The Second Day at Gettysburg

The Attack and Defense of the Union Center on Cemetery Ridge, July 2, 1863

David Schultz, Scott L. Mingus

• Publisher: Savas Beatie
• Year: 2022
• Print ISBN: 9781611210743
• eBook ISBN: 9781611210750
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: American Civil War History
• Index: History

"Emphasize[s] the role of Winfield Scott Hancock . . . [and] the Second Corps in plugging the gap and saving the day for the Union." — Gettysburg Magazine
On the afternoon of July 2, 1863, Lt. Gen. James Longstreet struck the Union left flank with a massive blow that collapsed Dan Sickles' advanced position in the Peach Orchard and rolled northward, tearing open a large gap in the center of the Federal line on Cemetery Ridge. Fresh Confederates from A. P. Hill's Corps advanced toward the mile-wide breach, where Southern success would split the Army of the Potomac in two. The fate of the Battle of Gettysburg hung in the balance.
Despite the importance of the position, surprisingly few Union troops were available to defend Cemetery Ridge. Major General Winfield S. Hancock's veteran Second Corps had been whittled from three divisions to less than one after Gibbon's division was sucked into earlier fighting and Caldwell's command was shattered in the Wheatfield. With little time and few men, Hancock determined to plug the yawning gap. Reprising Horatio at the Bridge, the gallant commander cobbled together various commands and refused to yield the precious acres in Plum Run ravine. The swirling seesaw fighting lasted for hours and included hand-to-hand combat and personal heroics of which legends are made.
The Second Day at Gettysburg expands on David Shultz and David Wieck's critically acclaimed earlier work The Battle Between the Farm Lanes. This completely revised and expanded study, which includes new photographs, original maps, and a self-guided tour of the fighting, is grounded in extensive research and unmatched personal knowledge of the terrain.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• Introduction and Acknowledgments
• Chapter One: Up From Virginia
• Chapter Two: One Mistake Begets Another
• Chapter Three: July 1: The Battle is Joined
• Chapter Four: July 1: Union Collapse
• Chapter Five: Evening, July 1: Lee Reconnoiters and Meade Makes a Stand
• Chapter Six: Night, July 1-2: The Army of the Potomac Comes Together
• Chapter Seven: Early Morning, July 2: The Pendleton-Johnston Reconnaissance
• Chapter Eight: Morning, July 2: Preparations
• Chapter Nine: Morning, July 2: Fighting on the Bliss Farm
• Chapter Ten: Morning, July 2: Union Uncertainties Across the Front
• Chapter Eleven: Noon, July 2: A “Mostly Insignificant Affair” Shapes the Battle
• Chapter Twelve: Afternoon, July 2: The March and Final Preparations
• Chapter Thirteen: Late Afternoon, July 2: Longstreet Attacks Sickles’ Salient
• Chapter Fourteen: Late Afternoon, July 2: Wilcox Joins Longstreet’s Attack
• Chapter Fifteen: Early Evening, July 2: Wilcox, Lang, and Wright Attack the Emmitsburg Road Line
• Chapter Sixteen: Early Evening, July 2: Confederate Flood Tide
• Chapter Seventeen: Early Evening, July 2: The Confederate Flood Tide Recedes
• Chapter Eighteen: Evening, July 2: Union Victory on Cemetery Ridge
• Aftermath of July 2: The Cost of Combat
• Bibliography