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On the first day of July, they arrived shrouded in a foreboding misty rain. The Confederate infantry division of Major General Henry Heth from A.P. Hill's Third Corps advanced towards Gettysburg under a veil of uncertainty. While crossing a bridge over Marsh Creek, the head of Heth's column was halted by the familiar "pop" of enemy small arms some 700 yards away. It was a shot from the carbine of the 8th Illinois Cavalry's Lieutenant Marcellus Jones.
The ball had begun; The Battle of Gettysburg was underway.
The gray soldiers, anticipating a militia, were surprised by Union cavalry. This surprise, however, did not deter them. Instead, it spurred them into a cautious advance, moving from column into skirmish lines in the fields north and south of the Chambersburg Pike.
John Buford, the Union Cavalry commander, was tactically maneuvering to buy time-time that the Union left-wing commander, John Reynolds, needed to rush his infantry up to Gettysburg. Buford had gathered intelligence that Confederate soldiers were to the north and west of Gettysburg. Armed with this crucial information, Buford strategically positioned his men to cover every major road coming in from the west, north, and east of Gettysburg. The shots fired indicated that the first Confederates were approaching from the west, a testament to Buford's strategic foresight. Upon being fired upon, the Confederates, seemingly undeterred by the presence of Union Cavalry, began a slow and methodical advance. Like a grey bank of storm clouds, they pushed back Buford's men from Knoxlyn Ridge to Herr's Ridge and, finally, to McPherson's Ridge, where Buford intended to hold until the infantry arrived. At Willoughby's Run, in the valley between Herr's and McPherson's Ridges, the veteran Confederate infantry briefly halted and organized themselves before pressing onward up the slope against Buford's brigades under Colonel Gamble and Devin.
Just as the Confederates were gaining ground, the emergence of Union infantry, a complete shock to them, marked a significant turning point in the morning's battle. The unexpected arrival of the Union infantry changed the dynamics of the fight, and what started as a skirmish between cavalry and infantry was about to become a full-throated battle. Brigadier General Joseph Davis's Brigade of Mississippi and North Carolina men rapidly approached Cutler's right-two regiments, the 76th N.Y. and 56th P.A., from the west. The 56th Pennsylvania opened fire first with the command, 'Ready, right oblique! Aim! Fire!' The 2nd Mississippi and 55th North Carolina returned fire. Some of these shots raked the 76th New York as they got into position to the Pennsylvania men's right. At first, the 76th's commander didn't realize that these shots were from the enemy as he could not see any. He urged his men to hold their fire. Then a second volley came in, and still they held their fire. Finally, the 2nd Mississippi came into sight, and Major Grover, the 76th's commander, ordered his men to fire.
After about a half-an-hour of fighting, three of Cutler's regiments, the 56th P.A. and the 76th and 147th N.Y., withdrew to Oak Ridge, having lost half of their men.
Davis's men pursued Cutler's shattered regiments to Oak Ridge.
Cutler had left two regiments on the south side of the Chambersburg Pike at the McPherson Farm. They had skirmished with Archer's brigade as it approached from the west. Cutler's sister brigade, the Iron Brigade under Solomon Meredith, had arrived on the field and was pushing into McPherson's Woods, thereby freeing up Cutler's remaining two regiments, the 84th and 95th N.Y., to turn and face the threat posed by Davis's men.
Acting Corps commander Major General Abner Doubleday ordered the only reserve he had, the 6th Wisconsin, to leave its reserve position and "Go like Hell" toward Davis. Rufus Dawes, the 6th's commander, put his men in line to the right of the 95th N.Y. Aiming into Davis's flank, the New York and Wisconsin men opened fire, stopping Davis's pursuit.
Then, suddenly, the Confederates appeared to vanish into the earth. They had taken refuge in an unfinished railroad cut that paralleled the Chambersburg Pike.
What seemed a safe haven had proved to be a trap, and the Wisconsin and New York boys were ready to take advantage of it. Meanwhile, acting left-wing commander Major General John F. Reynolds was personally feeding units of the Iron Brigade into McPherson's Woods, something a man in his position should not do. While doing this, a Confederate bullet struck him in the head. Within 30 minutes of being on the field, the man who was...