Strong Vincent

Strong Vincent
Name	Strong Vincent
Birth date	January 17, 1837
Birth place	Waterford, Pennsylvania
Death date	July 7, 1863
Death place	Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Occupation	Lawyer; Union Army officer
Rank	Colonel
Unit	20th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry
Battles	American Civil War, Battle of Gettysburg

Strong Vincent was an American lawyer and Union Army officer who played a pivotal role as a regimental and brigade commander during the American Civil War. Best known for organizing and leading the defense of Little Round Top on the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg, he held a critical position that helped prevent a Confederate envelopment of the Union left flank. His actions at Gettysburg, subsequent mortal wounding, and posthumous promotion made him a celebrated figure in Civil War history and memory.

Early life and education

Born in Waterford, Pennsylvania to a family with roots in Erie County, Pennsylvania, Vincent attended local schools before matriculating at Castleton Collegiate Seminary in Castleton, Vermont and later at Union College in Schenectady, New York. Influenced by antebellum debates and regional politics, he pursued legal studies and apprenticed in law offices in Erie, Pennsylvania before being admitted to the bar. Vincent’s education connected him to networks in Pennsylvania and the broader Northeast that were influential in recruiting volunteers for the Union Army after the outbreak of the American Civil War.

Military career

At the war’s outset, Vincent helped raise a volunteer company in Erie, Pennsylvania and received a commission in the 20th Pennsylvania Infantry, later serving with the 83rd Pennsylvania Infantry and the 20th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry depending on reorganizations. He quickly advanced to field-grade command, being appointed colonel and given brigade responsibilities in the V Corps of the Army of the Potomac. Vincent saw service in several engagements in the Eastern Theater, including operations during the Peninsula Campaign and the Northern Virginia campaigns, which shaped his tactical approach to terrain and brigade deployment. His leadership style emphasized assertive positioning, coordination with neighboring commanders, and rapid movement—traits that set the stage for his actions at Gettysburg.

Gettysburg and the defense of Little Round Top

On July 2, 1863, with the Army of the Potomac deployed around Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, Vincent’s brigade was operating on the extreme left of the Union line. When elements of Hood’s and Longstreet’s corps probed the Union flank, Vincent recognized the vulnerability of the high ground known as Little Round Top. Acting without direct orders from corps headquarters, he conferred with nearby leaders from units such as the 20th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment under Col. Joshua L. Chamberlain and sought to occupy the hill to deny its use to Confederate forces including brigades under commanders like George E. Pickett and Evander M. Law. Vincent deployed regiments—drawing on tactical principles evident in actions at Second Bull Run and other Eastern Theater battles—to occupy the ridge and interpose his men between the Confederates and the Union rear.

Vincent personally directed the placement of skirmishers and supports, coordinated with neighboring brigades from Meade’s line, and moved troops along rocky terrain and fence lines to form a defensive arc. During the crucial hours of late afternoon, regiments under his control, alongside units such as the 20th Maine, repulsed repeated Confederate assaults aimed at turning the left flank. Contemporary accounts by officers from the Army of the Potomac and Confederate reports from units in Longstreet’s corps attribute the failure to seize Little Round Top in part to Vincent’s rapid concentration of forces and resolute command presence.

Wounds, death, and legacy

While directing the defense of Little Round Top, Vincent sustained a severe gunshot wound to the abdomen. Evacuated from the field, he lingered in Gettysburg and later in Philadelphia hospitals, where surgeons attempted care under challenging Civil War medical conditions documented in records from institutions such as Satterlee Hospital. Despite surgical efforts, Vincent died of his wounds on July 7, 1863. In recognition of his actions, he was brevetted or recommended for promotion to brigadier general; subsequent posthumous honors and battlefield narratives cemented his reputation among figures like George G. Meade, Winfield Scott Hancock, and fellow brigade commanders. Vincent’s defense at Little Round Top became a focal point in battlefield studies, memorial literature, and veteran recollections, influencing later historiography by writers such as Bruce Catton and participants-turned-historians like Joshua Chamberlain.

Personal life and family

Vincent married and maintained familial connections in Erie County, Pennsylvania; his family included siblings who remained active in regional civic and legal circles. Prior to the war he practiced law in Erie and engaged with community institutions, connecting him to networks that furnished men and resources to the Union cause. Correspondence and wartime letters preserved in archives reflect his relationships with contemporaries from Union College and legal colleagues in Pennsylvania; these documents have been cited in biographies and regimental histories addressing the social fabric of volunteer officer leadership.

Honors and memorials

Vincent’s legacy is commemorated in monuments and memorial plaques at Gettysburg National Military Park marking the position of his brigade on Little Round Top and listing regimental honors. Local memorials in Erie, Pennsylvania and historical markers in Waterford, Pennsylvania honor his service. His name appears in regimental histories of the 20th Pennsylvania and in broader works on the Battle of Gettysburg studied by historians from institutions such as Gettysburg College and the American Battlefield Trust. Annual observances by veterans’ groups in the late 19th century and ongoing scholarship continue to evaluate his tactical initiative and its impact on one of the Civil War’s decisive battles.

Category:Union Army officers Category:People from Erie County, Pennsylvania Category:People of Pennsylvania in the American Civil War