Gettysburg- Controversy at Wheatfield essays

Gettysburg- Controversy at Wheatfield essays The Battle of Gettysburg- Controversy at The Wheatfield The afternoon of July 2, 1863 was one of the most important, yet confusing fights of the Civil War. The day was one of controversy as shots rang throughout the small town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Most of the fighting took place in a wheatfield and that is why this section of the battle will forever be known as The Wheatfield. On the evening of June 28th, one of General Longstreets scouts came into the Confederate camp reporting that Union troops were closing fast from the south and east. General Lee hoped to counter the attack and ordered the troops. On July 1st General Heths division moved towards Gettysburg encountering John Bufords federal cavalry in his way. Heth attempted to drive him from the town, but this failed when Reynolds Army showed up. The battle continued until eventually the Confederates won. It was an extremely costly battle for both sides, Reynolds himself was even killed. While all of this is happening, General Meade is back at Taneytown. After hearing of the death of Reynolds, he assigns General Hancock to be the new commanding general. They took new positions atop Cemetery Hill, except for one division, which was placed on Little Round Top. General Meade told Sickles to position his division to where his left rested at or on Little Round Top, but Sickles did not do this... Dan Sickles had been commander of the 3rd corps since before the battle of Chancellorsville. Sickles was a womanizer, and he was not a professional soldier. He wasnt fully adapted to the full responsibility of corps command. According to HISTORICUS, an anonymous writer (many think to be Sickles himself) claimed to tell the accurate history of the battles. Apparently, Sickles was extremely anxious the morning of the 2nd because he felt it was important to occupy the ground near Peach Orchard, but had yet to ...