"The Devil's to Pay"
Maps:
 |
 |
 |
| 10:00 |
10:30-11:30 |
14:30-15:30 |
(Source: The Battle of Gettysburg, Military History Online)
Description:
Early in the morning on
July 1st Confederate
General Henry Heth
moved toward
Gettysburg from Cashtown on the
Chambersburg Pike in search of supplies. Heth’s entire
division was mustered for the march after one of his brigade’s had returned
and reported a sizeable force of Union cavalry near
Gettysburg.
After exchanging a few shots with a Union cavalry picket post near Marsh
Creek, Heth believed he may be
facing some local militia and a small Union force as he approached Herr’s
Ridge and Willoughby Run. This belief was short-lived.
Heth discovered the Rebels were
facing General Buford’s dismounted
cavalry, which were sent forward at Willoughby Run to stall the Confederate
advance. Colonel William Gamble’s
brigade of Buford’s division, supported
by Lt. John H. Calef’s U.S.
Battery with their breech loading carbines, did a fine job of delaying the
Confederate approach. The Rebels were stalled - but only for a short
period. The intense fighting of the First Day was just beginning.
Two brigades commanded by Generals Archer
and Davis pressed slowly ahead
crossing Willoughby Run. On Seminary Ridge from the copula of Schmucker
Hall, General Buford was watching his
men being pushed back from Willoughby Run when
General John Reynolds, riding ahead of his First Corps coming up
in support, asked Buford to hold out
until his troops arrived. “The devil’s to pay” exclaimed
Buford. Then he simply said “I reckon I
can.” At the end of the first day the battle locations west of
Gettysburg
such as Herr’s Ridge, McPherson’s Woods, Willoughby Run, The Railroad Cut,
Iverson’s Pits, Oak Hill, Schmucker Hall and Seminary Ridge would be etched
into American history. The Union forces were eventually driven back through
the town, but the First Day’s delaying action gave the Union reinforcements
enough time to arrive and secure the strategic advantage on Cemetery Ridge.
Photo Gallery:1
Battle Websites:
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1 Please click on the image to
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with each image: "Courtesy of
civil-war-journeys.org."
Revised
09/30/2009 |
