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Knoxville Civil War Roundtable

~ Remembering the Civil War in East Tennessee

Knoxville Civil War Roundtable

Tag Archives: Culp’s Hill

Battlelines: Gettysburg: Day 3, Friday, July 3, 1863

03 Sunday Jul 2016

Posted by knoxcwrt in Gettysburg, news

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Alfred Waud, Army of Northern Virginia, Battlelines: Gettysburg, Civil War, Culp's Hill, Edwin Forbes, George Armstrong Custer, George Meade, Gettysburg, J.E.B. Stuart, James Longstreet, Pickett's charge, Richard Ewell, Robert E. Lee

Note: The annual anniversary of the battle of Gettysburg is this weekend. To commemorate that, we are posting, with permission, excerpts from Battlelines: Gettysburg, that describe aspects of the battle. Battlelines: Gettysburg contains the battlefield drawings of Alfred Waud and Edwin Forbes, the only two artists who witnessed the battle.

Lee’s original plan for the third day of battle was similar to that of the second day: attack both sides of the Union line. But early in the morning, instead of just holding his position, Meade ordered troops at Culp’s Hill to clear out the Confederate forces that had captured Union positions the day before. So, rather than storming Culp’s Hill – as Lee had planned – General Richard Ewell’s troops had to fight to hold their own position.

When Lee realized that Ewell’s troops were occupied, he changed his plans and told Longstreet to prepare of an attack on the center of the Union line. The attack would require soldiers to cross nearly a mile of open fields that gradually sloped up toward a copse of trees that stood just behind the center of the Federal forces. Longstreet argued against the assault, but Lee was a gambler and felt this was a chance worth taking.

By 11 a.m., Ewell’s troops had been flushed out of their positions at Culp’s Hill and could offer no support for the advance that would later occur. At 1 p.m. Confederate artillery opened up on the Union line, but many of their shots were aimed too high and fell harmlessly behind the lines. Union artillery answered for a while until the order came to cease firing in order to conserve ammunition. By not answering the Confederate fire, Union artillery units were able to conceal their positions in some instances.

Edwin Forbes' painting of Pickett's charge

Edwin Forbes’ painting of Pickett’s charge

After two hours of bombardment, the cannons ceased, and more than 12,000 Confederates advanced on Union lines in what has become known as Pickett’s charge. In addition to the field being open and often exposing the troops to direct and flanking fire, the troops had to cross fences that further exposed them to Union musketry. The center of the Union line held fire for a time, leading Confederate leaders to believe that the artillery bombardment had been successful.

They were wrong.

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Battlelines: Gettysburg: Day 2, Thursday, July 2, 1863

02 Saturday Jul 2016

Posted by knoxcwrt in Gettysburg

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20th Maine division, Alfred Waud, Battlelines: Gettysburg, Culp's Hill, Edwin Forbes, George Meade, Gettysburg, Gouverneur Warren, Harper's Weekly, James Longstreet, Joshua Chamberlain, Little Round Top, Robert E. Lee, sketch artists, video

Note: The annual anniversary of the battle of Gettysburg is this weekend. To commemorate that, we are posting, with permission, excerpts from Battlelines: Gettysburg that describe aspects of the battle. Battlelines: Gettysburg contains the battlefield drawings of Alfred Waud and Edwin Forbes, the only two artists who witnessed the battle.

Lee kept his army at Gettysburg because he believed he could win. The first day of the battle had been a good one for the Confederates, and Lee’s experience had been that given the right amount of pressure at the right time, Union forces would collapse. He believed that a second day of battle with the Confederates hitting hard at the Union lines could make that happen again.

Lee had developed a special relationship with his battlefield commanders, people like James Longstreet, Richard Ewell and A.P. Hill. His orders to them were often general and sometimes vague – deliberately so, because he want to give them room to make their own decisions and because he believed they could understand his purposes.

The fierce fighting around Devil's Den, depicted by Alfred Waud.

The fierce fighting around Devil’s Den, depicted by Alfred Waud.

But this method of command put enormous pressure on these generals to understand Lee and carry out his vague plans. It also assumed that when the actions of these general had to be coordinated, they would work together in a mutually cooperative way.

But that didn’t happen.

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Welcome to the KCWRT

The Knoxville Civil War Roundtable is a organization dedicated to remembering and studying the Civil War in East Tennessee.

Find out how to join the KCWRT on our membership page.

Meetings of the KCWRT are held at the Bearden Banquet Hall (5806 Kingston Pike). A dinner buffet is served at 6:30 p.m. Cost is $17 for members and $20 for nonmembers. Reservations must be made or cancelled not later than 11:00 am on the day before the meeting. Call (865) 671-9001 to make or cancel reservations.

Roundtable business is conducted at approximately 7:15 p.m.

A guest speaker, normally an author, educator, or historian of national prominence in his or her field, speaks for approximately one hour, on some aspect of the American Civil War. Additional information about this month's speaker can be found in the current issue of The Scout's Report.

This address is followed by a brief question and discussion period. Cost (for those not dining) is $5 for members and $8 for nonmembers.

The normal schedule of events at each meeting is as follows:

6:30 p.m. - Buffet Dinner
7:15 p.m. - Roundtable Business
7:30 p.m. - Speaker + Questions/Discussion
8:45 p.m. - Adjournment

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Welcome to the KCWRT

The Knoxville Civil War Roundtable is a organization dedicated to remembering and studying the Civil War in East Tennessee.

Find out how to join the KCWRT on our membership page.

Meetings are held a Buddy's Banquet Hall (5806 Kingston Pike). A dinner buffet is served at 7 p.m. Cost is $15.00 for members and $17.00 for nonmembers. Reservations must be made or cancelled not later than 11 a.m. on the day before the meeting. Call (865) 671-9001 to make or cancel reservations.

Roundtable business is conducted at approximately 7:45 p.m.

A guest speaker, normally an author, educator, or historian of national prominence in his or her field, speaks for approximately one hour, on some aspect of the American Civil War. Additional information about this month's speaker can be found in the current issue of The Scouts Report.This address is followed by a brief question and discussion period.

Cost (for those not dining) is $3.00 for members and $5.00 for nonmembers.

The normal schedule of events at each meeting is as follows:
7:00 p.m. - Buffet Dinner
7:45 p.m. - Roundtable Business
8:00 p.m. - Speaker + Questions/Discussion
9:15 p.m. - Adjournment

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