THE CIVIL WAR SOLDIER
The Second New Hampshire Infantry Regiment was assigned the precarious duty of supporting a battery stationed at the Peach Orchard on July 2nd. It was a terrible place to be, the regiment caught between the crossfire of Confederate artillery in an exposed position with nothing to shield them from the deadly missles. One veteran recalled the moment:
"Now every gun upon that great circle seemed to concentrate its fire upon that little acre about the Wentz house. It was toward six o'clock when, under cover of the artillery fire, the long-concealed infantry of McLaw's rebel division disclosed itself and moved forward for a simultaneous, converging attack upon both faces of Sickles' salient. Colonel Bailey, while taking a view from a point of observation near the Emmitsburg Road, noted the rapid advance of a column of massed battalions. He ran... to General Graham, gave him warning, and suggested that the Second should charge. 'Yes, for God's sake, go forward!' replied Graham. The Second came to their feet with a great sigh of relief. No time was wasted on frills. 'Forward, guide center!' and the Second was off!"
The Second's ill-fated charge briefly halted the Confederate rush into the Peach Orchard, but to no avail. It was over within a few minutes, the New Hampshire men tumbling back and leaving behind a field strewn with dead and wounded comrades.
 First Sgt. John P. Stone Co. A, 2nd NH Infantry Killed July 2, 1863.
|
 First Sergeant David Colburn Co. C, 2nd NH Infantry Killed July 2, 1863.
|
 Lt. Edmund Dascomb Co. G, 2nd NH Infantry Wounded July 2, 1863.
|
| Of the 380 soldiers of the 2nd New Hampshire Infantry present at Gettysburg, 193 officers and men were killed, wounded or captured. |
National Park Service
Gettysburg National Military Park
97 Taneytown Road
Gettysburg, PA 17325
author: John Heiser
Gettysburg National Military Park
May 1998
The Civil War Soldier