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I've always pondered what would have happened in/around
Little Round Top if Law's Brigade had advanced in its
original line order:
(from L to R): 4th Alabama, 48th Alabama, 15th Alabama,
47th Alabama, 44th Alabama
After stepping off from the Bushman Woods and crossing
over a short lane which we now know as South Confederate
Avenue, the brigade started up the heavily forested
southwestern slope of Little Round Top (LRT). As they
got into the trees, Law detached the 47th and 44th from
the extreme right side of the brigade line and had them
countermarch behind the brigade and assume new positions
well to the left of the 4th Alabama.
Depending on whom you believe, this detachment occured
either (1) because the 47th and 44th were encountering
especially rugged wooded terrain that threatened to
break up their unit congruity; or (2) because there
was a call for Robertson's Brigade (Texans), probing
near Devil's Den, to be reinforced.
Robertson, and Benning's Brigade (Georgians) to his
immediate left, had encountered heavy Union resistance
as they climbed the ridge behind the Triangular Field,
and then nearly came apart with the counterattack of
the 124th New York ("Orange Blossoms") across
that same field. This was about the time that Hood was
wounded and division command passed to Law. It's not
impossible that Law learned of the threat and passed
along his two far-right regiments to bolster Robertson.
According to his post-war writings, Hood claimed that
his intent was to move Law up into the woods of LRT,
out of sight of the 4th Maine and other Union defenders
at Devil's Den, and then to sweep down upon them across
the Plum Run valley and take them in flank. It was never
foreseen to achieve the apex of LRT and then clamber
down onto the Taneytown Road into the Federal reserve.
Post-war revisionists fixated on the effect such a
move might have made on the Union "fishhook",
although they ignored the fact that much of Sykes' Fifth
Corps and all of Sedgwick's Sixth Corps were held in
the Union reserve, and might easily have been marched
to stop the Union army from being rolled up. Even though
Law and Hood (and especially Law and Longstreet) had
clashed over tactical matters in the past, it appears
that Law was still sticking to Hood's plan, even though
he was shorting the flanking force by two full regiments.
Of course, no one expected Vincent's Brigade (incl.
20th Maine) to be in a defensive position on the southern
slope of LRT. In fact, Law expected no resistance as
his right-most regiments climbed the hill. Oates and
the 15th Alabama were surprised by the first volleys
from the 83rd Pennsylvania and 20th Maine...then got
into the spirit of the fight, as countless historians
have described ad nauseum.
So, if Law had not stripped two regiments off his brigade
front, what would've happened? As we all know, Chamberlain
was hard-pressed to keep a defensive position against
the 15th and 48th Alabama, even having to refuse his
left flank at one point. If the 48th and 44th Alabama
had comprised the far right of Law's line, there is
little doubt that the 20th Maine would've been flanked
and routed. Certainly, there wouldn't have been any
last-ditch heroic bayonet charge. But, in the end, would
it have even mattered?
I've walked that terrain to the east and southeast
of where the 20th Maine made its stand, to ascertain
whether the 47th and 44th Alabama could have gotten
round Chamberlain. Even today, the approach is steep
and rocky. The day was hot, and Law's men were the last
to arrive on the field that day, having had only 30
minutes rest from a 22-mile march before beginning their
attack. It would've been a tough proposition, even for
battle-hardened veterans. And, who's to say that if
the 47th and 44th hadn't reinforced Robertson, and eventually
tipped the fight around Devil's Den in favor of the
Confederates, that the center of Hood's division, and
the heart of his attack, wouldn't have imploded?
At the time, Law probably did the right thing. Only
later, would armchair historians debate "what might
have been" had Law's Brigade not been re-ordered
at a crucial moment of the July 2nd assault. Seeing
a couple of regiments of screaming Rebels emerging onto
the Taneytown Road behind LRT in the thickening twilight
might have unnerved the on-site Federal commander, and
caused the ever-cautious Meade (fearing that this was
not a few hundred men, but in fact an entire division)
to pull back from the Round Tops, leaving the southern
part of the field in Confederate hands. But....probably
not. We'll never know.
My gg-grandfather (S.E. Vaughan) was in the 44th Alabama,
so I'm kinda weird about that whole fight for LRT. Its
one of those amazing moments in warfare where a single
thing might have turned an entire battle, but the thing
was not done, and so, the day was lost. The re-ordering
of Law's Brigade is one of the little stories that gets
lost in the overall tableau of Gettysburg -- but it
is a story that should be further studied and pondered.
And remember, it was ALL J.E.B Stuart's fault anyway
!!!!! No one has ever argued that the Round Tops were
adequately scouted prior to Hood's assault. Or scouted
at all -- aside from some of Hood's and Longstreet's
staff officers on the night of July 1st.
Lee Frazier
Alexandria, VA
4th November, 2004
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