The Battle of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania was about to enter its third day. It was already one of the most horrific battles of the Civil War, and it was about to get worse. Around noon on July 3, 1863 the Confederate artillery opened the afternoon’s fight with a deafening salvo from more than 150 cannon, causing the ground to literally quake. The din was so intense that it was said to be audible more than 150 miles away in Pittsburgh. The barrage lasted more than 90 minutes, and then, the firing stopped. As the Union line nervously waited, they saw 15,000 Confederate troops appear suddenly, like ghosts, marching out of the smoke of the guns. That part of the battle that would become known as Pickett’s Charge was underway. They came in three lines, lines so long that the Federal troops could not see the ends. As the Federal artillery began to fire, huge holes developed in the advancing lines. Showing unusual bravery and discipline, the Confederates quickly closed their ranks and filled the gaps, and the lines continued to advance. Among the Union troops waiting on Cemetery Ridge was the 16^th Vermont, about to engage in their first battle. Under the direction of their leader, Colonel Wheelock Veazey, they fought like veterans, inflicting heavy damage and taking scores of prisoners. The Southern assault ultimately failed, and with the attack beaten back by the Union line, General Robert E. Lee’s hope of defeating the Union on its own ground also died.

Colonel Wheelock Graves Veazey

By James Gindlesperger, historical author

Wheelock Graves Veazey was born in Brentwood, New Hampshire, to Jonathan and Annie (Stevens) Veazey on December 5, 1835. As a youth he attended Phillips (Exeter) Academy, then Dartmouth College, graduating in 1859. The next year he graduated from law school in Albany, New York, began practicing law in Springfield in 1860, and was admitted to the Vermont bar in December 1861.

In May 1861 he enlisted as a private into the 3^rd Vermont Volunteers, was elected captain when the regiment formally organized, and rose through the ranks until he became a lieutenant colonel. On June 22, 1861, despite the uncertainty of going to war, he married Julia A. Heard, with whom he would have four children.

In fall 1862 he was sent home to organize a new regiment. That regiment would become the 16^th Vermont, and on September 27, 1862, he was elected colonel of the nine-month regiment. He mustered out at the expiration of its term of enlistment.

As an enticement to get him to reenlist, General Winfield Scott Hancock offered him a rank of brigadier general, but health issues prevented Veazey from accepting. Later, as his health improved, he returned to the military, serving for a time on the staff of General William (“Baldy”) Smith. He also served as commander of various other regiments, and at Gettysburg he commanded the 16^th Vermont Infantry, the regiment he organized and recruited.

There, on the evening of July 2, 1863 he was ordered to take his regiment, which had never seen battle action, and establish a picket line. It wasn’t hard to tell they were new troops. Some of their movements were made timidly, with no sign of self-assurance. But the real giveaway were the uniforms: bright blue, no signs of wear … the battle-worn troops around them knew immediately, and some who remembered their first battle vowed to help them where they could. As it would turn out, no help would be needed.

Veazey’s position placed him in the direct path of the route that would be taken by Confederate General George Pickett’s division. Thus, his troops had the unenviable position that became the first to be struck by the oncoming assault that would become known as Pickett’s Charge. Veazey ordered his men to hold their ground initially against the Southern skirmishers. When the main lines drew nearer, however, he moved his troops back and to his right, taking a position alongside the 13^th Vermont. In doing so he passed the wounded General Winfield Scott Hancock, who reportedly said to him, “That’s right, Colonel, go in and give ‘em hell on the flank.” The new position placed him where the exposed flank of the Rebels would pass in his front. When it ultimately did, the two Vermont regiments inflicted horrendous damage onto Pickett’s right flank.

As the Confederate line broke down, the 16^th Vermont troops scattered and were exuberantly taking prisoners who had lost their will to fight. Veazey quickly gathered them back into position when he spied the brigades of Brigadier General Edward Perry and Brigadier General Cadmus Wilcox moving along a similar path. The Vermonters then repeated their attack on the flanks, ripping into the Confederate ranks and taking several hundred prisoners.

Later that year Veazey returned to Vermont in poor health. After recovering, he returned to the practice of law. Over the next several years he served as a reporter of the Vermont Supreme Court, preparing nine volumes of the Vermont Reports. He also served as a state senator, judge, and reviser of the Vermont state laws. In 1879 he received an appointment as judge of the Vermont Supreme Court, a position he held until 1889, when he resigned to accept an appointment to the Interstate Commerce Commission.

From 1879 until 1891, he also served as a trustee of his alma mater, Dartmouth College, and he became a delegate to the Republican National Convention that nominated Rutherford B. Hayes for president. He also was elected commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic.

On September 8, 1891, he was awarded the Medal of Honor for his gallantry on July 3, 1863. The accompanying citation read, “Rapidly assembled his regiment and charged the enemy’s flank; charged front under heavy fire, and charged and destroyed a Confederate brigade, all this with new troops in their first battle.”

 Veazey passed away on March 22, 1898, and received a hero’s burial in Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA.