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Defense of Little Round Top
July 2, 1863 - Second Day
"A great basin lay before us full of smoke and fire, and literally swarming with riderless horses and fighting, fleeing, and pursuing men."
-- 1st Lt. Porter Farley, U.S.A., 140th New York Infantry
Col. Strong Vincent and his 1,300-man Union infantry brigade rushed to defend this hill about 4:00 p.m. on July 2-and none too soon. Just as his men took position on the slopes below, Texans and Alabamians of Maj. Gen. John B. Hood's division began streaming out of the woods to your left. Rapid, deadly fire from Vincent's line drove them back.
Hood's determined men rallied and renewed the fight. When the Union right flank began to crumble, Colonel Vincent went to their aid. While exposed, he fell mortally wounded.
Just when the Federals seemed doomed, over the hill behind you poured the 140th New York Infantry led by Col. Patrick O'Rorke. The New Yorkers, who had no time to load their muskets, swept down the hill in front of you into the surging Confederates. O'Rorke fell dead when a bullet pierced his neck. After a bloody struggle the exhausted Southerners fell back, leaving Little Round Top in Union hands.
The timely counterattack of Col. Patrick O'Rorke's 140th New York Infantry down the slope in front of you probably saved Little Round Top for the Union. Painting by Gil Cohen.
Col. Strong Vincent, described as an attorney before the war, was only 26 when he was mortally wounded here. His decisive action in seizing Little Round Top prevented the destruction of the Union left flank. He died in a field hospital five days after the fight, perhaps unaware that he had been promoted to brigadier general.
Col. O'Rorke. The gallant Col. Patrick O'Rorke graduated first in his class at West Point in 1861. The 140th New York was his first combat command. Brig. Gen. G.K. Warren, who had sent O'Rorke into the fight here, lamented his death: "I would have died to save him if I could." O'Rorke is honored on the monument behind you to the left. |