107th Ohio at Gettysburg

A number of years ago I purchased a knapsack reportedly carried by J.P. Gasler of the 107th Ohio Infantry. 18 year old J.P. Gasler was killed July 2nd in Gettysburg. Thinking of that knapsack as a connection with Gettysburg, real or fiction, helped me become more intimate with the battle, especially when I stood on Cemetery Hill near where the 107th fought. For fun I wrote this brief a brief history of the 107th at Gettysburg. Sounding more fiction than reality, still it was fun to write. I apologize for the poor bibliography, but it does offer the titles for the sources used. Enjoy. The 107th Ohio at Gettysburg July 1st 1863, on the hills north and west of Gettysburg 15,000 federals desperately try to hold back elements of two Confederate corps. A.P. Hill’s Corps and Ewell’s Corps prove too much, as each successive federal line is outflanked and overwhelmed. To understand what happened at Gettysburg, one needs to look beyond the numbers and divisional alignments. One needs to look as the micro of this mighty macro. Early in the morning of July 1st, the federal XI Corps commanded by General O.O. Howard is double-quicking to the hills north of Gettysburg, their mission, to support the federal cavalry of General Buford. Arriving on the field about noon, General Howard places his divisions to support the right of the Union 1st Corps and the few cavalrymen that have survived the day. His division, placed on a knoll that would later bear his name, Barlow orders his brigades to face the advance of Ewell’s Confederate Corps, which is arriving from Chambersburg to the North. He orders General Adelbert Ames to align his brigade so it can stop Ewell’s best brigade, John B. Gordon’s and support an artillery battery. Ames places the 107th Ohio Infantry facing west, to protect the flank of the brigade. Raised in and around Cleveland, Ohio, the 107th boasts a large German population. Mustering in over 1,000 men in August of 1862, the regiment is a skeleton of itself. The XI Corps embarrassment at Chancellorsville, subsequent skirmishing and the deadly march to Gettysburg has whittled the regiment down to barely 450 men. Severe humidity and temperatures in the high 80’s, sweating in their blue wool uniforms, the Ohio men’s wide eyes search the open fields of the Blocher and Smithy farms for the butternut storm. In the distance approaches a brigade of Georgians led by General Doles. At a range of 70 yards his 1,500 men unleash a withering volley. With nothing but a split rail fence for protection, the 107th suffers its first casualties of the day. Their Colonel, Seraphan Meyer wounded, and scores killed, the Ohio men do their best to answer the Georgians. Barrels grow hot as the now less than 400 hundred Ohioans fight to maintain their position. The Rebel brigade overlaps their flanks. The far right company of the regiment, Company K soon takes fire from another Confederate brigade. The tidal wave of butternut and gray proves too much for the federals of Barlow’s division. At first giving ground grudgingly, the men soon take off at a run. Survival. Among the mass of retreating federals strains a 20-year old farm boy/soldier. His knapsack jostling as he stumbles over fence and body, Joseph P. Gasler runs nearly two miles in his attempt to escape death or imprisonment. Stumbling up a ridge just north of town, the exhausted Gasler spots General O.O. Howard attempting to rally his shattered corps. Gasler and the remnants of his brigade catch their breath behind a low stone wall near the Baltimore Pike, on a ridge named after it occupant, a cemetery. As July 1st ends, J.P. Gasler finds himself among the few who have survived the battle. Joseph using his knapsack for a pillow falls asleep. It’s now July 2nd 1863 and Robert E. Lee has ordered an attack in echelon. From south to north his brigades will attack one after another; each attack will drawing federals to it, thus creating a gap somewhere in the federal line. That’s Lee’s hope as he orders Longstreet to advance. The attack begins on the opposite end of the federal line from Joseph. He is safe for the moment. In the distance he can see the gray shapes of a Confederate picket line- too far away to pose a threat. Ammunition resupplied in the night, the men of Barlow’s division, now led by General Ames, hear the rumble of battle to their south. As the sun moves to sunset, the noise of battle approaches. Lee has ordered General Ewell to attack. The Confederate picket line advances. The famed Louisiana Tiger brigade of General Hays attacks the remnants of the 107th and the rest of the brigade. Captain John Lutz, now in command of the regiment, crouches behind his men, reminding the boys to aim low. The command, “Fire” resounds across the hill as Ohio men and Louisiana men fire into each other’s faces. Losing half their number, including Jacob Bise and Christian Behnfield, Carl Gebauer, John Eisner and others of Company K, the 107th is relieved by another regiment (107th). Retiring in disorder, they attempt to reorganize themselves behind Weidrick’s battery. Jacob Smith of Company D notices the Confederate flag of the 8th Louisiana among the federal cannons. Southern men from Franklin Parrish and New Orleans have broken through and threaten to create another July 1st. Jacobs and seven men fire a volley into the rebel color guard. With a yell they advanced on the Louisianans, scattering the few that remain standing. Approaching the severely wounded rebel color bearer, Adjutant Young wrestles for control of the flag. The rebel pulls out a navy colt and fires, hitting Young in the shoulder blade. Young in turn thrusts his sabre though the rebel’s chest ending the struggle for the flag. Upon examining the body, Jacob’s notices seven-bullet hole in the man’s uniform. Darkness and a stubborn defense convince the Confederates to retire. Jacobs and a pard spend the night taking the wounded of the regiment to the hospital wagons. In two days of fighting the 107th Ohio has suffered 23 killed, 111 wounded and 77 missing. Among the wounded is Joseph P. Gasler, a 20-year-old kid from Ohio. He dies the next day. The History of the 107th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Time Life Series on the Civil War. Gettysburg

Is a thread being treated as the entire bolt of cloth?

Does the modern study of the Civil War have to revolve around slavery? A few years ago I was attending a program that took us to the scene of the Battle of the Crater. Here it was, a summer sunset near that depression where so many men, of both sides, gave their lives for their definition of country, and two “history experts” launch into a diatribe about the vile Southern soldier fighting to maintain slavery. To hear those two published historians disrespect the Southern soldier on a battlefield where so many of them bled out was disgusting. Really, of all the places! I get that slavery was an embarrassing chapter in our country history. I get that from the modern eyes the Southern soldier seems an agent for slavery, but that’s the point, from a modern eye. None of us lived during that time. Who are we to judge? With an early 19th Century cultural upbringing and/or economic necessity could those two historians honestly say they would not have been the very slave owner/confederate soldier they were gashing while standing on that sacred soil. As a teacher I think it is imperative the slavery story be taught with all the zeal it deserves. I also think we have no right to judge, we have no right to disrespect them on their soil and we need to keep the various issues of the Civil War where they belong. Antietam is about the soldiers fighting and dying in the bloodiest battle in our history then it’s the story of the Emancipation Proclamation and it should be presented in that order. Why am I rambling about this three years later? Two reasons: The Gettysburg Visitor Center video and upcoming class I’ll be taking. The Gettysburg Visitor Center is a beautiful site with some excellent history. It also has a video, the one the visitor sees before viewing the Cyclorama, which makes slavery the seminal aspect of the war and, by inference, the seminal reason for Gettysburg. Agreed ending slavery was the most significant result of the war. However I am not kin to making Gettysburg about slavery. It was about soldiers giving their full measure. It was about generals leading their ‘boys’ across rocky fields and slopes. It was about the town forever changed and an address by a president. The video did not celebrate the afore mentioned except as a back drop to the slavery story. Sad. The second reason I’m writing this now is the content I have to read in preparation for an upcoming class on American history. Of the 18 some readings 10 of them have slavery as their major theme. Slavery’s introduction, slavery’s spread, slavery and the Civil War, Reconstruction for the African American and Civil Rights makes up the majority of the class reading. Even though I am very excited to read the material and attend the lectures I am a bit sad that the history of our country is being painted by its relationship with slavery, not slavery as a thread in our history.

Is there a better quote for a man losing love of country?

"My shoes are gone; my clothes are almost gone. I'm weary, I'm sick, I'm hungry. My family have been killed or scattered. And I have suffered all this for my country. I love my country. But if this war is ever over, I'll be damned if I ever love another country." -A confederate veteran

Leaving for the East

At 3:30 this afternoon myself and four comrades are loading up the van for a weekend out East. Excited? Oh yes. Friday we will do our adopt a monument work at Gettysburg. We'll clean, paint or whatever else they need us to do. Giving back to a park that has given me so much over the years will be a rewarding way to spend the day. Our efforts will include the 1st U.S. sharpshooter Wisconsin company marker and the 6th Wi marker, plus... . After a day of making Gburg more presentable, we'll head to Manassas where, for the weekend, we will do a living history at Brawner's Farm, portraying the 6th Wi. Infantry. Camping on the actual site, talking to the public and marching around the battlefield with some of the finest living historians around is sure to make the weekend memorable. Finishing off the weekend with a Sunday evening/Monday morning tour of Antietm will conclude a weekend out East. For those that live far away from battlefields, making a trip like this is something we covet. The first sign of Gettysburg I see will make my heart skip a beat and my mind fill with the events that made that hollowed ground so important to the American identity. And I get to hit some awesome bookstores.