It took a lot of officers to command the organizations as large as those armies that fought at Gettysburg. Nobody started out as a general. Most had to serve for many years as a private, sergeant, or junior lieutenant before they became great officers. Many had gone to school together at West Point and fought together in Mexico prior to the outbreak of the Civil War. If you're going to be a historian at Gettysburg, you had better find out who some of the important and more colorful officers and personalities were.
Gen. Robert E. Lee Robert E. Lee was the Confederacy's greatest and most loved commander. He led one of the most daring armies ever organized, the Army of Northern Virginia. The general was at the pinnacle of his career and his army apparently unstoppable when they marched into the North that summer of 1863, but the Battle of Gettysburg would prove to be the "high tide" of his army and the war. Never again would Lee be able to mount such an offensive operation into the northern states.
Maj. General George G. Meade This native Pennsylvanian would find himself in command of the Union Army of the Potomac only three days before the Battle of Gettysburg. His temperament was harsh and he could be difficult to deal with, but Meade would lead his army into the greatest battle they had seen and would prove to be equal to the task in defeating Lee. His success at Gettysburg would be later marred by critics who felt that he was too slow in chasing Lee back into Virginia.
Brig. General John Buford The commander of a cavalry division in the Army of the Potomac, John Buford's troops encountered the head of a Confederate column on June 30th near Gettysburg. It was Buford who decided to stay in the area overnight and wait for the Confederates to return the following day. His choice would set the stage for the Battle of Gettysburg that began the following day.
Gen. John F. Reynolds One of the most highly respected Union generals serving in the Army of the Potomac, John F. Reynolds was the commander of the First Corps. He was offered the command of the army several days before the battle, but declined and General Meade was appointed instead. While leading his troops into battle on July 1st, General Reynolds was instantly killed in a grove of trees adjacent to the McPherson Farm. His death was sorely felt throughout the army.
Lt. Gen. James Longstreet The most trusted of Lee's corps commanders, James Longstreet's troops would bear the brunt of the fighting on July 2 and July 3rd at Gettysburg. The general was in charge of the main Southern attack on the last day of the battle, even though he did not believe in its success. Much of the Southern controversy about Gettysburg centers around Longstreet's command decisions during the battle. In many ways, the events at Gettysburg would haunt him until the end of his life.
Maj. General Daniel Sickles A colorful general and politician, Daniel Sickles led his corps onto the Gettysburg Battlefield on July 2, determined not to be surprised by a Confederate attack. Instead, he was surprised by the Southern assault and the direction from which it came. Sickles lost most of his corps and a leg at Gettysburg, but was compensated for his loss with the Congressional Medal of Honor. As a congressman in 1894, Sickles would sponsor the bill that made the battlefield a national park.
Lt. General Richard S. Ewell His almost comical appearance betrays the type of cunning and resourceful soldier he was. General Ewell led "Stonewall" Jackson's old corps at Gettysburg. Though brilliant on the first day of the battle, General Ewell would later fail to take key Union positions and allowed his subordinate commanders to set the tone of the battle on the Confederate left. His troops fought at Culp's Hill, Cemetery Hill, and in the town of Gettysburg.
Maj. General Winfield S. Hancock Inspiring, bold, and daring, General Hancock proved to be an outstanding officer and field commander. At Gettysburg he reached a pinnacle when Meade sent Hancock as his representative to the battle field on July 1, where Hancock took command of the field. The general was everywhere the action was on July 2 and played a prominent role in sending troops to threatened areas. He nearly lost his life while directing troops against Pickett's Virginians on July 3rd.
Brig. General John B. Gordon General Gordon was a brigade commander under General Ewell. He had been nearly killed at the Battle of Antietam but recovered enough to return to the army for this campaign. General Gordon would eventually lead the Army of Northern Virginia during its last parade at Appomattox Court House in 1865. After the war, Gordon served several terms as the Governor of Georgia and was an influential leader of The United Confederate Veterans.
Lt. General A. P. Hill General Hill was a West Point graduate and commanded the Third Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia. His troops opened the battle on July 1, 1863. General Hill commanded the Confederate forces during the majority of that day. His troops also fought on July 2, and he sent the better part of two divisions into the grand assault on July 3, also known as "Pickett's Charge". Tragically, General Hill did not survive the war. He was killed in Virginia barely a week before the Confederate surrender at Appomattox Court House.
Maj. General Henry Heth Marching from Cashtown, Pennsylvania on the morning of July 1, 1863, General Heth's troops opened the battle against Buford's Union cavalrymen. At the height of the fighting that afternoon, General Heth was seriously wounded when a minie ball struck his thick hat band so that it ringed his head, and knocked him senseless. The general was able to recover just in time to lead his command during the retreat back to Virginia. After the war he wrote his memoirs, adding that Lee's army had never been so confident of victory as they were during the Gettysburg Campaign.
Col. Joshua Chamberlain Chamberlain rose from his pre-war employment as a school teacher to be the colonel of the 20th Maine Infantry. His Maine soldiers were veterans of several battles, and Chamberlain's regiment faced its toughest test at Little Round Top in a desperate fight with the 15th Alabama Infantry. The 20th Maine held on under Chamberlain's desperate guidance, which eventually contributed to the Union victory at the hill on July 2. Chamberlain miraculously escaped serious injury during the fighting.
Colonel Strong Vincent The former commander of the 83rd Pennsylvania Infantry, Colonel Vincent commanded a brigade of Union troops who fought at Little Round Top. He was mortally wounded on July 2 during the fighting there and one of the most promising Union officers in the army. The 20th Maine Infantry was a part of his brigade that day and it was Colonel Vincent who instructed Colonel Chamberlain, reminding him that his regiment was the left flank of the Union army that afternoon.
Brig. General Gouveneur K. Warren. General Meade's Chief of Engineers, Warren was ordered by Meade to survey the Union positions on the left flank of the army on July 2. Warren went to Little Round Top and saw Confederate troops marching toward the hill. It was Warren who rushed Union troops to the hill to save the position for the Union. Exhausted by the day's activities, Warren fell asleep during the conference that night at General Meade's headquarters. General Warren later commanded the 5th Army Corps through the Wilderness and Petersburg Campaigns.
Maj. General John Bell Hood. An agressive and brave commander who hailed from Texas, General Hood commanded a division under General Longstreet. His troops marched 18 miles on July 2nd, and then attacked Union troops on Little Round Top and at Devil's Den. The general was seriously wounded in one arm while leading his troops into battle. The wound would not cost him his arm, but it would hang useless by his side for the remainder of his life.
Colonel E.P. Alexander. Colonel Alexander commanded an artillery battalion in General Longstreet's Corps and directed the bombardment of the Union lines prior to Pickett's Charge on July 3rd. Alexander was the artillery officer who observed Union cannon being withdrawn and sent the note to General Pickett to begin the attack. After the war, Alexander wrote extensively about his experiences, including several articles on the artillery fighting at Gettysburg.
Maj. General George E. Pickett One of the more flamboyant of Lee's generals, General Pickett commanded a division of Virginia soldiers. Gen. Pickett was worried that his men would not see much action during the battle, but as events turned out, his troops would reach the "High Water Mark" of the battle and of the Confederacy. His name is forever associated with the third and final day of the battle and the climactic attack against the Union center, known as "Pickett's Charge".
Brig. General Richard Brooke Garnett. General Garnett commanded a brigade in General Pickett's Division. His Virginia soldiers were the first to strike the Union center at the Angle during "Pickett's Charge". General Garnett was killed during the charge and his body was never identified amongst the hundreds that were buried on the field. His remains probably lie amongst those of his men, resting today in Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia.
Maj. Gen. Isaac R. Trimble General Trimble was a brigade commander under "Stonewall" Jackson and was wounded in Virginia in 1862. He had recovered enough by the summer of 1863 to accompany the Army of Northern Virginia to Pennsylvania, and was assigned to command General Pender's Division during "Pickett's Charge". Trimble was seriously wounded in the leg during the charge, and surgeons were forced to remove it to save his life. He was taken prisoner by Union troops after the Confederate retreat.
Brig. General J.E.B. Stuart A bold and dashing figure, General Stuart was one of the more famous horsemen of the Civil War and led the cavalry of the Army of Northern Virginia. His successful ride through Maryland and Pennsylvania ended in a controversy when he did not arrive at Gettysburg until long after the battle had started, leading to an awkward censure from the army commander, General Lee. Stuart's horsemen fought a pitched battle three miles east of Gettysburg on the afternoon of July 3rd, where he was soundly defeated. Gettysburg was one of Stuart's few defeats during the entire war.
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Colonel Clint Eastwood. No, Clint Eastwood was not a colonel during the Civil War and was not at Gettysburg during the battle. We're just checking to see if you are paying attention!
(He had not been born yet, though we sure do wish he had been here!)
Here is a list of other important people who were at Gettysburg. Can you guess who is Union and who is a Confederate?
(HINT: If you've looked through some of the other pages on our web site, you may have seen these names!)
Did you guess correctly? Take a look at the rest of the Gettysburg National Military Park Web Site and maybe you can find them all!
National Park Service
Gettysburg National Military Park
1195 Baltimore Pike, Suite 100
Gettysburg, PA 17325