Wheelock Graves Veazey

He Struck Pickett’s Charge from the Flank

Wheelock Graves Veazey was born on December 5, 1835, in Brentwood, New Hampshire, the youngest of ten children of Jonathan Veazey Jr. and Annie Stevens Veazey. He received his early education at Phillips Exeter Academy before attending Dartmouth College, graduating in 1859. He then studied law in Albany, New York, and began practicing in Springfield, Vermont, in 1860. His developing legal career was interrupted almost immediately by the outbreak of the American Civil War.

When the war began, Veazey entered Union service as a private in Company A of the 3rd Vermont Infantry. His rise through the ranks was rapid. By May 1862 he had been commissioned a captain, and he subsequently advanced to major and lieutenant colonel. In October 1862, he received promotion to full colonel and took command of the newly organized 16th Vermont Infantry.

The regiment formed part of the Second Vermont Brigade, composed largely of nine-month troops. For many of Veazey’s soldiers, Gettysburg would become their first major battle. Their commander therefore faced the challenge of leading relatively inexperienced troops into what would become one of the largest and most consequential engagements of the Civil War.

The 16th Vermont reached Gettysburg as the battle developed during the first days of July 1863. On July 3, Confederate General Robert E. Lee launched the massive infantry assault remembered as Pickett’s Charge against the center of the Union position on Cemetery Ridge. As Confederate formations advanced across open ground toward the Federal line, Vermont troops were positioned where they could strike the attacking force from the flank.

Colonel Veazey’s leadership during this critical phase became the defining military achievement of his life. As the battlefield situation changed rapidly, he assembled his regiment and directed it against the Confederate flank. His men delivered devastating fire into the advancing formations. When circumstances demanded another change of direction, Veazey shifted his regiment’s front under heavy enemy fire and again led it into action.

His Medal of Honor citation later summarized the achievement in direct terms: he rapidly assembled his regiment, charged the enemy’s flank, changed front under heavy fire, and charged and destroyed a Confederate brigade. The citation emphasized that these actions were accomplished with new troops fighting their first battle.

The performance of the 16th Vermont formed an important part of the Union response to Pickett’s Charge. By attacking the Confederate flank and maintaining discipline while changing formation under fire, Veazey and his soldiers helped break the momentum of the assault. The Confederate attack ultimately failed, and the fighting of July 3 marked the climax of the Battle of Gettysburg.

For Veazey, the achievement was particularly significant because it demonstrated both personal courage and battlefield command. His recognition was not based on a single isolated encounter but on his ability to maneuver an inexperienced regiment at a decisive moment, maintain its effectiveness under heavy fire, and direct it against an attacking Confederate force.

The 16th Vermont’s term of service ended soon afterward. Veazey remained colonel of the regiment until it was mustered out in August 1863. Although his active Civil War service was comparatively brief, he had risen from private to colonel and commanded a regiment during one of the conflict’s defining battles.

After returning to Vermont, Veazey resumed his legal profession. His abilities soon brought him into public service. He worked as Reporter of Decisions for the Vermont Supreme Court, helping prepare volumes of the state’s published judicial decisions. He later served in the Vermont State Senate and held additional legal and administrative responsibilities.

His public career continued to expand. In 1879, Veazey became a judge of the Vermont Supreme Court, beginning a decade of service on the state’s highest court. He remained there until 1889, when he resigned to accept a federal appointment to the Interstate Commerce Commission. He took office as a commissioner in September 1889 and served until December 1896, participating in the work of one of the federal government’s earliest major regulatory agencies.

Veazey also remained connected to Dartmouth College, serving for years as a trustee of his alma mater. His involvement in veterans’ affairs eventually brought additional prominence, including leadership within the Grand Army of the Republic, the influential organization composed of former Union soldiers and sailors.

Nearly three decades after Gettysburg, his battlefield leadership received the nation’s highest military recognition. On September 8, 1891, Wheelock Graves Veazey was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions at Gettysburg on July 3, 1863. The award formally recognized the rapid maneuvering, repeated charges, and disciplined leadership he demonstrated while commanding the 16th Vermont Infantry against the Confederate assault.

Veazey’s Medal of Honor represented the central military distinction of a life that extended far beyond the battlefield. After leading soldiers during the Civil War, he built a substantial career as an attorney, legislator, judge, federal official, college trustee, and veterans’ leader. Few aspects of that later career, however, surpassed the historical significance of the afternoon when he maneuvered inexperienced Vermont troops against the flank of Pickett’s Charge.

Wheelock Graves Veazey died on March 22, 1898, at the age of sixty-two. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.

His legacy rests on an unusual combination of military and public service. Beginning the Civil War as a private, he rose to command a regiment as colonel and led it with distinction at Gettysburg. His actions on July 3, 1863, helped transform new soldiers into an effective battlefield force at a critical moment. The Medal of Honor he later received ensured that his leadership during the defeat of Pickett’s Charge would remain permanently associated with one of the most important battles in American history.