Two Confederate Officers Remember Gettysburg: Col. Robert M. Powell, 5th Texas Infantry, Hoods Texas Brigade Capt. George Hillyer, 9th Georgia [Paperback]

Colonel Robert Michael Powell (1826 1916) of the 5th Texas Infantry Regiment was born in Alabama but moved to Texas in 1849 to practice law. When the war broke out, he was commissioned a captain in Company D, 5th Texas Infantry and was promoted to colonel and command of the regiment in November 1862. The 5th Texas, part of Jerome Robertsons Texas Brigade, played a prominent role on July 2, 1863, at Gettysburg, where the 37-year-old Powell led 409 men into the caldron and made repeated efforts to mount Little Round Top. The regiment lost 54 killed, 112 wounded, and 45 missing or captured. Powell was wounded and captured on the slope of the rocky hill and was not paroled until weeks before the end of the war.Captain George Hillyer (18351927) would survive the Civil War and one day become the mayor of Atlanta. That outcome looked almost impossible in early July 1863 at Gettysburg, where he led his regiment (part of George Tige Andersons brigade) in some of the most brutal fighting of the war. Hillyer and his men fought across the bloody Rose farm into the Rose woods and against Stony Hill. His description of the fighting is graphic, detailed, and absolutely harrowing. This includes Hillyers full account, his official battle report, and a letter to his father about his experiences on July 2 and 3. Historian Greg Coco added detailed explanatory notes and a walking tour of the ground that Hillyer and his men walked and fought.Colonel Robert Michael Powell (1826-1916) of the 5th Texas Infantry Regiment wrote extensively about his memories of the surrender ceremonies of the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox in April 1865. Hillyer and his men fought across the bloody Rose farm and into the Rose woods, and against Stony Hill.While preparing to become a licensed battlefield guide, I relied heavily on Greg Cocos books. Once I became a guide, I consulted these wonderful resources as I created tours and programs for Gettysburg visitors. Gregs works are comprehensil³)