The 17th Maine at Gettysburg | Battle of Gettysburg | The Wheatfield

On July 2nd of 1863, The 17th Maine found themselves in the center of the harvest of death. They were positioned in the Wheatfield when the Confederate forces in Longstreet’s corps began their attack. The 17th’s commander, Lieutenant Colonel Charles B. Merrill, moved his men forward along a stone wall that separated the Wheatfield from the rose woods. Moments later Confederate forces would begin exchanging shots with the Maine men. The 17th Maine held off 3 different charges by Confederate forces. It wasn’t until the 17th’s Right-flank was compromised did they pull back. But their job wasn’t done. They were ordered back into the Wheatfield to buy to for Union cannon to be pulled back to a safer location. The 17th Stood their ground until Caldwell’s division arrived.
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#militaryhistory #gettysburg #projectpast #civilwarhistory #history #civilwar #americanhistory #historydocumentary

[@ProjectPast1565]

If you’d like to support the channel, help me preserve history and get behind the scenes content then click the link below to become an exclusive supporter. Your generosity and support will help me provide better content and help preserve our nations battlefields. www.patreon.com/ProjectPast

[@WallyHays]

I've been so impressed with your content. Thank you for your commitment to sharing our nation's history.

[@ProjectPast1565]

Appreciate those kind words and I’m grateful you’re enjoying the content. Thanks for watching

[@davidbowman4259]

The state of Maine played such a huge role at Gettysburg. A salute to all of the New Englanders who fought so heroically there! Stannard's Vermonters, the 20th Massachusetts, the 5th New Hampshire, the 17th Connecticut ...

[@MrHistoGraphy]

The largest battle that was ever fought on American soil. General George Meade made a good choice by not following Lee after his Retreat.

[@matthewbissonnette2658]

Thank you for telling the tale of the 17th Maine. Most people know the tale of the 20th Maine on Little Round Top, but there were so many other units whose actions also plaued pivital roles in the outcome of the great battle.

[@ProjectPast1565]

Indeed! Tons of stories or heroism and selfishness.

[@TribeTaz]

I keep forgetting how important the troops from Maine were to the Battle at Gettysburg. People see the 20th, but forget about the others. Another great video

[@patjacksonpodium]

Me trying to make sense of "Fight for your apple butter..."🤷🏼‍♂️

[@ProjectPast1565]

Yeah, it’s an interesting quote.

[@americanschweitzer45]

The Wheatfield at Gettysburg is known as the bloodiest parcel of land in North and South America! Well done on the viddy!

[@ProjectPast1565]

Indeed. Hard to imagine the carnage. Thanks for watching!

[@richardglady3009]

Thank you! Wonderful coverage of this part of the battle. Love the cow story…I wonder who ended up with fresh steaks that night. You continue to do a great job showing and telling the locations and actions of both sides. Something that is hard to get on the screen-the smells. Sulfur from the gunpowder, unwashed uniforms, horse poop. Thanks for all the hard work needed to produce these professional videos.

[@ProjectPast1565]

I appreciate the kind words. It’s always my goal to bring these stories to life so we can continue to remember their sacrifices. Thanks for watching.

[@allanburt5250]

Brilliant thanks for sharing with us 👍

[@ProjectPast1565]

Appreciate you watching!

[@DustinWiseM1]

Great video once again buddy. The view coming out of the woods along with the view from Winslows battery really helped tie the 17th Maine’s battle in the Wheatfield. Placing the American Flag was the cherry on top. Well done my friend !!!🇺🇸

[@ProjectPast1565]

Always appreciate you taking your time to watch and comment. Thankful for these men 🇺🇸

[@tomr1630]

My Great Great Grandfather fought in the 8th. New Jersey in the wheatfield.

[@ProjectPast1565]

Thanks for sharing!

[@mustlovedogs272]

Caldwell had 3,200 men and other Union troops totaling 2,500 arrived with him. So 5,700 Union reinforcements arrived.

[@JC-qn3ws]

Great presentation once again. Learned a lot about the 17th Maine. Thank you!

[@ProjectPast1565]

Always appreciate the kind words! Glad I was able to help tell their story. Thanks for watching.

[@carson1861]

GREAT ACCOUNT JAMES... THANK YOU - LEARNED AND UNDERSTOOD

[@ProjectPast1565]

Thanks you! Glad to hear that. Thanks for watching

[@nathanappleby5342]

The 17th Maine was no doubt one of the best regiments the Union army had at Gettysburg.

[@ProjectPast1565]

They fought relentlessly on July 2nd. Thanks for watching!

[@nathanappleby5342]

@@ProjectPast1565 They clearly have the near identical casualties to the 20th Maine to show for it. You're Welcome. It was sad but it was at Gettysburg that the Army of the Potomac after a year and a half finally made the significant human and munitions expenditure necessary to inflict a severe defeat on the Rebel army.

[@lorenagallardo1281]

Great video from chile , brilliant

[@ProjectPast1565]

I really appreciate that. Thanks for watching.

[@2104dogface]

another great video with lots of good info covering a few units at a time makes it a little easier to follow the actions in that area. the 17th put up a heck of a fight

[@ProjectPast1565]

Thanks for watching Paul! Hope you’re doing well!

[@mustlovedogs272]

What was the size of Caldwell's division?

[@dalep6590]

Thank you for showing parts of the battlefield that is dismissed by others doing videography. Most of Gettysburg viewers have seen plenty of monuments. Please consider showing the Stoney Hill and Hauck’s Ridge…….both are frequently mentioned, but bypassed in video presentations. TY.

[@ProjectPast1565]

Have another video in the works covering the Wheatfield in it’s entirety. Thanks for watching!

[@halierichards5596]

I’m a New Zealander and I love learning about American Civil War history, Thank you for these wonderful videos. Hope to go to Gettysburg in real life. Just can’t comprehend what it would have been like for the people, soldiers and civilians at that time.

[@ProjectPast1565]

I appreciate you watching! I hope you can visit Gettysburg one day. It’s a powerful place.

[@markdegraff1950]

Another very informative video.I especially like the maps showing the movement of the troops!Well done!

[@ProjectPast1565]

Happy to hear you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching!

[@jonlavelle1179]

Quality stuff 👍

[@ProjectPast1565]

Thanks!

[@kanderson2145]

That was a good video. Thanks for orienting the viewer to the surroundings and the distances. It really puts things in perspective and makes it easier to understand.

[@ProjectPast1565]

I try to make it as easy to understand as possible. It helps me understand the battle a little easier as well. Thanks for watching!

[@timm1894]

Well done.

[@ProjectPast1565]

Thanks! Appreciate you watching

[@tomgreen1721]

Like you, the Mainers also played their music too loud

[@ProjectPast1565]

Weird, no one else has had a problem with the volume.

[@jagsdomain203]

But but chamberlain and stiff. My civil war journey started with Gettysburg the movie and thought it was 20 maine and thats all they needed. Then I saw the monument and how small it is. Maybe there was more to the battle

[@ProjectPast1565]

Mine did as well. Lots of fantastic stories to learn from out there. Thanks for watching

[@jagsdomain203]

@@ProjectPast1565 i named my daughter after admiral Winslow she will be very happy to know about more Winslow. We were at the Air Force musume and found out the forst American in WW1 to shot down a German plane was Alan Winslow. Turns out there use to be a lot of them. Thank for the ground point of view vids.

[@ProjectPast1565]

@jagsdomain203 nice! Thanks for watching and commenting. I appreciate it very much.

[@mustlovedogs272]

The South held the Wheatfield by nightfall of that day. They pulled back to one edge of it and the Northern troops stayed at the other edge. One would not know this fact by watching this guy's video. Project Past will leave out important details and deceive the listener in all of his videos so keep that in mind as you watch.

[@ProjectPast1565]

It seems you’ve lost the ability to read the title of the video. This video is covering just the actions of the 17th Maine, nothing more and nothing less. Like I stated, in the video, the battle would rage for hours here after the 17th Maine retired from the Wheatfield. In your haste to criticize like you often do, you fail to see the context of the video. You’re most certainly entitled to your opinion however, the claims you make in your comments associated with my videos are baseless and often lacking evidence.

[@TribeTaz]

​@@ProjectPast1565Some people don't read titles.

[@josephwurzer4366]

You need period photos to help out.

[@ProjectPast1565]

There are no period photos of the 17th Maine’s position.