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Gettysburg Battle Report: Garnett's Battalion

No. 554.--Report of Lieut. Col. John J. Garnett, C. S. Army, commanding Artillery Battalion.
CAMP NEAR GORDONSVILLE, VA.,

August 2, 1863.

COLONEL: In obedience to your circular, dated July 29, directing me to "make and forward to these (your)headquarters as soon as possible an official report of the operations of your (my) battalion of artillery, from the time it left Fredericksburg to the present time," I have the honor to report as follows:

On the morning of June 15, in obedience to your orders, I withdrew my command from the position it had occupied on Lee's Hill since the 6th instant [June], to the rear, immediately on the Telegraph road, and reported to Major-General Heth for duty with his division. At 2 p.m. I moved with Heth's division from Fredericksburg, and accompanied this command on its daily marches through the Maryland and Pennsylvania campaign until the morning of July 1, when I was relieved, and became directly subject to your orders.

The commencement of the battle around Gettysburg found my battalion at Cashtown, Pa., where it had arrived the previous evening from near Fayetteville, Pa.

About 11 a.m. on the morning of July 1, I received orders to bring up my command to within supporting distance on the Gettysburg pike, which I reached after the battle had been in progress for several hours. On reaching the scene of action, as directed, I halted my battalion in column on the side of the road, and awaited further orders. After a delay of about an hour, I received a message from Major Pegram, requesting that I relieve one of his batteries, whose ammunition had become exhausted. I accordingly sent him Capt. V. Maurin, of the Donaldsonville Battery, with six of my rifled pieces, which almost immediately opened upon the enemy and with apparent effect. These pieces kept up a slow and steady fire for about an hour, when, the enemy having been forced back out of range to the position held by them on the second and third days, together with the other pieces of the command, they were advanced to the front, in the rear of the line of battle nearly opposite Cemetery Hill, where they remained in park until the following morning, protected from the enemy's fire by a high hill.

On the morning of the second day, having received an order to send all of my rifles to the position immediately opposite Cemetery Hill, and to the right of the Fairfield turnpike, I accordingly dispatched Major Richardson with the nine rifled pieces of the battalion to the hill indicated, where they remained in position until the following morning. At 3 p.m., when the engagement became general, these pieces opened fire upon the enemy's batteries opposite, which they kept up without cessation until about thirty minutes before sunset. Just as the sun had disappeared behind the horizon, the enemy's guns were observed to be turned upon a portion of General Ewell's forces, which had attacked them in the rear, when Major Richardson, by opening upon them with his nine rifles, succeeded in diverting their fire.

On the third day, Major Richardson was ordered to the position held by Major-General Anderson's division, and to the right of Major Pegram's battalion. Toward the close of the day, in obedience to orders from General Longstreet, he placed his guns in position under fire at this point, but did not fire a single shot, having received orders to that effect. The remaining six guns (four Napoleons and two howitzers) bore no part in these actions, although they were upon the field in readiness whenever they should be called upon.

On the morning of the 4th, however, I placed them in the position occupied by the rifled pieces on the second day, where they remained until night, when they were recalled to take their position in the line of march for Hagerstown.

On the 4th instant, Major Richardson was ordered to report to General Imboden, in charge of the wagon train, with the three rifled pieces of Company B, and the two rifles of Company D, which were thus temporarily detached from the battalion. Major Richardson being absent at Culpeper Court-House, under orders, I am unable to make at present an official report of the operations of that portion of the battalion under his command, but will forward it as soon as I can communicate with him. It may not be improper here to state that three of these pieces (the two others having been turned over to Captain [J. F.]Hart on the march, in consequence of the horses becoming too weak to pull them) formed a part of the escort of the wagon train under the command of General Imboden, and that they performed good service in the engagement at Williamsport. On reaching Hagerstown, the battalion was reunited under Major Richardson, who continued in command until the morning of the day on which the army fell back across the Potomac, when I resumed the command.

I regret to state that, owing to the jaded condition of the horses, which had been but scantily supplied with forage since July 1, during all of which time they had not received a single feed of corn, I was forced to abandon two rifled pieces belonging to Captain [J. W.] Lewis' battery on the night of the retreat from Maryland. Every effort was made to bring them off, but being the rear of the artillery, and before my arrangements could be completed, which were made with all possible dispatch, the enemy's cavalry charged and took them, together with 6 men and spare horses which had been sent back for the purpose of bringing them off.

On reaching the Virginia shore, I was ordered to place six of my pieces (two Napoleons and four rifled) in position on the hills to the left of the turnpike, and commanding the pontoon bridge, which I accordingly did, and very soon thereafter, General Pendleton being present, they opened upon the enemy's skirmishers, and checked their advance upon the bridge. These pieces kept up an irregular fire until evening, when I ordered them to cease firing, the enemy evincing no intention of attempting to cross, and their formations not being sufficiently large to warrant the further expenditure of ammunition. The subsequent movements of my battalion are identical with those of the corps to which it is attached until we reached near Front Royal, when, in obedience to orders received through you, I turned off at that point, and proceeded up the Valley pike, by New Market, to this place, where my command is now conveniently encamped, having arrived here at 3 p.m. on the 29th ultimo by easy marches.

I regret to state that the losses which my battalion has incurred during the recent campaign are especially heavy in horses, those now remaining being for the present almost totally unserviceable. It is my opinion, however, that with a short respite I will soon be able to report them as serviceable. I would respectfully state that, at the time of leaving Fredericksburg, their condition was generally bad, in consequence of the hardships they had encountered during the past winter, together with what they had gone through during the spring campaign.

The various losses in detail I have already sent you. The casualties in my command are as follows: Severely wounded, 2 enlisted men; slightly wounded, 3 enlisted men; missing (supposed to be in the hands of the enemy), 14 enlisted men.(*)

Respectfully submitted.

JNO. J. GARNETT,

Lieutenant-Colonel, Commanding Artillery Battalion.

Col. R. L. WALKER,

Chief of Artillery, Third Corps, Army of Northern Virginia.

No. 555.--Report of Maj. Charles Richardson, C.S. Army, commanding Garnett's battalion.

GORDONSVILLE, VA.,

August 2, 1863.

COLONEL: In obedience to your order, requiring me to report the operations of a detachment of this battalion with which I was ordered to join Brigadier-General Imboden at Cashtown, Pa., I have the honor to submit the following:

About 7 o'clock on the morning of July 4 last, having at the time nine rifled guns of this battalion in position on the line of battle opposite Gettysburg, and immediately in front of the brigade of Brigadier-General Posey, of Anderson's division, I received orders from Brigadier-General Pendleton to proceed at once to Cashtown with the rifled guns of Captains [Victor] Maurin and [J. D.] Moore, and report to General Imboden, for duty with his command.

Pursuant to this order, I at once marched, with Captain Moore (one 10-pounder Parrott and one 3-inch United States rifle and caissons) and Lieutenant [R. P.] Landry, of Captain Maurin's battery (two 3-inch United States rifles and one 10-pounder Parrott and caissons), and, arriving at Cashtown about 2 o'clock, immediately reported to General Imboden. The general informed me that his command would act as a convoy to the great wagon train of our army then passing through the town, and that he would at the proper time designate the positions in the column to be occupied by my guns. Having waited several hours without receiving any order from General Imboden, during which time I frequently presented myself to the general and conversed with him, I at length, having informed the general where my artillery was, with his consent returned to my command, which was on the Gettysburg and Cashtown road, about 300 yards from where I left the general and his staff. Here I remained :until about sunset, when, having received no orders from the general, I returned to the point in Cashtown where I had left him, and learned that he and his staff had gone forward on the line of march. Deeming it necessary that I should communicate with him as soon as possible, in order that I might receive his orders, I turned over the command of my artillery to Captain Moore, and at once hastened to overtake General Imboden.

Passing the wagon train of our battalion about 2 o'clock the next morning. I saw Sergeant [James K.] Cleary, by whom I sent word to Captain Moore that I had not been able up to that time to overtake General Imboden, but that I desired him (Captain Moore) to join the wagon train, and move forward without unnecessary delay.

I then hastened forward, and met General Imboden's adjutant at Greencastle, and informed him that I had received no orders to march. I did not see the general then, but learned that he had gone forward. Riding forward, I had not proceeded more than 3 miles when our train was attacked by a body of the enemy's cavalry, and I was captured, but was soon rescued by a company of our cavalry. I, however, did not recover my horse, which had been taken by the enemy. I therefore had to proceed as best I could, part of the way on foot, and arrived at Williamsport during the afternoon of the 5th ultimo.

I there saw General Imboden, and informed him again, as I had done at Cashtown the previous day, that my horses were in bad condition, and asked him if he could furnish me with more horses, as I thought I might need assistance. He said he had already directed Colonel [George H.] Smith, commanding a regiment of infantry belonging to his command, and then not far from the rear of the wagon train, to take charge of and turn over to the artillery and wagons all the serviceable led horses in the train. The horses in the wagon train of this battalion which had arrived were not in condition at this time to assist in bringing up the artillery; but the next morning I directed that all the serviceable horses in our camp should be at once sent to aid in bringing up the artillery.

General Imboden ordered me, the morning of July 6, to ride around the line of battle that he had formed, and select positions to be occupied by my artillery as soon as it should arrive. This order I obeyed, and, on returning to camp, found Captain Moore with his two guns, the caissons having been unavoidably abandoned. I lost no time in placing Captain Moore's battery in position, and had just done so when Lieutenant Landry arrived with one 10-pounder Parrott, and informed me that his horses having entirely broken down, he was compelled to abandon his caissons, and that he had turned over to Captain [J. F.] Hart, of General Hampton's legion, his two 3-inch United States rifles, being unable to move them with his horses.

As the enemy was then threatening us, I lost no time in placing Lieutenant Landry's piece in position, and this had just been done when Captain Moore opened upon a battery of the enemy's guns which appeared in range on the Sharpsburg road. Our guns were worked carefully until the ammunition was exhausted, when I first ordered Captain Moore and then Lieutenant Landry to retire. This, however, was but a short time before the enemy withdrew.

The casualties in my command were but slight. In the battalion, Captain Moore had 4 men wounded and 2 horses killed. Lieutenant Landry had 1 man wounded and 2 horses killed.

From the reports of Captain Moore and Lieutenant Landry, I believe that the abandonment of the pieces and caissons of their batteries was unavoidable. The led horses ordered to be turned over to them by General Imboden were too much broken down to be of any service, and the wagons were loaded with wounded men.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,

CHARLES RICHARDSON,

Major of Battalion.

Lieut. Col. J. J. GARNETT,

Commanding Battalion Light Artillery.