It Shall Be Done: The 121st Infantry Regiment Enters Fortress Europe

By Maj. William Carraway

Historian, Georgia Army National Guard

Soldiers of the 121st Infantry Regiment conduct maneuvers in Belfast Ireland prior to the Normandy landings. The Gray Bonnet:
Combat History of the 121st Infantry Regiment

On July 4, 1944 the Georgia Army National Guard’s 121st Infantry Regiment splashed ashore on Utah Beach and entered the Normandy Campaign. Within a week of landing, the regiment would suffer its first casualties. In less than 10 months, the casualty list of the 121st would grow to 70 pages as the regiment fought its way from La Haye du Puits France to Schwerin Germany and the liberation of concentration camps near Wobbelin.[i]

Early History

The companies that would eventually form the 121st Infantry have a long and varied history. The first company to form was The Baldwin Blues, originally organized May 11, 1810 in Milledgeville, Ga.[ii] The Blues, along with other predecessor units of the 121^st – the Albany Guards and Barnesville Blues, were mustered into Confederate service as elements of the 4^th Georgia Volunteer Infantry which would see extensive service in the eastern theater of the American Civil War.[iii]

On December 20, 1860, other early elements of the 121st Infantry Regiment were organized as the Independent Volunteer Battalion of Macon to include the Macon Volunteers and the Floyd Rifles.[iv] Mustered into Confederate service in April 1861 as part of the 2nd Battalion, Georgia Infantry,[v] the Macon unit served in the brigade of Brig. Gen. Ambrose Wright and was the skirmish element on the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg in which the brigade crested Cemetery Hill.[vi] The battalion surrendered at Appomattox Court House with the Army of Northern Virginia April 9, 1865.

1874 to 1917

The 2nd Battalion was reorganized June 15, 1874, in the Georgia Volunteers, precursor to the Georgia National Guard. The battalion was expanded and reorganized January 23, 1891, as the 2nd Regiment of Infantry. Elements of the 2nd Infantry were mustered into federal service in May 1898 for the Spanish American War and returned to state control in November 1898.[vii]

BARNESVILLE, Ga., 1898 – The Barnesville Blues, then Company F, 2nd Georgia Volunteers stand in formation on Main Street in Barnesville after volunteering for service in the Spanish American War.  Their commander, Capt. John Howard stands to the left. Georgia Guard archives

On July 2, 1916, the 2nd Regiment of Infantry was mustered into federal service and dispatched to the Mexican Border. For the next eight months, the infantrymen patrolled the border from El Paso, Texas to Noria, N.M. in support of Brig. Gen. John J. Pershing’s punitive expedition.[viii] The regiment returned to Macon in March 1917 but remained in federal service. In August 1917, Companies B, C and F of the 2nd Georgia were reorganized as the 151st Machine Gun Battalion. The 151^st would serve with the 42nd Infantry Division during World War I. The remaining companies of the 2nd Georgia Infantry were redesignated the 121st Infantry Regiment in October 1, 1917.

Soldiers of Company A, 151st Machine Gun Battalion in 1919.  Georgia Guard Archives.

Colonel Thomas and the Gray Bonnet Regiment

Col. James Adrian Thomas, commanding,
121st Infantry Regiment, 1912-1918.
Georgia Guard Archives.

The commander of the 121st Infantry Regiment in the years leading up to World War I

was Col. James Adrian Thomas Jr. of Macon, Ga. Thomas enlisted in the Southern Cadets as a private in 1887 at the age of 17. In 1893 he transferred to the Macon Hussars, Company F, 2nd Infantry Regiment, Ga. Guard. He was commissioned November 7, 1895. On November 18, 1912, Col. Thomas assumed command of the 2nd Infantry. Shortly after assuming command, Thomas designated the regiment the Old Gray Bonnet after the popular song "Put on your Old Gray Bonnet" by Stanley Murphy and Percy Wenrich which was first released in 1909.[ix] 

The 2nd Georgia Infantry was redesignated the 121st Infantry Regiment in September 1917. The regiment departed for France October 5, 1918 aboard the transport USS Orizaba. Arriving in the port of Brest, France, the 121st was compelled to remain on board until the ship could be unloaded. It was in the harbor that Col. Thomas, beloved regimental commander, died of pneumonia October 16 having never set foot in France. He was 48.[x]

Reeling from the loss of their commander, the Soldiers of the 121^st were dealt a second blow. Having reached Le Mans October 22, the Soldiers of the 121^st were informed they would be parceled into replacement units rather than enter combat as a regiment. Having trained so long for combat, many of the Soldiers of the 121^st would reach the front lines just as the war was coming to a close.[xi]

Following World War I, the Georgia National Guard was reorganized. The 121st Infantry Regiment was federally recognized May 31, 1921 as the 1^st Georgia Infantry Regiment. It would not regain its 121^st designation until 1924, by which time, the regiment was part of the 30th Division. [xii] By 1939, on the eve of war, the 121st Infantry was comprised of three battalions based in Macon, Brunswick and Dublin, Ga.

Colonel Lewis Pope, The Gray Bonnet Insignia and Federalization

Colonel Lewis Cleveland Pope in 1941.
Georgia Guard Archives.

In September 1940, the 121st was accepted into federal service under the command of Col. Lewis C. Pope. Pope was born June 23, 1884, in Laurence County, Ga. and enlisted in Company A, 2nd Infantry, Georgia Sate Troops November 24, 1899. He served through the ranks from private to sergeant before commissioning as a second lieutenant in Company K November 7, 1906. Pope was appointed captain of the Dublin Guards August 28, 1919, was promoted to major January 25, 1921, and lieutenant colonel July 22, 1922. Upon the unexpected death of Georgia’s Adjutant General, Brig. Gen. J. Van Holt Nash, Pope was promoted to brigadier general and appointed as Nash’s successor by Governor Thomas Hardwick. Pope served as the adjutant general until January 13, 1923 when he was appointed colonel, commanding the 121st Infantry Regiment.

During a ceremony in Macon, Ga. October 14, 1928, ten years after the regiment sailed for France, the 121st regimental colors were presented amidst much fanfare. The ceremony also marked the first appearance of the unit’s distinctive insignia as described by Capt. Charles F. Stuart, regimental adjutant:

“All of the men were equipped and wearing the Old Gray Bonnet insignia, and it looked mighty good in its first appearance.”[xiii]

Twelve years after the first appearance of the Gray Bonnet Pope was still in command

The 121st Infantry Regiment marching through Manchester,
Tenn in 1941 during the Tennessee Maneuvers. Georgia Guard
Archives.

of the 121st Infantry Regiment when it was dispatched to Fort Jackson, S.C. for sixteen weeks of initial training.[xiv] In June, the 121st participated in the Tennessee Maneuvers followed by the Carolina Maneuvers. In September, Col. Pope was succeeded by Col. Aaron J. Becker.[xv] Shortly after Becker assumed command the reorganization of Army divisions resulted in assignment of the 121^st to the 8th Infantry Division.[xvi]

The 8th ID participated in the Second Army Maneuvers in Tennessee in September 1942 before transferring to Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. In December.[xvii] After wintering at Leonard Wood, the regiment departed for the Desert Training Center in Yuma, Arizona where they would endure combat training under harsh drought conditions before returning to Camp Forrest, Tenn. in August 1943. Finally, on November 25, 1943, the Soldiers of the 121st boarded a train bound for Camp Kilmer, N.J. before embarking from Brooklyn, N.Y. aboard the U.S.S. Beanville and Columbia. After a ten-day voyage, the Gray Bonnets arrived in Belfast Harbor.[xviii] Over the next six and a half months, the 121st conducted field problems and combat training in anticipation for the Normandy Invasion.

Nissen Huts in which the Soldiers of the 121st lived in Belfast. Chaplain Peter Wiktor noted that these
huts “wouldn’t hold heat in hell.” Georgia National Guard Archives.

Normandy

On June 30, 1944, the 121st began loading transports in Belfast Harbor. Five days later, on July 4, the first Soldiers of the Gray Bonnet Regiment splashed ashore on Utah Beach.[xix] Leaving their landing crafts, the troops marched 22 miles to Monte Bourg, north of Ste. Mere Eglise in full gear in one of the hottest Julys on record. From Monte Bourg, the 121st was dispatched south to La Haye du Puits where the U.S. VIII Corps was attempting to dislodge German forces and advance out of the swampy lowland terrain. Three American Divisions, the 79^th, 82^nd Airborne and 90^th, had thus far been unable to effect a penetration of German lines and establish a crossing of the Ay River east of Lessay. Arriving on July 8, the 8^th Division was assigned as the main effort of the attack which would strike a narrow front between Lessay and Perriers.[xx]

Operations in the vicinity of La Haye du Puits July 8-13, 2019.  Blumenson, 1961.

The next morning, the 1^st and 2^nd Battalions of the 121^st assaulted La Haye du Puits from the northeast moving out under cover of artillery. Having advanced perhaps 500 yards, the Gray Bonnets were checked by withering German machine gun fire. The 1^st Battalion, in the vicinity of Hill 95 found itself in a particularly desperate situation with elements of Company A temporarily isolated. Though outnumbered, the German Infantry were well entrenched in strong hedgerow positions with interlocking fields of machine gun fire and mortar coverage.[xxi]

The attack resumed at 6:00 am the next day with the 3^rd Battalion entering combat in

Medics of the 121st Infantry Regiment attend to casualties of the 

early fighting in the vicinity of La Haye du Puits, France.  

Georgia Guard Archives.

support of its sister battalions. By the end of the day, the 121^st had advanced another 200 yards. Blame for the slow progress was placed at the feet of the 8^th Division commander whose troops were encountering the enemy for the first time. In short order, the division commander was relieved as were two regimental commanders including Col. Albert Peyton of the 121^st. With new leadership, the 8^th continued to move cautiously and methodically through the hedgerows.[xxii] The new commander of the 121st, Col. John Jeter, continued to direct his battalions forward in the face of punishing enemy resistance. A key piece of terrain, Hill 112 which came to be known as “Purple Heart Hill” was taken on July 13 following an all-out assault.

The ferocity of the action in the vicinity of La Haye du Puits is written in the blood of those who fell. In five days of combat, 26 Georgia Guard Soldiers were killed in action. Lieutenant Colonel Burton Morrison, commander of the 2nd Battalion, was killed July 9. His successor, Maj. James Mallory was killed four days later. The commander of 1st Battalion, Lt. Col. Robert Jones, was killed July 11. Captain William McKenna, a native of Macon, Ga. received the Silver Star for leading 2nd Battalion Soldiers in restoring a battle line and destroying an enemy strong point with hand grenades.[xxiii]

Capt. William Andrew McKenna, Georgia Guard Archives

Having secured La Haye du Puits, the 8th Division continued moving south to secure a crossing of the Ay River. The ensuing offensive would take place across a narrow division front. With the 79th Division to the right confronted with impassable swampy terrain and the 90th Division facing heavily mined terrain choked with obstacles to their front on the left, the 8th Division would be called upon to strike enemy forces and establish a breach for the follow-on divisions.

First Lieutenant Richard Blackburn joined Company A, 121st Infantry Regiment as a replacement officer July 13, 1944, along with other officers and 30 to 40 enlisted men. Blackburn was appointed executive officer of the company and experienced his first combat the following day as he later recalled:

“On July 14, the 121st was ordered to attack to the south toward the Ay River. From its mouth west of Lessay to a bridge southeast of St. Patrice de Claids, the river was a continuous stretch of swampland that was firmly held by the German Army. Bands of enemy small arms fire, throngs of mortars, and repeated German 88 artillery fire pushed us deeper into the mire. At first, the mud was only ankle deep; but as we pushed on through the swamp, the muck was soon knee deep. Teamwork from the 79th and 90th Divisions was of great help in winning the battle and the Germans eventually pulled back.”[xxiv]

Staff Sgt. Carl Gowan in 1941. Georgia Guard
Archives.

Staff Sgt. Carl Gowan of Company F was particularly notable for his actions in the face of the hedgerows. When his company was held up by machine gun fire, Gowan crawled forward on his stomach with a satchel of grenades. He single-handedly destroyed a machine gun nest and killed several snipers that were holding up his company’s advance. Gowan was killed before he could return to his company. He was posthumously awarded the Silver Star for his actions.[xxv]

The actions of McKenna, Blackburn, Gowan and others propelled the 8th Division and its sister divisions across the Ay River. In the final days of July 1944, the 121st Infantry was poised to break the back of the German Seventh Army and clear the way for Lt. Gen. George Patton’s 3rd Army and the breakout that would herald the liberation of France.

---

[i] The Gray Bonnet: Combat History of the 121st Infantry. Baton Rouge, LA: Army & Navy Publishing Company, 1946, 85.

[ii] Gray Bonnet, 18.

[iii] Lyle, Thomas E., Larry O. Blair, Debra S. Lyle, and J. Harmon. Smith. Organizational Summary of Military Organizations from Georgia in the Confederate States of America. Marietta, Ga. 1999, 61.

[iv] Lyle et al,40-41.

[v] Center for Military History. Lineage and Honors Certificate, 121^st Infantry Regiment

[vi] Official Records of the War of the Rebellion, Series I, Vol XXVII/2. -- SERIES I--VOLUME XXVII/2: JUNE 3-AUGUST 1, 1863--The Gettysburg Campaign. Washington DC: War Department, 1897.

[vii] CMH

[viii] Carraway, William. We Are Having a Big Time Now: January-March 1917. April 17, 2017. http://www.georgiaguardhistory.com/2017/04/we-are-having-big-time-now-january.html

[ix] The first official authority for this designation appears March 24, 1924 in GO No. 1 in which the 121st Infantry was officially designated the Old Gray Bonnet Regiment. This much was affirmed in an October 28, 1926 outline of the history of the 121st Infantry certified by Charles H. Cox, Georgia's Adjutant General.

[x] The Georgia State Memorial Book Adopted as the Official Record by the Military Department of the State of Georgia. Atlanta: 1921, 31.

[xi] Gray Bonnet, 18.

[xii] Pictorial Review of the National Guard of the State of Georgia, 1939, 44.

[xiii] Gray Bonnet, 17.

[xiv] Pictorial Review, 45.

[xv] Gray Bonnet, 20.

[xvi] Ibid

[xvii] Ibid.

[xviii] Ibid, 8.

[xix] Ibid 11

[xx] Blumenson, Martin. Breakout and Pursuit. Washington, D.C.: Office of the Chief of Military History, Dept. of the Army, 1961, 124

[xxi] Gray Bonnet, 27.

[xxii] Blumenson, 125.

[xxiii] Gray Bonnet, 30.

[xxiv] Berry, Jerald W. In the Company of Heroes: The Memoirs of Captain Richard M. Blackburn Company A, 1st Battalion, Xlibris Corporation, 2013, 153-154.

[xxv] Gray Bonnet, 30.

Nescit Cedere: The 118th FA in Normandy

By Maj. William Carraway

Historian, Georgia Army National Guard

Soldiers of the 118th Field Artillery train with a 75 mm gun at Fort Jackson, S.C. in 1941. Georgia Guard Archives

On June 13, 1944, the Georgia Army National Guard’s 118th Field Artillery Battalion landed on Omaha Beach. The 118th entered the Normandy Campaign three days after its sister battalion, the 230th FA Battalion arrived in support of the 29th Infantry Division. With the arrival of the 30th Infantry Division in Normandy the 230th returned to its former division assignment and was reunited with the 118th in division artillery. The two Savannah-based field artillery battalions had trained together in the lead up to European deployment and would soon fight together.

Prelude

Elements of the 118th predate the American Revolution and served with distinction in the Revolution, War of 1812 and American Civil War before mobilizing for the World War I in 1917. In 1921 the Georgia National Guard was reorganized following the demobilization of federalized Guard units. As part of that reorganization, Savannah was allocated the 1st Field Artillery.[i] One year later the unit was redesignated as the 118th Field Artillery and assigned to the 30th Division.[ii]From 1921 to 1942, the 118^th fielded the 75 mm artillery piece which was, until 1934, horse-drawn artillery.

Officers of the 1st Field Artillery in Savannah, Ga. in 1921. Georgia Guard Archives

The Regimental Headquarters Battery of the 118^th, the Republican Blues, were formed in 1808 and had participated in every conflict since the War of 1812.[iii] The 1st Battalion, 118^th FAR was comprised of batteries of the Savannah Guards under the command of Maj. Henry Mayer, who had served as a non-commissioned officer with the 118^th FAR in World War I. The battalion commanders during the inter-war period were Maj. Henry Blunn, Maj. W. R. Gigilliat, Maj. Kingman White, Maj. Sheftall Coleman and Mayer.[iv] The batteries of the 1st Battalion were initially designated Battery B, D and F to match their designations in World War I. In 1942 these batteries were redesignated as A, B and C.

The 2nd Battalion, 118^th FAR was initially comprised of Batteries A, C and E under the command of Maj. Charles Peterson and included the Irish Jasper Greens and Chatham Artillery. Following reorganization, the batteries of the 2nd Battalion were redesignated as A, B and C. Major Patrick Seawright, executive officer of 2nd Battalion served in the U.S. Navy during World War I and would command the 197^th FA Battalion during the World War II. He subsequently commanded the division artillery of the 48^th Infantry Division before accepting command of the 48th Armored Division from 1956-1957.

Major General Patrick Seawright (right) with Lt. Gen. Joe Fraser shortly after
assuming command of the 48th Armored Division in 1956. Georgia Guard Archives

Col. Sheftall Coleman in 1939. Georgia Guard
Archives

On September 16, 1940, the 118^th was activated for federal service under the command of Col. Sheftall Coleman.[v] Coleman’s military career began in 1908 when he enlisted in the Republican Blues as a private. He served through the ranks as a corporal and sergeant before commissioning as a 2^nd lieutenant in Company M, 1^st Infantry Regiment, Georgia National Guard June 24, 1916. Exactly one month after commissioning, Coleman and the Georgia Guard were activated and dispatched to the Mexican Border. In September 1917, the 1^st Georgia Infantry Regiment was redesignated the 118^th FAR and Coleman deployed with the regiment to France in 1918. Following World War I, Coleman remained in the 118^th rising to command the 1-118^th in 1926. Upon receiving promotion to colonel in 1931 he assumed command of the regiment. By the time the regiment was activated in September 1940, Coleman had been in the unit for 32 years, nearly one third of which as its commander.[vi]

Training and Maneuvers

A gun crew of the 118th Field Artillery operates a 37 mm gun near Beech
Grove Tenn. in June 1941. Georgia Guard Archives

Upon activation, the 118^th was dispatched to Fort Jackson, S.C., for initial training with other units of the 30^th Infantry Division, including the 121^st Infantry Regiment of the Ga. National Guard.[vii] In June, the 30th ID mobilized for the Tennessee Maneuvers which put the Soldiers of the 118^th in the field training with 37 mm guns until August 1941 when they returned to Fort Jackson.[viii] The following month, Coleman retired from service as a brigadier general and was replaced by Col. Albert C. Stanford of the regular Army. Stanford had barely commanded for a month when the 118^th departed for the Carolina Maneuvers, a massive training exercise conducted in North and South Carolina. During the maneuvers, the 30^th Infantry Division was part of the I Corps, First Army.[ix] In November 1941 the 30^th ID was charged with defending Cheraw, S.C. against attack from the 2^nd Armored Division, commanded by Maj. Gen. George S. Patton. During a coordinated assault, Patton advanced part of his armored force to assault Cheraw from the west and fix the defenders in place while sending a force of more than 40 tanks and scout vehicles to strike the defenders on the flank. Patton’s flanking force overwhelmed antitank positions and rumbled into Cheraw to the chagrin of the 30^th ID and its commander, Maj. Gen. Henry Russell.[x]

Soldiers of the 118th FA compute firing data at a firing direction
center during training at Fort Jackson, S.C. in 1941. Georgia
Guard Archives

Returning to Fort Jackson, the ranks of the 118^th were thinned by Soldiers volunteering for Airborne and Air Corps positions and officer candidate school. Of more than 100 Soldiers sent to OCS, only one returned to the 118^th.[xi]

In the summer of 1942 the 118th turned in its 75 mm guns and received 105 mm towed howitzers. In October, the 118th traveled to Camp Blanding Fla., where it conducted training with the new weapons systems through May 1943. A training stint at Camp Gordon followed after which the battalion mobilized to Camp Tick, Tenn., where the battalion tackled field problems and maneuvers. This training rotation ran through November 1943 when the 118th was dispatched to Camp Atterbury, Indiana. Here, the battalion honed its expertise with the howitzer in preparation for deployment to the European Theater. In February 1944 the battalion was transported by rail to Camp Miles Standish, Mass. From there, the 118th set sail for England on the John T. Erickson on February 12, 1944.[xii] The 118th was part of the same convoy that transported the 230th FA.

In the early hours of February 20, the convoy came within sight of the Irish coast and the ships began to make their way to various ports. Whereas the 230th FA proceeded to Scotland, the ship bearing the 118th arrived February 22, 1944 in Liverpool. Traveling by rail, the battalion arrived at Bucks Green and Five Oaks where the men were lodged in Nissen huts – British versions of the venerable Quonset hut. Over the next few months, the battalion would train for the coming invasion of Europe.

The 118th was in camp on June 6, 1944 when Operation Overlord was launched. As was the case with the 230th FA, Soldiers of the 118th recalled the increased air activity that heralded the start of a large operation. The rumors were proven correct later in the morning when a radio broadcast by Gen. Eisenhower confirmed the start of the Normandy Invasion.

Six days later, the 118th left camp just after 3:00 in the morning and arrived 12-hours later at a marshaling point near Dorchester.[xiii] Headquarters and Battery C loaded onto Landing Ship Tank (LST) 30 for transport to the continent and arrived the next day.

Omaha Beach

On June 13, 1944, the first elements of the 118th Field Artillery Battalion went ashore on Omaha Beach. The battalion assembled its vehicles and howitzers in the fading daylight and were guided from the beach under blackout conditions. Like the 230th before them, the men of the 118th FA had been trained to expect every inch of terrain to be mined or guarded by German Soldiers. Thus, as the column of vehicles slowly moved its way to the high ground overlooking the beach the tension was palpable.

Reaching a position near Neuilly, France, the Soldiers of the 118th established their first firing positions in an orchard outside of town. Three days later, an observation post overlooking the Vire Et Taute Canal called in a fire mission which was routed to one of the howitzers of Battery C. Thus, on the afternoon of June 16, 1944, with the pull of lanyard cord, the 118th sent its first combat round down range.

The next day the battalion displaced to Lison where they were joined by Batteries A and B. Over the coming weeks, the 118th supported the 30th ID’s drive to the Vire River. On June 22, having crossed the Vire and secured the Mont-Martin en Grainges, the 30th ID was ordered to hold a defensive line along the Vire while the 2nd and 29th Infantry Divisions pressed the attack towards St. Lo.[xiv]

Epilogue:

The next chapter will follow the 121st Infantry Regiment from the sands of Utah Beach through the hedgerow battles of Normandy and end with them poised for the Normandy Breakout. Succeeding chapters will revisit the 230th and 118th and introduce the 179th and 945th Field Artillery Battalions as they arrive in France.

---

[i]Smith, Gordon Burns. History in Action: 118th Field Artillery, 30th Infantry Division 1942-1945, 2nd Edition. Washington, D.C.: Florida “Gator” Chapter, 1988, preface.

[ii] Center for Military History. Lineage and Honors Certificate, 118th Field Artillery

[iii] Pictorial Review of the National Guard of the State of Georgia, 1939, 160

[iv] Smith, preface.

[v] GO 13

[vi] 1939, 161

[vii] 121^st Infantry Chapter 1

[viii] Smith, 7

[ix] Gabel, Christopher R. The U.S. Army GHQ Maneuvers of 1941. Washington, D.C: Center of Military History, U.S. Army, 1992, 200.

[x] Ibid, 139

[xi] Smith, 6

[xii] Smith, 19

[xiii] Smith, 33

[xiv] Harrison, Gordon A. Cross-Channel Attack. Washington, D.C.: Office of the Chief of Military History, Dept. of the Army, 1951, 377-379.

Complete Masters of the Field: The Macon Volunteers at Gettysburg, July 2, 1863

By Maj. William Carraway

Historian, Georgia Army National Guard

The 48^th Infantry Brigade Combat Team is descended from the 2^nd Georgia Battalion which was formed in April 1861 and was comprised of the Macon Volunteers, Macon Guards and Floyd Rifles among other units.[i] At the Battle of Gettysburg, the 2^nd Georgia Battalion was assigned to the Georgia Brigade of Brig. Gen. Ambrose Wright. During the heavy fighting of July 2, 1863 at the Battle of Gettysburg, the 2^nd Georgia Battalion served as skirmishers during the brigade’s advance on the Federal center.  Wright’s brigade penetrated farther than any other Confederate brigade at Gettysburg, but at great cost.  The commanding officer of the 2^nd Georgia Battalion was mortally wounded, and the battalion suffered 50 percent casualties.

The following constitutes Wright’s after-action report for the Gettysburg Campaign.  It has been edited to focus on the events of July 2, 1863:

HEADQUARTERS WRIGHT'S BRIGADE,
September 28, 1863

Maj. THOMAS S. MILLS,
Assistant Adjutant-General, Anderson's Division.
        MAJOR: I submit the following report of the part taken by my brigade in the military operations at Gettysburg, Pa., on July 1, 2, 3, and 4 last…

        About noon (July 2, 1863), I was informed by Major-General Anderson that an attack upon the enemy's lines would soon be made by the whole division, commencing on our right by Wilcox s brigade, and that each brigade of the division would begin the attack as soon as the brigade on its immediate right commenced the movement. I was instructed to move simultaneously with Perry's brigade, which was on my right, and informed that Posey's brigade, on my left, would move forward upon my advance.


        This being the order of battle, I awaited the signal for the general advance, which was given at about 5 p.m. by the advance of Wilcox's and Perry's brigades, on my right. I immediately ordered forward my brigade and attacked the enemy in his strong position on a range of hills running south from the town of Gettysburg. In this advance, I was compelled to pass for more than a mile across an open plain, intersected by numerous post and rail fences, and swept by the enemy's artillery, which was posted along the Emmitsburg road and upon the crest of the heights on McPherson's farm, a little south of Cemetery Hill.


        In this advance, my brigade was formed in the following order: The Twenty-second Georgia Regiment on the right, the Third Georgia in the center, and the Forty-eighth Georgia on the left. The Second Georgia Battalion, which was deployed in front of the whole brigade as skirmishers, was directed to close intervals on the left as soon as the command reached the line of skirmishers, and form upon the left of the brigade. Owing to the impetuosity of the advance and the length of the line occupied by them, the Second Battalion failed to form all its companies upon the left of the brigade, some of them falling into line with other regiments of the command.


        My men moved steadily forward until reaching within musket range of the Emmitsburg turnpike, when we encountered a strong body of infantry posted under cover of a fence near to and parallel with the road. Just in rear of this line of infantry were the advanced batteries of the enemy, posted along the Emmitsburg turnpike, with a field of fire raking the whole valley below.


        Just before reaching this position, I had observed that Posey's brigade, on my left, had not advanced, and fearing that, if I proceeded much farther with my left flank entirely unprotected, I might become involved in serious difficulties, I dispatched my aide-de-camp, Capt. R. H. Bell, with a message to Major-General Anderson, informing him of my own advance and its extent, and that General Posey had not advanced with his brigade on my left. To this message I received a reply to press on; that Posey had been ordered in on my left, and that he (General Anderson) would reiterate the order. I immediately charged upon the enemy's line, and drove him in great confusion upon his second line, which was formed behind a stone fence, some 100 or more yards in rear of the Emmitsburg turnpike.

The Codori Farm, a prominent landmark on the Emmitsburg Road on the Gettysburg Battlefield as viewed from the position of the artillery battery of 1st Lt. Alonzo Cushing (Battery A, 4th U.S. Artillery). on July 2, 1863, the brigade of Brig. Gen. Ambrose Wright and the Macon Volunteers of the 2nd Ga. Battalion (today's 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team) passed over this ground. for his actions at the battle of Gettysburg, Cushing was awarded the Medal of Honor. Photo by 1st Lt. William Carraway

        At this point we captured several pieces of artillery, which the enemy in his haste and confusion was unable to take off the field. Having gained the Emmitsburg turnpike, we again charged upon the enemy, heavily posted behind a stone fence which ran along the abrupt slope of the heights some 150 yards in rear of the pike.


        Here the enemy made considerable resistance to our farther progress, but was finally forced to retire by the impetuous charge of my command.


        We were now within less than 100 yards of the crest of the heights, which were lined with artillery, supported by a strong body of infantry, under protection of a stone fence. My men, by a well-directed fire, soon drove the cannoneers from their guns, and, leaping over the fence, charged up to the top of the crest, and drove the enemy's infantry into a rocky gorge on the eastern slope of the heights, and some 80 or 100 yards in rear of the enemy's batteries.


        We were now complete masters of the field, having gained the key, as it were, of the enemy's whole line. Unfortunately, just as we had carried the enemy's last and strongest position, it was discovered that the brigade on our right had not only not advanced across the turnpike, but had actually given way, and was rapidly falling back to the rear, while on our left we were entirely unprotected, the brigade ordered to our support having failed to advance.


        It was now evident, with my ranks so seriously thinned as they had been by this terrible charge, I should not be able to hold my position unless speedily and strongly re-enforced. My advanced position and the unprotected condition of my flanks invited an attack which the enemy were speedy to discover, and immediately passed a strong body of infantry under cover of a high ledge of rocks, thickly covered with stunted undergrowth, which fell away from the gorge in rear of their batteries before mentioned in a southeasterly direction, and, emerging on the western slope of the ridge, came upon my right and rear at a point equidistant from the Emmitsburg turnpike and the stone fence, while a large brigade advanced from the point of woods on my left, which extended nearly down to the turnpike, and, gaining the turnpike, moved rapidly to meet the party which had passed round upon our right.


        We were now in a critical condition. The enemy's converging line was rapidly closing upon our rear; a few moments more, and we would be completely surrounded; still, no support could be seen coming to our assistance, and with painful hearts we abandoned our captured guns, faced about, and prepared to cut our way through the closing lines in our rear. This was effected in tolerable order, but with immense loss. The enemy rushed to his abandoned guns as soon as we began to retire and poured a severe fire of grape and canister into our thinned ranks as we retired slowly down the slope into the valley below. I continued to fall back until I reached a slight depression a few hundred yards in advance of our skirmish line of the morning, when I halted, reformed my brigade, and awaited the further pursuit of the enemy. Finding that the enemy was not disposed to continue his advance, a line of skirmishers was thrown out in my front, and a little after dark my command moved to the position which we had occupied before the attack was made.


        In this charge, my loss was very severe, amounting to 688 in killed, wounded, and missing, including many valuable officers.


        I have not the slightest doubt but that I should have been able to have maintained my position on the heights, and secured the captured artillery, if there had been a protecting force on my left, or if the brigade on my right had not been forced to retire. We captured over twenty pieces of artillery, all of which we were compelled to abandon. These pieces were taken by the respective regiments composing this brigade, as follows: The Third Georgia, 11 pieces; the Twenty-second Georgia, 3 pieces; the Forty-eighth Georgia, 4 pieces, and the Second Battalion several pieces--the exact number not ascertained, but believed to amount to as many as 5 or 6 pieces.


        I am gratified to say that all the officers and men behaved in the most handsome manner; indeed, I have never seen their conduct excelled on any battle-field of this war.


        In the list of casualties, I am pained to find the name of Col. Joseph Wasden, commanding Twenty-second Georgia Regiment, who was killed at the head of his command near the Emmitsburg turnpike. The service contained no better or truer officer, and his death, while deeply deplored by his friends and associates, will be a serious loss to the Confederacy.


        Maj. George W. Ross, commanding Second Georgia Battalion, was seriously wounded, fell into the hands of the enemy, and has since died. This gallant officer was shot down while in the enemy's works on the crest of the heights, endeavoring to have removed some of the captured artillery. As a disciplinarian, he had no superior in the field; an accomplished gentleman and gallant officer, the country will mourn his loss.


        Col. William Gibson, commanding Forty-eighth Georgia Regiment, was seriously wounded, and left upon the field. I am pleased to say that recent information received from him gives assurance of his ultimate recovery. This regiment suffered more severely than any other in the command. Being on the extreme left, it was exposed to a heavy enfilade as well as direct fire. The colors were shot down no less than seven times, and were finally lost…


        A detailed list of the casualties of my command was forwarded to you immediately after the battle, and is, therefore, omitted in this report.


        Inclosed (sic) I hand you copies of the reports of the officers commanding the different regiments composing this brigade.

I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
A. R. WRIGHT,
Brigadier-General, Commanding Brigade[ii]

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[i] Center for Military History. Lineage and Honors Certificate, HHC 48^th Infantry Brigade Combat Team

[ii] Official Records of the War of the Rebellion, Series I, Vol XXVII/2. -- SERIES I--VOLUME XXVII/2: JUNE 3-AUGUST 1, 1863--The Gettysburg Campaign. Washington DC: War Department, 1897.