On July 1st, 1863, the 55th Ohio arrived at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania with the rest of the 11th Corps. The 2nd Division (along with the 55th) was posted on the crest of Cemetery Hill south of the town while the rest of the Corps marched north of town and joined the 1st Corps in the fight with General Henry Heth's Confederates. The rebels counter-attacked however, broke the Union lines, and drove them back through town where they reformed on Cemetery Hill with the 2nd Division, 11th Corps. The 55th Ohio was posted in an exposed position below the hill at the intersection of the Emmitsburg and Taneytown Roads. Here they had to deal with sharpshooters and small probing attacks throughout the rest of the battle. Charles Stacey, of Company D, would eventually receive the Medal of Honor for his sharpshooting skills while in an exposed position (for Charles Stacey's account please click here, for Luther B Mesnard's account of this same action please click here). The regimental history gives one account of the battle ". . . rebel sharpshooters, from the houses and barns in the outskirts of the village, caused great annoyance and loss of life to the Union troops by picking off the men as they moved about in the rear of the firing line. General Howard called for volunteers to drive the sharpshooters out of their hiding-places, and to capture them if possible. Five members of the Fifty-Fifth responded. Upon a given signal this force was directed to charge and drive away or capture the enemy. The signal was given, but for some reason the line failed to respond, except one man, Benjamin Pease, of Company E; he, supposing the rest were with him, charged up to a brick barn, from which the fire had been especially annoying, and pounding on the closed doors with the butt of his musket, called loudly on the inmates to surrender. One by one the rebel soldiers on the inside dropped their guns and crept forth, till five had given themselves up. They were chagrined to find their captor had no support; but it was too late, and they sullenly preceded him to the Union lines, which cheered the valiant soldier again and again." The 55th was lucky to avoid the fury of "Pickett's Charge" on July 3rd. The 55th's total casualties for the battle was 11 killed / mortally wounded, 26 wounded and 12 missing / captured out of approximately 330 present.By July 5th, the Union army began its sluggish pursuit of Confederate General Robert E. Lee's army as it made its way back to Virginia. On July 17th, the 55th Ohio's brigade received the 168th New York Infantry as the corps with which it belonged to (4th Corps) was dissolved. By July 25th, the 55th Ohio, along with its brigade, made camp at Catlett's Station, Virginia and would remain there until September doing very heavy picket duty.
Sources:
Trials and Triumphs: A Record of the Fifty-Fifth Ohio Volunteer Infantry by Hartwell Osborne, 1904, A.C. Clurg & Co., Chicago.
All Brave And True by Dan Munson, 1987.
Chancellorsville 1863: The Souls Of The Brave by Ernest B. Ferguson, 1992