HEADQUARTERS HETH'S
DIVISION,
Camp near Orange
Court-House, September 13, 1863.
CAPTAIN: I have the honor to report the operations of my
division from June 29 until July 1, including the part it took in the battle of
Gettysburg (first day), July 1.
The division reached Cashtown, Pa., on June 29. Cashtown is
situated at the base of the South Mountain, on the direct road from
Chambersburg, via Fayetteville, to Gettysburg, and 9 miles distant from the latter
place.
On the morning of June 30, I ordered Brigadier-General
Pettigrew to take his brigade to Gettysburg, search the town for army supplies
(shoes especially), and return the same day. On reaching the suburbs of
Gettysburg, General Pettigrew found a large force of cavalry near the town,
supported by an infantry force. Under these circumstances, he did not deem it
advisable to enter the town, and returned, as directed, to Cashtown. The result
of General Pettigrew's observations was reported to Lieutenant-General Hill,
who reached Cashtown on the evening of the 30th.
On July 1, my division, accompanied by Pegram's battalion of
artillery, was ordered to move at 5 a.m. in the direction of Gettysburg. On
nearing Gettysburg, it was evident that the enemy was in the vicinity of the
town in some force.
It may not be improper to remark that at this time – 9 o'clock
on the morning of July 1 – I was ignorant what force was at or near Gettysburg,
and supposed it consisted of cavalry, most probably supported by a brigade or
two of infantry.
On reaching the summit of the second ridge of hills west of
Gettysburg, it became evident that there were infantry, cavalry, and artillery
in and around the town. A few shot from Pegram's battalion (Marye's battery)
scattered the cavalry vedettes. One of the first shells fired by Pegram
mortally wounded Major-General Reynolds, then in command of the force at
Gettysburg.
My division, now within a mile of Gettysburg, was disposed
as follows: Archer's brigade in line of battle on the right of the turnpike;
Davis' brigade on the left of the same road, also in line of battle;
Pettigrew's brigade and Heth's old brigade (Colonel Brockenbrough commanding),
were held in reserve. Archer and Davis were now directed to advance, the object
being to feel the enemy; to make a forced reconnaissance, and determine in what
force the enemy were – whether or not he was massing his forces on Gettysburg.
Heavy columns of the enemy were soon encountered. Davis, on the left, advanced,
driving the enemy before him and capturing his batteries. General Davis was
unable to hold the position he had gained. The enemy concentrated on his front
and flanks an overwhelming force. The brigade maintained its position until
every field officer save two were shot down, and its ranks terribly thinned.
Among the officers of his brigade especially mentioned by
General Davis as displaying conspicuous gallantry on this occasion are noticed
Colonel Stone, commanding Second Mississippi Regiment; Colonel Connally,
commanding Fifty-fifth North Carolina Regiment; Major [A. H.] Belo, Fifty-fifth
North Carolina Regiment; Lieutenant-Colonel [H.] Moseley, and Major [W. A.]
Feehey, Forty-second Mississippi Regiment, severely wounded while gallantly
leading their regiments to the charge. Lieutenant-Colonel Smith, Fifty-fifth
North Carolina Regiment, was at the same time killed, as also was the gallant
Lieutenant [A. K.] Roberts, of the Second Mississippi Regiment, who, with a
detachment from the Second and Forty-second Mississippi Regiments, after a
hand-to-hand conflict with the enemy, succeeded in capturing the colors of a
Pennsylvania regiment. The good conduct of this brigade on this occasion merits
my special commendation.
On the right of the road, Archer encountered heavy masses in
his front, and his gallant little brigade, after being almost surrounded by
overwhelming forces in front and on both flanks, was forced back. The service
lost at this time that most gallant and meritorious officer, Brigadier-General
Archer, who fell into the enemy's hands, together with some 60 or 70 of his
men.
The enemy had now been felt, and found to be in heavy force
in and around Gettysburg. The division was now formed in line of battle on the
right of the road, the several brigades posted as follows: Archer's brigade
(Col. B. D. Fry, Thirteenth Alabama Regiment, commanding) on the right, Pettigrew
in the center, and Brockenbrough on the left. Davis' brigade was kept on the
left of the road, that it might collect its stragglers, and from its shattered
condition it was not deemed advisable to bring it again into action on that
day. It, however, did participate in the action later in the day. After resting
in line of battle for one hour or more, orders were received to attack the
enemy in my front, with the notification that General Pender's division would
support me.
The division had not advanced more than 100 yards before it
became hotly engaged. The enemy was steadily driven before it at all points,
excepting on the left, where Brockenbrough was held in check for a short time,
but finally succeeded in driving the enemy in confusion before him.
Brockenbrough's brigade behaved with its usual gallantry, capturing two stand
of colors and a number of prisoners. The officer who made the report of the
part taken by Brockenbrough’s brigade in this day's fight has omitted to
mention the names of the officers and soldiers who distinguished themselves on
this occasion.
Pettigrew's brigade encountered the enemy in heavy force,
and broke through his first, second, and third lines. The Eleventh North
Carolina Regiment, Colonel Leventhorpe commanding, and the Twenty-sixth North
Carolina Regiment, Colonel Burgwyn, Jr., commanding, displayed conspicuous
gallantry, of which I was an eye-witness. The Twenty-sixth North Carolina
Regiment lost in this action more than half its numbers in killed and wounded,
among whom were Colonel Burgwyn killed and Lieutenant-Colonel Lane severely
wounded. Colonel Leventhorpe, of the Eleventh North Carolina Regiment, was
wounded, and Major Ross killed. The Fifty-second and Forty-seventh North
Carolina Regiments, on the right of the center, were subjected to a heavy
artillery fire, but suffered much less than the Eleventh and Twenty-sixth North
Carolina Regiments. These regiments behaved to my entire satisfaction.
Pettigrew's brigade, under the leadership of that gallant
officer and accomplished scholar, Brig. Gen. J. Johnston Pettigrew (now lost to
his country), fought as well, and displayed as heroic courage as it was ever my
fortune to witness on a battle-field. The number of its own gallant dead and
wounded, as well as the large number of the enemy's dead and wounded left on
the field over which it fought, attests better than any commendation of mine
the gallant part it played on July 1. In one instance, when the Twenty-sixth
North Carolina Regiment encountered the second line of the enemy, his dead
marked his line of battle with the accuracy of a line at a dress parade.
Archer's brigade, on the right (Col. B. D. Fry commanding),
after advancing a short distance, discovered a large body of cavalry on its
right flank. Colonel Fry judiciously changed his front, thus protecting the
right flank of the division during the engagement. This brigade (Archer's), the
heroes of Chancellorsville, fully maintained its hard-won and well-deserved
reputation. The officer making the report of the part it played in the first
and second charges has failed to particularize any officer or soldier who displayed
particular gallantry, which accounts for no one being named from this gallant
little brigade. After breaking through the first and second lines of the enemy,
and several of the regiments being out of ammunition, General Pender's division
relieved my own, and continued the pursuit beyond the town of Gettysburg.
At the same time that it would afford me much gratification,
I would be doing but justice to the several batteries of Pegram's battalion in
mentioning the assistance they rendered during this battle, but I have been
unable to find out the names of the commanders of those batteries stationed at
the points where important service was rendered, all reports of artillery
officers being made through their chief.
My thanks are particularly due to Major Pegram for his ready
co-operation. He displayed his usual coolness, good judgment, and gallantry.
My thanks are also due to my personal staff – Major [R. H.]
Finney, assistant adjutant-general; Major [H. H.] Harrison, assistant adjutant
and inspector general; Lieutenants [M. C.] Selden, Jr., and [Stockton] Heth, my
aides-de-camp, and acting engineer officer, William O. Slade – for their
valuable services in carrying orders and superintending their execution.
I take this occasion to mention the energy displayed by my
chief quartermaster (Maj. A. W. Vick) and his assistants in collecting
transportation for the division when in Pennsylvania, the division having a
limited supply when it crossed the Potomac; also to Major [P. C.] Hungerford,
chief commissary of subsistence, and his assistants, for their activity in
procuring supplies.
I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
H. HETH,
Major-General.
Capt. W. N. STARKE,
Asst. Adjt. Gen., Third Corps, Army of Northern Virginia.
SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of
the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume
27, Part 2 (Serial No. 44), p. 637-9
