Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies: Wade Hamptons Account of Gettysburg

Wade Hampton III (March 28, 1818 April 11, 1902) was one of the foremost Confederate cavalry leaders during the Civil War and afterward a politician from South Carolina, serving as its 77th Governor and as a U.S. Senator. At the start of the war, he resigned from the Senate and enlisted as a private in the South Carolina Militia; however, the governor of South Carolina insisted that Hampton accept a colonel's commission, even though he had no military experience at all. Hampton organized and partially financed the unit known as "Hampton's Legion", which consisted of six companies of infantry, four companies of cavalry, and one battery of artillery. He personally financed all of the weapons for the Legion. Despite his lack of military experience and his relatively advanced age of 42, Hampton was a natural cavalrymanbrave, audacious, and a superb horseman. Some say he merely lacked some of the flamboyance of his contemporaries, such as his eventual commander, J.E.B. Stuart, age 30. He was one of only two officers without previous military experience (the other being Nathan Bedford Forrest) to achieve the rank of lieutenant general in the Confederate service. In the Gettysburg Campaign, Hampton was slightly wounded in the Battle of Brandy Station, the war's largest cavalry battle. His brigade then participated in Stuart's wild adventure to the northeast, swinging around the Union army and losing contact with Lee. Stuart and Hampton reached the vicinity of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, late on July 2, 1863. While just outside of town, Hampton was confronted by a Union cavalryman pointing a rifle at him from 200 yards. Hampton charged the trooper before he could fire his rifle, but another trooper blindsided Hampton with a saber cut to the back of his head. On July 3, Hampton led the cavalry attack to the east of Gettysburg, attempting to disrupt the Union rear areas, but colliding with Union cavalry. He received two more saber cuts to the front of his head, but continued fighting until he was wounded again with a piece of shrapnel to the hip. He was carried back to Virginia in the same ambulance as General John Bell Hood. Hampton eventually wrote an official account of the Pennsylvania Campaign that was preserved in The War of the Rebellion: Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. This edition of his official account of the Pennsylvania Campaign includes pictures of the important commanders of the battle.