Masters Of The Field At Gettysburg

How could such a dramatic moment have become so miscast by modern historians?
Can we regain the understanding once well understood?

NORTHERN PERSPECTIVES

“Wright… pushed his men… farther to the front than any other commander.” O.O. Howard

“They had well nigh cut the Army of the
Potomac in two.” G.G. Benedict

“Wright attained the crest.” Abner Doubleday

“Wright’s rebel brigade established on the crest… pierced our centre.” J.C. Tidball

“Our gunners fall like leaves in Autumn. A yell of triumph. The battery is theirs. Another battery is lost. They have penetrated our stronghold.” George Scott

“At sunset of the second day the guns of Arnold, Cushing, and Brown were profaned by hostile hands.” James Scott

“A most brilliant action… pierced the Federal line…” George L. Kilmer

“Wright’s brigade carried the main Union line in its front….” Gustav Fiebeger

“Wright’s command… made a deeper impression on the Union line than any other brigade that day….” Jesse Bowman Young

“The furious charge made by the enemy…compelled… temporary abandonment [of the HQ signal station].” J. Willard Brown

“The powerful brigade of Wright did come down with overwhelming force.” Samuel Bates

“Wright reached the crest of the ridge, pierced our centre…” Alfred Lee

“The rebels had broken our line in the centre, and had they been reinforced in season, would have secured the possession of Zeigler’s Grove.” Warren Lee Goss

SOUTHERN PERSPECTIVES

“We did take their position and break the Federal lines [on] Cemetery Ridge.” Charles Andrews

“Driving the enemy into and out of their works.” William Key

“Wright drove the enemy from their entrench-ments, inflicting very heavy loss upon them….” A.P. Hill

“Wright had pierced the enemy’s main line on the summit of [the] heights, capturing his heavy batteries, thus breaking the connection between their right and left wings.” Richmond Enquirer

“They drove the enemy from his first line, and possessed themselves of the ridge.” Richard Anderson

“Wright gained the crest of the ridge itself, driving the enemy down the opposite side.” R.E. Lee

“They took the very crest of the ridge a short distance south of the Cemetery.” Jedediah Hotchkiss.

“The enemy’s position was carried… the most gallant charge ever executed by any troops.” James Folsom

“We had carried the enemy’s last and strongest position.” Charles Andrews

“We made a very successful charge…