GDG- 45th NY helps stop Iverson's brigade?

[James Cameron]

I'm in the midst of reading James Pula's article on the 45th NY, "The 5th German Rifles at Gettysburg", in the current issue of Gettysburg Magazine.  
 
The 45th NY is one of my favorite Gettysburg Regiments, turning in what I regard as one of the best performances by a Union infantry regiment on July 1, in either the 1st or 11th Corps.
 
Pula, after covering the regiment's initial engagement and participation in the repulse of O'Neal's brigade, then goes on to discuss how the regiment helped repel Iverson's brigade's attack.

The source for this goes back to the historical sketch of the regiment in the 45th NY section of "New York at Gettysburg", from which Pula quotes.  After a discussion of the regiment's arrival, deployment, and its initial action against O'Neal, the NY at Gettysburg account goes on to state:

"While we were sending about 300 prisoners to the rear another Confederate brigade came charging down the hill near the Mummasburg Road (Iverson's North Carolina Brigade), driving in the right of our First Corps.  Dilger's Battery, and the six companies of our regiment in their front, and the four companies on Oak Hill and at McLean's barn, now in their flank and rear, as well as several regiments of the First Corps to the left of the Mummasburg Road, gave them simultaneously fearful volleys in front, on both flanks, and in rear.  Iverson's brigade broke and ran for cover; we all charged them from every quarter simultaneously, and drove part of them upon the right of the First Corps and up to and across the Mummasburg Road, where three entire regiments surrendered with their battle flags, mostly to the First Corps, now in their front, and to the six companies of our regiment, our four companies of skirmishers in their rear picking up 300 prisoners more."

Pula's footnote (#16) for the 45th NY engaging Iverson's brigade cites this part of "New York at Gettysburg", although for whatever reason, in the above quotation as used in his article Pula omits the beginning of the first sentence, and the end of the last sentence, both of which reference 300 prisoners being taken (300 each from O'Neal and Iverson).  He also references a letter from Adjutant Hurbert Ley to the NY Monuments Commission, to which he attributes the above quote (it's actually from NY at Gettysburg, unless Ley's letter, which I don't have, reads the same) as well as Adolphus Dobke's OR report.  Dobke's report, however, while discussing what sounds like O'Neal's attack and repulse, makes no mention at all of anything like the action against Iverson described above.  

Now, Pula isn't the first author I've seen write about the 45th NY being involved in the repulse of Iverson's brigade.  David Martin, for example, discusses it in his Day One book, and without rummaging around in my library, I've seen it in other accounts as well.
     
The description of the action In NY at Gettysburg sounds, on its face, like a very reliable source.  It's very detailed, to the point of specifically naming Iverson's brigade, and describes the actions of the regiments four skirmish companies, the other six companies, the relative positions of various units, Dilger's battery firing on Iverson's troops, Iverson being driven up and across the Mummasburg Road, and, 300 prisoners being captured by the four companies on Oak Hill and near the Mclean barn.  Sounds pretty solid.  

But, does it make any sense?  Neither Dilger's guns, nor anybody in the 45th NY, all of whom were on the eastern side of Oak Ridge, had any line of sight or fire to Iverson's brigade as it advanced on the far side of the ridge.  Nobody in the 45th NY was in any position to charge on Iverson's brigade, much less, its rear, or capture hundreds of prisoners from it.  

With all due respect to Adjutant Ley, and the veterans committee of the 45th credited with the historical sketch in NY at Gettysburg, the account Pula quotes in his article sounds more like a garbled version of the repulse of O'Neal attack.  Yet - and as I've said, Pula isn't by any means the first or only historian to do so - that the 45th NY assisted in the repulse of Iverson seems to be one of those "facts" about the battle repeatedly quoted and passed along at face value, even though the most cursory inspection of the ground shows it couldn't have happened as described.  

The lesson to be learned is that even the most detailed and convincing account must yield to the "ground truth".    


Jim Cameron