At daybreak on Thursday, Gen. Dan Sickles’ III Corps came up the Emmitsburg Road and went into line on the Union left. With the left flank thus covered, Geary’s men shifted across the Baltimore Pike to take up position on the southeast end of the Union line. Facing them across the little valley of Rock Creek was Johnson’s Division of Stonewall Jackson’s Corps, led by Gen. Richard Ewell since Jackson’s death at Chancellorsville in May.

General Meade had formed a strong defensive perimeter shaped like a fishhook, anchored at the town’s Evergreen Cemetery on Cemetery Hill. To the north, in the town, lay A. P. Hill’s Confederate Corps. To the east, Meade controlled the heights of Culp’s Hill, blocking Ewell’s Confederates. To the southwest, Meade had men covering the heights of Cemetery Ridge down to Big Round Top, facing the Confederates of Longstreet’s Corps. This gave Meade many advantages over Lee. Meade held the high ground. Lee would have to march his attacking formations uphill, into the teeth of the Union guns. Meade was inside the fishhook. This gave him the advantage in speed of command and control. He had but a short ride to see for himself the disposition of forces. He could then readily shift his forces to repulse an attack on any front. Lee, on the other hand, had to spread his men the long way around outside the fishhook. He (or his couriers) had a long way to ride to reach Ewell’s troops well to the east of town, Hill’s on the north, and Longstreet’s to the southwest. As a result, the Confederate attacks Lee wanted to be coordinated were not. Meade was able to shift his men to repulse each attack in turn.

When he arrived at Culp’s Hill on the morning of July 2, Gen. John Geary called his brigade commanders together. “Gentlemen, I put the question to you – shall we have the men entrench the line? Now you know I do not favor such, since once used, our men may hesitate in future to fight without them.”

The commander of the 3rd Brigade, Gen. George Greene, was the oldest Union general at Gettysburg. “Pop” Greene had no hesitation about making his opinion known, in no uncertain terms.

“John, I’m more interested in saving my men’s lives than in theory. My men will dig. This hill has everything needed to quickly erect strong breastworks – logs, rock, and my New Yorkers know how to build strong walls. Now I’m off to walk my line and lay out the works.”

Luke Kellogg and Billy Weed were able to lay their hands on some axes, and set rapidly to work felling trees.

“This ain’t much different than what we were doin’ last year this time up by Bear Swamp, Luke.”

“But we didn’t have a few thousand men comin’ at us with guns at Bear Swamp, Billy. Just keep choppin!”

Meanwhile Pop Greene and David Ireland were walking the terrain of Culp’s Hill. Greene was summing up the advantages and disadvantages of their defensive position.

“David, I’m going to place the 78^th on our left, tight to XI Corps position. Then the 60th , 102nd, the 149th, then your 137th anchoring our right flank, tied to Kane’s Brigade. I understand that First Division is covering the line beyond Kane. You’ve got the harder ground to defend, David. My other regiments are at the top of a steep wooded slope. The rebels’ll have a hell of a time keeping any formation coming up through all those trees and boulders. Now with our breastworks in place, those regiments are in a nearly impregnable position. But your men are down into the saddle between the upper hill and the lower hill where Kane’s line is. Rebels’ll have an easier time coming at you. Of course, with Kane’s line angling off to your right and ahead of you as it goes up around the crest of the lower hill, his brigade ought to provide you with fire into any attacker’s flank. But just in case the Rebs break through Kane, I want you to have a fall-back position. Have your men build a traverse, a line of breastworks angling back west on the side of the hill, separating your men and Kane’s. Then if Rebs do break through, you can swing your men into those works and defend our right flank.”

Col. David Ireland, born and bred in Scotland, still had his native Scottish burr. “Aye, General. My lads’ll get the traverse in place ‘fore noon.”

“One more thing, David. I’m sending Redington out with men from the 60th as skirmishers across Rock Creek. Apparently it’s Johnson’s Division of Ewell’s Corps facing us, and I want to know when they’re coming at us. Pick a handful of your best men, good woodsmen, to go with Redington, but tell them to fall back to your position when Johnson’s men come at us. Now David, you understand. We must defend this hill at all costs. If the rebels take it, they can fire cannon right into the heart of our lines. We will not allow that to happen.”

“Aye, General. You can depend on the 137th to hold the flank.” Ireland finished walking his line, satisfied that his breastworks were solid. He had placed Company A on his extreme right, the end of the Brigade’s line.

“Captain Shipman, I need four good men, good woodsmen, to go as skirmishers. Kellogg for one, pick the others.”

Luke and Bill Weed had eaten a few hard biscuits with the last of the Hartman apple butter, then taken a quick nap when they were tapped to go skirmishing. Luke was bone-tired from past days of hard marching and the sweaty exertion of the morning’s breastworks construction, but he felt his blood coursing through his veins at the prospect of impending combat.

Reaching Rock Creek, Luke slid down the steep west bank, waded through the waist-deep water, and clambered up the east bank. He could hear occasional cracks of musketry up ahead. Lt. Col. Redington’s New York skirmishers were trading fire with rebels probing out in front of their lines. Redington soon realized an entire Confederate division was coming up behind the rebel skirmishers he was facing, and sent couriers back to alert Gen. Greene to the enormity of the threat to the Culp’s Hill defenders.

Meanwhile, Sickles III Corps’ salient, way out in front of the Union defensive position on Cemetery Ridge, was coming under intense fire from the front and both flanks. Gen. Meade rode out to look over the situation, saw Sickles in a desperate position, and realized it was too late to order Sickles to break off and pull back to the Cemetery Ridge line. His only choice was to decide which of his other corps to pull in to reinforce the salient long enough for an orderly pull back. Meade directed Gen. Slocum to divert men from his XII Corps positions on the right flank to cover Sickles withdrawal. Henry Slocum, seeing no immediate threat from Ewell’s troops on the east, did as he was ordered. He pulled his First Division away from Rock Creek, and the Second Division away from Culp’s Hill.

Pop Greene went looking for General Geary. “John, my skirmishers are in the thick of it with Johnson’s Division. You can’t pull us out and leave this hill undefended!”

“All right George, you can stay in place. But Kane’s Brigade and Candy’s are on the move to back up III Corps, and First Division is being moved there as well.”

Greene quickly got his regimental commanders together.

“Men, Slocum’s pulled damn near the whole Corps out and moved them west. We’re all that’s left on this line. Johnson’s rebels are already driving Redington’s skirmishers back, but he’s buying us a little time. Godard, you spread your men of the 60th across the works of the 78th and your own. Von Hammerstein, you take your 78th and head down hill to support Redington’s withdrawal. Everyone else, move to the right so that we cover the works as far as we can man them.”

Up and down the line the command was heard. “By the right flank, take intervals.”

On the right, Col. Ireland marched his men out of their works on the high knoll, while the men of the 149th NY spread out to fill in after them. The men of the 137th, even spread thin, could only cover the north half of the works vacated by Kane, across the saddle and up the north side of the lower knoll. As it was, one regiment was covering works abandoned by three of Kane’s. Beyond that, the First Division works were vacant. Greene’s men were spread thin, with no one behind in reserve. The risk of a rebel breakthrough was very high, and the results would be catastrophic. The Confederates could roll through unimpeded right into the heart of the Federal army!

Col. Ireland strode along his new line, talking to each of his company commanders.

“We’re spread thin, and there’s no reserve behind us. Spread the word. I want each man to understand that he holds the responsibility for the success or failure of this battle – we hold this ground, or lose the Union!”

The former farm boys, mill hands, and grocery clerks from New York’s Southern Tier, now battle-tested soldiers, understood their commander’s order. They knew what they had to do, and were fully prepared to pay the price. Victory tonight would not come cheap.

Col. Ireland knew the situation was grim. His regiment, while still sheltered from direct fire by Kane’s breastworks, defended a much shallower slope than before. Moreover, Ireland was well aware of the danger on his right flank. If the rebels crossed Rock Creek to the south, they could move unhindered into the vacant works on his right. There was an old stone wall to his south, running east west, that also concerned him. It could provide cover for an enemy move to his rear, forcing him to defend against attack on three sides – an untenable position.

The Commander of the 137th was a smart tactician. As night’s darkness deepened, he knew exactly where his fallback positions were. He was prepared. He passed the word to his company officers and non-coms, who in turn briefed their men. Ireland had confidence in his men. Well-trained, well briefed, well informed, the men of the 137th would be ready to meet whatever challenge they faced. Even under fire in the dark!

At 7 p.m. Redington’s skirmishers were up to their ears in combat. Kellogg, Weed, and the others settled into a steady rhythm. Load, fire, draw back. Load, fire, draw back. While one loaded, another was firing. They had plenty of gray-clad targets, and fortunately plenty of trees and boulders to duck behind. They crossed back over Rock Creek and worked their way up the slope, stopping to pick off as many as they could of the rebels wading or clawing their way up the steep creek bank. Von Hammerstein’s men, halfway down the hill, had to hold their fire, for fear of hitting their own skirmishers. But once the skirmishing men had passed behind them, the 78th NY fired deadly volleys into the rebel formations. If you could call them such any longer. With the woods and boulders to negotiate, formations quickly broke into disconnected groups, moving and firing upward into the Federal lines.

By now it was getting dark, and more so in the woods. Kellogg and Weed were in a skirmish line well to the south of the 78th NY, giving way grudgingly to the overwhelming Confederate advance. Ireland’s men held their fire, awaiting their skirmishing comrades return. They watched their men trading fire with the advancing rebels, nervous fingers on their triggers. When Luke and Billy Weed finally tumbled over the wall to safety, the 137th unleashed a deadly storm of lead into the oncoming rebel formations.

Ireland’s Regiment was facing not one but six Confederate regiments of Gen. George Steuart’s Brigade of Virginia infantrymen. Though vastly outnumbered, the 137th NY managed to initially stalemate the rebel attack. Advancing in the dark against an enemy protected by breastworks, Steuart’s men didn’t realize their numerical advantage over the defenders. But those on their left soon realized the works in front of them were undefended, and they moved in unhindered. Moving north in the vacant trenches they soon encountered Ireland’s men, and began to pour fire into the regiment’s flank.

“Company A, refuse the line!” Ireland was ordering his right-most company to pivot their line around at a right angle to the works, now better able to counter the enemy’s flanking fire into the brigade’s men firing at the frontal attackers. This worked until Steuart’s men discovered the stone wall that would cover a rebel advance well beyond the “refused” company’s line.

Col. Ireland moved swiftly down his line, passing orders to his company commanders.

“We’re taking fire from the front, the right flank, and now the rear. In good order, have your men pull out of the works and fall back to the traverse.

In the dark, under enemy fire, Luke Kellogg, Billy Weed, and the rest of the 137th continued to load and fire while they backed out of Kane’s now untenable works and worked their way up the slope and tumbled over behind the wall of the traverse.

Steuart’s men were right behind, smelling victory. Cpl. Aaron Benn stumbled and went down.

“Kellogg! Weed! I’m down. Cover me!”

“Surrender, Yank, or be killed!” The Virginians had overrun the hill around the Corporal.

“Luke, they’ve got Benn. We got to get him back!”

Luke turned and fired.

“Bill, it’s too dark, too much smoke. I can’t see. Don’t want to hit Benn. Move back up to the traverse!”

He and Weed vented their anger and frustration at the loss of their friend by speeding up their rate of fire until their muskets were so hot they could barely touch them. They were nearly out of cartridges. Their muskets were fouled by the residue of the black powder, built up over so many firings with no time to clean the barrel.

“Where’s Bert Hughes, Bill?” Luke looked around for their friend who had been near them as they rotated the line back up to the traverse.

“Over here, Luke, I’m hit, but I’ll be all right, I think. But Sgt. Dodge here, he’s hit bad!”

“Fix bayonets, Bill, we’re goin’ to have t’ stick ‘em when they come over the wall!”

“Luke – look over there! Cap’n Gregg leadin’ a squad from Comp’ny I. They’re chargin’ the Rebs with bayonets!. Let’s go help ‘im!”

“Hold position, Bill! There’s nobody behind us yet, an’ we got to hold this line ‘til some reinforcements git here!”

“Oh, no, Luke, Cap’n Gregg’s been hit, an’ his men ’re havin’ t’ fall back, carryin’ him!”

In the nick of time, reinforcements moved into the works. Men of the 14th Brooklyn slid in beside Luke and his comrades and began to fire.

It was now 10 o’clock. The full moon’s light could not penetrate the smoke and the shadows of the woods enough to allow Steuart to continue the attack. His regiments fell back to spend the next few hours of darkness in the works Kane’s brigade had constructed. Confident that the 14th Brooklyn could hold the line, Col. Ireland ordered his men to move back into the small hollow behind the crest of the hill.

“All right men, clean your muskets, refill your cartridge boxes, and get a bit of rest. We’ve stopped the rebels, for now. You’ve done everything we’ve asked. We’ve held the hill!”

Thanks to their commander’s smart tactics, and their own bravery, self-sacrifice and discipline, one New York regiment had stymied the aggressive attack by an entire Virginia brigade. Meade’s right flank was secure, at least for the night.