Gettysburg: America’s Preeminent Battlefield Shrine

They were about one mile apart, out of musket fire range but well within artillery range.  Lee, ever aggressive and confident of victory, attacked again, hitting both Union flanks.  But the Union forces occupied strong defensive positions on high ground and the Confederate forces had to attack upward into blazing Union guns. The Confederates made some gains, but lost many men.

As the day wore on, Confederate General James Longstreet drove into the Union left flank at Little Round Top, the Wheatfield and the Peach Orchard.  The battleground was in farm fields of wheat and corn. The town of Gettysburg was mostly left unscathed, except for a few buildings struck and slightly damaged by errant artillery rounds.

Helping to defend the Union line was the Irish Brigade, which fought with distinction at Little Round Top, the Wheatfield and Stony Hill on the battlefield’s southern end. Commanded by Galway-born Colonel Patrick Kelly, the Irish Brigade consisted of about 240 volunteers of the 63rd, 69th and 88th New York Regiments, and a couple hundred additional volunteers of the 28th Massachusetts and 116th Pennsylvania Regiments. Together, they marched into combat under a green flag containing an Irish harp. Before they were ordered forward into combat, they were granted general absolution by Father William Corby, a Roman Catholic chaplain of the 88th New York.

Colonel Kelly commanded his troops from his war horse named “Faugh a Ballagh,” an Irish phrase meaning “Clear the Way” which also was the Irish Brigade’s battle cry. In sentiment the phrase is similar to a Marine Corps axiom: “Lead, follow or get out of the way.” Colonel Kelly, then 42, of Castlehacket near the city of Galway, was born in 1821 and came to America in 1850, after the famine, settling in New York. He enlisted as a private in the 69th Regiment at the start of the war and rose swiftly through the ranks. He was later killed in action at Petersburg and his body taken back home to Ireland for burial.

Each year, New York City’s bond with the Fighting 69th Regiment is renewed when its members, accompanied by their mascots – four Irish wolfhounds – lead the New York City Saint Patrick’s Day Parade up Fifth Avenue after attending Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. 

What did Confederates think of the Union army before this epic confrontation? Confederate Colonel Edward P. Alexander had written: “His cavalry is numerous but can’t ride and his infantry, except the Irish, can’t fight.”

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Nster.com