The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 106, July 2002 - April, 2003 Page: 584
This periodical is part of the collection entitled: Southwestern Historical Quarterly and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Texas State Historical Association.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Southwestern Historical Quarterly
depended on the contest. .... It is more interesting to look at these battles than a
real one as there are no live lost & but little blood shed.24
Rufus King became ill and was admitted to Chimborazo Hospital in
Richmond on March 18, 1863. He was transferred to the Confederate
General Hospital in Danville on April 21, a month later, and was still un-
der care when he wrote home in early May on the eve of the 1863 cam-
paign:
Never before has returning spring brought with it such feelings of sorrow & re-
gret. Regret because a winter so suitable for making peace should have passed and
nothing done & sorrow at the thoughts of so many bloody battles this coming
spring we'll be called upon to witness, and the many family circles that will have to
mourn the loss of one or perhaps more of its members.25
Private Felder returned to his regiment for Robert E. Lee's grand inva-
sion of Pennsylvania in June 1863. Advance elements of both armies
made contact at the little town of Gettysburg on July 1, 1863. Additional
units moved quickly to support and the situation escalated into one of the
major battles of the entire war. Hood's Division, including the Texas
Brigade, arrived on the field of battle on the morning ofJuly 2. Lee's plan
was to roll up the left flank of the entrenched Federal line. But as the
Confederates prepared to attack, they realized that the Federal line ex-
tended further south than they had expected. Felder wrote: ". .. Meade
... took possession of a high mountain & that night & next day made it
impregnable. ... Lee attempted to carry the heights by storm. ... It
seemed like madness in Lee to have attempted to storm such a position."
John Bell Hood agreed and urged Longstreet, his corps commander,
three times to reconsider the attack, but Longstreet insisted, "We must
obey the orders of General Lee." Hood filed a formal protest for the only
time in his career. Felder would later write of Lee's order: "He came very
near losing his whole army by it .. ."John Bell Hood took his place at the
head of the Texas Brigade, rose up in his stirrups and yelled out: "Fix bay-
onets, my brave Texans. Forward and take those heights!" Rufus King
Felder and his gallant comrades surged across the open field towards the
northern slope of Round Top. The Union artillery was raining down
shells on the arrayed Confederates. Their advance had just begun when
an artillery shell exploded above Hood and ripped his arm to shreds. He
was taken to the rear in shock.2
A key position on the southern end of the Union line at Gettysburg was
a jumble of rocks known as Devil's Den from which Federal sharpshooters
"4 Ibid
25 Felder letter, May 2, 1863.
" Samuel W. FlocaJr., "Hood's Protest," Confederate Veteran, 6 (1995), 27.584
April
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Periodical.
Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 106, July 2002 - April, 2003, periodical, 2003; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101223/m1/662/: accessed April 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.