An Eyewitness Account of Pickett’s Charge From a Union Soldier, July 8, 1863

"The harvest that Gen. Lee intended to reap in Pennsylvania has terminated and he's getting a most confounded whipping"

The 40th New York Infantry, known as the Mozart Regiment, was one of the great battle regiments of the Army of the Potomac. It participated in all of the regiment’s major campaigns, and was present at Ball's Bluff, throughout the Peninsular Campaign, at 2nd Bull Run, South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, The Wilderness, Cold Harbor, and the Siege of Petersburg. David Coon enlisted in the regiment at Syracuse in 1861 at age 16.  He was wounded at Chancellorsville in May 1863 and again at Gettysburg when a fragment of shell hit him in the right hand. At Cold Harbor, a part of his hand being torn off, he was disabled, which led to his being discharged on October 28, 1864.

As a historical sketch of the regiment written by an officer states, “In the early morning of July 2d, we pressed forward over the Emmitsburg Pike, and were soon in bivouac at Gettysburg, in the grove of oaks opposite the famous Wheatfield, where we were shelled by the enemy at a lively rate. Crossing the Wheatfield and passing in the rear of the batteries, we moved by the flank through Smith's Battery, into a position on the extreme left of the Third Corps to the support of Ward's Brigade, at what is known as the "Devil's Den," where we held the extreme left of the corps. Here we push in, the fighting being very hot, with the rebels not more than twenty paces off and outnumbering us three to one. But we held Hood's veterans in check long enough to enable Vincent's Brigade to occupy and save the all-important position on Little Round Top."  General Birney, in his official report, says: "The Fortieth New York…was sent by me to strengthen Ward's line, and led by its gallant colonel they charged the enemy and drove him back from his advanced position. On the night of the 2d, the regiment was moved to a position a little to the left of the clump of trees, near which General Hancock was wounded, which position we occupied that night and the next day during the time of Pickett's charge. Although not actively engaged, we were under a murderous fire from the enemy's batteries during all the terrible cannonade which preceded the grand infantry charge of Pickett's and Pettigrew's Divisions. The loss in the Fortieth, at Gettysburg, was: 23 killed, 120 wounded (including the mortally wounded), and 7 missing; total, 150.” Thus, the 40th New York was in a position to witness the charge at very close hand.

Here is Coon’s eyewitness account, from July 8, 1863, to Gettysburg and specifically Pickett’s Charge. “The harvest that Gen. Lee intended to reap in Pennsylvania has terminated and he's getting a most confounded whipping…the worst one that he has had for some time, and has proved a glorious thing for the cause of the Union (Yankees) as they term us…The stars and stripes are once more waving over the boasted on great Rebel stronghold Vicksburg. Gen. Grant has been a long time a doing this great job, but he has made of sure thing of it and has the honor of holding the Rebel Gen. Pemberton with this whole army prisoners of war. General Meade our new commander of the Army of the Potomac has cut the retreat of the Rebel army off, has captured and burned about 3 miles in length a supply train, has destroyed their pontoon bridges in numbers and the Potomac is so high that they cannot ford it so they will have to fight or surrender before long. At the late battle in Pennsylvania, the Rebel Gen. Lee sent the flag of truce to General Meade asking 24 hours, as is his old game you know, to bury his dead. Gen. Meade’s reply was, not 24 minutes will I give you for any such purpose, we understand your style of burying the dead et cetera.

“Our army has most of them been furnished with new colors lately and at the great battle near Gettysburg, as our men lay under cover of a hill and a stone wall in front of them with their new colors a waving, the Rebels taking them for new state militia advanced out of the woods in solid column to within 50 yards of the stone wall, when our men rose up from their laying down position and to poor Johnny's surprise they found the old Army of the Potomac once more to contend with. They immediately right about faced (officers with the rest), hollered the old Army of the Potomac is in front. They dug for the woods again repeating the old Army of the Potomac. At every jump our boys saluted them by firing their deadly volleys into them, piling them up in windrows. The artillery also sent the grape and canister into them with disdainful vengeance.”

The letterhead Coon used shows a large picture of the General Hospital complex in Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, where he and many other men recuperating from wounds received at Gettysburg were being cared for. He has numbered the buildings and provided  key to the numbers, showing such buildings as the Cook House, Dispensary, the Chapel, the Officer’s Quarters, etc.