Green Troops; The 13th Vermont

The 13th Vermont was part of the Second Vermont Brigade. As a 9 month Regiment it had spent its duty, guarding the defenses of Washington. The men of 13th were un-tested in battle and only a few days from the end of their enlistment, when the order came to march for Gettysburg. Many of these young green Green Mountain Boys wouldn’t be returning home.


Gen George J Stannard

The 9 month men of the 13th were called the “Paper Collar Brigade” because their uniforms looked so new to the more seasoned Union soldiers. Formed with 5 other Vermont regiments as part of the Militia Act of July 1861, the men who made up the 13th were recruited from Chittenden, Franklin, Lamoille and Washington counties. The 13th were sent to camp in Brattleboro, VT, where they were given equipment including muzzle loading Springfield rifles. Under Colonel Francis V Randall the 953 men and officers were mustered into service 3 October 1862. The 13th was sent to Washington DC where they went into camp on East Capital Hill 13 October 1862. The men from Vermont settled into picket and guard duty, protecting the approaches to the Capital.
Orders came to the Second Vermont Brigade of which the 13th Vermont was a part, on 25 June 1863 to join Union General Joseph Hooker’s Army of the Potomac. The men marched for 7 days, averaging 18 miles a day. Many of the men marched on worn out shoes as the quartermasters didn’t want to waste boots on men about leave the army. They ate well along the way, as Lieutenant Edwin Palmer said of getting food, the “hardtack has played out, whilst green backs last.”
The men of the Second Brigade were ordered on 30 June 1863 to do guard duty for the I Corps wagon trains. At 9 am on 1 July 1863 General George J Stannard, the Brigade commander received orders to march the 13th, 14th and 16th regiments to Gettysburg. By 3 pm the men could hear sounds of battle as they marched along the Emmittsburg Road. Arriving on the field about sunset, there was confusion as to where the men were to go into position. “Private Ralph Sturtevant of the 13th said, “General Stannard swore like a piper…because so much moving about when the boys were all out from the long day’s hard march.” The 13th finally settled in, to the left of General John Buford’s cavalry in a clover field.
On the morning of 2 July 1863 the men of the 13th started their day with coffee made from muddy water. They scrounged for food as the 13th didn’t receive rations. Orders came mid morning for half of the regiment to set up in support of a battery on the hill, the other half moved south and formed up behind the II Corps. As Confederate General James Longstreet’s enechelon attack moved toward the Union II Corps line on Cemetery Ridge, the 22nd Georgia, part of General Ambrose Wright’s brigade found a gap. Union General Winfield Scott Hancock ordered the men of the 13th forward to plug that hole. The 13th was going into battle for the first time. Ordered to charge, stop the Confederate attack and re-take 4 cannon lost earlier by Weir’s Battery, Colonel Francis Randall led his men out. Randall’s horse was shot from under him, but his men continued on, charging “down the sloping hill, over the dead and dying, shouting, firing into the foe.” The Green Mountain Boys of the 13th pursued the retreating Confederates all the way to the Peter Roger’s house on the Emmittsburg Road. They re-took the 4 guns of Weir’s Battery and 83 prisoners. As the 13th returned to Cemetery Ridge, Hancock said, “That was well Done! Give me Vermonter’s for a charge.”
They spent the night on the field, where the men slept on their arms. The mortally wounded Confederate General William Barksdale was carried through their line in the darkness to a field hospital, in the Union rear.
The morning of 3 July 1863 found the 13th to the left and rear of the Vermont 14th, among Hancock’s II Corps. General Stannard asked for volunteer’s to move out about 45 yards in their front to throw up a barricade of fence rails and stones. These volunteers were led by Sergeant George H Scott of the 13th’s Company G, and were under fire from Confederate sharpshooters the whole time.
When the great cannonading of 3 July 1863 began, many of the Vermont Second Brigade were killed or wounded, owing to their advanced position. When Pickett’s Charge began the 13th was ordered into their breastworks, with the 14th on their left extending into the Plum Run Valley. As Confederate General James Kemper’s men came into view, they began a series of left obloquies that opened Kemper’s right flank to the 13th Vermont. General Stannard ordered the 13th into the meadow, where they changed front from the West to the North, using orderly Sergeant James Scully of Company A as the pivot. Colonel Randall ran along his line from left to right yelling orders to his men. The Confederates watching this maneuver knew the 13th would devastate their flank. The men of the 13th loaded their guns as they completed their change of fronts; close enough for hand to hand fighting, they opened fire on Kemper’s men.


Lieutenant Stephen Brown

The 13th took 243 prisoners. Including one captured by Lieutenant Stephen Brown. Brown had been arrested for leaving the march to search for water and had, had his sword taken away. He was released in time for the fight, but hadn’t gotten the sword back, so he entered the fight carrying a hatchet. It was with this hatchet swinging over his head that he captured a Confederate officer. The officer surrendered himself and his sword to Lieutenant Brown.
About 9 pm the 13th Vermont was ordered from the field. They moved to the rear near the Taneytown Road. It was here that the men learned that Generals Hancock and Stannard were wounded. The 13th itself had lost 11 men killed, 81 with wounds, and 23 missing.
They spent the next few days burying the dead, and tending to the wounded. On 6 July 1863 the 13th marched with the rest of the army in pursuit of the enemy. In a hard rain they crossed Catoctin Mountain into Maryland the night of 7 July 1863. Near Middletown, Maryland the next day the men of the 13th received their orders to go home.

Monument on Powers Hill

On 11 September 1889 the veterans of Knap's Battery; the Independent Pennsylvania Light Artillery, with their friends and family gathered on Powers Hill in Gettysburg. They were there to see the dedication of one of their two monuments. These old soldiers had seen action on the last two days of fighting at Gettysburg. They had lost a man here at Gettysburg, holding the ground around Culp's Hill.


On Powers Hill that autumn day of 11 September 1889, the men of Knap's Battery had assembled to hear one of their own, Sergent David Nicoll, give the Key Note Address . David Nicholl was born in New York 22 Feb 1841 and had enlisted as a Private in Knap's Battery.

James D McGill opened a recruiting office in Allegheny City, PA in August 1861. He was recruiting for a three year company, and had filled it by 1 September 1861 with 98 men. The men left PA on 28 September 1861 and traveled to Point of Rocks, Maryland, where they were joined by the 28th Regiment. Here the men elected Joseph M Knap their Captain. The battery received 4 Ten Pounders along with caissons, horses and equipment. They were now Knap's Battery.

Lieutenant Charles Atwell

Knap stayed with the Battery until 16 May 1863, when he resigned to become the Superintend of the Fort Pitt Foundry in Pittsburgh,PA . He was succeeded in command of the Battery by Lieutenant Charles A Atwell. With the rest of the Army of the Potomac, Knap's Battery marched north looking for the Army of Northern Virginia in June 1863. They crossed into PA at Littlestown on 30 June 1863.



Monument on Culp's Hill

 Knap's Battery arrived on the Gettysburg Battlefield on the evening on 1 July 1863. It took position on the left rear of the Union line on Cemetery Hill where the Battery spent the night. During the Battle of Gettysburg Knap's Battery was part of the Artillery Brigade of the 12th Corps. Under the command of Lieutenant Edward D Muhlenburg, this brigade was made up of Battery "F" of the 4th US, Battery "K" of the 5th US, Battery "M" of the 1st NY, and Knap's. 2 July 1863 found Kanp's located with Stevenson's 5th Maine Battery. One section with Lieutenant E R Geary commanding was sent to the crest of Culp's Hill along with Battery "K". Here by their second monument, Knap's Battery silenced eight Confederate Guns located on Benner's Hill in about 30 minutes. The Battery saw three wounded here, Bugler Nicholas Falter, and Privates Henry G Gibson and James C Davis. Gibson would died from his wound, becoming the only casualty for Knap's Battery at Gettysburg. In the evening the Battery moved their 6 Ten Pounders to Powers Hill, not far from Union General Slocum's headquarters.

At 4:30 am the guns on Powers Hill opened fire on the Confederates in front of them on Culp's Hill and in Spangler's Spring. Lieutenant Muhlenberg said of the artillery here, it "was of essential service at this point of the field and no doubt contributed greatly in preventing the enemy from establishing himself in so desirable a position whence he could either have held the Pike or moved his forces along the South East slope and occupied a sufficiency of Cemetery Hill to annoy if not entirely control the position held by the army." The firing here continued until after 10 am. Knap's Battery was part the pursuit of General Robert E Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. They continued to Culpeper Court House where on 24 September 1863 they were ordered to join the Army of the Cumberland in Chattanooga, along with the rest of the 11th and 12th Corps.

Knap's Battery would serve out the war, seeing action in many more battles. They were mustered out of service at Camp Braddock's Field in PA on 14 June 1865. During their term of service they saw 25 battles. They had 12 of their men killed in battle, 11 died from diseases, 2 died in prison, and 39 were wounded.

David Nicoll was there in Gettysburg on 11 September 1889 to speak at the dedication of the Knap's Battery Monument, he would be wounded in the shoulder and arm latter in the war at the Battle of Wauhatchie in Tennessee on 29 October 1863. He died 5 October 1929 in Red Oak, Iowa.


1 - N.A., Pennsylvania At Gettysburg; Ceremonies at the Dedication of the Monuments Erected by the Commonwealth of PA [Harrisburg,PA, Wm Stanley National State Printer, 1904], vol 2, p 912

2 - Conley Wlterman, GAR Post Ida Grove, Ida County, Iowa; Iowa in the Civil War, a project of the IAGenWeb [http://iagenweb.org]
3 - N.A., Pennsylvania At Gettysburg; Ceremonies at the Dedication of the Monuments Erected by the Commonwealth of PA [Harrisburg,PA, Wm Stanley National State Printer, 1904], vol 2, p 912-13
4 - ibid, pp 912-13
5 - ibid, pp 912-13
6 - ibid, p 915
7 - ibid, p 915
8 - ibid, p 915
9 - J Howard Wert, A Complete Hand - Book of the Monument and Indication and Guide to the Positions on the Gettysburg Battlefield [Harrisburg,PA, RM Sturgeon & Co Pub, 1886], p 194
10 - N.A., Pennsylvania At Gettysburg; Ceremonies at the Dedication of the Monuments Erected by the Commonwealth of PA [Harrisburg,PA, Wm Stanley National State Printer, 1904], vol 2, p 915
11 - Steve Maczuga, The Pennsylvania Civil War Project [http://athens.pap.psu.edu/]
12 - Henry W Pfanz, Gettysburg Culp's Hill and Cemetery Hill [n.pl., The University of NC Press, 1993], p 285
13 - N.A., Pennsylvania At Gettysburg; Ceremonies at the Dedication of the Monuments Erected by the Commonwealth of PA [Harrisburg,PA, Wm Stanley National State Printer, 1904], vol 2, pp 915-16
14 - N.A., Pennsylvania At Gettysburg; Ceremonies at the Dedication of the Monuments Erected by the Commonwealth of PA [Harrisburg,PA, Wm Stanley National State Printer, 1904], vol 2, p 916
15 - ibid, p 916
16 - ibid, p 917
17 - ibid, p 917
18 - Steve Maczuga, The Pennsylvania Civil War Project [http://athens.pap.psu.edu/]
19 - Conley Wolterman, GAR Post Ida Grove, Ida Co, IA; Iowa in the Civil War; a project of the IAGenWeb [http://iagenweb.org]

The New York City Regiment

The 78th New York, was known as the New York City Regiment even though only three companies were from the city. The rest of the men were raised in Rochester, Utica, Buffalo and Bath NY. The 198 men of Brigadier General George Sears Greene's 3rd Brigade of the Twelfth Corp were commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Herbert von Hamerstein.


The 78th would loose 30 men on Culp's Hill.

Two Engineers

The 102nd New York was formed of men mostly from Manhattan and Brooklyn and numbered 250 men. They were part of the 12th Corps, 2nd Division, 3rd Brigade. Their leader Colonel James C Lane of New York City was a civil engineer like his commander Brigadier General George Sears Greene, before the war. He was wounded during the night fighting on 2 July on Culp's Hill. After the Colonel was wounded Captain Lewis R Stegman took over command.


The 102nd would begin the battle with 248 men and loose 29 men killed, wounded or missing during the fighting on Culp's Hill.

They Lost The Same On The Left And Right

The 137th New York was the largest regiment of Brigadier General George Sears Greene's third Brigade of the twelfth Corps with 450 men. Known as the "Ambulance Brigade", the men mostly from Binghamton New York were commanded by Colonel David Ireland. This regiment would see the hardest fighting on Culp's Hill and loose the most men.
The 137th would loose 137 men on Cup's Hill. Interestingly this unit on the far right 2 Jul 1863; that second days fighting at Gettysburg, would loose the same percentage of men as the 20th Maine fighting on Little Round Top on the far left of the Union line.

Salt Boilers

The 149th New York from Binghamton and led by Colonel Henry Barnum, were known as the "Salt Boilers" or the "Fourth Onondaga". They were part of Brigadier General George Sears Greene's 3rd Brigade of the twelfth Corps, and served on Culp's Hill.


The 149th would loose 55 men on Culp's Hill.

The Savior Of Culp's Hill

Brigadier General George Sears Greene was the Union commander of the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Division of the 12th Corps on Culp's Hill during the fight there on July 2 and 3. His brigade was made up of 5 New York Regiments. Greene was the oldest commander on the field at 62.


George Sears Greene was born in Rhode Island 6May1801. He came from an old military family, being a descendant of General Nathaniel Greens. George graduated second in his class at West Point in 1823. After serving in the military doing artillery duty and teaching math at West Point, Greene left the service in 1835. He would become a Civil Engineer, including building a reservoir for the New York City Dept of Water Supply which was used until the 1990's.

With the coming of the Civil War Greene returned to the Army and was given command 28Apr1862 of the 60th New York. He led this Regiment at the Battle of Antietam.

On the July 1 the General Greene and the 3rd Brigade marched to the Little Round Top area and spent the night.

On July 2 at day break Brigadier General John W Geary's 2nd Division of which the 3rd Brigade was part were ordered to the Union right on Culp's Hill. Although Geary didn't see the need, Greene ordered his men to build breastworks. With the left of the Union line being pummeled, the 12th Corps were ordered by General Meade to move to the left, leaving only Greene's men to defend the hill. At 7pm Greene's men would be attacked by Confederates. The men would recive reinforcement from Brigader General Thomas L Kane brigade. Around 10pm that night the fight would end. The rest of the Twelfth Corps would return to the hill abouth mid-night.

When Greene died 28Jan1899, as was his request, a rock from on top of Culp's Hill was moved to Rhode Island to used as his cemetery stone.