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s e a f o r c e s – online
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Naval Forces
Technology, History & Information
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Guided Missile Cruiser
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CG 64 -
USS Gettysburg
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USS Gettysburg (CG 64)
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US Navy photo
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Type,
Class:
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Guided Missile Cruiser; Ticonderoga (Baseline 3) - class;
planned and built as CG 64; |
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Builder:
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STATUS:
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Awarded: January 8, 1986 Laid down: August 17, 1988 Launched: July 22, 1989 Commissioned:
June 22, 1991 ACTIVE in
Service / ATLANTIC FLEET |
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Homeport:
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Naval Station Mayport, Florida
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Namesake:
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named after and in honor of
the Battle of Gettysburg, Pensylvania / July 1 - 3, 1863 |
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Ship’s
Motto:
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> DEEDS NOT WORDS < |
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Technical Data:
(Measures, Propulsion, Armament,
Aviation, etc.)
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see: INFO
>> Guided
Missile Cruiser / Ticonderoga – Class |
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Pictures,
photos & more ...
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USS Gettysburg (CG 64) on patrol in the Mediterreanean
Sea as part of the Enterprise Carrier Battle Group (CVBG) – May 15, 2001 |
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USS Gettysburg (CG 64) pulls alongside
the USS Enterprise (CVN 65) to receive fuel during a replenishment at sea
(RAS) – June 7, 2004 |
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Statue of General Lee, Gettysburg |
The monument to General Meade, Gettysburg |
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Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) |
George Gordon Meade |
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Photo credits: US Navy, |
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Namesake
& History: |
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About the
Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania / July 1 – 3, 1863: |
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The Battle of Gettysburg (July
1–3, 1863), fought in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, as part
of the Gettysburg Campaign, was the bloodiest battle of the American Civil
War and is frequently cited as the war's turning point. Union Major General
George G. Meade's Army of the Potomac decisively defeated attacks by
Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, ending Lee's
second and final invasion of the North. Background
and movement to battle
Shortly after Lee's army won a
decisive victory over the Army of the Potomac at the Battle of
Chancellorsville (May 1–3, 1863), Lee decided upon a second invasion of the
North. Such a move would upset Federal plans for the summer campaigning
season and possibly relieve the besieged Confederate garrison at Vicksburg,
and it would allow the Confederates to live off the bounty of the rich Northern
farms while giving war-ravaged Virginia a much needed rest. Also Lee's
75,000-man army could threaten Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington and
give voice to the growing peace movement in the North. Thus, on June 3 Lee's army began
to shift northward from Fredericksburg, Virginia. In order to attain more
efficiency in his commands, Lee had reorganized his two large corps into
three new corps. James Longstreet retained command of his First Corps.
However, the old corps of Lieutenant General Thomas J. "Stonewall"
Jackson was divided into two, with the Second Corps going to Lt. Gen. Richard
S. Ewell and the new Third Corps commanded by Lt. Gen. A.P. Hill. The
Gettysburg Confederate Order of Battle lists the units and commanders of the
Army of Northern Virginia. The Federal Army of the
Potomac, under Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker, consisted of seven infantry corps, a
cavalry corps, and an Artillery Reserve, for a combined strength of more than
90,000 men. However, Abraham Lincoln would soon replace Hooker with Maj. Gen.
George G. Meade, due to Hooker's defeat at the Battle of Chancellorsville and
his timid response to Lee's second invasion north of the Potomac. The
Gettysburg Union Order of Battle lists the units and commanders of the Army
of the Potomac after Meade assumed command. The first major action of the
campaign took place on June 9 between the opposing cavalry forces at Brandy
Station, near Culpeper, Virginia. The Confederate cavalry under J.E.B. Stuart
was nearly bested by the Federal horsemen, but Stuart eventually prevailed.
However, this battle, the largest cavalry engagement of the war, proved that
for the first time, the Union horse soldier was equal to his Southern
counterpart. By mid-June, the Army of
Northern Virginia was poised to cross the Potomac River and enter Maryland.
After defeating the Federal garrisons at Winchester and Martinsburg, Ewell's
Second Corps began crossing the river on June 15. Hill's and Longstreet's
corps followed on June 24–25. Hooker's army pursued, keeping between the U.S.
Capital and Lee's army. The Federals crossed the Potomac on June 25–27. Meanwhile, in a controversial
move, Lee allowed J.E.B. Stuart to take a portion of the army's cavalry and
ride around the Union army. However, Lee's orders gave Stuart much latitude,
and both generals are to blame for the long absence of Stuart's cavalry, as
well as for the failure to assign a more active role to the cavalry left with
the army. Stuart and his three best brigades were absent from the army during
the crucial phase of the approach to Gettysburg and the first two days of
battle. By June 29, Lee's army was strung out in an arc from Chambersburg,
Pennsylvania, 28 miles (45 km) northwest of Gettysburg, to Carlisle, 30 miles
(48 km) north of Gettysburg, to near Harrisburg and Wrightsville on the
Susquehanna River. In a dispute over the use of
the forces defending the Harpers Ferry garrison, Hooker offered his
resignation, and Abraham Lincoln and General-in-Chief Henry W. Halleck, who
were looking for an excuse to get rid of Hooker, immediately accepted the
resignation. They replaced him on June 27–28 with Maj. Gen. George Gordon
Meade, commander of the V Corps. When, on June 29, Lee learned
that the Army of the Potomac had crossed its namesake river, he ordered a
concentration of his forces around Cashtown, located at the eastern base of
South Mountain and eight miles (13 km) west of Gettysburg. On June 30, while part of
Hill's Corps was in Cashtown, one of Hill's brigades, North Carolinians under
J. Johnston Pettigrew, ventured toward Gettysburg. The memoirs of Maj. Gen.
Henry Heth, Pettigrew's division commander, claimed that Pettigrew was in
search of a large supply of shoes in town, but this explanation has been
largely discounted by historians. When Pettigrew's troops
approached Gettysburg on June 30, they noticed Federal cavalry under Brig.
Gen. John Buford west of town, and Pettigrew returned to Cashtown without
engaging them. When Pettigrew told Hill and Henry Heth about what he had
seen, neither general believed that there was a substantial Federal force in
or near the town, suspecting that it had been only Pennsylvania militia.
Despite General Lee's order to avoid a general engagement until his entire
army was concentrated, Hill decided to mount a significant reconnaissance in
force the following morning to determine the size and strength of the enemy
force in his front. Around 5 a.m. on Wednesday, July 1, Heth's division
advanced to Gettysburg. First
day of battle
General Buford realized the
importance of the high ground directly to the south of Gettysburg, knowing
that if the Confederates could gain control of the heights, Meade's army
would have a hard time dislodging them. He decided to utilize three ridges
west of Gettysburg: Herr Ridge, McPherson Ridge, and Seminary Ridge
(proceeding west to east toward the town). These were appropriate terrain for
a delaying action by his small division against superior Confederate forces,
meant to buy time awaiting the arrival of infantrymen who could occupy the
superior defensive positions south of town, Cemetery Hill, Cemetery Ridge,
and Culp's Hill. Heth's division advanced with
two brigades forward, commanded by Brig. Gens. James Archer and Joseph R.
Davis. They proceeded easterly in columns along the Chambersburg Pike. Three
miles (5 km) west of town, about 7:30 a.m. on July 1, Heth's two brigades met
light resistance from cavalry vedettes and deployed into line. Eventually,
they reached dismounted troopers from Col. William Gamble's cavalry brigade,
who mounted determined resistance and delaying tactics from behind fence
posts with rapid fire from their Sharps carbines. By 10:20 a.m., the
Confederates had pushed the Union cavalrymen east to McPherson Ridge, when
the vanguard of the I Corps (Maj. Gen. John F. Reynolds) finally arrived. North of the Pike, Davis
gained a temporary success against Brig. Gen. Lysander Cutler's brigade, but
was repulsed with heavy losses in an action around an unfinished railroad bed
cut in the ridge. South of the Pike, Archer's brigade assaulted through
Herbst (also know as McPherson's) Woods. The Federal Iron Brigade under Brig.
Gen. Solomon Meredith enjoyed initial success against Archer, capturing
several hundred men, including Archer himself. Early in the fighting, while
General Reynolds was directing troop and artillery placements just to the
east of the woods, he fell from his horse, killed instantly by a bullet
striking him behind the left ear. Maj. Gen. Abner Doubleday assumed command.
Fighting in the Chambersburg Pike area lasted until about 12:30 p.m. It
resumed around 2:30 p.m., when Heth's entire division engaged, adding the
brigades of Pettigrew and Col. John M. Brockenbrough. As Pettigrew's North Carolina Brigade
came on line they flanked the 19th Indiana and drove the Iron Brigade back.
The 26th North Carolina (the largest regiment in the army with nearly 900
men) lost heavily, leaving the first day's fight with around 212 men. By the
end of the three-day battle, they would have about 60 men standing, the
highest casualty percentage for one battle of any other regiment, north or
south. Slowly the Iron Brigade was pushed out of the woods toward Seminary
Ridge. Hill added William Dorsey Pender's division to the assault and the I
Corps was driven back through the grounds of the Lutheran Seminary and
Gettysburg streets. As the fighting to the west
proceeded, two divisions of Ewell's Second Corps, marching west toward
Cashtown in accordance with Lee's order for the army to concentrate in that
vicinity, turned south on the Carlisle and Harrisburg Roads toward
Gettysburg, while the Union XI Corps (Maj. Gen. Oliver O. Howard) raced north
on the Baltimore Pike and Taneytown Road. By early afternoon, the Federal line
ran in a semi-circle west, north, and northeast of Gettysburg. Unfortunately, the Federals
did not have enough troops; Cutler, who was deployed north of the
Chambersburg Pike, had his right flank in the air. The leftmost division of
the XI Corps was unable to deploy in time to strengthen the line, so
Doubleday was forced to throw in reserve brigades to salvage his line. Around 2:00 p.m., Robert E.
Rodes's and Jubal Early's Second Corps divisions smashed and out-flanked the
Federal I and XI Corps positions north and northwest of town. The brigades of
Edward A. O'Neal and Alfred Iverson suffered severe losses assaulting the I
Corps division of Brig. Gen. John C. Robinson south of Oak Hill. Early's
division profited from a blunder made by Brig. Gen. Francis C. Barlow, when
he advanced his XI Corps division to Blocher's Knoll (directly north of town
and now known as Barlow's Knoll); this represented a salient in the corps
line, susceptible to attack from multiple sides, and Early's troops overran
his division, which constituted the right flank of the Union Army's position.
Barlow was wounded and captured in the attack. As Federal positions collapsed
both north and west of town, Gen. Howard ordered a retreat to the high ground
south of town, Cemetery Hill, where he had left the division of Adolph von
Steinwehr as a reserve. Gen. Lee understood the
defensive potential to the Union if they held this high ground. He sent
orders to Ewell that Cemetery Hill be taken "if practicable." Ewell
chose not to attempt the assault, considered by historians to be a great
missed opportunity. The battle of July 1 had
pitted over 25,000 Confederates against 18,000 Federals, and ranks in itself
as the twenty-third largest battle of the war. Second
day of battle
Plans and movement to battle Throughout the evening of July
1 and morning of July 2, most of the remaining infantry of both armies
arrived on the field, including the Union II, III, V, VI, and XII Corps.
Longstreet's third division, commanded by George Pickett, had begun the march
from Chambersburg early in the morning; it would not arrive until late on
July 2. The Union line ran from Culp's
Hill southeast of the town, northwest to Cemetery Hill just south of town,
then south for nearly two miles (3 km) along Cemetery Ridge, terminating just
north of Little Round Top. Most of the XII Corps was on Culp's Hill, the
remnants of I and XI Corps defended Cemetery Hill, II Corps covered most of
the northern half of Cemetery Ridge, and III Corps was ordered to take up a
position to its flank. This shape of the Union line is popularly described as
a "fishhook" formation. The Confederate line paralleled the Union
line about a mile (1600 m) to the west on Seminary Ridge, ran east through
the town, then curved southeast to a point opposite Culp's Hill. Thus, the
Federal army had interior lines, while the Confederate's exterior line was
nearly five miles (8 km) in length. Lee's battle plan for July 2
called for Longstreet's First Corps to position itself stealthily to attack
the Union left flank, facing northeast astraddle the Emmitsburg Road, and to
roll up the Federal line. The attack sequence was to begin with John Bell
Hood's and Lafayette McLaws's divisions, followed by Richard H. Anderson's
division of Hill's Third Corps. The progressive en echelon sequence of
this attack would prevent Meade from shifting troops from his center to
bolster his left. At the same time, Edward "Allegheny" Johnson's
and Jubal Early's Second Corps divisions were to make a
"demonstration" against Culp's and Cemetery Hills (again, to
prevent the shifting of Federal troops), and to turn the demonstration into a
full-scale attack if a favorable opportunity presented itself. Lee's plan, however, was based
on faulty intelligence, exacerbated by Stuart's continued absence from the
battlefield. Instead of moving beyond the Federals' left and attacking their
flank, Longstreet's left division, under McLaws, would face Maj. Gen. Daniel
Sickles's III Corps directly in their path. Sickles, dissatisfied with the
position assigned him on the southern end of Cemetery Ridge, and seeing
higher ground more favorable to artillery positions a half mile (800 m) to
the west, had advanced his corps—without orders—to the slightly higher ground
along the Emmitsburg Road. The new line ran from Devil's Den, northwest to
the Sherfy farm's Peach Orchard, then northeast along the Emmitsburg Road to
south of the Codori farm. This created an untenable salient at the Peach
Orchard; Brig. Gen. Andrew A. Humphreys's division (in position along the
Emmitsburg Road) and Maj. Gen. David B. Birney's division (to the south) were
subject to attacks from two sides and were spread out over a longer front
than their small corps could defend effectively. Longstreet's attack was to be made
as early as practicable; however, Longstreet got permission from Lee to await
the arrival of one of his brigades, and, while marching to the assigned
position, his men came within sight of a Union signal station on Little Round
Top. Countermarching to avoid detection wasted much time, and Hood's and
McLaws's divisions did not launch their attacks until just after 4 p.m. and 5
p.m., respectively. Attacks on the Union left flank As Longstreet's divisions
slammed into the Union III Corps, Meade had to send reinforcements in the
form of the entire V Corps, Caldwell's division of the II Corps, most of the
XII Corps, and small portions of the newly arrived VI Corps. Hard fighting
took place in Devil's Den, the Wheatfield, Little Round Top, and the Peach Orchard.
The III Corps was virtually destroyed as a combat unit in this battle and
Sickles's leg was amputated after it was shattered by a cannonball.
Caldwell's division was devoured piecemeal in the Wheatfield. Anderson's
division assault starting around 6 p.m. reached the crest of Cemetery Ridge,
but they could not hold the position in the face of counterattacks from the
II Corps. Meanwhile, Colonel Strong
Vincent of V Corps was holding, with his small brigade, an important hill in
the Union position: Little Round Top. He was able to hold off repeated
assaults by a Confederate brigade of Hood's division with his five relatively
small regiments. Meade's chief engineer, Brig. Gen. Gouverneur K. Warren, had
realized the importance of this position, and dispatched Vincent's brigade,
Hazlett's artillery battery, and the 140th New York to occupy Little Round
Top mere minutes before Hood's troops arrived. The defense of Little Round
Top with a bayonet charge by the 20th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment was
one of the most fabled episodes in the Civil War. Attacks on the Union right flank About 7:00 p.m., the Second
Corps' attack by Johnson's division on Culp's Hill got off to a late start.
Most of the hill's defenders, the Union XII Corps, had been sent to the left
to defend against Longstreet's attacks, and the only portion of the corps
remaining on the hill was a brigade of New Yorkers under Brig. Gen. George S.
Greene. Due to Greene's insistence on constructing strong defensive works,
and with reinforcements from the I and XI Corps, Greene's men held off the
Confederate attackers, although the Southerners did capture a portion of the
abandoned Federal works on the lower part of Culp's Hill. Just at dark, two of Jubal
Early's brigades attacked the Union XI Corps positions on East Cemetery Hill
where Col. Andrew L. Harris of the 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, came under a
withering attack, losing half his men; however, Early failed to support his
brigades in their attack on the Union defenders, and Ewell's remaining division,
that of Maj. Gen. Robert E. Rodes, failed to aid Early's attack by moving
against Cemetery Hill from the west. The Union army's interior lines enabled
its commanders to shift troops quickly to critical areas, and with
reinforcements from II Corps, the Federal troops retained possession of East
Cemetery Hill, and Early's brigades were forced to withdraw. J.E.B. Stuart and his four
cavalry brigades arrived in Gettysburg late in the afternoon, but had no role
in the second day's battle. Wade Hampton's brigade fought a minor engagement
with George Armstrong Custer's Michigan cavalry near Hunterstown to the
northeast of Gettysburg. Third day of battle General Lee wished to renew
the attack on Friday, July 3, using the same basic plan as the previous day:
Longstreet would attack the Federal left, while Ewell attacked Culp's Hill.
However, before Longstreet was ready, Federal XII Corps troops started a dawn
artillery bombardment against the Confederates on Culp's Hill in an effort to
regain a portion of their lost works. The Confederates attacked and the
second fight for Culp's Hill ended around 11 a.m., after some seven hours of
bitter combat. Lee was forced to change his
plans. Now Longstreet would command Pickett's Virginia division of his own
First Corps, plus six brigades from Hill's Corps, in an attack on the Federal
II Corps position at the right center of the Union line on Cemetery Ridge.
Prior to the attack, all the artillery the Confederacy could bring to bear on
the Federal positions would bombard and weaken the enemy's line. Around 1:00 p.m., 170
Confederate cannons began an artillery bombardment was probably the largest
of the war. In order to save valuable ammunition for the infantry attack that
they knew must follow, the Army of the Potomac's artillery at first did not
return the enemy's fire. After waiting about 15 minutes, 80 or so Federal
cannon added to the din. The Army of Northern Virginia was critically low on
artillery ammunition, and the cannonade did not significantly affect the Union
position. Around 3:00 p.m, the cannon fire subsided, and 12,500 Southern
soldiers stepped from the ridgeline and advanced the three-quarters of a mile
(1200 m) to Cemetery Ridge in what is known to history as "Pickett's
Charge". Due to fierce flanking artillery fire from Union positions on
Cemetery Hill and north of Little Round Top, and musket and canister fire
from the II Corps as the Confederates approached, nearly one half of the
attackers would not return to their own lines. Although the Federal line
wavered and broke temporarily at a jog in a low stone fence called the
"Angle", just north of a patch of vegetation called the Copse of
Trees, reinforcements rushed into the breach and the Confederate attack was
repulsed. There were two significant cavalry
engagements on July 3. Stuart was sent to guard the Confederate left flank
and was to be prepared to exploit any success the infantry might achieve on
Cemetery Hill by flanking the Federal right and hitting their trains and
lines of communications. Three miles (5 km) east of Gettysburg, in what is
now called "East Cavalry Field" (not shown on the accompanying map,
but between the York and Hanover Roads), Stuart's forces collided with
Federal cavalry: Brig. Gen. David McM. Gregg's division and George A.
Custer's brigade. A lengthy mounted battle, including hand-to-hand sabre
combat, ensued. Custer's charge, leading the 1st Michigan Cavalry, blunted
the attack by Wade Hampton's brigade, blocking Stuart from achieving his
objectives in the Federal rear. After Pickett's Charge, Meade ordered Brig.
Gen. Judson Kilpatrick to launch a cavalry attack against the infantry
positions of Longstreet's Corps southwest of Big Round Top. Brig. Gen. Elon
J. Farnsworth protested against the futility of such a move, but obeyed
orders; Farnsworth was killed in the attack and his brigade suffered
significant losses. Aftermath The armies
stared at one another across the bloody fields on July 4, the same day that the
Vicksburg garrison surrendered to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant. Lee reformed his
lines into a defensive position, hoping that Meade would attack. The cautious
Union commander, however, decided against the risk, a decision for which he
would later be criticized. On July 5, in a driving rain,
the Army of Northern Virginia left Gettysburg on the Hagerstown Road; the
Battle of Gettysburg was over, and the Confederates headed back to Virginia.
Meade's Army of the Potomac followed, though the pursuit was half-spirited at
best. The recently rain-swollen Potomac trapped Lee's army on the north bank
of the river, but by the time the Federals caught up, the Confederates were
ready to cross back to Virginia. The rear-guard action at Falling Waters on
July 14 ended the Gettysburg Campaign and added some more names to the long
casualty lists, including General Pettigrew, mortally wounded. Throughout the campaign,
General Lee seemed to have entertained the belief that his men were
invincible; most of Lee's experiences with the army had convinced him of
this, including the great victory at Chancellorsville in early May and the
rout of the Federals at Gettysburg on July 1. To the detrimental effects of
this blind faith were added the fact that the Army of Northern Virginia had
many new and inexperienced commanders. (Neither Hill nor Ewell, for instance,
though capable division commanders, had commanded a corps before.) Also,
Lee's habit of giving general orders and leaving it up to his lieutenants to
work out the details contributed to his defeat. Although this method may have
worked with Stonewall Jackson, it proved inadequate when dealing with corps
commanders unused to Lee's loose style of command. Lastly, after July 1, the
Confederates were simply not able to coordinate their attacks. Lee faced a
new and very dangerous opponent in Maj. Gen. George G. Meade, and the Army of
the Potomac stood to the task and fought well on its home territory. The armies would move on, but
Gettysburg had much cleaning up to do. The two armies had suffered 51,000
casualties—killed, wounded, and captured/missing. More than 7,000 soldiers
had been killed outright; these bodies, lying in the hot summer sun, needed
to be buried quickly. 5,000 horse carcasses were burned in a pile south of
town; townsfolk became violently ill from the stench. The ravages of war
would still be evident in Gettysburg more than four months later when, on
November 19, the Soldiers' National Cemetery was dedicated. During this
ceremony, President Abraham Lincoln with his Gettysburg Address would
re-dedicate the nation to the war effort and to the ideal that no soldier at
Gettysburg—North or South—had died in vain. Today, the Gettysburg National
Cemetery and Gettysburg National Military Park are maintained by the U.S.
National Park Service as two of the nation's most revered historical
landmarks. |
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USS Gettysburg (CG
64): |
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Gettysburg (CG-64) was laid
down by Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine - 17 August 1988; launched 22 July 1989;
and commissioned 22 June 1991. She serves with the Atlantic Fleet, homeported
at Mayport Florida. USS Gettysburg
was one of six U.S. Navy ships ordered by President Clinton on October 15,
1993, to be deployed to enforce a trade embargo against Haiti as part of
Operation "Support Democracy". The order came the day after the
United Nations Security Council voted to reimpose stiff sanctions against
Haiti, including an embargo on oil products, until order was restored and the
Governors Island process clearly resumed. Gettysburg was one of five ships
replaced less than two weeks later so as to permit it and the others to
resume previously scheduled assignments. She took part in Fleet Week
USA docking at Port Everglades FL along with destroyers Cole, McFaul, and
Thorn, docking there on 28 April 2003. She then deployed with the Enterprise
(CVN-65) battle group to the Arabian Gulf. As part of this battle group, she
deployed the Spartan Scout, a Department of Defense Advanced Concept
Technology Demonstration developed by the Naval Undersea Warfare Center
(NUWC), Newport, RI. Spartan is a modular, reconfigurable, multi-mission,
semi-autonomous unmanned surface vehicle (USV) which carries a payload of
3,000 lbs (7-meter version) or 5,000 lbs (11-meter version). It can be used
as an expeditionary sensor and weapons platform. She deployed with the
Enterprise Carrier Battle Group to the Persian Gulf 2 October 2003 and
returned to Mayport FL 27 February 2004. |
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last update: 19-03-2008 |
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