Posted on 07/04/2023 7:26:09 AM PDT by Homer_J_Simpson
Special Dispatches to the New-York Times.
BATTLE-FIELD NEAR GETTYSBURGH, Thursday 4:30 P.M.
Via BALTIMORE, Friday A.M.
The day has been quiet up to the present moment. The enemy are now massing a heavy force on our left, and have just began the attack with artillery. The probability is that a severe battle will be fought before dark.
The rebel sharpshooters have been annoying our batteries and men all day from the steeples of the churches in Gettysburgh.
We hold the Emmettsburgh and Baltimore roads. L.L. CROUNSE.
BATTLE-FIELD NEAR GETTYSBURGH. Friday morning July 3, -- three A.M.
via BALTIMORE, one P.M.
At the close of my last dispatch at 4 1/2 P.M. yesterday, the enemy had just opened a heavy attack by artillery on our left and centre. The tactics of the enemy were soon apparent -- a massing of their main strength on our left flank, which covered the Frederick road, with the determination to crush it. So intent were the enemy on this purpose, that every other part of the lines was left alone.
The fighting was of the most desperate description on both sides. Our gallant men fought as they never fought before. We had against this great onslaught of the enemy three corps -- the Second, Third and Filth. The Third and Fifth joined hands, and fought heroically. The Second ably supported them, and at the same time held its own position. One division of the First was also engaged.
The fighting was so furious that neither party took many prisoners. We captured about 600 in one or two charges.
The losses, considering the duration of the conflict, are more than usually heavy on both sides. Many of our most gallant officers have fallen. Gen. SICKLES' right leg was shot off below the knee.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
First session: November 21, 2015. Last date to add: May 2025.
Reading: Self-assigned. Recommendations made and welcomed.
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The newspaper production staff is off for the holiday so there will be no New York Times edition for July 5.
The Great Battles: Our Special Telegrams from the Battle Field to 10 A.M. Yesterday – 2-6
From New-Orleans: A Rumor of the Capture of Port Hudson – 7
Gen. Rosecrans’ Advance: The Entrance of Our Army into Tullahoma – 7
The Siege of Vicksburgh: Activity of the Rebel Garrison – 7-8
Relative Mortality of White and Black Soldiers – 8
News from Washington: War Gazette – 8
Editorial: The Campaign in Pennsylvania – 8-9
Editorial: Bragg’s Retreat from Tullahoma – 9
Editorial: The Military Rights of Colored Troops – 9
Our Volunteer Militia – 9
Editorial: “Odious Tyranny” and Eye-Opening – 9
That was a great Independince Day!
The sentence of the day: “ The battle yesterday was sanguinary in the extreme.”
I cannot imagine any newspaper using such language today. It paints (with blood) quite the image of the fields.
Pennsylvania 1863 Engagements
| Date | Engagement | Military Units | Losses | Victor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 29 | Oyster Point (Camp Hill), PA | Union Dept of Susquehanna (Couche ~200?), Confederate ANV 2 companies (Ewell, ~200?) | Union none, Confederates 2 | USA (Confederate attack failed) |
| June 30 | Hanover, PA | Union Army of Potomac Cavalry Brigade (Kilpactric ~5,000?), Confederate Army of N VA (Stuart ~6,000?) | Union 216-total (32?-killed), Confederates 117-total (18? killed) | inconclusive (Union held their ground, Stuart bypassed) |
| June 30 | Sporting Hill, PA | Union PA & NY Militia (Couch ~2,000?), Confederate Army of N VA Cavalry (Jenkins ~2,000?) | Union 11-total (none-killed), Confederates 45-total (16 killed) | inconclusive (Union held their ground) |
| July 2 | Hunterstown, PA | Union Cavalry (Custer ~2,000?), Confederate Army of N VA Cavalry (Hampton ~1,000?) | Union unknown, Confederates unknown | inconclusive |
| July 1-3 | Gettysburg, PA | Union Army of the Potomac (Mead ~100,000?), Confederate Army of N VA (Lee ~75,000?) | Union 23,049*total (including 3,155 killed), Confederates ~25,000 total (including 4,708-killed) | USA |
Summary of Civil War Engagements as of July 3, 1863:
Engagements in Confederate states:
| State | Union Victories | Confederate Victories | Inconclusive | Total Engagements |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Carolina | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| Virginia | 11 | 33 | 14 | 58 |
| North Carolina | 8 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| Florida | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Louisiana | 10 | 1 | 1 | 12 |
| Tennessee | 11 | 7 | 1 | 19 |
| Arkansas | 8 | 1 | 2 | 11 |
| Georgia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Mississippi | 8 | 5 | 0 | 13 |
| Texas | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Alabama | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Total Engagements in CSA | 62 | 53 | 21 | 136 |
Engagements in Union states/territories:
| State | Union Victories | Confederate Victories | Inconclusive | Total Engagements |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maryland | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| West Virginia | 9 | 3 | 2 | 14 |
| Missouri | 14 | 13 | 1 | 28 |
| New Mexico | 5 | 8 | 0 | 13 |
| Kentucky | 5 | 6 | 2 | 13 |
| Oklahoma | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| Pennsylvania | 2 | 3 | 5 | |
| Total Engagements in Union | 40 | 33 | 9 | 82 |
| Total Engagements to date | 102 | 86 | 30 | 218 |
Total casualties were over 48,000 including nearly 8,000 killed in action, bringing the war's totals to about 420,000 casualties, including nearly 51,000 killed in action.
For a modern day equivalent, multiply those numbers times ten.
In the US Civil War, the numbers who died from diseases and non-battle accidents, on both sides, was over two-to-one for those who died in battle.
General Sickles leg has to be the most famous body part in US military history. There appears to be an indication of how he advanced his corps to the Peach Orchard as an article notes there is a two sides of a triangle bulge in the Union deployment.
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