|
|
Winona 1851-1861 Road to Gettysburg July 1, 1863 July 2, 1863 July 3, 1863 July 4, 1863 Letters NYC & Brooklyn Acknowledgements & Credits |
Report of Capt. Henry C. Coates, First Minnesota Infantry (excerpt)
On the 1st of July we marched within two miles of this place, where we found portions of the army, who had been in the battle of that day. H. C. Coates
Captain, Commanding First Regiment Minnesota Volunteers. His Excellency, Alexander Ramsey, Governor of the State of Minnesota
William Lochren's Narrative of the First Regiment (excerpt)July 1, 1863
In the forenoon of July 1st the heavy sound of distant artillery soon put us on the march toward it. We turned back to Uniontown, where we took a road to the right, and by four o’clock, the roar of conflict increasing as we drew nearer, we began to meet the crowd of cowards and camp followers, fleeing in terror, with their frightened tales of utter defeat and rout. As most of the soldiers wore the crescent badge of the eleventh Corps, which was held in little respect since Chancellorsville, they received but taunts and jeers from the sturdy veterans of the Second Corps. Hancock had left us about noon, hurrying on to the battlefield, where he had been directed to assume command and where he selected the ground and made dispositions for the continuance of the battle. We halted three or four miles south of Gettysburg, between eight and nine o’clock, placing a strong picket and erecting slight barricade defenses, as it was known that the Confederates, as well as federals, were assembling from different directions. Minneapolis Feb. 1, 1890
|