The Battle of Gettysburg

Paper Summary:

This paper provides an overview of the Battle of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania in 1863. It discusses the battle in general terms and it then assesses the specific roles played by the 26th North Carolina and the Iron Brigade. The paper concludes that first-hand accounts and reports of gallantry of both of these units confirm that their men and officers earned and deserve continued recognition and respect from Americans today.

Outline:
Introduction
Review and Discussion
Background and Overview
The Iron Brigade
26th North Carolina
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"Upon their arrival at Gettysburg, the Iron Brigade's 24th Michigan Regiment had 493 troops; by the end of the first day's battle, though, Richardson reports that less than 100 men were left alive, with the 24th having experienced approximately 80 percent casualties. "The Regiment has the dubious distinction of having the highest losses of any of the 400 union regiments engaged at Gettysburg." In his memoirs, Capt. Robert K. Beecham wrote that the battle between Archer's brigade and the Iron Brigade in McPherson Woods on the morning of July 1 was an "unadorned long-drawn-out line of ragged dirty blue against the long-drawn-out line of dirty, ragged butternut, with no 'pomp of war' about it, and no show or style except our old black hats.""

Sample of Sources Used:

• Andrews, J. Cutler. 1955. The North Reports the Civil War. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press. This book provides a number of first-hand accounts of the action that led up to Gettysburg, and what the implications of that battle were for both sides. Dr. Cutler's analysis of the Battle of Gettysburg itself was also useful.
• Beecham, Robert & Stevens, Michael. 1998. As If It Were Glory. Madison, WI: Madison House. The author reports on the daily lives of Civil War soldiers and provides a comprehensive analysis of the impact of Meade's failure to fully prosecute his advantage at Gettysburg.
• Cureton T. J. 1890, June 15. Letter to John R. Lane, John Randolph Lane Papers, SHC.
• Hamblen, C. P., & Powell, W. L. (1993). Connecticut Yankees at Gettysburg. Kent, OH: Kent State University Press.
• Matrau, Henry and Marcia Reid-Green (Ed.), Letters Home: Henry Matrau of the Iron Brigade, Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 1993. The personal letters of the Iron Brigade's Henry Matrau form the basis of Reid-Green's analysis, and relevant segments were included to illustrate the casualties incurred by the Iron Brigade and the tactics employed.

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