Union Soldier Perspective-
July 2, 1863
Last evening while the enemy was being driven back, my fellow Union troops on Little Round Top cheered for joy, the rebels however cut it short by giving them artillery fire. This gave the men a dose of reality.
This morning Col. Ellsworth informed our Captain that their were some spare supplies left on the knoll where they had been left, guarded by the pioneers. The captain informed us troops about it and I raced up there hoping to find something useful, however it wasn't my day, there was nothing for me.
The field is covered with dead and wounded. Out here there is a stink unimaginable, it's definitely more than I thought when I signed up. All I wanted was an adventure and a little money at the age of 18, but now I'm figuring out that I've actually got to man up and get the job done if I want to survive. As I’m writing this there is very heavy firing to the right of me about 5 o’clock. By the sound of it it's coming right in our direction. I better get ready.
Last evening while the enemy was being driven back, my fellow Union troops on Little Round Top cheered for joy, the rebels however cut it short by giving them artillery fire. This gave the men a dose of reality.
This morning Col. Ellsworth informed our Captain that their were some spare supplies left on the knoll where they had been left, guarded by the pioneers. The captain informed us troops about it and I raced up there hoping to find something useful, however it wasn't my day, there was nothing for me.
The field is covered with dead and wounded. Out here there is a stink unimaginable, it's definitely more than I thought when I signed up. All I wanted was an adventure and a little money at the age of 18, but now I'm figuring out that I've actually got to man up and get the job done if I want to survive. As I’m writing this there is very heavy firing to the right of me about 5 o’clock. By the sound of it it's coming right in our direction. I better get ready.
- Confederate Soldier Perspective-
July 3, 1863
All by buddies signed up for the war, so I did too. It seemed like the right thing to do, protecting our right to use slaves on plantations. How else were our farmers supposed to farm? Now I’m not so sure I can take much more of this. I’ve gained and lost many buddies, a few get a decent burial.
Today I almost joined those dead buddies as today was a horrific day for us. I was under the command of General Pickett and he and General Lee had the great idea of sending about 15,000 troops toward Cemetery Hill...I hope they realize now that they are complete idiots because we just lost countless lives, probably close to 10,000 men.
We began are march fine until the Union started firing their great amount of cannons right into us. All we could do though is go right into it in order to have the ability to kill them. However tons of us were killed before we even had the chance, they just mowed us down... we were sitting ducks. It was a horrific scene, the noises, the smells.
I can't believe how lucky I am to be able to write this right now, today must be my luck day because the odds were not with me considering about 10,000 of my fellow men just died in the matter of 2 hours.
All by buddies signed up for the war, so I did too. It seemed like the right thing to do, protecting our right to use slaves on plantations. How else were our farmers supposed to farm? Now I’m not so sure I can take much more of this. I’ve gained and lost many buddies, a few get a decent burial.
Today I almost joined those dead buddies as today was a horrific day for us. I was under the command of General Pickett and he and General Lee had the great idea of sending about 15,000 troops toward Cemetery Hill...I hope they realize now that they are complete idiots because we just lost countless lives, probably close to 10,000 men.
We began are march fine until the Union started firing their great amount of cannons right into us. All we could do though is go right into it in order to have the ability to kill them. However tons of us were killed before we even had the chance, they just mowed us down... we were sitting ducks. It was a horrific scene, the noises, the smells.
I can't believe how lucky I am to be able to write this right now, today must be my luck day because the odds were not with me considering about 10,000 of my fellow men just died in the matter of 2 hours.
Union Soldier Perspective-
July 4, 1863
Today was the day we scoured the battlefield looking for the dead. It was awful that we had to do this, but these men deserved to be known and picked up. In some cases we would find confederates and take supplies like guns and ammo off of them.
It's good to know that we won this battle, but it's hard to handle how many troops we lost, fathers, brothers, friends etc. Just as of 10:00 am we had only been searching for 2 hours and I had already seen 3 of my closest friends bodies lying limp on the ground. At only 19 years of age this is a very hard thing to think about, let alone see.
As of right now I'm glad the fighting is over, I need a break from all of this death and the loud noises of gun and cannon fire. At this point in the war the Union as a whole is looking pretty good, considering we just crushed the Feds. I guess the only thing I can do right now is thank God for keeping me safe and alive through this time of hell.
Today was the day we scoured the battlefield looking for the dead. It was awful that we had to do this, but these men deserved to be known and picked up. In some cases we would find confederates and take supplies like guns and ammo off of them.
It's good to know that we won this battle, but it's hard to handle how many troops we lost, fathers, brothers, friends etc. Just as of 10:00 am we had only been searching for 2 hours and I had already seen 3 of my closest friends bodies lying limp on the ground. At only 19 years of age this is a very hard thing to think about, let alone see.
As of right now I'm glad the fighting is over, I need a break from all of this death and the loud noises of gun and cannon fire. At this point in the war the Union as a whole is looking pretty good, considering we just crushed the Feds. I guess the only thing I can do right now is thank God for keeping me safe and alive through this time of hell.