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Summary: A field report on the Battle of Gettysburg written by Major Allen G. Brady, who succeeded to command of the 17th Connecticut Regiment after the death of Lt. Col. Douglas Fowler, written on the 4th of July, 1863, the day after the conclusion of the great Union victory. “We had not more than time to form before the enemy were discovered advancing rapidly upon us on our right & a full Brigade obliquely towards our left … our fire was so destructive it checked their advance the troops on our left giving way the enemy came in behind us but we still remained firmly at the stone wall until the rebels were driven back.” [Civil War – Gettysburg]. Allen G. Brady, Autograph Manuscript. [Gettysburg, Pennsylvania], July 4, 1863. 6 pp., in pencil, not signed, a draft or retained copy.
With: [Andrew Johnson] commission of brevet lieutenant colonel to Allen G. Brady, “for gallant conduct at the Battle of Chancellorsville Va, to date from March 13, 1865,” March 20, 1866, signed with stamp, not in ink; and, Allen G. Brady, Autograph Letter Signed, to the Adjutant General, U.S. Army, May 19, 1877, seeking a copy of the military record of General Hugh Brady, who had fought in the War of 1812; and, Wharton J. Green, Autograph Letter Signed, to Allen G. Brady, December 13, 1885. Inventory # 21808 $10,000 Complete Transcript:
Head Quarters 17 Regt Conn Vol.
July 4, 1863
Lieut. H. Whitney Chatfield,
A.A.A.G. 2d Brig. 1st Div. 11 Corps. Lieut.
In compliance with instructions from head quarters I have the honor to make the following report the part taken by the 17 Conn Vol in the engagement of the 1st 2d & 3d inst. The Regt. arrived in Gettysburgh between one & two O'Clock & were marched with the other Regt. of the Brigade to the lower end of the town & halted for a moment. Four companies were immediately ordered out under Maj Brady [2] two of the four Companys under Maj. Brady were deployed from the bridge to the right as skirmishers the other two held in reserve. The remainder of the Regt under the Command of Lieut Col. Fowler advance with the rest of the Brigade to the front & left of the village. Directly in rear of the 107 Ohio Vol. - who were closed in mass by Division & were ordered to the front Deployed & advanced at Double quick our men held their ground, notwithstanding they rushed to the rear of troops directly in advance until ordered by the Brigade Commander to fall back.
This order was obeyed the men loading & firing as they were retreating it was about this time Lieut Col. Fowler was killed. Upon reaching the village the four companys [3] still skirmishing briskley with the enemy & retiring in good order & ordered by the Comdg Genl to rejoin the Regt. Maj. Brady immediately taking command after deploying & firing in several streets running to the left of the main street of the town on account of the rapid advance of the enemy we were ordered to fall back out of the town & while retreating through the main street the Regt was halted & faced to the rear & poured several destructive vollys into the enemy. We then fell back out of the town & formed in front of the battery pursuant to order from Maj. Genl. [Oliver Otis] Howard we then advanced to the stone wall in rear of the village & remained a few moments there again advanced to a rail fence still further to the front & then remained until [4] late in the evening when the whole Regt was sent out on picket & performed that duty until late in the afternoon of 2d, when we were relieved & took our old position behind the rail fence w[h]ere we remained exposed to fire of the enemy's battery & sharp shooters until about 7 o'clock P.M. were ordered to the extreme right of the Brigade behind a stone wall on each side of the lane below the battery opposite the cemetery entrance one company was advanced to the grain field near the woods we covered the wall on each side of the land by compelling 200 straggling soldiers to fall into our line. We had not more than time to form before the enemy were discovered advancing rapidly upon us on our right & a full Brigade obliquely towards our left. The Regt were ordered to fire obliquely to the left upon the Brigade our fire was so destructive it checked their advance the troops on our left giving way the enemy came in behind us but we still remained firmly at the stone wall until the rebels were driven back.
It was during this engagement that Maj. Brady was wounded [5] by a fragment of shell hitting his right shoulder blade.
After the enemy had been driven back & the firing ceased except occasional shots from their sharpshooters. We were relieved by the 4 Ohio Vol. and were ordered to change front to the left behind a wall running at right angles with the fence we had occupied and fronting the town where the rebels entered on our left. During that night & the 3d inst. exposed to a cross fire of the rebel batterys & to the fire of the sharp shooters who were watching our movements.
When the Regt entered the engagement on the 1st inst it numbered 17 officers & 369 enlisted men. We report at the present time 9 officers & 120 enlisted men. Capt. Wilson French is the [6] only officer known to have been taken prisoner he was wounded in the engagement of the first inst & we are not aware of his being paroled” Historical Background:
The Battle of Gettysburg (July 1-3, 1863), the bloodiest battle of the Civil War, was a major turning point in the Civil War. Over the course of three grueling days, Union Major General George G. Meade’s Army of the Potomac beat back desperate attacks by Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia, including the iconic “Pickett’s Charge” on July 3, ending Lee’s short-lived invasion of the North. Many of the soldiers of the 17th Connecticut had been stung by the criticism leveled towards their XI Corps, commanded by General O.O. Howard, after the Battle of Chancellorsville, during which the corps was surprised and driven from the field by Stonewall Jackson’s famous flank attack. As Brady reports, events on the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg were eerily similar to Chancellorsville. Again their regiment was split on July 1, and they found themselves outnumbered and outflanked. Again it was the Confederate II Corps, this time under Richard Ewell, who drove the XI Corps from the field and through the streets of Gettysburg. Lieutenant Colonel Douglas Fowler was killed in the first day’s fighting. It was not a cowardly or undisciplined retreat, however. The men of the 17th Connecticut fell back on the early evening of July 1, and were posted near the center of the Union line on Cemetery Hill, at a stone wall. Because they occupied the position where the Union “fishhook” curved southeastward toward Culp’s Hill, the 17th Connecticut was exposed to murderous crossfire from Confederate artillery on three sides on both July 2 and July 3. This helps account for the high casualties, which included the wound suffered by Brady himself from a shell fragment on July 2. The regiment performed heroic service on July 2, protecting Cemetery Hill from the attacks of Jubal Early’s division, specifically Harry Hays’s brigade of “Louisiana Tigers.” The regiment withstood the Confederate bombardment of July 3, spending much of the day trading shots with sharpshooters in town. Brady’s report, in slightly revised and expanded form, is reprinted in Official Records, Series 1, Vol. 27, Chap. 39, Part 1, pp. 716-719. In closing, Brady said, “The regiment behaved gallantly. No troops in the world behaved better. Both officers and men are deserving of great credit for their coolness and bravery throughout the entire three days’ battle.” Brady at Chancellorsville:
Major Brady was brevetted lieutenant colonel for his valor at the Battle of Chancellorsville, just two months before Gettysburg, when after the colonel and lieutenant colonel of his regiment each fell, Brady assumed command. Brigadier General Charles Devens commended Brady in his official report, stating, “The Seventeenth Connecticut, under command of Major Brady – its colonel having been wounded and lieutenant-colonel killed – was, in fact, rallied and reformed in their positions.” Allen G. Brady, from Torrington, Connecticut, enlisted in May 1861 as part of the 3rd Connecticut Infantry Regt., mustered out in August 1861, and in August 1862, he was commissioned into the 17th Connecticut. In October 1863, Brady was discharged for disability, presumably from his wound suffered at Gettysburg three months previously. He was mustered into the Veteran Reserve Corps and brevetted colonel in August 1865. References:
www.civilwardata.com/active/hdsquery.dll?SoldierHistory?U&117232, accessed 5-27-08.
Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies [1880-1901], Series 1, Vol. 25, Part 1, 632-635.
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