By Phil Spaugy
The 1st Corps had been driven from East McPherson’s Ridge. After an hour of some of the most intense combat of the Civil War, its battered 1st and 3rd Divisions fell back toward a final position on Seminary Ridge. Greatly outnumbered by the Confederates of Maj. Gen. Henry Heth’s division, then under Brig. Gen. J. Johnston Pettigrew, the federals had inflicted tremendous casualties on their attackers, slowing their pursuit.
With Maj. Gen. William Dorsey Pender’s fresh division in close support, however, the bloodied and exhausted federals had little time to reform at their new position behind “a slight barricade of rails” on the western face of Seminary Ridge.
This is the story of that barricade and the men who, for roughly a half hour, fought, bled and died there—30 minutes upon which the federal army’s fate, and perhaps the “Old Flag,” may have hinged.
July 1, 1863, was arguably Maj. Gen. Abner Doubleday’s finest performance of the war. Taking command after Maj. Gen. John F. Reynolds was mortally wounded, Doubleday provided solid leadership throughout the long day. When Brig. Gen. John C. Robinson’s Second Division arrived around noon, Doubleday made what may have been one of his most crucial decisions: He held Robinson in reserve at the Seminary and ordered the construction of what he later described as “a small semicircular rail intrenchment in the grove in front of the building.” Toward the close of the fighting, Doubleday recalled, this “weak and imperfect” defense “proved to be of great service.”
The barricade stood on the western slope of Seminary Ridge. Semicircular in shape, it ran along the edge of the open grove of trees. While its exact location is lost to history, its right flank was west of the Dr. Charles P. Krauth residence and its left west of the south edge of the Seminary building.
At 3:00 p.m., after a lull of several hours in which both sides regrouped from the morning’s action, Pettigrew’s Brigade advanced against the left and center of the federal position east of Willoughby’s Run.
While the 26th and 11th North Carolina moved against the 24th Michigan and the 19th Indiana, positioned on the east bank of the run, in and south of McPherson’s wood lot, the 47th and 52nd North Carolina infantries advanced against Biddle’s Brigade of Brig. Gen. Thomas A. Rowley’s 3rd Division.
Heavily outnumbered and outflanked on their left, the federals were forced into a hasty but obstinate retreat toward Seminary Ridge. Pettigrew’s North Carolinians, themselves battered, halted their pursuit, and reformed on East McPherson’s Ridge. A brief lull followed as Pender’s Division moved forward to renew the assault.
The importance of Doubleday’s “weak and imperfect intrenchment” soon became clear. Broken regiments converged on the rails and rallied for another stand.
Rally at the Barricade
Major Alexander Biddle of the 121st Pennsylvania reported that his “broken and scattered” regiment retreated to the woods around the Seminary hospital, where it joined remnants of other commands and defended the barricade “with great determination.”
The 80th New York, or 20th New York State Militia, arrived after being struck in front and flank and falling back from its advanced position. Colonel Theodore B. Gates reported that his men rallied behind the rails and checked the Confederate advance, briefly compelling the enemy to retire before another flanking movement forced them back again.
Colonel Horatio N. Warren of the 142nd Pennsylvania remembered two long Confederate lines pushing from the woods and badly outflanking the federals. After a desperate charge failed, the survivors rallied around the Seminary and continued fighting until nearly surrounded.
The 151st Pennsylvania also reached the temporary breastworks with the enemy following close behind. Lieutenant Col. George F. McFarland reported that the advantages of the barricade and woods allowed his men to pour such destructive fire into the Confederates that their lines broke and an initial attempt to turn the federal flank failed.
The survivors of the Iron Brigade also fell back to the position. Colonel Samuel J. Williams of the 19th Indiana placed the remnant of his command “behind a barricade of logs and rails,” where, he wrote, “was made our last and hopeless stand.” The 24th Michigan, after suffering devastating losses in McPherson’s Woods, was forced back “step by step, contesting every foot of ground.” Its commander, Col. Henry A. Morrow, was wounded just before reaching the barricade.
The Official Records reports of the 2nd Wisconsin and 5th Maine Battery indicate that both units occupied positions to the right of the barricade.
Defending the Barricade
The lull was brief. Three of Pender’s four brigades advanced through Pettigrew’s ranks and over the slight crest of East McPherson’s Ridge. Brigadier Gen. Alfred M. Scales’ North Carolinians held the left, their flank guiding on the Chambersburg Road. Next came Col. Abner M. Perrin’s South Carolina brigade. Concerned about federal cavalry on the right, Brig. Gen. James H. Lane’s brigade lagged behind and formed in echelon to protect that flank.
Scales and Perrin had a combined strength of 3,283 men. Facing them were perhaps 2,300 exhausted federals who had already spent much of the day in combat. But the men of the 1st Corps possessed two advantages: the barricade of rails and 12 Model 1857 Napoleon 12-pounder guns belonging to Capt. Greenleaf T. Stevens’ 5th Maine Battery and Battery B, 4th U.S. Artillery, led by Capt. James H. Stewart.
Federal artillery opened with spherical case as soon as the Southern brigades appeared. The infantry held its fire until the Confederates closed to about 200 yards, well within rifled-musket range. At roughly the same distance, the federal Napoleons—the “Bull Dogs”—switched to canister.
The effect was devastating. Combined small-arms and artillery fire stopped both Confederate brigades cold. Scales’ men went to ground in the swale between the ridges. Scales and all but one of his field officers were killed or wounded, and his wrecked brigade slowly withdrew toward East McPherson’s Ridge.
Confederates Maneuver Around the Barricade
Perrin’s Brigade was also briefly stopped, but reformed and continued forward. At a fence row perhaps 200 yards from the barricade, the South Carolinians encountered what Perrin called “the most destructive fire of musketry” he had ever experienced.
Rather than continue directly against the barricade, Perrin ordered the 1st, 12th and 13th South Carolina infantries to oblique right, avoiding the strongest part of the federal position and threatening its flank. The barricade was never breached by frontal assault, but Perrin’s maneuver doomed the position. The remaining 1st Corps soldiers fell back from Seminary Ridge and retreated through Gettysburg toward East Cemetery Hill.
The fight at the barricade had lasted a little more than half an hour, but its effects extended beyond those precious minutes. The stand helped buy time for Robinson’s 2nd Division and elements of the 11th Corps to begin withdrawing through and around Gettysburg. Scales’ and Perrin’s brigades suffered tremendous losses in men and leadership, weakening their combat effectiveness for the fighting still to come.
Throughout July 1, about 9,816 men of the 1st Corps divisions commanded by Maj. Gen. James S. Wadsworth, Robinson, and Rowley faced Confederate divisions under Pettigrew, Pender, and Maj. Gen. Robert E. Rodes with a combined strength of roughly 19,000.
In a battle defined by precious minutes of fighting and decision-making, the largely overlooked stand at the barricade of rails may have been among the most consequential 30 minutes of the entire three-day battle.
This column is respectfully dedicated to my friend and mentor,
Lance J. Herdegen (1938-2026).
Phil Spaugy is a longtime member of the North South Skirmish Association (N-SSA). He studies arms and accouterments of federal infantry soldiers with an emphasis on his home state of Ohio, firearms of the U.S. Arsenal at Harpers Ferry, and the Iron Brigade. He is a partner with Jim Hessler in Hessler Spaugy Action Travel. Phil is a retired aviation services company executive who lives in Vandalia, Ohio, with his wife, Amy. He is a MI Senior Editor. Contact Phil at PhilSpaugy@gmail.com.
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