"I Was There": John Gibbon's Harrowing Account of Pickett's Charge

The account of General John Gibbon, a former artillery officer in the prewar U.S. Army. After the war, General Gibbon commanded the Army in the indian wars, commanding the troops all over the Northern Plains including Custer's 7th Cavalry at the Little Bighorn. TD

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"What is the true cost of a moment in history? Experience the Battle of Gettysburg not from a textbook, but from the eyes of a man who commanded the center of the Union line during its most desperate hour. "This is the harrowing, firsthand testimony of Union General John Gibbon. Stand with him on the smoky crest of Cemetery Ridge on July 3, 1863, as he bears witness to the climactic assault of the Civil War: Pickett's Charge. Through his vivid account, feel the deafening roar of the Confederate barrage, the eerie calm before the storm, and the overwhelming sight of thousands of soldiers advancing across the open field. This is a story of leadership, chaos, and the unbreakable will of the soldiers behind the stone wall—a story where the fate of a nation hung in the balance. "We go beyond the maps and strategies to bring you the visceral reality of command, where time shattered and every decision was measured in blood."

Gen. Gibbon's aide-de-camp Haskell’s Account of the Battle of Gettysburg

Also here: Frank A. Haskell Wrote a Vivid Account of the Union Defense of Pickett’s Charge at Gettysburg – Iron Brigader

On June 3rd, 1864, Frank Haskell was killed while leading his regiment in the futile Union frontal assault at the Battle of Cold Harbor in Virginia. He is buried in Silver Lake Cemetery in Portage, Wisconsin.