GETT Broadcast 2002- Rufus Dawes

Courage at the Railroad Cut

"Gettysburg: Stories of Monumental Courage"
A Broadcast For Students and Teachers from Gettysburg National Military Park
Broadcast date: May 21, 2002

Colonel Rufus Dawes Rufus Dawes was a twenty-two year old college graduate in 1861, and was immediately caught up in the patriotic fervor that swept the north after the firing upon of Fort Sumter, South Carolina. "What seemed to most concern our patriotic and ambitious young men was the fear that some one else would get ahead and crush the rebellion before they got there," Dawes wrote. Gathering support, he and several other young men raised a company of volunteers for state service, to which Dawes was elected captain. Like many other volunteer officers in 1861, Dawes had no formal military training and "worked like a beaver" to get his new company, "The Lemonweir Minute Men", into shape and into state service. The organization was eventually assigned to the 6th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry as Company K. Dawes saw extensive service with the regiment at Second Bull Run, South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville. He rose to the rank of major and lieutenant colonel to replace promoted officers. On July 1st, 1863, Lt. Colonel Dawes led his 6th Wisconsin Infantry of the famous "Iron Brigade" onto the field of Gettysburg.

His regiment saw very heavy fighting on July 1 and suffered very heavily in the contest at the railroad cut. Dawes spent the remainder of the battle dodging artillery shells and sharpshooters' bullets. He finally had a chance to write home on July 4, 1863:

"In line of battle before Gettysburg
"I am entirely safe through the first three of these terrible days of the bloody struggle. The fighting has been the most desperate I ever saw. On July 1st, our corps was thrown in front, unsupported and almost annihilated. My regiment was detached from the brigade and we charged upon and captured the second Mississippi rebel regiment. O, Mary, it is sad to look now at our shattered band of devoted men. I have no opportunity to say more now or write to any one else. Tell mother I am safe. God has been kind to me and I think he will spare me."

Dawes survived the Gettysburg Campaign and led his 6th Wisconsin during the 1864 Wilderness Campaign to the outskirts of Petersburg, Virginia. In late summer he was mustered out and sent home upon the expiration of his term of service. Dawes had a bright post-war career in the lumber business, and then served several terms in the United States House of Representatives. In 1890, he published his private letters and reports in Service With The Sixth Wisconsin Volunteers from which this account is taken.

The Battle of Gettysburg began on the morning of July 1, 1863 when Union cavalry, stationed several miles west of town, spotted a column of Confederate soldiers marching in the direction of Gettysburg. The southerners pushed the cavalrymen back toward Gettysburg until 10:00 AM when Union infantry from the First Corps arrived on the field. By this time, the Confederates had forced the Union cavalry back to the McPherson Farm and ridge. One of the first units to march onto the field was the famous "Black Hat Brigade", more well known as the "Iron Brigade", composed of men from Wisconsin, Indiana and Michigan. The 6th Wisconsin Infantry was one of those regiments and was ordered to remain near the Lutheran Seminary on Seminary Ridge while the remainder of the brigade marched into the fight at the McPherson Farm. The 6th Wisconsin was under the command of Colonel Rufus Dawes, who had served with the regiment since 1861.

North of the McPherson Farm and parallel with the Chambersburg Pike lay an excavated railroad bed that cut through McPherson's Ridge. As Dawes watched the fighting from his position, he saw a Union brigade north of the railroad cut forced back by Brig. General Joseph R. Davis' brigade of Mississippi and North Carolina regiments. Cutler's men fled toward Seminary Ridge as the victorious Southerners turned southward to attack the Union units around the McPherson Farm. Only the 6th Wisconsin Infantry blocked their way.

Colonel Dawes turned his regiment toward the Chambersburg (or "Cashtown") Pike where the soldiers halted at a solid rail fence:

"The regiment halted at the fence along the Cashtown Turnpike, and I gave the order to fire," Dawes later wrote. In the field, beyond the turnpike, a long line of yelling Confederates could be seen running forward and firing and our troops of Cutler's brigade were running back in disorder. The fire of our carefully aimed muskets, resting on the fence rails, striking their flank, soon checked the rebels in their headlong pursuit.The rebel line swayed and bent, and suddenly stopped firing and the men ran into the railroad cut. I ordered my men to climb over the turnpike fences and advance."

The 95th New York Infantry arrived next to the 6th Wisconsin as the men climbed over the fences. Colonel Dawes approached Major Edward Pye, commanding the New Yorkers: "I said, 'We must charge.' The gallant major replied, 'Charge it is.' 'Forward, charge!' was the order I gave, and Major Pye gave the same command. We were receiving a fearfully destructive fire from the hidden enemy. Men who had been shot were leaving the ranks in crowds. With the colors at the advance point, the regiment firmly and hurriedly moved forward." The Union soldiers charged across 400 yards of open field toward the blazing railroad bed, packed with soldiers of the 2nd Mississippi Infantry. Colonel Dawes could only shout encouragement to his men, "The only commands I gave as we advanced were, 'Align on the colors! Close up on the colors! Close up on the colors!' The regiment was being so broken up that this order alone could hold the body together. The colors fell upon the ground several times but were raised again by the heroes of the color guard. Four hundred and twenty men started in the regiment from the turnpike fence, of whom about two hundred and forty reached the railroad cut."

Charge of the 6th Wisconsin Infantry.
Gettysburg NMP

The charge could not be stopped. Many Confederates turned and ran into the deep portion of the cut through McPherson's Ridge while the majority of the 2nd Mississippi held their ground near their flag. Sergeant William B. Murphy, the flag bearer of the 2nd Mississippi Infantry, stood near the railroad bed: "A squad of soldiers made a rush for my colors and our men did their duty. They were all killed or wounded, but they still rushed for the colors with one of the most deadly struggles that was ever witnessed during any battle in the war. Then a large man made a rush for me and the flag. As I tore the flag from the staff he took hold of me and the color." (The large soldier was Corporal Francis A. Waller who would later receive a promotion to sergeant and the Medal of Honor for his actions here.)

Surrender of the 2nd Mississippi Infantry in the railroad cut, sketched soon after the battle.
National Archives

Arriving at the rim of the railroad cut, Colonel Dawes heard his soldiers shout, "'Throw down your muskets! Down with your muskets!' Running forward through our line of men, I found myself face to face with hundreds of rebels, whom I looked upon in the railroad cut, which was, where I stood, four feet deep. I shouted, 'Where is the colonel of this regiment?' An officer in gray, with stars on his collar, who stood among the men in the cut said, 'Who are you?' I said, 'I command this regiment. Surrender, or I will fire.' The officer replied not a word, but promptly handed me his sword and his men, who still held them, threw down their muskets. The coolness, self-possession, and discipline which held back our men from pouring in a general volley saved a hundred lives of the enemy, and as my mind goes back to the fearful excitement of the moment, I marvel at it."

The crucial charge on the railroad cut prevented the loss of the McPherson Farm position that would play an important role in the Union defense that afternoon. Colonel Dawes and his 6th Wisconsin Infantry remained in the battle through the afternoon until forced to retire with the remainder of their army corps through Gettysburg and to Culp's Hill. Exhausted and drained, Colonel Dawes took a few precious minutes the next morning to write his sweetheart to let her know that he had been spared and that he was involved in a great battle. Several days later he sat down and wrote her again, accounting the terrible toll taken on his regiment:

On the march, July 6th, 2 P.M.

"We have stopped for a few moments near Emmitsburg. I am entirely well. I telegraphed to mother before yesterday. This has been a terrible ordeal. Our loss is 30 killed outright, 116 wounded, several of whom have died since, and 25 missing, all from 340 men taken into battle. My horse was shot from under me early in the fight, which perhaps saved my life. The experience of the past few days seem more like a horrible dream than the reality. May God save me and my men from any more such trials. I could tell a thousand stories of their heroism: One young man, Corporal James Kelly of company 'B', shot through the breast, came staggering up to me before he fell and opening his shirt to show the wound, said 'Colonel, won't you write to my folks that I died a soldier.' Every man of our color guard was shot and several volunteer color bearers. There was not a man of them but would die before the honor of the old Sixth should be tarnished."

Of all of the commanders on the battlefield that day, Rufus Dawes showed the type of courage it took to lead his men into the deadliest of battles and achieve victory. The soldiers of the 6th Wisconsin faced death and won a precious victory that morning.

Questions to consider!

What kind of courage is exhibited in this story?
Why didn't the Union soldiers shoot down the Confederates as they stood over them at the railroad cut?
Was Rufus Dawes a good commander? Why or why not?

Go on to Scene 2- The Courage to Face a Tragedy

GETTYSBURG: STORIES OF MONUMENTAL COURAGE
A Live Satellite Broadcast- May 21, 2002

National Park Service
Gettysburg National Military Park
97 Taneytown Road
Gettysburg, PA 17325