Excerpt

There has been more written about the Battle of Gettysburg than perhaps any other incident in American military history. This chapter shall cover not only the battle itself but also the military units that Corsers fought with in that battle. Those soldiers and their units were: Confederate William P. Corser of the Forty-Eighth Mississippi Infantry Company C, Union soldiers Alonso Corser of the Fifty-Fifth Ohio Infantry Company A, Augustus F. Corser of the Fifth Michigan Cavalry Company C, Elwood S. Corser of the Ninety-Third New York Infantry Company B, Charles Corser of the Forty-Fourth New York Infantry Company A and Norman D. Corser of the Fifth New Hampshire Infantry Company C.

The battle occurred at a time when the Union army badly needed a victory. The Confederate forces under General Robert E. Lee were following up on their success at the Battle of Chancellorsville in May of 1863. Actually, the Confederacy had more victories up until this time during the war than the Federal forces.

General Lee went to Richmond after Chancellorsville and advised Confederate States President Jefferson Davis and the cabinet that it was probably time for him to take the army on a second excursion into the North. The first had resulted in the very bloody Battle of Antietam in Maryland in September of 1862.

After the bloodshed at Chancellorsville, Northern sentiments were ripe for ending the war and making peace with the Southern States. Lee felt that by invading the North it could bring pressure upon Abraham Lincoln to resolve the issue, especially if the North felt that the war was coming home to their doorsteps. Additionally, a movement north could draw Federal troops away from Vicksburg, Mississippi and end General Grant’s siege of that important western city. A Confederate success in northern territory would also carry great weight in securing European support for the South, particularly from England and France.

In early June of 1863, General Lee took his army west of the Blue Ridge Mountains through the Shenandoah Valley and began the trek north. His commander of the Confederate Cavalry, Major General J.E.B. Stuart, headed further east and went around the Army of the Potomac under Union Major General Joseph Hooker. Part of Stuart’s Cavalry guarded the gap in the mountains where Lee’s army began its march and Hooker felt that the activity by Stuart, to the east, was possibly a movement upon Washington or Baltimore and he began moving his forces to prevent that occurrence. Stuart instead was conducting raids upon different Federal locations and was steadily capturing stores of munitions and supplies.

Both Lee and Stuart had initially intended on actions against Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and if that were successful possibly against Philadelphia and then Baltimore. Stuart was out of communication with Lee’s army until July 2nd. During the entire time Lee was without the military intelligence he needed, which his chief of cavalry normally supplied.

In the meantime, Hooker became involved in a dispute with General-in-Chief Henry W. Halleck over troops not being needed at Harper’s Ferry and Hooker resigned his command of the Army of the Potomac. Halleck accepted the resignation as did President Lincoln and Major General George Gordon Meade replaced Hooker. General Hooker had already sent cavalry north in an attempt to ascertain the whereabouts of Lee’s army. The events that ensued brought the conflict to the crossroads town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

On June 30, 1863, General Meade had Brigadier General John Buford go to Gettysburg to conduct reconnaissance of the town. Buford reported that when he got there at about 11 a.m., he found the citizens “in a terrible state of excitement on account of the enemy’s advance.” Meanwhile, as Confederate General Pettigrew saw the advance of Buford so he withdrew west to Cashtown. General Buford bivouacked his troops that night on McPherson’s Ridge near the Lutheran seminary.

The morning of July 1st began with Confederate Major General A. P. Hill having his divisions, which were commanded by Generals Heth and Pegram, deploy in a line of battle along Herr Ridge, west of Gettysburg. His artillery fired the first cannon shots of the battle and General Buford’s artillery returned fire: the Battle of Gettysburg had begun.

At about 10:10 a.m., General Buford informed General Meade that his skirmishers and pickets were being pushed back and that he needed reinforcements. Reinforcement from the Federal First Corps responded quickly under the command of Major General John F. Reynolds. Reynolds arrived in front of his troops and began directing an assault but was killed immediately by a Confederate sharpshooter. One of the Confederate units at that location was the Forty-Eighth Mississippi Infantry, to which William P. Corser belonged.

When Major General Reynolds fell, Major General Abner Doubleday replaced him. The pressure from A. P. Hill’s Corps continued to push back the Union forces. At around 11:00 a.m., Union General O.O. Howard and his Eleventh Army Corps arrived and he took command of the Union forces. He studied the situation and decided that the only tenable position in the area was the high ground of the cemetery southeast of town (Cemetery Hill). During the remainder of the day, the Union army was being pushed back through Gettysburg. By late afternoon, the Federal Eleventh Corps arrived, which included Alonso Corser of Ballville, Sandusky, Ohio and a member of the Fifty-Fifth Ohio Infantry under the regimental command of Colonel C. B. Gambee

During the previous eight days, the Fifty-Fifth Ohio Infantry, with Alonso Corser, had marched a total of 89 miles. On July 1st, they marched from Emmitsburg, Pennsylvania after drawing three days’ rations and 60 rounds of ammunition. Many of the soldiers had marched so long that their shoes were no longer serviceable. When they arrived, it was evident that the Union army was being pushed out of the town and General Howard’s Corps began to set up defenses on Cemetery Hill.