July 2, 1863
The second day of fighting at the Battle of Gettysburg was a scorcher. The July sun beat down on the combatants and proved to be a pivotal factor in the outcome of the day’s events. The actual fighting didn’t start as General Lee had planned. He requested that Gen. James Longstreet and his First Corps start his attack on the Union left flank in the morning, but Longstreet decided to wait for his final brigade to arrive. Adding to the delay was the approach to his jump-off point, the point from which the attack would start. Longstreet realized halfway through the marching of his corps that the final approach would be visible to any enemy on the heights, so he turned his men around and took a different route. By the time Longstreet was in place, it was almost four p.m.
Lee intended to launch the Army of Northern Virginia in multiple attacks against the flanks of the Army of the Potomac and shear the Union defenses. Coordinated correctly, these “en echelon” attacks would force confusion in the Union lines and eventually breach it at its weakest point. Lee’s plan was solid, but his lines were stretched out over a long distance, and coordinating attack would become more difficult than he anticipated. Nevertheless, the day’s fighting was fierce, inflicting catastrophic casualties on both sides.
The Confederate attack started with Gen. John Bell Hood’s division, and his objective was securing Little Round Top and Big Round Top—the two largest features on the battlefield. They overlooked what is now called the Valley of Death for the large number of Confederates killed crossing the valley in an attempt to drive the Union troops from the makeshift breastworks on the Round Tops. Opposite of the Round Tops was Houck’s Ridge, which had the Devil’s Den on its south slope, near Triangular Field.
A historical side note is needed here, as it affected the outcome of the initial action. Hood was known as a scrapper, and so were his men. He sent out some of his Texan scouts and discovered that both Round Tops were unoccupied and that the Union’s entire artillery reserve was stationed behind the hills. He asked permission to change his troops position so that he could attack the rear of the Union army. Longstreet denied his request three times, stating that Lee wanted them to attack from Emmitsburg Road and that is what he intended to do. The outcome of the battle might have been different if Hood was allowed to reposition his men and attack the rear of the Union lines.
But orders were orders, and Hood started his attack, driving toward Devil’s Den. As the Confederate line surged forward, they immortalized the names of the locations where the Union defenders had fought furiously to hold: the Triangular Field, Devil’s Den, the Peach Orchard, the Wheatfield, the Valley of Death, Big and Little Round Top, the Codori House, Cemetery Ridge, the Bliss Farm, Cemetery Hill, and Culp’s Hill.
By ten thirty p.m., the Confederate juggernaut that looked so promising during the initial attack would peter out as the men simply ran out of steam. Heat exhaustion played an important factor as the Rebel army had to do more marching and maneuvering that the Yankee defenders. The loss of life on this day was horrific. In just over five hours of fighting, a combined total of killed, wounded, and missing in action was just over 18,000 men. In other words, this means a soldier died, was wounded, or went missing in action every second!