock's troops and the left of Howard's corps.

36. The terrific artillery fire swept across the valley for
more than two hours. The national batteries replied with
but seventy guns ; but the deliberate fire of these well-served
batteries did far more execution than all the terrible fusilade
by the enemy. The trees above the troops on Cemetery hill
were riddled; the rocks on the slopes were battered and
broken, and the grounds around them were scored in deep
furrows ; but the infantry, secure behind the sheltering ledges,
escaped almost without hurt; the artillerymen and horses
were less fortunate ; a considerable number were killed and
wounded, several caissons were exploded and two batteries
w^ere completely demolished.

37. General Meade ordered his gunners to gradually di-
minish their fire, intending thus to deceive the enemy into the
belief that the national artillery had been silenced and the



35. How did the cannonade open?

36. What was the effect of this terrific fire?

37. By what stratagem did Meade deceive the enemy? H(
the last terrible charge made ?



310 HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.

troops swept from the hill. The stratagem was successful.
The enemy's artillery ceased firing, and his infantry, in three
columns, emerged from the woods on Seminary ridge and de-
scended into the valley — Pickett in the center, Wilcox on the
right, and Pettigrew on the left; a force of 15,000 men,
supported by Lee's whole army, advanced rapidly without
firing a gun. A heavy line of skirmishers crossed the Em-
mettsburg road, and drove in the outposts from a stone wall
in front of Hancock's corps. The rebels leaped over the wall,
opened fire along the whole line, and dashed forward, run-
ning at full speed as they approached the intrenchments on
the hill.

38. When the head of the column came within point-blank
range, suddenly the seventy guns, which Lee supposed had
been silenced, but which had in fact saved their ammunition
and their strength, opened with all the fury and deadly effect
of a well-trained artillery ; straight from front to rear, diago-
nally from right to left, and from left to right, the double
charges of grape and canister, the shrapnel and spherical
case, swept and tore in fearful havoc through the rebel
columns. But the infuriated enemy rushed on, even to the
cannon's mouth ; Pickett's division carried the intrenchments
in the center, and for a moment the hostile colors waved over
Hancock's lines ; but almost instantly the infantry drove
back the rebels, who had already forced the artillerymen
from their guns. Howard's batteries on the right had swept
Pettigrew's column from the slope, and Sykes' artillery on
the left had broken and scattered Wilcox's command.

39. General Meade, with his army well in hand, had
ordered up Doubleday's division of the 1st Corps, to rein-

38. How was this attack met?



RETREAT OF THE ENEMY. 311

force the 2d, and, putting in motion other troops to strengthen
the line at the opportune moment, ordered Hancock to ad-
vance; his divisions instantly fell upon Pickett's brigades,
attackino: them in front and on both flanks with a fire and a
charge that swept the field like a scythe of death.

40. General Lee hastily threw forward a division of Geor-
gia troops, and opened fire with his artillery, to cover the
retreat of his broken columns, hurled back from Hancock's
lines.

41. As soon as General Meade saw that his troops were
victorious, he rode to the left to order an advance of the
whole line. The Pennsylvania Reserves had moved forward
and had driven the right wing of the enemy from a woods
where it had rested during the day. It was now about sun-
set, and before the forces could be concentrated to support
the Reserves, night came on, and the battle ended Avith the
day, resulting in a complete victory for the national army.

42. Two thousand eight hundred and thirty-four loyal
soldiers lay dead on the field; 13,709 were wounded, and
6743 were missing. A loss of 23,186. The loss of the
enemy was 5500 killed, 21,000 wounded, and 13,621 pris-
oners. A total loss of 40,121 men.

43. The enemy withdrew from Gettysburg on the night of
the 3d of July, and retreated rapidly toward the Potomac,
pursued by the national army. Thus ended the second in-
vasion of Pennsylvania.

44. The third invasion of the State occurred in July, 1864.



39. How did the assault terminate?

40. What did Lee do ?

41. Why did not General Meade pursue the defeated enemy?

42. What were the casualties in the battle of Gettysburg ?

43. How did the invasion end?



312 HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.

A small force of rebels, from General Jubal Early's division,
entered the Cumberland valley from Virginia, and on the
30th of July burned the town of Chambersburg. The sol-
diers set fire to 260 houses, and the whole town was de-
stroyed. The loss to the inhabitants was estimated at
$2,000,000.

45. During the four years of war, Pennsylvania sent to
the national army 2t0 regiments and several unattached com-
panies, numbering in all 387,284 men.*

46. The war record of Pennsylvania does not end with
the discharge of the veteran soldiers who marched from the
State in defense of the nation. When the regiments of
volunteers were drawn up in the camps to receive the State
flag, before marching to the seat of war, Governor Curtin
gave a pledge to each, in the name of the great Common-
w^ealth, that should any of the men fall in defense of the
government the State would become the guardian of their
children; it would sustain, clothe, and educate them at pub-
lic expense. In 1864, the legislature passed a law providing
for the education of the children of soldiers who fell in the
service of their country.

47. Thomas H. Burrowes was appointed superintendent
of " Soldiers' Orphan Schools." He matured a plan for the or-
ganization of schools, and devised a course of instruction and
training in useful employments that is more comprehensive,

* See Table.



44. Describe the third invasion of the State ?

45. How many regiments and troops did the State furnish during
the war?

46. What noble charity did the State establish?

47. How were the schools opened for soldiers' orphans? How
were the children provided for by the Commonwealth ?



CHARACTER OF THE PEOPLE. 313

thorough and practical than any scheme of public charity in
the world. Schools were opened and homes were provided
in different parts of the State, wherein all the destitute chil-
dren of the fallen patriots of Pennsylvania may be received,
clothed, boarded and educated. They not only are taught
from books, but are also trained to work, and are brought up
to habits of industry. On attaining the age of sixteen years,
they are placed in positions to learn trades or business, in
situations wiiere they may earn an honest living. Girls and
»boys are alike provided for, and thus the debt of gratitude
as far as possible is paid to the brave men who gave their
lives that the nation might live.*

48. Thus stands the history of Pennsylvania in the 231st
year of the settlement of the Swedes on the Delaware, in the
187th year of the Province, and in the 93d of the Common-
wealth. Whether in zeal for the attainment of American free-
dom, in devotion to human liberty, in the skillful development
of the natural resources of the country by the early and later
construction of public improvements, in the extent and variety
of manufactures, in the upbuilding of an unequaled system
of common schools, in loyalty to the national government, in
the conception of noble charities, in the reception and pro-
motion of true Christian doctrines, or in according to all
the most perfect religious liberty, its people will compare
favorably with the inhabitants of any other State.

* George F. McFarland, a gallant soldier, who rose to the rank of
colonel of volunteers, and who lost one of his legs in the battle of
Gettysburg, was appointed superintendent of Soldiers' Orphan
Schools, in April, 1867.



48. How will the people of Pennsylvania compare with the in-
habitants of other States?

27



APPENDIX.

TABLE I.

Counties in Pennsylvania.

When
CouNTiBS. When Formed. Population in 1860. County Towns. Laid Out.

Chester 1682 74,578 West Chester 1786

Bucks 1682 63,578 Doylestown 1778

Philadelphia 1682 565,529 Philadelphia 1682

Lancaster 1729 116,314 Lancaster 1729

York 1749 68,200 York 1741

Cumberland 1750 40,098 Carlisle 1750

Berks 1752 93,818 Beading 1748

Northampton 1752 47,904 Easton 1737

Bedford 1771 26,736 Bedford 1766

Northumberland... 1772 28,922 Sunbury 1772

Westmoreland 1773 53,736 Greensburg 1782

Washington 1781 46,805 Washington 1782

Payette 1783 39,909 Uniontown 1767

Franklin 1784 42,126 Chambersburg ...1764

Montgomery 1784 70,500 Norristown 1784

Dauphin 1785 46,756 Harrisburg 1785

Luzerne 1786 90,244 AVilkesbarre 1778

Huntingdon 1787 28,100 Huntingdon 1776

Alleghany 1788 178,831 Pittsburg 1784

Delaware 1789 30,597 Media 1849

Mifflin 1789 16,340 Lewistown 1790

Somerset 1795 26,778 Somerset 1795

Lycoming 1796 37,399 Williamsport 1796

Greene 1796 24,343 Wavnesburg 1796

Wayne 1796 32,239 Honesdale 1826

Armstrong 1800 35,797 Kittanning 1804

Adams 1800 28,006 Gettysburg 1780

Butler 1800 35,594 Butler 1800

Beaver 1800 29,140 Beaver 1791

Center 1800 27,000 Bellefonte 1795

Crawford 1800 48,755 Meadville 1795

Erie 1800 49,432 Erie 1795

(315)



316 HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA.

When
Counties. When Formed. Population in 1860. County Towns. Laid Out.

Mercer 1800 36,856 Mercer 1803

Venango 1800 25,043 Franklin 1795

Warren 1800 19,196 Warren 1795

Indiana 1803 33,687 Indiana 1805

Jefferson 1804 18,270 ....Brookville 1830

McKean 1804 8,859 Smethport 1807

Potter 1804 11,470 Coudersport

Tioga 1804 31,044 Wellsborough 1806

Cambria 1804 29,155 Ebensburg 1805

Clearfield 1804 18,759 Clearfield 1805

Bradford 1810 48,734 Towanda 1812

Susquehanna 1810 36,267 Montrose 1811

Schuylkill 1811 89,510 Pottsville 1816

Lehigh..... 1812.. 43,753 Allentown 1751

Lebanon 1813 31,831 Lebanon 1750

Columbia 1813 25,065 Bloomsburg 1802

Union 1813 14,145 Lewisburg 1800

Pike 1814 7,155 Milford 1800

Perry 1826 22,793 Bloomfleld 1825

Juniata 1831 16,986 Mifilintown 1791

Monroe .-.1836 16,758 Stroudsburg 1806

Clarion 1839 24,988 Clarion 1840

Clinton 1839 17,723 Lock Haven 1834

Wyoming 1842 12,5^0 Tunkhannock

Carbon 1843 21,033 Mauch Chunk 1818

Elk 1843 5,915 Kidgway 1843

Blair 1846 27,829 Hollidaysburg

Sullivan 1847 5,637 Laporte 1850

Forest 1848 898 Tionesta 1859

Fulton 1850 9,131 McConnelsburg..

Lawrence 1850 22,999 New Castle 1800

Montour 1850 13,053 Danville 1800

Snyder 1855 15,035 Middleburg

Cameron 1860 * Emporium 1861

Population in the State in 1860, 2,906,215. Total vote for Presi-
dent in 1860, 476,442; in 1864, 572,702.

'••" Cameron County was formed after the taking of the census of 1860; the
population is included in other counties.



APPENDIX. 3 If



TABLE II.

Table of the Governors of the Colonies on the Delaware,
of the Province and of the State.

ACCESS. EXIT.

1638. Peter Minuit (Swedish, but himself a native of Holland).. 1641

1641. Peter Hollandare (Swedish) 1642

1642. John Printz (Swedish) 1658

1653. John Papegoia (son-in-law to Printz) 1654

1654. Johan Claudius Risingh 1655

1655. Deryk Smidt (/pro tem.)"^.. 1657

1655. Nov. 29th, John Paul Jaquet* 1657

1657. Jacob Alrich (city collector) 1659

1658. Wm. Beekman (vice governor and comp. collector)-}- 1661

1659. Alex. De Hinoyossaf 1664

1664. Robert Carr (under English governor of New York) 1673

1673. Anthony Colve (under the Dutch) 1674

1674. Sir Edmund Andross (English governor of New York)... 1681

1681. William Penn (founder of the Province) 1684

1684. Governor's council, Thomas Lloyd, President 1687

1687. Five commissioners appointed by Penn 1688

1688. John Blackwell, lieutenant-governor 1690

1690. President and council 1691

1691. Thomas Lloyd, deputy governor 1692

1692. Benjamin Fletcher, governor of New York 1693

1693. William Markham, lieutenant-governor 1699

1699. William Penn, again governor, December 3d 1701

1701. Andrew Hamilton, deputy governor, died 1703

1703. Edward Shippen and council 1704

1704. John Evans 1709

1709. Charles Gookin 1717

1717. Sir William Keith 1726

1726. Patrick Gordon 1736

1736. James Logan, President of council 1738

1738. George Thomas, lieutenant-governor 1747

1747. Anthony Palmer, President of council 1748

1748. James Hamilton, lieutenant-governor... 1754

1754. Robert H. Morris, " 1756