The Attack and Defense of Little Round Top, Gettysburg, July 2, 1863

This Book is not a history of the Battle of Gettysburg, but only of the fighting on and around Little Round Top, which hill is conceded by all Union and Confederates authorities to have been the key-point of the battlefield on July 2, 1863. No other book devoted exclusively to this part of the battle has been published.The Object of this account by an eye-witness and participant as a member of Vincent's brigade, is to correct errors of the leading historians in stating that General Warren, seeing the impending attack by the Confederates on Little Round Top and its undefended condition, left his place at the signal station and rode rapidly to Barnes' division, then formed near the wheatfield for a charge in support of De Trobriand, and took the responsibility of detaching Vincent's brigade and conducting it to Little Round Top. It proves conclusively that Vincent, learning that Sykes had sent an order to Barnes to send one of his brigades to Little Round Top and that Barnes was not then present with his division, took the responsibility upon himself of taking his brigade there without waiting for the staff officer to find General Barnes. It shows that Vincent selected his own position on the southern slope of Little Round Top and placed his brigade there without the guidance or assistance of Warren or any staff officer. Such writers as Swinton, Doubleday, Walker, Hunt, De Trobriand, Powell, and Stine have made the statement directly or by implication that Warren detached Vincent's brigade and conducted it to Little Round Top. These statements deny to Vincent the responsibility which he took upon himself and relegate him to the position of a brigade commander who went where he wasordered to go and stayed where he was placed.The Author was a private soldier at the time of the battle, mounted and on detached service at the headquarters of Vincent's Brigade as a bearer of Vincent's headquarters flag. This duty required him to accompany the brigade commander wherever he might go on the march and in battle. This position gave him a better opportunity to hear and see all that occurred than the members of the brigade staff enjoyed, as they were frequently absent conveying orders. Chapter IV contains the author's account of what he saw and heard.The Warren Letters. Chapter VII contains nineteen letters from General Warren and one from Lieutenant Roebling, of Warren's staff, written to Captain Porter Farley, who was Adjutant of Colonel O'Rorke's regiment, the 140th New York at Gettysburg. With the exception of a part of one letter, written in 1872, none of them have ever been published. The subject of these letters was a discussion of Farley's account of the history of his regiment, which appears as "Farley's Number Nine" in the chapter on the Historians. In this form it was approved by Warren and sent to the Comte de Paris. Warren never claimed that he detached Vincent's brigade. On the contrary, he says in one of these letters, apparently with some sarcasm, "If I detached Vincent's brigade, I don't recollect it." The letters reveal much of the inner life of General Warren, his patriotism and fine personal character. They are a great contribution to history.Chapter III contains the Official Reports of Sykes, Barnes, and Brigade and Regimental Commanders of the Union forces engaged at Little Round Top. Also the Confederate Brigade and Regimental Reports of theirforces which made the attack. These are copied from the Official Records of the War of the Rebellion, published by the United States Government.

This powerful firsthand account by Oliver Willcox Norton delivers a dramatic and rigorously detailed retelling of the desperate struggle for Little Round Top during the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg. Serving as aide-de-camp to Colonel Strong Vincent, Norton was directly involved in the battle and bore witness to the high-stakes defense of the Union left flank. Drawing from his own observations, letters, and battle reports, Norton reconstructs the ferocious engagement with vivid immediacy, analyzing troop movements, terrain challenges, and the decisions that ultimately prevented the Confederate Army from turning the Union position. He pays tribute to the bravery of Vincent's brigade and clarifies the roles of key figures such as Joshua Chamberlain, Gouverneur Warren, and others often overshadowed in popular accounts. The narrative not only presents a soldier's view of combat but also confronts the evolving myths and historical inaccuracies that have surrounded the event. Norton's account is both a defense of the historical record and a homage to the men who fought and fell in one of the most crucial clashes of the Civil War. His meticulous attention to chronology and geography offers readers a granular understanding of how a rocky hillside became a symbol of Northern resilience. More than a battlefield report, this book is a thoughtful reflection on courage, sacrifice, and memory. For students of Civil War history, military tactics, and battlefield leadership, Norton's work remains indispensable.