DEAR SIR:
I have the honor to report the following as the operations of Battery
L, First Ohio Light Artillery,
the the Gettysburg campaign:
While in position
guarding Banks' Ford, on the Rappahannock, 7 miles above
Fredericksburg, Va., supported
by the Forty-fourth New York Infantry, I received
orders to be ready to move at
a moments notice, and on the night of June 13 I
started on the line of march
with the Fifth Corps, Army of the Patomac, passing
through Manassas Junction and
crossing the Patomac River at Edwards Ferry on
Pontoons, and thence to Gettysburg.
Marching nearly all night of July 1, we went
into position about 8 a.m. on
the morning of the 2d, to the right of the Baltimore
pike, in a field of wheat, being
thrown to the front of infantry support about 100
yards and in rear of our line
of skirmishers some 60 yards. We remained under
skirmish fire one hour, the infantry
in our rear meeting with some casualties. From
thence we took up our line of
march, crossing Baltimore pike, and going into park
on the left of it.
About the
middle of the afternoon an orderly came rapidly up, asking our battery
to come to the assistance of
the Fifth corps. I started on the trot, and reported to
General Sykes, who ordered the
battery to cover the valley. The rocky nature of
the ground compelled us to unhitch
our horses and place our guns in position by
hand; the left section, in charge
of Lieut. H.F. Guthrie, on the left of a road
leading from the valley, and
on the right slope of Little Round Top (Weed's Hill);
the center and right sections,
in charge of Lieuts. James Gildea and William
Walworth, on the right of said
road. We had hardly placed our guns in position
when the Fifth Corps was forced
back by a terrific charge of Longstreet's corps,
and came rushing through us,
but began rallying on us as soon as they understood
matters. Our front was
hardly clear when the irregular, yelling line of the enemy
put in his appearance, and we
received him with double charges of canister, which
were used so effectively as to
compel him to retire. So rapidly were the guns
worked that they became too hot
to lay the hand on. But for the position of the
battery, and the gallantry with
which it was handled by the men, I have no doubt
the enemy would have accomplished
his purpose of breaking our lines at this
point, and possibly changed the
fortunes of the day.
On the 3d,
we remained in the same position, occasionally working the battery.
A number were
slightly wounded and Asa Kline was severely wounded. The
infantry suffered considerably
while supporting us.
I have the
honor to be, very respectfully,
F.C. GIBBS,
Captain, Comdg. Battery L, First Ohio Light Artillery.
Capt. A.P. MARTIN,
Commanding
Artillery Brigade, Fifth Corps.
Another account of Battery L involvement
at Gettysburg comes from Lt. James Gildea who wrote detailed memoirs in
the 1890's. Click (Gildea)
to continue with the account.
