Officers and Men Recommended for the Medal of Honor for Actions in the Defense of Culp’s Hill

Brigadier General George Sears Greene

Brigadier General George Sears Greene, Commander, Third Brigade, Second Division, Twelfth Army Corps, Army of the Potomac

According to U.S. Park Service historian at Gettysburg, John Heiser, “General Greene is one of the unsung heroes of Culp’s Hill.”  He did get some recognition, being the only XII Corps Brigade Commander to get a statue at Gettysburg, but he is largely forgotten in the public’s memory today.

When General Meade ordered General Slocum to send men from Culp’s Hill to Little Round Top, Slocum reluctantly obeyed but got permission to leave General Greene at Culp’s Hill with one brigade -- 5 regiments with a total of 1,424 men. 

When Greene first arrived at Culp's Hill early on the morning of July 2, he immediately realized his position demanded breastworks. Disregarding the objections of his division commander, Brigadier General John Geary, Greene ordered construction to begin.

Greene estimated that he never had more than 1,300 troops at any one time to face 4,000 -- 5,000 Confederates.  He maintained his defense of the hill by using his limited resources wisely, rotating troops to and from the battle line to restock their cartridge boxes and clean their weapons.  The eager Union troops cheered on their comrades as they raced back and forth, pushing each other to greater and greater heights of fervor and determination.  Greene rode up and down the line to motivate them, showing no regard for his personal welfare.

Greene estimated Confederate losses at 2,400, which included several officers and 130 prisoners. By contrast, the 3d Brigade's losses amounted to 307 killed, wounded, and missing. 

General Slocum commended Green in his report of the battle:

“Greene’s brigade, of the Second Division, remained in the intrenchments, and the failure of the enemy to gain entire possession of our works was due entirely to the skill of General Greene and the heroic valor of his troops. His brigade suffered severely, but maintained its position, and held the enemy in check until the return of Williams’ division”.

(Source:  Pfanz, Harry W., Gettysburg: Culp’s Hill and Cemetery Hill, Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1993, pp. 295-297.  Greene, George S., Brevet-Major-General, United States Volunteers, “The breastworks at Culp’s Hill, II.”  In Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, Vol. 3, Century Magazine, 1887, p. 317.  New York Monuments Commission for the Battlefields of Gettysburg and Chattanooga, In Memorium, George Sears Greene, Albany: J. B. Lyon Company, 1909.)

Wikipedia: [Edited]

The battle of Culp’s Hill at Gettysburg was the most distinguished in Greene’s service.  On July 2, 1863, Maj. Gen. George G. Meade shifted almost the entire XII Corps from the Union right to strengthen the left flank, which was under heavy attack. Greene's lone brigade of 1,350 New Yorkers (five regiments) was left to defend a one-half-mile line on Culp's Hill when an entire Confederate division attacked.[13] Fortunately, Greene had previously demonstrated good sense (as befits a civil engineer) by insisting that his troops construct strong field fortifications. In Greene's finest moment of the war, his preparations proved decisive, and his brigade held off multiple attacks for hours. He was active the entire engagement rallying his men to defend their positions in the darkness. Brig. Gen. Alpheus Williams, acting corps commander on July 2, commended Greene for his "skill and judgment" in this defense, especially in his using the "advantages" of his position.[14] Late at night, the rest of the XII Corps returned to Culp's Hill. The fighting resumed the next morning and raged for over seven hours, but the Union troops held Culp's Hill. They regained some of the lost ground and thwarted renewed Confederate attacks.[2] The battle for Culp's Hill included the two oldest generals in each army, Greene at 62 and Brig. Gen. William "Extra Billy" Smith at 65.

The desperate fighting on the Union right flank was as important as the more famous defense of the Union left flank on July 2, by Col. Strong Vincent's brigade on Little Round Top. In fact, given that the Union line was only 400 yards (370 m) from the vital Union supply line on the Baltimore Pike, it can be argued that it was more important. However, Greene's contributions to this critical battle have never been widely heralded.

A member of Greene's brigade wrote:[15]

“Had the breastworks not been built and had there only been the thin line of our unprotected brigade, that line must have been swept away like leaves before the wind, by the oncoming of so heavy a mass of troops, and the [Baltimore] pike would have been reached by the enemy”.

Greene died at age 97 in Morristown, New Jersey, and was buried in the Greene family cemetery in Warwick, Rhode Island, with a two-ton boulder from Culp's Hill placed above his grave.[13] He is memorialized with a statue erected in 1906 by the State of New York on Culp's Hill in Gettysburg National Military Park.[18]

Notes

1.    Greene, pp. 298–99. Other sources mistakenly give Sarah's maiden name as Weeks or Wickes, which was the name of his maternal grandmother.

2.    Motts, pp. 63–75.

3.    Palmer, pp. 22–23.

4.    Palmer, pp. 28–29.

5.    Palmer, pp. 31–33.

6.    Palmer, pp. 34–47.

7.    Eicher, p. 266.

8.    Palmer, pp. 54–55.

9.    Greene's report from Antietam

10. Palmer, p. 80.

11. Palmer, pp. 99–100.

12. Palmer, pp. 105–107.

13. Kuhl, pp. 880–83.

14. Williams's report from Gettysburg.

15. Murray, p. 55.

References

·       Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher. Civil War High Commands. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2001.

·       Greene, George Sears, Louise Brownell Clarke, and F. V. Greene. The Greenes of Rhode Island: With Historical Records of English Ancestry, 1534–1902. Albany, NY: Knickerbocker Press, 1903.

·       Kuhl, Paul E. "George Sears Greene." In Encyclopedia of the American Civil War: A Political, Social, and Military History, edited by David S. Heidler and Jeanne T. Heidler. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2000.

·       Motts, Wayne E. "To Gain a Second Star: The Forgotten George S. Greene." Gettysburg Magazine, July 1990.

·       Murray, R. L. A Perfect Storm of Lead, George Sears Greene's New York Brigade in Defense of Culp's Hill. Wolcott, NY: Benedum Books, 2000.

·       Palmer, David W. The Forgotten Hero of Gettysburg. Xlibris, 2004.

·       Pfanz, Harry W. Gettysburg: Culp's Hill and Cemetery Hill. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1993.

·       Tagg, Larry. The Generals of Gettysburg. Campbell, CA: Savas Publishing, 1998.

Appletons:

GREENE, George Sears, soldier, born in Apponaug, Warwick, Rhode Island, 6 May, 1801. He is a descendant in the sixth generation from John Greene, deputy governor of Rhode Island, whose father, John, came from Salisbury, England, in 1635, and settled in Warwick, Rhode Island, in 1645. George Sears was graduated at the U. S. Military Academy in 1823, second in his class. He served in various garrisons and as instructor at West Point until 1836, when he left the army and became a civil engineer, building many railroads in the states of Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, Maryland, and Virginia. In 1856 he served in the Croton Aqueduct Department in the city of New York. He designed and built the reservoir in Central park, and the enlargement of High Bridge. He re-entered the army in 1862 as colonel of the 60th New York Regiment, and was appointed brigadier-general of volunteers, 28 April, 1862. He commanded his brigade at Cedar Mountain, 9 August, 1862, and was in command of the 2d Division  of the 12th Army Corps in the battle of Antietam. He also led his brigade at the battle of Chancellorsville. At Gettysburg, on the night of 2 July, 1863, with a part of his brigade, he held the right wing of the Army of the Potomac at Culp's Hill against more than a division of Confederate troops, thereby averting a disaster which would have resulted from turning the right wing of the army. He was transferred to the western armies in September, 1863, and in a night engagement at Wauhatchie, near Chattanooga, 28 October, 1863, was dangerously wounded in the jaw. This wound disabled him from active service till January, 1865, when he rejoined Sherman's army in North Carolina and participated in the engagements preceding Johnston's surrender. He was brevetted major-general of volunteers for his services on 13 March, 1865, and retired from the army in 1866. In 1867 he became chief engineer and commissioner of the Croton Aqueduct Department, and held the office till 1871, when he was made chief engineer of public works in Washington, D. C., but resigned in 1872. He was president of the American Society of Civil Engineers from 1875 till 1877, and since that date has been engaged as consulting engineer on various works. For several years he was also president of the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society.—

Lieutenant Colonel Charles R. Mudge

Lieutenant Colonel Charles R. Mudge, Commander, Second Massachusetts, Third Brigade, First Division, Twelfth Army Corps, Army of the Potomac

On July 3, the third day of the battle of Gettysburg, Lieutenant Colonel Charles R. Mudge, Commander regiment the 2nd Massachusetts was ordered to attack the Confederate troops at the base of Culp's Hill, near Spangler’s Spring.  He replied to the order to charge, "Well it is murder, but it's the order."  He turned to his men and called “Up, men, over the breastworks! Forward at the double quick!”

The order came so quickly that the men did not have time to fix bayonets. The 2nd Massachusetts surged forward into the open and marshy ground around Spangler’s Spring, closely followed by the 27th Indiana. Early in the charge a bullet struck Mudge just below the throat and killed him instantly. The regiment had just about reached the Confederate works when Major Charles Morse realized the futility of it and ordered a withdrawal. Though badly mauled, the 2nd Massachusetts executed an about face and retired in perfect order as though on a parade ground. Five color bearers were wounded in the assault. Mudge’s regiment suffered 139 casualties in the assault.  43 men were killed in the action, 43% of regimental strength.

Major Charles Morse later wrote “I never saw men behave so splendidly. It was awful…”

(Source:  Pfanz, Harry W., Gettysburg: Culp’s Hill and Cemetery Hill, Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1993, pp. 232-233, 341, 348, 350.  Mores, Charles F., History of the Second Massachusetts Regiment of Infantry; Gettysburg: A Paper Read at the Officers Reunion in Boston, May 10, 1878, Boston: George H. Ellis Printer, 1882.)

Colonel David Ireland

Colonel David Ireland, Commander, 137th New York, Third Brigade, Second Division, Twelfth Army Corps, Army of the Potomac

On Culp’s Hill in the Battle of Gettysburg, Ireland's regiment was at the far right of the Union line, defending the trenches on Culp's Hill on July 2, 1863. They withstood numerous attacks by the superior Confederate forces of Maj. Gen. Edward "Allegheny" Johnson, holding a vital position. Units from other Union corps aided Ireland's regiment, but it retained its dangerous post until after the last Confederate assault on July 2, after 10 p.m. The battle that night ended when the 137th New York made two bayonet charges, stopping the Confederate advance.[8] Regimental losses were reported as 40 killed, 87 wounded, and 10 missing, including 4 officers dead. He made some crucial decisions in replacing his troops to beat back Confederates attempting to flank his position on Culp’s Hill, thus helping to “save the day.”

General Greene commended Ireland in his report”

“The officers and men behaved admirably during the whole of the contest. Colonel Ireland was attacked on his flank and rear. He changed his position and maintained his ground with skill and gallantry, his regiment suffering very severely. Where all so well did their duty it is difficult to specially commend any individual, but all have my hearty commendations for their gallant conduct and for the good service rendered their country”.

Ireland died of dysentery in 1864, so he wasn’t around to advocate for an MOH.

(Source:  "137th Regiment Infantry, Historical Sketch by Surgeon John Farrington," From New York at Gettysburg.  Pfanz, Harry W., Gettysburg: Culp’s Hill and Cemetery Hill, Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1993, pp. 220, 221, 300, 302.  Cleutz, David, Fields of Fame & Glory: Col. David Ireland and the 137th New York Volunteers, 2010.)

References

·       Dyer, Frederick H., A Compendium of the War of Rebellion: Compiled and Arranged From Official Records of the Federal and Confederate Armies, Reports of the Adjutant Generals of the Several States, The Army Registers and Other Reliable Documents and Sources, Des Moines, Iowa: Dyer Publishing, 1908 (reprinted by Morningside Books, 1978),

·       Jorgensen, Jay, "Holding the Right: The 137th New York Regiment at Gettysburg," Gettysburg Magazine, issue 15.

·       Pfanz, Harry W., Gettysburg: Culp's Hill and Cemetery Hill, University of North Carolina Press, 1993,

·       U.S. War Department, The War of the Rebellion: a Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1880–1901.

·       137th Regiment Infantry Historical Sketch by Surgeon John M. Farrington (Albany: Published by the State of New York, 1902). [copy at the American Antiquarian Society]

·       Cleutz, David, "Fields of Fame and Glory - Col. David Ireland and the 137th New York Volunteers", XLibris, 2010. 

Captain Joseph H. Gregg

Captain Joseph H. Gregg, 137th New York Volunteer Infantry

He was killed while leading a squad in a bayonet charge on Culp’s Hill against Confederate soldiers threatening to turn the flank of the Union line. Modern accounts differ as to whether Gregg made the charge on his own impulse or was ordered to, and whether it succeeded in driving the Confederates back or not.  But John Heiser, the U.S.  National Park Service historian at Gettysburg, says he believes sources show that Gregg did indeed execute the charge on his own impulse and that it did indeed turn back Confederate forces.  “Understanding the immediate threat to his regiment’s position on the hill, he ordered and led a bayonet charge against a force threatening his right and rear, successfully thwarting the southern probe, although it cost Gregg his life.”

Joseph Gregg enlisted in the New York 137th Volunteers in 1862 and achieved the rank of captain.  On July 2 at Gettysburg, when a Confederate attack struck his position, Gregg led a bayonet charge and was wounded in the left shoulder and chest. The arm was amputated, and Gregg died in the hospital on July 3. 

Colonel Ireland reported "Captain Gregg with a small squad of men charged with the bayonet the enemy that were harassing us most, and fell mortally wounded, while leading and cheering on his men” (citation OR Vol 27, Pt 1, p 867) And later: “Captain Gregg fell, nobly leading on his men.” 

He was 26 years old. His body was returned to Newfield and buried at the Bank Street Cemetery.

(Source: "137th Regiment Infantry, Historical Sketch by Surgeon John Farrington," From New York at Gettysburg, pp. 942-43.  Pfanz, Harry W., Gettysburg: Culp’s Hill and Cemetery Hill, Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1993, p. 221.  Cleutz, David, Fields of Fame & Glory: Col. David Ireland and the 137th New York Volunteers, 2010.)

Major Joshua G. Palmer

Major Joshua G. Palmer, 66th Ohio, First Brigade, Second Division, Twelfth Corps

Enlisted on April 29, 1861, as a Corporal into Co. K, 2nd Ohio Cavalry at the age of 32 years old. On July 31, 1861, he was mustered out at Columbus, OH. On October 1, 1861.  He was commissioned into Co. B, 66th OH Infantry and he was promoted to Captain on December 5, 1862, he was promoted to Major, and he was transferred from company B to Field & Staff.  

Major Joshua G. Palmer, 66th Ohio was mortally wounded while cheering on his men as they swept around the front of the Federal earthworks, engaging Confederate sharpshooters and skirmishers on the hillside and at the base of the hill.  Shot in the left lung at Culp’s Hill on July 3, 1863. Leaving, he said, "Stay with them boys, I will soon be back with you." He died in the 12th corps Hospital on July 10, 1863. Buried in Parma, Monroe County New York.  Veterans of the 66th Ohio placed a marker to mark where he fell.  So far, however, the only report that has been identified testifying to what he did is that of Lt. Colonel Eugene Powell of the 66th Ohio, who says: “It becomes my painful duty to report to you that Maj. J. G. Palmer fell, mortally wounded, while cheering on his men in our advance across the intrenchments.” 

(Source:  Pfanz, Harry W., Gettysburg: Culp’s Hill and Cemetery Hill, Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1993, p. 296.  Baumgartner, Richard A., Buckeye Blood: Ohio at Gettysburg. Blue Acorn Press, 2003.)

ENLISTED MEN RECOMMENDED FOR THE MEDAL OF HONOR FOR ACTIONS IN THE DEFENSE OF CULP’S HILL

Color Sergeant William C. Lilly

Color Sergeant William C. Lilly, 149th New York, Third Brigade, Second Division, Twelfth Corps.

William C. Lilly enlisted in the 149th New York in the summer of 1862, he was thirty-three years old. He had been married for nearly fourteen years when he joined the army. In March of 1863, he was promoted from corporal to the regiment’s color sergeant. He was to have the honor of bearing the regimental flag in battle for the 149th New York. At Chancellorsville in May, Lilly was wounded, but remained with the unit.

Lilly carried the regimental standard during the battle of Culp’s Hill.  After the battle, they counted 80 Confederate bullet holes in the flag.  The flagstaff was hit and broken twice.  Sergeant Lilly spliced the staff together and returned it to its position.  Sergeant Lilly was wounded while saving the colors. 

Col. Henry A. Barnum reported:

At about 4 a. m. of the 3d, the regiment was again put into the trenches, and had barely settled into position when the enemy again furiously attacked us. His charges were most impetuous and his fire terrific. Twice was our flag shot down, and a rebel first sergeant, in a brave attempt to capture it, fell within 2 feet of the prostrate banner, pierced with five balls. Its record of the bloody contest is eighty-one balls through its field and stripes and seven in its staff. Each time it fell, the color-sergeant, William C. Lilly, spliced the staff, and again placed it upon the works, and received a slight wound in doing so. The regiment was relieved at 6.30 o’clock, but went into the works three other times before the fight closed, which was about. 1 p. m.

Today the monument of the 149th at Gettysburg has a bas-relief depicting his heroic act. He was wounded the following morning. Lilly was mortally wounded at the Battle of Wauhatchie, near Chattanooga, Tenn., in November 1863 and his body was returned to Syracuse for burial. Today a large GAR Monument with a statue of Lilly stands on his grave.

(Source:  Pfanz, Harry W., Gettysburg: Culp’s Hill and Cemetery Hill, Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1993, p. 302. Report of Col. Henry A. Barnum, One hundred and forty-ninth New York Infantry. Camp near Littlestown, Pa., July 6, 1863.)

RECOMMENDED FOR SPECIAL MENTION

Some officers and enlisted men of the Twelfth Corps who are deserving of recognition for their heroic efforts in the defense of Culp’s Hill but do not necessarily meet the criteria to receive the Medal of Honor.  Among these officers and men whom re recommend for special mention are Lieut. Colonel Ario Pardee, Jr., Commanding Officer, 147th Pennsylvania, First Brigade, Second Division, Twelfth Corps, and Brigadier General Thomas H. Ruger, Commander, Third Brigade, First Division, Twelfth Corps.

Lieut. Colonel Ario Pardee, Jr.

Lieut. Colonel Ario Pardee, Jr., Commanding Officer, 147th Pennsylvania, First Brigade, Second Division, Twelfth Corps

Wikipedia [edited]

Ariovistus Pardee Jr. (October 28, 1839 – March 16, 1901) was an officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He rose to fame during the Battle of Gettysburg, where he led the defense of a portion of Culp's Hill on July 3, 1863. A monument on the Gettysburg Battlefield commemorates the spot as "Pardee Field."

At the rank of major, Pardee led the regiment at the Battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862, serving in the brigade of Lt. Col. Hector Tyndale in Second Division of the XII Corps. Ario escaped uninjured, despite having a horse shot out from under him.[8] BG George S. Greene, the division commander, commended Pardee for his conduct at Antietam.[9] Pardee even took command of the brigade briefly, because Tyndale had been wounded. Shortly thereafter, on October 9 of that year, some companies of the 28th became part of the new 147th Pennsylvania Infantry, together with three newly recruited companies. Pardee was named lieutenant colonel and commander of the new regiment.

Pardee next saw combat in the Battle of Chancellorsville, where he led the regiment in the brigade of Col. Charles Candy in the Second Division of BG John White Geary, his former regimental commander. He retained command at the Battle of Gettysburg, during which he was engaged in the fighting on Culp's Hill on July 2, and July 3, 1863. A field on Culp’s Hill has been named for him, as a sign painted on a stone shows.[10] The 147th Pennsylvania faced that field during the fighting on July 3, as XII Corps tried to win back ground lost to the Confederate troops of Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewell on the day before. (Geary was ordered away by Gen Meade with two brigades on July 2, to assist in the battle on the left flank. Instead of going to reinforce the army's endangered left as intended, Geary mistakenly took Candy's command and Thomas L. Kane's brigade out of the battle for the rest of the day.) Their foes resumed the previous day's efforts to carry Culp’s Hill by attacking up hill.[11] Pardee was told by Geary to maintain a steady volume of fire on the Confederates. This aided the repulse of the last attack of BG George H. Steuart's brigade across the field. The volume of fire, however, was such that ammunition became scarce. By 11:00 AM the Confederate attacks ended. The report of Col Charles Candy that Pardee's regiment advanced to the wall on the opposite side of the contested field is not supported by other accounts by credible witnesses.[12]

 Ario Pardee Jr. died at Wyncote, Pennsylvania, on March 16, 1901. He was buried in the churchyard of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania.[18]

Notes

1.    "Ario Pardee's Death," New York Times, Mar 28, 1892. p. 1.

2.    Johnston, pp. 146-147.

3.    "Obituary Notes," New York Times, Mar 17, 1901. p. 7.

4.    Blair, p. 43 n. 9.

5.    Blair, p. 45.

6.    Blair, p. 53 n. 24; Johnston, p. 192.

7.    Johnston, p. 212.

8.    Johnston, pp. 172, 218.

9.    "BGen George S. Greene's Official Report". aotw.org. Archived from the original on 10 November 2007. Retrieved 13 May 2018.

10. "Pardee Field | Gettysburg Battlefield Tours". Gettysburg Battlefield Tours. 9 December 2013. Retrieved 13 May 2018.

11. Sears, p. 364.

12. Gottfried, pp. 381-382; Pfanz, p. 456 n. 36.

13. Blair, p. 130; Johnston, p. 269.

14. Johnston, pp. 288-289.

15. McDonough and Jones, pp. 215-216.

16. Johnston, p. 328.

17. "Maj Ario Pardee Jr". aotw.org. Retrieved 13 May 2018.

18. "Ario Pardee Jr". Find a Grave. Retrieved 2008-09-28.

References

·       Bates, Samuel P., History of Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1861-5, 5 vols., Harrisburg, B. Singerly, State Printer, 1869-1871.

·       Blair, William Alan (ed.), A Politician Goes to war: The Civil War Letters of John White Geary, University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1995. 

·       Dyer, Frederick H., Compendium of the War of the Rebellion, 3 vols., New York: Thomas Yoseloff, 1959.

·       Eicher, John H., and Eicher, David J., Civil War High Commands, Stanford University Press, 2001.

·       Gottfried, Bradley M., Brigades of Gettysburg: the Union and Confederate Brigades at the Battle of Gettysburg, Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press, 2002.

·       Johnston, Gertrude K. (ed.), Dear Pa, and So It Goes, Harrisburg, PA: Business Service Co., 1971 [includes letters of Pardee to his father].

·       McDonough, James Lee, and James Pickett Jones, War So Terrible: Sherman and Atlanta, New York: W. W. Norton, 1987. 

·       Pfanz, Harry W., Gettysburg: Culp's Hill and Cemetery Hill, University of North Carolina Press, 1993

Report of Lieut. Col. Ario Pardee, jr., One hundred and forty-seventh Pennsylvania Infantry.

Near Gettysburg, Pa., July 4, 1863.

Sir: In compliance with circular of this day, I have the honor to submit the following report of the part taken by the One hundred (p.846) and Forty-seventh Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers in the actions of July 2 and 3:

My regiment was relieved from picket duty early on the morning of the 2d, and marched with the brigade to the position on the right of the line occupied by the First Army Corps. In this position we remained until evening, when we marched with" the brigade to a position near and east of the turnpike leading from Gettysburg to Baltimore.

On the morning of the 3d, we marched to a point near the line of the previous day and toward the right of the line of the brigade, having on our right the Seventh Regiment Ohio Volunteers and on our left the Fifth Regiment Ohio Volunteers. Soon after the line was formed, I was ordered by General Geary, commanding division, to move forward with my regiment to a point which commanded the right of the line of intrenchments, and from which a view could be had of the movements of the enemy. My regiment, soon after reaching its assigned position, became engaged with the skirmishers of the enemy, who were soon driven from their position. Skirmishers were sent to the front and right flank, into the woods, from which they greatly harassed the enemy.

At about 8 a. m. an attempt was made by the enemy to turn the right of the line of the intrenchments. They boldly advanced to within about 100 yards without discovering my regiment. I then ordered the regiment to fire, and broke their line. They reformed again as a body and advanced. Their advance was checked by the heavy fire they received, when they broke and ran. I would have charged them, but had no support, and would not have been able to have held their position against the column in their rear.

I have the honor to report that I held the position assigned me until late in the afternoon, when I was ordered to report to General Wadsworth, of the First Corps.

My loss has been, I am happy to say, slight, when my exposed position is taken into consideration. The casualties are, 1 commissioned officer (Lieut. William H. Tourison, Company E) killed, 4 enlisted men killed, and 16 wounded. A list of the casualties has already been furnished you.

I am, sir, very respectfully,

                                                                             ARIO PARDEE, Jr.,

                                    Lieut. Col. 147th Regt. Pennsylvania Vols., Comdg.

  Lieut. A. H. W. Creigh, Actg. Asst. Adjt. Gen.

Thomas Howard Ruger

Wikipedia [Edited]:

Thomas Howard Ruger (April 2, 1833 – June 3, 1907) was an American soldier and lawyer who served as a Union general in the American Civil War. After the war, he was a superintendent of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York.

Ruger was born in Lima, New York, and moved to Janesville, Wisconsin in 1846. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1854, third in his class of 46, and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He resigned in 1855 to become a lawyer in Wisconsin.

Ruger was appointed lieutenant colonel of the 3rd Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment in June 1861, and promoted to colonel on August 20. Ruger commanded his regiment in Maryland and the Shenandoah Valley campaigns. He participated in the Battle of Antietam, in which he was wounded while acting commander of a brigade in the 1st Division, XII Corps. Commissioned brigadier general of volunteers in November 1862, Ruger led his brigade of the XII Corps, Army of the Potomac, in the Battle of Chancellorsville, and commanded the division of Brig. Gen. Alpheus Williams temporarily at Gettysburg.[1] (Col. Silas Colgrove led the brigade in that battle, participating in the defense of Culp's Hill.) In the summer of 1863, Ruger was in New York City, where he aided in suppressing draft riots.

He died in Stamford, Connecticut, and is buried in West Point National Cemetery.[3]

Fort Ruger at Diamond Head on Oahu is named in his honor.

Notes

1.    Spruill, Matt (2011). Decisions at Gettysburg: The Nineteen Critical Decisions That Defined the Campaign. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press. p. 74.

2.    Vagts, Detlev F. (2008). "Military Commissions: The Forgotten Reconstruction Chapter". American University International Law Review. 23: 241. Retrieved June 3, 2016.

3.    "Georgia Governors' Gravesites Field Guide, 1776 - 2003" (PDF). Georgia Historic Preservation Division.  

References

·       Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher. Civil War High Commands. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2001.

OFFICERS AND MEN FROM OTHER CORPS RECOMMENDED FOR MENTION

There were regiments from two other corps that supplied reinforcements to the Twelfth Corps in the defense of Culp’s Hill.  We will include recommendations for mention of officers and men from these reinforcing units.

One individual of note is Lieut. Colonel Rufus Dawes, 6th Wisconsin Regiment of the Iron Brigade.

Rufus Dawes

From Wikipedia

Rufus R. Dawes (July 4, 1838 – August 1, 1899) was a military officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He used the middle initial "R" but had no middle name. He was noted for his service in the famed Iron Brigade, particularly during the Battle of Gettysburg. He was a post-war businessman, Congressman, and author, and the father of four nationally known sons, one of whom, Charles G. Dawes, won the Nobel Peace Prize and served as Vice President of the United States, and of two daughters. He was himself a great-grandson of William Dawes, who alerted colonial minutemen of the approach of the British Army prior to the Battles of Lexington and Concord at the outset of the American Revolution, and a maternal great-grandson of the Rev. Manasseh Cutler, who was instrumental in adoption of the Northwest ordinance of 1787, led the formation of the Ohio Company of Associates, and became "Father of Ohio University".[1]

Civil War

Having migrated to Wisconsin prior to the outbreak of the Civil War,[2] Dawes organized a volunteer company from Juneau County in May, was elected Captain, and appointed as such by the State on May 5, and on July 16, 1861, his Company K was mustered into the 6th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry for three years service. The regiment served for almost a year in Northern Virginia without seeing major action. In June 1862, Dawes was promoted to major. He served with his regiment at the Second Battle of Bull Run, South Mountain, Antietam, and Fredericksburg. He was in command of the regiment for most of the Battle of Antietam after Lt. Colonel Edward S. Bragg was shot and injured. In March 1863, Dawes received a promotion to the rank of lieutenant colonel and served in the Chancellorsville Campaign, leading a river crossing under fire at Fitzhugh's Crossing on April 29.[3]

During the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg on July 1, 1863, Dawes led a counterattack on Confederate Brigadier General Joseph R. Davis's brigade of the 2nd, 11th and 42nd Mississippi Infantry Regiments and the 55th North Carolina Infantry Regiment, many of whom were sheltered in an unfinished railroad cut west of town, and forced the surrender of more than 200 of the Confederate soldiers. He later served that year in the Mine Run Campaign. During a furlough, Dawes returned to Ohio and married Mary Beman Gates (1842–1921), from Marietta, Ohio, on January 18, 1864. Returning to the Army of the Potomac, he served at the Battle of the Wilderness and the Siege of Petersburg In July 1864, Dawes was offered the full rank of colonel, but declined the promotion. He was mustered out of the army on August 10, 1864, following the Battles of Spotsylvania and Cold Harbor.

On February 24, 1866, President Andrew Johnson nominated Dawes for appointment to the grade of brevet brigadier general of volunteers to rank from March 13, 1865, and the United States Senate confirmed the appointment on April 10, 1866.[4][5]

After the war, Dawes became a Companion of the Ohio Commandery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States.

Some of Dawes' letters are available to researchers.[6] From his time in the Civil War, Dawes likely suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, although he was able to cope with the symptoms.[7]

After the War

Dawes returned home to Marietta, Ohio and entered the lumber business. In August of that year, his son Charles Gates Dawes was born, a future vice president of the United States. In July 1867, Rufus C. Dawes was born at the family home. He would become a well-respected businessman and lawyer, being awarded Chicago's Most Distinguished Citizen Award" in 1934. A third son, Beman Gates Dawes, would later serve as a Congressman from Ohio, and Henry May Dawes would be a powerful banker who would serve as Comptroller of the Currency for the United States under Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge. Rufus and Mary Dawes also had two daughters, Mary Frances Dawes Beach and Betsey Dawes Hoyt.

Dawes also served on the Board of Trustees of Marietta College from 1871 until his death, 28 years later. He was also a Trustee for Ohio's Institute for the Deaf and Dumb. Dawes was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1881 as a representative from the 15th Congressional District. A Republican, he served for one term before losing his bid for re-election because he voted against the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.[8] In 1890, he published a well-received account of his Civil War career, Service with the 6th Wisconsin Volunteers. This memoir was republished in Madison, Wisconsin by the State Historical Society of Wisconsin for the Wisconsin Civil War Centennial Commission, in 1962. His reputation as an orator and his influential voice for the establishment of diplomatic relations with Persia prompted President William McKinley to offer Dawes the position of Minister to Persia in 1897, a post he declined due to failing health.

Dawes died two years later, August 1, 1899, in Marietta, Ohio, and was buried in Oak Grove Cemetery, Marietta.[2][5]

Dawes was elected to Marietta College's Hall of Honor in 2003.

Notes

1.     Ferris, Mary Walton. "Dawes – Gates Ancestral Lines, Vol. I and II", privately printed 1943.

2.    Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher, Civil War High Commands. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001.  p. 204.

3.     Magnusen, Steve. "To My Best Girl", Indianapolis, IN, Dog Ear Publishing, LLC, 2018 pp. 76–85, 88–124, and 234–239.

4.     Eicher, 2001, p. 743.

5.    Hunt, Roger D. and Jack R. Brown, Brevet Brigadier Generals in Blue. Gaithersburg, MD: Olde Soldier Books, Inc., 1990.  p. 151.

6.     [1] Archived February 3, 2010, at the Wayback Machine

7.     Reid, John J. 'Crisis of the Ottoman Empire: Prelude to Collapse, 1838–1878'. Stuttgart: F. Steiner, 2000.

8.     Sortland, R. A. (1958). Charles G. Dawes: Businessman in Politics. Unpublished manuscript, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH. p. 4.

References

·       Dawes, Rufus R. A Full Blown Yankee of the Iron Brigade: Service with the Sixth Wisconsin Volunteers. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1999. ISBN 0-8032-6618-9. First published 1890 by E. R. Alderman and Sons.

·       Dawes, Rufus Robinson (1890). Service with the Sixth Wisconsin Volunteers {original publication}. Marietta, Ohio : E.R. Alderman & Sons.

·       Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher, Civil War High Commands. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001.

·       Herdegen, Lance J., "Those Damned Black Hats!" The Iron Brigade in the Gettysburg Campaign, Savas Beatie LLC, October 2008. http://www.savasbeatie.com

·       Hunt, Roger D. and Jack R. Brown, Brevet Brigadier Generals in Blue. Gaithersburg, MD: Olde Soldier Books, Inc., 1990.

·       Reid, John J. 'Crisis of the Ottoman Empire: Prelude to Collapse, 1838–1878'. Stuttgart: F. Steiner, 2000.

·       Sortland, R. A. (1958). Charles G. Dawes: Businessman in Politics. Unpublished manuscript, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH.

·       University of Southern Mississippi, McCain Library and Archives – Dawes letter collection

·       Dawes Arboretum Archives, Newark, Ohio

·       Magnusen, Steve. "To My Best Girl -Courage, Honor and Love in the Civil War: The Inspiring Life Stories of Rufus Dawes and Mary Gates", Ed.2, GoToPublish, 2020.

·       Quiner, Edwin Bentley (1866). "The Iron Brigade of the West". The Military History of Wisconsin. Chicago: Clark & Co. pp. 443–482.