Union General Hancock: The Hero Of Gettysburg, Savior Of The Union

On East Cemetery Hill at Gettysburg National Military Park, an equestrian statue of Maj. Gen. Winfield Scott Hancock stands facing west toward the Evergreen Cemetery gatehouse. The general looks north toward the town, with his right hand outstretched as if to calm panicked troops or direct a battery into place. The statue marks the approximate location of Hancock’s arrival on the Gettysburg battlefield on the afternoon of July 1, 1863. It was at this spot that Union troops were attempting to rally after being driven through the town by the victorious Confederates of Lt. Gen. Richard Ewell and Lt. Gen. A.P. Hill.

Given the critical role Hancock played on all three days of the struggle, his statue might have been placed in several locations on the battlefield. Federal officers and soldiers remembered his powerful, vigilant presence at many points of danger. Hancock’s inspiration and skillful tactical decisions contributed significantly to the Union victory at Gettysburg. In the words of biographer David M. Jordan, “Gettysburg was Hancock’s field.”

On the afternoon of July 1, 1863, Winfield Scott Hancock of Pennsylvania, commanding the II Corps, received an order from Maj. Gen. Daniel Butterfield, chief of staff of the Army of the Potomac: “The major-general commanding [George Meade] has just been informed that General Reynolds has been killed or badly wounded. He directs that you turn over the command of your corps to General Gibbon; that you proceed to the front, and, by virtue of this order, in case of the truth of General Reynolds’ death, you assume command of the corps there assembled, viz, the Eleventh, First and Third, at Emmitsburg. If you think the ground and position there a better one to fight a battle under existing circumstances, you will so advise the general, and he will order all the troops up. You know the general’s views, and General Warren, who is fully aware of them, has gone out to see General Reynolds.”

The time on the dispatch was 1:10 pm. Hancock conferred with Maj. Gen. George G. Meade, expressing concern over the fact that he was junior to other corps commanders who were either already on the battlefield, such as Maj. Gen. Oliver Howard, or approaching the scene of action, such as Maj. Gen. Daniel Sickles. Meade, who had replaced Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker as army commander only days earlier, dismissed these concerns, armed with his new authority from Washington to make appointments as he saw fit. Meade needed someone in Gettysburg to take control of a troubling and uncertain situation. He chose Hancock.

[nathanappleby]

When the Civil War was beginning in 1861, Hancock, to prepare himself for the conflict, took it upon himself to study the campaigns of past great military leaders such as Alexander the Great, Frederick the Great, and Napoleon. By doing so, when he joined the Army of the Potomac in the autumn of 1861, he was described as being the army's most battle ready officer and in subsequent battles he fought up to and especially at Gettysburg, all of that campaign studying paid off. I would consider Hancock the army's best general after Reynold's death which he more than showed. As for the second day's fighting, when Longstreet launched his sledgehammer assault against the Union left, given the concentration of Federal forces in the area, the III and elements of other Union corps if you were to look at a map of the battle at the time of the fighting, Longstreet was hitting a thick mass which was of course why the assault failed. On the other hand, given the concentration of Union forces in the area, Cemetary Ridge wasn't as strongly manned as other parts of the line for a time thus why those units of Hill's Corps were able to make it as far as they did before being repulsed. On the third day, Longstreet assaulted the center with 12, 000 men and Hancock's II Corps was 10, 000 men. Given the roughly equivalent sizes of the opposing forces and the concentration of artillery on the ridge plus the better quality of the Federal artillery ammunition, the assault didn't stand a chance. The only way the attack could have worked was if the Confederate force making it was larger and had good quality artillery ammunition. I of course side with the North but I am saying this strictly from a tactical perspective. I have said this before and I will say it again, Hancock was a little like Napoleon, Napoleon from 1805-09 was 36-39 and still in his prime while Hancock was 37-39 from 1861-63 and in his prime. After 1809, Napoleon went downhill from poor health due to constant campaigning and lack of sleep while Hancock went downhill from his wound. Both showed some of their old skills on the battlefield in later campaigns but were never the same again. Napoleon was defeated and Hancock resigned his command from exhaustion brought on by the wound and his old corps no longer being what it once was. Hancock was nonetheless one of the Union army's best wing and corps commanders. He earned the praise he got after Gettysburg.

[travisbayles]

Colonel I do not care to die but I pray to God that I may never leave this field

General Winfield Scott Hancock

[FredDrury-rt]

What american. Equaled by few out done by none. Just one incredible individual One reason we enjoy the freedom we have today

[timfify]

In the middle of this video the pic of Gen Hancock those are 'one hell of a pair of boots.

[otrnam]

I was surprised that Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain or the 20th Maine was not mention until the end of the video.

[richsnyder]

Wasn’t there a spat between Doubleday and Hancock during the rally on Cemetery Hill? Something to do with sending troops to Culp’s Hill and Doubleday not recognizing Hancock’s authority?

[FredDrury-rt]

Perhaps general Armistead said it best. "He's the best they ( they being union) got. They don't make them the better