Library of Congress Stop 3 - A Crushing BlowAfter Gen. John B. Hood’s division had been swept from the Cornfield, Hood sent an urgent message to the commanding general, Robert E. Lee, that, “unless reinforcements were sent at once, the day was lost.” Lee responded, “…tell Gen. Hood to hold his ground, reinforcements are now rapidly approaching…” The reinforcements Lee spoke of were Gen. Lafayette McLaws’s Division which Lee had ordered north.As Sedgwick’s men advanced, the 34th New York had veered away from the 59th New York creating a gap in the line. It was this hole in the line that allowed Confederate soldiers under Gen. McLaws’s to slam into the exposed flank of the Federal forces. The 125th Pennsylvania, whose monument you see here next to the 34th’s, was not a part of Sedgwick’s division, or even the Union Second Corps. Instead, they were part of the Twelfth Corps. However, they entered the West Woods around the same time as Sedgwick’s advance and got caught up in the confusion. Over twenty percent of the regiment was lost in the short engagement including color bearer George Simpson, whose likeness is atop the monument. These two regiments from two different corps put up a fight against Confederate forces from three different brigades before retreating. Their retreat started a general retreat among Sedgwick’s division—Union forces were being pushed out of the West Woods The 34th New York monument was placed on the field in 1902 and the 125th Pennsylvania monument was erected in 1904. 
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Last updated: November 26, 2021