Analysis: "The Conclusion of the Battle of Gettysburg"

Date: July 6, 1863

Author: Wilkeson, Samuel

Genre: article; editorial; report

Summary Overview

This document, which is a description of the finale of the Battle of Gettysburg, was written not only to detail and narrate the scenes which Samuel Wilkeson had been sent to report upon, but also to communicate his own pain, caused by the brutal death of his son at the same battle. Even though his pain is apparent in the document, his pride at his countrymen and distaste for such a gruesome affair also shine through. The quote above defines his own feelings toward the battle—not that it is something to be praised, but that it is so horrible that he can barely comprehend its magnitude, nor will anyone else be able to do so either. While there were many reports of Gettysburg, this is perhaps the only one written with ink infused with so much heart and sorrow of the journalist.

Document Analysis

This document reports the details of the Battle of Gettysburg from the point of view of a spectator, but not just any spectator, that of a trained professional journalist working for the New York Times who had lost his son in that same battle, simply a day before he arrived on the scene. From the first sentence, Samuel Wilkeson shows his dedication to his son and his overwhelming grief for his violent and brutal death. His apparent confusion about how to do his job while in the throes of such depression is infused into every word. This is the aspect of Wilkeson’s article that most sets his report apart from other descriptions of the Battle of Gettysburg—his blatant grieving for his son mixed with his ability still to recount the details of the battle and strategies of each side of the conflict. Wilkeson truly shows his merit as a writer, however, by using poetic language and descriptions to enrich his descriptions and paint for his audience the landscape of the battle.

Expressions of Grief and the Details of the Battle

Wilkeson’s first paragraph clearly gives a voice to the pain which was so overwhelming to him. With the words “in a position where a battery should never have been sent,” Wilkeson both shows a parent’s hate for the battle and conditions surrounding a child’s death and criticizes the battle strategy. But by acknowledging his loss, and then putting that pain aside momentarily, Wilkeson is able to describe for his audience the events of the battle. Beginning with a description of the start of the battle, he then proceeds to outline the strategy of the Confederate leaders. These sentences may reveal that he did not approve of the strategy which was used by the Union generals, although it did lead to a victory for the Union. The geographical placement of the Battle of Gettysburg was more one of chance than true planning, with delays and issues with leadership obstructing General Robert E. Lee’s attempt to move his army to the north against the Union. The actual placement of troops almost entirely favored the Northern side of the conflict, with men, such as Wilkeson’s son, placed on hilltops and in strategic and defensively sound areas. But, as with any battle, men on both sides were injured and killed. Unfortunate though it was, bad luck had more to do with Wilkeson’s son being hit by a mortar shell and dying of shock than any poorly placed battlement.

As Wilkeson states, beginning in the second paragraph, the battle commenced on the 1st of July and General Lee was immediately faced with several issues that led to the Union gaining an upper hand that they would not relinquish for the rest of the battle. Even though Wilkeson reports that “Reynolds,” whose full name and title is Union General John Fulton Reynolds, was killed in the initial skirmish, before the full force of the Union troops could arrive, Lee was not able to do more than move into the weak position that his troops occupied for the remaining of the fighting. Wilkeson spends the rest of the paragraph describing the land upon which the battle was fought—its disadvantages for the Confederate troops and the advantages for the Union soldiers. Wilkeson continues by describing the movement of Lee’s army, his use of shelling, and the Union troops who, valiantly in his opinion, held off the barrage.

The end of the third paragraph, however, has a slightly different tone than a strict report of the details of the battle. As is highlighted in the quote above, Wilkeson describes the losses suffered by the Union infantry and artillery on account of the continuous shelling by the Confederates as “more marvelous to me than anything I have ever seen in war.” This editorializing enlivens his report from a dry retelling of the facts, which could be done by anyone who saw the battle and had a basic understanding of battle tactics and strategy. Because Wilkeson knew there was more to journalism than a simple recitation of events, he was able to create a narrative which brought the far-away scene of the battle home to those who could only learn of it through his article. Mothers, fathers, wives, husbands, and children all had to wait for journalists to give them the details about those battles which took their family members away from them and into danger. A soulless recitation of events only gives information detached from experience, but in order to be able to comprehend the war which the country had been embroiled in for so long, personal reactions were also necessary.

The Poetry of the Battle

He takes his article to another level of beauty, however, when Wilkeson begins to describe the battle scene using poetic rhetoric. When he writes the fourth paragraph of his report, Wilkeson begins to expand on his basic descriptions using more flowery terms in order to convey the dramatic effect of the battle. With such phrases as “out of the leafy darkness” and “a silence as of deep sleep” color the description of one push of the battle so that it is no longer in the realm of dry retelling. By using such language, Wilkeson was able to aid his readers in becoming a part of the scene and better understanding the tension, pain, and bleakness that haunts a battlefield. Without his ability to weave so eloquent a narrative, much of his contemporary audience would not have been able to identify with those who fought, were injured, and died upon that piece of ground.

Wilkeson continues his narration with juxtaposition of peace and destruction. The quiet and still morning was broken by the sound of a bird, warbling from its perch. This idyllic scene is then shattered by the commencement of Confederate shelling. Later, Wilkeson relates the image of a horse running on three legs, the “hinder one having been shot off at the hock.” Where a running horse should inspire a lightness of spirit and awe at natural beauty and grace, this one only inspires horror. By using such imagery, Wilkeson uses common events—the singing of a bird and the running of a horse—to show his audience the battle and give them something to which they could relate. While many of his readers would never have seen a battle or known the shock of a wounded soldier firsthand, they would all know the morning call of a bird in a tree or how a horse looks pulling a carriage or running through a field.

The last section of Wilkeson’s article is devoted to the ending of the battle, the fierce fighting and the eventually defeat of the Confederate forces. While not as poetic as the preceding sections, his pride in the Union troops and their ability to hold their ground against such an onslaught of Confederate soldiers is apparent in his descriptions of their fighting. Interestingly, he is also positive in his descriptions of the southern troops, describing them as having “perfect form” in their charge and strong in their fighting. His loyalty to the Union won out, however, as he states that they are “equal in spirit, and their [the Confederates’] superiors in tenacity.” While his poetry is not as apparent in these last passages, his heart still is—an attribute which gives his readers the ability to experience his pain and the turmoil of the battle.

With his final paragraph, Wilkeson blends the elements of his writing which have been discussed—the grief, the reporting of facts, and the poetry. When he states that “my pen is heavy” and turns over the remaining reporting to his associate Mr. Henry, his grief for his own child and all who fell at Gettysburg is evident, as is his belief that the work of broadcasting the details to the public must continue. He then describes the clay in which his son is buried and creates the fanciful image of Christ leading the fallen into Paradise, a clear demonstration of his poetic talents. But even through all of this pain, Wilkeson ends on a positive note, declaring the fallen to be envied and that through their sacrifice “the second birth of Freedom in America” has come. While somewhat ahead of his time, as the war would not end for some years to come, this announcement seemed moderately prophetic of the eventual victory of the Union and the freedoms promised to its citizens.

Bibliography

McElfresh, Earl B. “Fighting on Strange Ground.” Civil War Times 52.4 (2013): 31-36. Print.

Shahid, Sharon. “In News History: The Lone Black Reporter of the Civil War.” Washington DC News Museum. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Aug. 2013. http://www.newseum.org/news/2011/02/thomas-morris-chester.html.

“The Civil War and Gettysburg: The Correspondents’ Perspective.” Gettysburg National Military Park. Gettysburg Foundation, n.d. Web. 25 Aug. 2013.

Wilkeson, Samuel. “Samuel Wilkeson: “The Conclusion of the Battle of Gettysburg”“ California State University Pomona, n.d. Web. 24 Aug. 2013.