Brigadier General Strong Vincent,
Hero of Little Round Top at The Battle of Gettysburg
Strong Vincent (June 17, 1837 – July 7, 1863) was a lawyer who became famous as a U.S. Army officer during the fighting on Little Round Top at the American Civil War Battle of Gettysburg, where he was mortally wounded. Vincent was born in Waterford, Pennsylvania, son of iron foundryman B. B. Vincent and Sarah Ann Strong Vincent. He attended Trinity College and Harvard University, graduating in 1859 and practiced law in Erie, Pennsylvania.
At the start of the Civil War, Vincent joined the Pennsylvania Militia as an adjutant and first lieutenant of the Erie Regiment. On September 14, 1861, he was commissioned lieutenant colonel of the 83rd Pennsylvania Infantry and was promoted to colonel the following June. On May 20, 1863, he assumed command of the 3rd Brigade, 1st Division, V Corps, Army of the Potomac, replacing his brigade commander, who was killed at the Battle of Chancellorsville.
At the Battle of Gettysburg, 26-year-old Vincent and his brigade arrived on July 2, 1863.
Maj. Gen. Daniel E. Sickles of the III Corps had deviated from his orders, moving his corps to a position that left undefended a significant terrain feature: Little Round Top.
As General Meade's Chief Engineer, General Gouvernor Warren, surveyed the nascent battleground from the heights of Little Round Top, the seasoned Confederates from Major General John Bell Hood's Division, including his famous Texas Brigade, prepared to pour towards the southern end of the Union line. Understanding the importance of this position, General Warren sent out urgent calls in all directions for men in blue to occupy and hold these heights. He knew that the potential loss of this defensible, high ground could prove disastrous to the Union line which would be both visible and vulnerable to the north of the hill.
Prior to the assault on the southern end of the Union line, Colonel Strong Vincent, commanding the 3rd Brigade of the 1st Division of Major General Sykes Fifth Corps, marched on the western side of Cemetery Ridge moving towards General Sickles' thinly stretched 3rd Corps. As one of Brigadier General Warren's staff officers came across the 26 year old Harvard graduate, Vincent demanded to know of the orders he carried. Learning then of General Warren's need of men, Colonel Vincent took personal responsibility for ignoring his previous orders, an offense punishable by court martial, and lead his brigade to the defense of Little Round Top, the almost vacant anchor of the Union line.
Flag of the Third Brigade
Vincent decided that his brigade was in the ideal position to defend Little Round Top. Pvt. Oliver Willcox Norton, Vincent's brigade standard bearer and bugler, later wrote that he and Vincent made a reconnaissance of the Confederate forces as the brigade was moving into position, "While our line was forming on the hill at Gettysburg I came out with him in full view of the rebel lines. They opened two batteries on us instantly, firing at the colors. Colonel Vincent looked to see what was drawing the fire and yelled at me, "Down with the flag, Norton! Damn it, go behind the rocks with it."
One of Vincent's regiments, the 20th Maine, led by Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, justly received much fame for the defense of Little Round Top, including the Medal of Honor. Chamberlain was promoted to Brigadier General and after the war was elected Governor of Maine and later became president of Bowdoin College in Maine.
There is little doubt, however, that the efforts and bravery of Vincent were instrumental in the eventual Union victory. Vincent directed his men to their positions just minutes before the onslaught by Confederate General John Bell Hood's men, with the 20th Maine, the 83rd Pennsylvania, the 44th New York, and the 16th Michigan running from left to right (east to west) along the southern face of the hill. Vincent impressed upon Chamberlain the importance of his position on the brigade's left flank
Col. Chamberlain, directed by Col. Strong Vincent to hold the end of the Union line no matter what, was almost out of ammunition so he led a bayonet charge against the Confederate troops, capturing many and preventing the rebels from flanking the Union lines.
Vincent then left to attend to the brigade's right flank, where the 16th Michigan Infantry was starting to yield to enemy pressure. As the 4th and 5th Texas pushed back the boys in blue on the southwestern edge, Colonel Vincent ran forward to steady his men. Mounting a large boulder, Vincent brandished a riding crop given to him by his wife and shouted to his men "Don't give an inch!"
A bullet struck him through the thigh and the groin and he fell. Due to gallant performances by the 20th Maine and the 140th New York, the Union line held against the Confederate onslaught. Vincent was carried from the hill to a nearby farm, where he lay dying for the next five days, unable to be transported to his home due to the severity of his injury.
Don't Give an Inch, a painting by Don Troiani.
Vincent's Corps Commander, Major General George Sykes, wrote in his official report of the battle:
Night closed the fight. The key of the battle-field was in our possession intact. Vincent, Weed, and Hazlett, chiefs lamented throughout the corps and army, sealed with their lives the spot intrusted to their keeping, and on which so much depended.... General Weed and Colonel Vincent, officers of rare promise, gave their lives to their country.
The commander of the Army of the Potomac, Major General George Gordon Meade, that same evening of July 2 telegraphed President Abraham Lincoln a request for Vincent's promotion to Brigadier General. The request was promptly granted and affirmation was received just before Vincent’s death, a rare promotion in the field.