Title: Gettysburg National Military Park, Pennsylvania - National Park Service Historical Handbook Series #9
Author: Tilberg, Frederick
Language: English
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    [Illustration: DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR: March 3, 1849]

                UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
                     Stewart L. Udall, _Secretary_

                         NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                      Conrad L. Wirth, _Director_


                   _HISTORICAL HANDBOOK NUMBER NINE_

This publication is one of a series of handbooks describing the
historical and archeological areas in the National Park System,
administered by the National Park Service of the United States
Department of the Interior. It is printed by the Government Printing
Office and may be purchased from the Superintendent of Documents,
Washington 25, D. C. Price 25 cents



                              _GETTYSBURG_
                         NATIONAL MILITARY PARK
                              Pennsylvania


                         _by Frederick Tilberg_

    [Illustration: Drum]

         NATIONAL PARK SERVICE HISTORICAL HANDBOOK SERIES No. 9
                        WASHINGTON, D. C., 1954
                             (Reprint 1961)


_The National Park System, of which Gettysburg National Military Park is
a unit, is dedicated to conserving the scenic, scientific, and historic
heritage of the United States for the benefit and inspiration of its
people._

    [Illustration: NATIONAL PARK SERVICE: DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR]



                               _Contents_


                                                                     Page
  THE SITUATION, SPRING 1863                                            1
  THE PLAN OF CAMPAIGN                                                  4
  THE FIRST DAY                                                         6
      The Two Armies Converge on Gettysburg                             6
      The Battle of Oak Ridge                                           8
  THE SECOND DAY                                                       12
      Preliminary Movements and Plans                                  12
      Longstreet Attacks on the Right                                  15
      Warren Saves Little Round Top                                    15
      Culp’s Hill                                                      17
  THE THIRD DAY                                                        19
      Cannonade at Dawn: Culp’s Hill and Spangler’s Spring             19
      Lee Plans a Final Thrust                                         21
      Lee and Meade Set the Stage                                      22
      Artillery Duel at One O’clock                                    27
      Climax at Gettysburg                                             29
      Cavalry Action                                                   31
  END OF INVASION                                                      33
  LINCOLN AND GETTYSBURG                                               35
      Establishment of a Burial Ground                                 35
      Dedication of the Cemetery                                       37
      Genesis of the Gettysburg Address                                42
      The Five Autograph Copies of the Gettysburg Address              43
      Soldiers’ National Monument                                      43
      The Lincoln Address Memorial                                     44
  GUIDE TOUR OF THE PARK                                               45
  THE PARK                                                             50
  ANNIVERSARY REUNIONS OF THE CIVIL WAR VETERANS                       50
  HOW TO REACH THE PARK                                                50
  ADMINISTRATION                                                       51
  RELATED AREAS                                                        51
  VISITOR FACILITIES                                                   51

    [Illustration: _The field of Pickett’s Charge, with his attack on
    the Union position at The Angle in the foreground._ From the
    Philippoteaux painting in the Gettysburg Cyclorama.]

    [Illustration: Cannon]

On the gently rolling farm lands surrounding the little town of
Gettysburg, Pa., was fought one of the great decisive battles of
American history. For 3 days, from July 1 to 3, 1863, a gigantic
struggle between 75,000 Confederates and 88,000 Union troops raged about
the town and left 51,000 casualties in its wake. Heroic deeds were
numerous on both sides, climaxed by the famed Confederate assault on
July 3 which has become known throughout the world as Pickett’s Charge.
The Union victory gained on these fields ended the last Confederate
invasion of the North and marked the beginning of a gradual decline in
Southern military power.

Here also, a few months after the battle, Abraham Lincoln delivered his
classic Gettysburg Address at the dedication of the national cemetery
set apart as a burial ground for the soldiers who died in the conflict.



                      _The Situation, Spring 1863_


The situation in which the Confederacy found itself in the late spring
of 1863 called for decisive action. The Union and Confederate armies had
faced each other on the Rappahannock River, near Fredericksburg, Va.,
for 6 months. The Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, commanded by
Gen. R. E. Lee, had defeated the Union forces at Fredericksburg in
December 1862 and again at Chancellorsville in May 1863, but the nature
of the ground gave Lee little opportunity to follow up his advantage.
When he began moving his army westward, on June 3, he hoped, at least,
to draw his opponent away from the river to a more advantageous
battleground. At most, he might carry the war into northern territory,
where supplies could be taken from the enemy and a victory could be
fully exploited. Even a fairly narrow margin of victory might enable Lee
to capture one or more key cities and perhaps increase northern demands
for a negotiated peace.

    [Illustration: THE GETTYSBURG CAMPAIGN]

    [Illustration: _Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade, Commander of the
    Union Forces at Gettysburg._ Courtesy National Archives.]

    [Illustration: _Gen. Robert E. Lee, Commander of the Confederate
    Army at Gettysburg._ Courtesy National Archives.]

Confederate strategists had considered sending aid from Lee’s army to
Vicksburg, which Grant was then besieging, or dispatching help to
General Bragg for his campaign against Rosecrans in Tennessee. They
concluded, however, that Vicksburg could hold out until climatic
conditions would force Grant to withdraw, and they reasoned that the
eastern campaign was more important than that of Tennessee.

Both Union and Confederate governments had bitter opponents at home.
Southern generals, reading in Northern newspapers the clamors for peace,
had reason to believe that their foe’s morale was fast weakening. They
felt that the Army of Northern Virginia would continue to demonstrate
its superiority over the Union Army of the Potomac and that the relief
from constant campaigning on their own soil would have a happy effect on
Southern spirit. Events were to prove, however, that the chief result of
the intense alarm created by the invasion was to rally the populace to
better support of the Union government.

    [Illustration: _Statue of General Meade, located on Cemetery
    Ridge._]

    [Illustration: _The Virginia Memorial, surmounted by the statue of
    General Lee, on Seminary Ridge._]

    [Illustration: _Gettysburg, as it appeared from Seminary Ridge a
    short time after the battle._ (Brady photograph.)]



                         _The Plan of Campaign_


Lee’s plan of campaign was undoubtedly similar to that of his invasion
which ended in the battle of Antietam in September 1862. He then called
attention to the need of destroying the bridge over the Susquehanna
River at Harrisburg and of disabling the Pennsylvania Railroad in order
to sever communication with the west. “After that,” he added, “I can
turn my attention to Philadelphia, Baltimore, or Washington as may seem
best for our interest.”

Lee had suffered an irreparable loss at Chancellorsville when
“Stonewall” Jackson was mortally wounded. Now reorganized into three
infantry corps under Longstreet, A. P. Hill, and R. S. Ewell, and a
cavalry division under J. E. B. Stuart, a changed Army of Northern
Virginia faced the great test that lay ahead. “Stonewall” Jackson, the
right hand of Lee, and in the words of the latter “the finest executive
officer the sun ever shone on,” was no longer present to lead his corps
in battle.

The long lines of gray started moving on June 3 from Fredericksburg,
Va., first northwestward across the Blue Ridge, then northward in the
Shenandoah Valley. On June 9, one of the greatest cavalry engagements of
the war occurred at Brandy Station. Union horsemen, for the first time,
held Stuart’s men on even terms. The Confederates then continued their
march northward, with the right flank constantly protected by Stuart’s
cavalry, which occupied the passes of the Blue Ridge. Stuart was ordered
to hold these mountain gaps until the advance into Pennsylvania had
drawn the Union Army north of the Potomac. On June 28, Hill and
Longstreet reached Chambersburg, 16 miles north of the Pennsylvania
boundary. Rodes’ division of Ewell’s corps reached Carlisle on June 27.
Early’s command of 8,000 men had passed through Gettysburg on June 26
and on the 28th had reached York. Early planned to take possession of
the bridge over the Susquehanna at Columbia, and to move on Harrisburg
from the east. Lee’s converging movement on Harrisburg seemed to be on
the eve of success.

An unforeseen shift of events between June 25 and 28, however,
threatened to deprive Lee of every advantage he had thus far gained in
his daring march up the Shenandoah and Cumberland Valleys. The cavalry
engagement between Stuart and Pleasonton at Brandy Station convinced
Gen. Joseph Hooker, then in command of the Union Army, that the
Confederate Army was moving northward. President Lincoln and General in
Chief Halleck, informed of this movement, ordered Hooker to proceed
northward and to keep his command between the Confederate Army and
Washington. When he was refused permission to abandon Harpers Ferry, and
to add the garrison of 10,000 men to his army, Hooker asked to be
relieved of command. Gen. George G. Meade received orders to assume
command of the army at Frederick, Md., on June 28, and he at once
continued the march northward.

General Stuart, in command of the Confederate cavalry, had obtained
conditional approval from Lee to operate against the rear of the Union
Army as it marched northward and then to join Lee north of the Potomac.
As he passed between Hooker’s army and Washington, the unexpected speed
of the Union Army forced Stuart into detours and delays, so that on June
28 he was in eastern Maryland, wholly out of touch with the Confederate
force. The eyes and ears of Lee were thus closed at a time when their
efficient functioning was badly needed.

    [Illustration: _“Old Dorm” of Pennsylvania_ (now Gettysburg)
    _College. It was used as a shelter for wounded._
                                                          474-574 O-58—2]

In this state of affairs, a Confederate agent reported to Lee at
Chambersburg, Pa., on the night of June 28, that the Union forces had
crossed the Potomac and were in the vicinity of Frederick. With the
entire Union Army close at hand and with many miles between him and his
base, Lee decided to abandon his original plan and to concentrate for
battle. He moved his army at once across the mountains to Cashtown, 8
miles from Gettysburg. Here, in Cashtown Pass, he planned to establish
his battle position. Rodes, then at Carlisle, and Early, at York, were
at once ordered to this point.



                            _The First Day_


THE TWO ARMIES CONVERGE ON GETTYSBURG.

The men of Heth’s division, leading the Confederate advance across the
mountain, reached Cashtown on June 29. Pettigrew’s brigade was sent on
to Gettysburg the following day to obtain supplies, but upon reaching
the ridge a mile west of the town, they observed Union cavalry scouts
posted along the roads. Not having orders to bring on an engagement,
Pettigrew withdrew to Cashtown.

    [Illustration: _Scene of the initial engagement on the morning of
    July 1. 1. McPherson Ridge. 2. Oak Ridge._]

In the intervening 2 days since he had assumed command of the Union
forces, General Meade had moved his troops northward and instructed his
engineers to survey a defensive battle position at Pipe Creek, near
Taneytown, in northern Maryland. Buford’s cavalry, which had effectively
shadowed Lee’s advance from the mountaintops of the Blue Ridge was
ordered to make a reconnaissance in the Gettysburg area. It was these
troops that Pettigrew’s men saw posted on the roads leading into the
town. Neither Lee nor Meade yet foresaw Gettysburg as a field of battle.
Each expected to take a strong defensive position and force his
adversary to attack.

    [Illustration: _Maj. Gen. John F. Reynolds._ (Courtesy National
    Archives.)]

    [Illustration: _Lt. Gen. Ambrose P. Hill._ (Courtesy National
    Archives.)]

A. P. Hill, in the absence of Lee, who was still beyond the mountains,
now took the initiative. At daybreak of July 1, he ordered the brigades
of Archer and Davis, of Heth’s division, to advance along the
Chambersburg Road to Gettysburg for the purpose of testing the strength
of the Union forces. As these troops reached Marsh Creek, 4 miles from
Gettysburg, they were fired upon by Union cavalry pickets who hurriedly
retired to inform their commander of the enemy’s approach. In the
meantime, Buford’s division of cavalry had moved from their camp just
southwest of Gettysburg to McPherson Ridge, a mile west of the town.
Buford prepared to hold out against heavy odds until aid arrived. Thus,
subordinate field commanders had chosen the ground for battle.

It was 8 a. m., July 1, when the two brigades of Archer and Davis, the
former to the right and the latter to the left of the Chambersburg Road,
deployed on Herr Ridge. Supported by Pegram’s artillery, they charged
down the long slope and across Willoughby Run against Buford’s men. The
Union troopers had recently received an issue of Spencer repeating
carbines. Dismounted, and fighting as infantrymen, they held their
ground against the spirited attacks of Heth’s superior numbers. At 10
o’clock timely aid arrived as troops from Gen. John F. Reynolds’ First
Infantry corps began streaming over Seminary Ridge from the south and
relieved Buford’s exhausted fighters. Calef’s battery, one of whose guns
had fired the first shot at Gettysburg, was replaced by Hall’s Maine
artillery. But, in a few moments, Union joy at receiving aid was offset
by tragedy. Reynolds, close to the front lines, was killed instantly by
a sharpshooter’s bullet.

The struggle increased in scope as more forces reached the field. When
Archer’s Confederates renewed the attack across Willoughby Run, Union
troops of Meredith’s Iron Brigade, arriving opportunely, struck the
flank of the Confederates and captured the greater part of the force,
including General Archer. Relieved from the threat south of the
Chambersburg Pike, the 14th Brooklyn and 7th Wisconsin regiments shifted
to the north of the Pike where the Confederates had captured a part of
Cutler’s troops in the railroad cut. With renewed effort, these troops,
joined by Dawes’ 6th Wisconsin, drove the Confederates steadily back,
capturing two Mississippi regiments in the defile. The Confederates then
withdrew beyond striking distance. There was a lull in the fighting
during the noon hour. The first encounter had given Union men
confidence. They had held their ground against superior numbers and had
captured Archer, a brigadier general, the first Confederate general
officer taken since Lee assumed command.

    [Illustration: _McPherson Ridge and Woods, the Federal position on
    July 1. In the woods at the right, General Reynolds was killed. The
    cupola of the Theological Seminary appears in the background._
    (Brady photograph.)]


THE BATTLE OF OAK RIDGE.

While the initial test of strength was being determined west of
Gettysburg by advance units, the main bulk of the two armies was
pounding over the roads from the north and south, converging upon the
ground chosen by Buford. Rodes’ Confederates, hurrying southward from
Carlisle to meet Lee at Cashtown, received orders at Biglerville to
march to Gettysburg. Early, returning from York with Cashtown as his
objective, learned at Heidlersburg of the action at Gettysburg and was
ordered to approach by way of the Harrisburg Road.

    [Illustration: _Chambersburg Pike, looking westward from the Federal
    position toward Herr Ridge, where the Confederate attack began._]

Employing the wooded ridge as a screen from Union cavalry north of
Gettysburg, Rodes brought his guns into position on Oak Ridge about 1
o’clock and opened fire on the flank of Gen. Abner Doubleday, Reynolds’
successor, on McPherson Ridge. The Union commander shifted his lines
northeastward to Oak Ridge and the Mummasburg Road to meet the new
attack. Rodes’ Confederates struck the Union positions at the stone wall
on the ridge, but the attack was not well coordinated and resulted in
failure. Iverson’s brigade was nearly annihilated as it made a left
wheel to strike from the west. In the meantime, more Union troops had
arrived on the field by way of the Taneytown Road. Two divisions of
Howard’s Eleventh corps were now taking position in the plain north of
the town, intending to make contact with Doubleday’s troops on Oak
Ridge.

Doles’ Confederate brigade charged across the plain and was able to
force Howard’s troops back temporarily, but it was the opportune
approach of Early’s division from the northeast on the Harrisburg Road
which rendered the Union position north of Gettysburg indefensible.
Arriving in the early afternoon as the Union men were establishing their
position, Early struck with tremendous force, first with his artillery
and then with his infantry, against General Barlow. Soon he had
shattered the entire Union force. The remnants broke and turned
southward through Gettysburg in the direction of Cemetery Hill. In this
headlong and disorganized flight General Schimmelfenning was lost from
his command, and, finding refuge in a shed, he lay 2 days concealed
within the Confederate lines. In the path of Early’s onslaught lay the
youthful Brigadier Barlow severely wounded, and the gallant Lieut.
Bayard Wilkeson, whose battery had long stood against overwhelming odds,
mortally wounded.

    [Illustration: _Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewell._ Courtesy National
    Archives.]

    [Illustration: _Maj. Gen. Winfield S. Hancock._ Courtesy National
    Archives.]

The Union men on Oak Ridge, faced with the danger that Doles would cut
off their line of retreat, gave way and retired through Gettysburg to
Cemetery Hill. The withdrawal of the Union troops from the north and
northwest left the Union position on McPherson Ridge untenable. Early in
the afternoon, when Rodes opened fire from Oak Hill, Heth had renewed
his thrust along the Chambersburg Pike. His troops were soon relieved
and Pender’s division, striking north and south of the road, broke the
Union line. The Union troops first withdrew to Seminary Ridge, then
across the fields to Cemetery Hill. Here was advantageous ground which
had been selected as a rallying point if the men were forced to
relinquish the ground west and north of the town. Thus, by 5 o’clock,
the remnants of the Union forces (some 6,000 out of the 18,000 engaged
in the first day’s struggle) were on the hills south of Gettysburg.

Ewell was now in possession of the town, and he extended his line from
the streets eastward to Rock Creek. Studiously observing the hills in
his front, he came within range of a Union sharpshooter, for suddenly he
heard the thud of a minie ball. Calmly riding on, he remarked to General
Gordon at his side, “You see how much better fixed for a fight I am than
you are. It don’t hurt at all to be shot in a wooden leg.”

A momentous decision now had to be made. Lee had reached the field at 3
p. m., and had witnessed the retreat of the disorganized Union troops
through the streets of Gettysburg. Through his glasses he had watched
their attempt to reestablish their lines on Cemetery Hill. Sensing his
advantage and a great opportunity, he sent orders to Ewell by a staff
officer to “press those people” and secure the hill (Cemetery Hill) if
possible. However, two of Ewell’s divisions, those of Rodes and Early,
had been heavily engaged throughout the afternoon and were not well in
hand. Johnson’s division could not reach the field until late in the
evening, and the reconnaissance service of Stuart’s cavalry was not yet
available. General Ewell, uninformed of the Union strength in the rear
of the hills south of Gettysburg, decided to await the arrival of
Johnson’s division. Cemetery Hill was not attacked, and Johnson, coming
up late in the evening, stopped at the base of Culp’s Hill. Thus passed
Lee’s opportunity of July 1.

    [Illustration: _Scene north of Gettysburg from Oak Ridge. The
    Federal position may be seen near the edge of the open fields in the
    middle distance._]

When the Union troops retreated from the battleground north and west of
the town on the evening of July 1, they hastily occupied defense
positions on Cemetery Hill, Culp’s Hill, and a part of Cemetery Ridge.
Upon the arrival of Slocum by the Baltimore Pike and Sickles by way of
the Emmitsburg Road, the Union right flank at Culp’s Hill and Spangler’s
Spring and the important position at Little Round Top on the left were
consolidated. Thus was developed a strong defensive battle line in the
shape of a fish hook, about 3 miles long, with the advantage of high
ground and of interior lines. Opposite, in a semicircle about 6 miles
long, extending down Seminary Ridge and into the streets of Gettysburg,
stood the Confederates who, during the night, had closed in from the
north and west.

The greater part of the citizenry of Gettysburg, despite the prospect of
battle in their own yards, chose to remain in their homes. Both army
commanders respected noncombatant rights to a marked degree. Thus, in
contrast with the fields of carnage all about the village, life and
property of the civilian population remained unharmed, while the doors
of churches, schools, and homes were opened for the care of the wounded.

General Meade, at Taneytown, had learned early in the afternoon of July
1 that a battle was developing and that Reynolds had been killed. A
large part of his army was within 5 miles of Gettysburg. Meade then sent
General Hancock to study and report on the situation. Hancock reached
the field just as the Union troops were falling back to Cemetery Hill.
He helped to rally the troops and left at 6 o’clock to report to Meade
that in his opinion the battle should be fought at Gettysburg. Meade
acted on this recommendation and immediately ordered the concentration
of the Union forces at that place. Meade himself arrived near midnight
on July 1.

    [Illustration: _Spangler’s Spring, the right of the Federal battle
    line of July 2 and 3. This view, made in 1870, shows the wartime
    appearance of the spring._ (Tipton photograph.)]

    [Illustration: _View of Culp’s Hill, taken about 1890, showing
    earthworks on the crest of the hill. Gettysburg, one-half mile
    northwest, may be seen through the vista._ (Tipton photograph.)]



                            _The Second Day_


PRELIMINARY MOVEMENTS AND PLANS.

The small college town of Gettysburg, with 2,400 residents at the time
of the battle, lay in the heart of a fertile country, surrounded by
broad acres of crops and pastures. Substantial houses of industrious
Pennsylvania farmers dotted the countryside. South of the town and
hardly more than a musket shot from the houses on its outer edge,
Cemetery Hill rose somewhat abruptly from the lower ground. Extending
southward from the hill for nearly 2 miles was a long roll of land
called Cemetery Ridge. At its southern extremity a sharp incline
terminated in the wooded crest of Little Round Top and a half mile
beyond was the sugar-loaf peak of Big Round Top, the highest point in
the vicinity of Gettysburg. Paralleling Cemetery Ridge, at an average
distance of two-thirds of a mile to the west, lay Seminary Ridge, which
derived its name from the Lutheran Seminary that stood upon its crest a
half mile west of Gettysburg. In 1863, 10 roads radiated from
Gettysburg, the one leading to Emmitsburg extending diagonally across
the valley between Seminary and Cemetery Ridges.

    [Illustration: _Lunettes, or artillery defense works, on the crest
    of East Cemetery Hill. The entrance gateway to the public cemetery,
    which is still in use, appears in the background on the Baltimore
    Pike._ (Brady photograph.)]

    [Illustration: _Jennie Wade House, located on Baltimore street
    between the battle lines. Jennie Wade, the only civilian killed
    during the battle, was accidentally struck by a bullet which passed
    through a door of the house._]

    [Illustration: _East Cemetery Hill, the objective of the Confederate
    charge on the evening of July 2._]

By noon of July 2, the powerful forces of Meade and Lee were at hand,
and battle on a tremendous scale was imminent. That part of the Union
line extending from Cemetery Hill to Little Round Top was strongly held.
Late in the forenoon, Sickles, commanding the Third Corps which lay
north of Little Round Top, sent Berdan’s sharpshooters and some of the
men of the 3rd Maine Regiment forward from the Emmitsburg Road to
Pitzer’s Woods, a half mile to the west. As they reached the woods, a
strong Confederate force fired upon them, and they hurriedly retired to
inform their commander. To Sickles, the extension of the Confederate
line southward meant that his left flank was endangered. He at once
began moving forward to the advantageous high ground at the Peach
Orchard, and by 3:30 p. m. his battle front extended from Devil’s Den
northwestward to the Orchard and northward on the Emmitsburg Road. In
this forward movement, the strong position on the crest of Little Round
Top was left unoccupied. This was the situation when Meade finally
turned his attention from his right flank at Culp’s Hill and Spangler’s
Spring—the cause of his great concern throughout the forenoon—to review
Sickles’ line.

    [Illustration: _Maj. Gen. Gouverneur K. Warren._ Courtesy National
    Archives.]

    [Illustration: _Maj. Gen. Daniel E. Sickles._ Courtesy National
    Archives.]

Lee planned to attack, despite the advice of Longstreet who continually
urged defensive battle. On July 2, Longstreet recommended that Lee swing
around the Union left at Little Round Top, select a good position, and
await attack. Lee observed that while the Union position was strong if
held in sufficient numbers to utilize the advantage of interior lines,
it presented grave difficulties to a weak defending force. A secure
lodgment on the shank of the hook might render it possible to sever the
Union Army and to deal with each unit separately. Not all of Meade’s
force had reached the field, and Lee thought he had the opportunity of
destroying his adversary in the process of concentration. He resolved to
send Longstreet against the Federal left flank which he believed was
then on lower Cemetery Ridge, while Ewell was to storm Cemetery Hill and
Culp’s Hill.

    [Illustration: _Trostle farmhouse. Here the 9th Massachusetts
    battery, taking position in the yard, lost 80 out of 88 horses
    during the battle of July 2._ (Brady photograph.)]


LONGSTREET ATTACKS ON THE RIGHT.

In the execution of this plan, Longstreet was ordered to take position
across the Emmitsburg Road and to attack what was thought to be the left
flank of the Union line on Cemetery Ridge. From his encampment on the
Chambersburg Road, 3 miles west of Gettysburg, he started toward his
objective, using Herr Ridge to conceal the movement from Union signalmen
on Little Round Top. After marching to Black Horse Tavern on the
Fairfield Road, he realized that his troops were in sight of the signal
unit and at once began retracing his course. Employing the trees on
Seminary Ridge as a screen, he marched southward again in Willoughby Run
Valley, arriving in position on the Emmitsburg Road about 3:30 p. m.
Immediately in front, and only 700 yards away, Longstreet saw Sickles’
batteries lined up in the Peach Orchard and on the Emmitsburg Road. Col.
E. P. Alexander, commanding a battalion of Longstreet’s artillery,
opened with full force against the Union guns. Longstreet could observe
in the distance that Little Round Top was unoccupied. Law’s Alabama
troops were directed at once to take the hill, and Robertson’s Texans
were instructed to join in the charge.


WARREN SAVES LITTLE ROUND TOP.

Gen. G. K. Warren, Meade’s Chief of Engineers, having assisted Sickles
in placing his line, now rode to the crest of Little Round Top and found
the hill, “the key to the Union position,” unoccupied except by a signal
station. Warren was informed by the signalmen that they believed
Confederate troops lay concealed on the wooded ridge a mile to the west.
Smith’s New York battery, emplaced at Devil’s Den, immediately was
ordered to fire a shot into these woods. The missile, crashing through
the trees, caused a sudden stir of the Confederates “which by the gleam
of the reflected sunlight on their bayonets, revealed their long lines
outflanking the position.” Warren realized Longstreet would strike first
at Little Round Top and he observed, too, the difficulty of shifting
Sickles’ position from Devil’s Den to the hill.

    [Illustration: _The Wheatfield as it appeared in 1890. Little Round
    Top is in the background._ (Tipton photograph.)]

At this moment Warren noticed the approach of Union troops from the
north and rode to meet them. They were Vincent’s and Weed’s brigades,
leading Sykes’ corps from reserve position to the front. Intercepting
these troops, Warren rushed them to Little Round Top. Law’s Alabama
troops were starting to scale the south slope of the hill when Vincent’s
men rushed to the attack. Weed’s brigade, following closely, drove over
the crest and engaged Robertson’s Texans on the west slope. The arrival
of Hazlett’s battery on the summit of the hill is thus described by an
eyewitness: “The passage of the six guns through the roadless woods and
amongst the rocks was marvelous. Under ordinary circumstances it would
have been considered an impossible feat, but the eagerness of the men
... brought them without delay to the very summit, where they went
immediately into battle.” A desperate hand-to-hand struggle ensued. Weed
and Hazlett were killed, and Vincent was mortally wounded—all young
soldiers of great promise.

The struggle at Little Round Top now became stalemated, and Longstreet
directed his entire line to attack. The Confederate drive was taken up
in turn by the brigades of Benning, Anderson, Kershaw, Semmes,
Barksdale, Wofford, Wilcox, Perry, and Wright against the divisions of
Birney and Humphreys in the Wheatfield, the Peach Orchard, and along the
Emmitsburg Road. Four hours of desperate fighting broke the Peach
Orchard salient, an angle in the Union line which was struck from the
south and the west. It left the Wheatfield strewn with dead and wounded,
and the base of Little Round Top a shambles. Sickles’ men had been
driven back, and Longstreet was now in possession of the west slope of
Big Round Top, of Devil’s Den, and the Peach Orchard. Little Round Top,
that commanding landmark from which Longstreet had hoped to shell the
Union lines on Cemetery Ridge and Cemetery Hill, still remained in Union
possession.


CULP’S HILL.

In the Confederate plan, Ewell on the left was directed to attack
Cemetery Hill and Culp’s Hill in conjunction with Longstreet’s drive. At
the appointed time, the guns of Latimer’s battalion on Benner’s Hill,
east of Gettysburg, opened a well-directed fire against the Union
positions on East Cemetery Hill and Culp’s Hill, but the return fire
soon shattered many of Latimer’s batteries and forced the remnants to
retire out of range. In the final moments of this action the youthful
Major Latimer was mortally wounded.

    [Illustration: _View of Little Round Top taken soon after the
    battle. The crest and western slope of the hill had been cleared the
    year preceding the battle._ (Brady photograph.)]

    [Illustration: _Breastworks constructed by Federal troops on Little
    Round Top._]

About dusk, long after the artillery fire had ceased, Early’s infantry
started a charge toward East Cemetery Hill. Seldom, if ever, surpassed
in its dash and desperation, Early’s assault reached the crest of the
hill where the defenders, as a last resort in the hand-to-hand
encounter, used clubbed muskets, stones, and rammers. Long after dark,
the Louisiana Tigers and their comrades, in possession of the crest of
the hill, fought to hold their gain and their captured guns. The failure
of Rodes to move out of the streets of Gettysburg and to attack the hill
from the west enabled Hancock to shift some of his men to aid in
repelling Early’s attacks. Faced by these Union reserves, Early’s men
finally gave way about 10 o’clock and sullenly retired to their lines.
The Union troops stood firm.

Closely timed with Early’s assault of East Cemetery Hill, Johnson’s
division charged the Union works on Culp’s Hill. Failing to make
headway, because of the steep incline and the strength of the Union
positions, Johnson fell back across Rock Creek and started an attack on
the southern slope of the hill. Here the Union works were thinly manned.
An hour earlier, the divisions of Geary and Ruger had been called from
those works to the aid of the Sickles line at the Peach Orchard.
Johnson, finding the works weakly defended, took possession of them but
did not press the attack farther. Only a few hundred yards away on the
Baltimore Pike lay the Union supply trains. The failure of Confederate
reconnaissance here again was critically important. Thus passed another
opportunity to strike a hard blow at the Union Army.



                            _The Third Day_


CANNONADE AT DAWN: CULP’S HILL AND SPANGLER’S SPRING.

Night brought an end to the bloody combat at East Cemetery Hill, but
this was not the time for rest. What would Meade do? Would the Union
Army remain in its established position and hold its lines at all costs?
At midnight Meade sought the advice of his Council of War in the east
room of his headquarters. The corps commanders—Gibbon, Williams, Sykes,
Newton, Howard, Hancock, Sedgwick, and Slocum—without exception advised
holding the positions established. Meade, approving, turned to the
officer whose division held the Union center, and said, “Gibbon, if Lee
attacks me tomorrow it will be on your front.”

Meade on the following morning began to fortify Cemetery Ridge by
shifting all units that could be spared from the line at Culp’s Hill,
and those in reserve at the Round Tops and on Cemetery Hill. General
Hunt, Chief of Artillery, brought up reserve batteries to hold in
readiness for replacement of front line guns. Throughout the forenoon of
the third day, Meade not only developed a strong front at the stone
walls on the crest of the ridge, but he also strengthened his reserve
power to an extent which rendered the Union center almost impregnable.

    [Illustration: _Interior of breastworks on Little Round Top._ (Brady
    photograph.)]

Meanwhile, important movements were occurring elsewhere on the field.
Ruger’s division and Lockwood’s brigade, which had been called from
their lines on the south slope of Culp’s Hill the previous evening to
help defend Sickles’ position at the Peach Orchard, were now
countermarching, under cover of darkness, to reoccupy their ground.
Geary, who had misunderstood orders and had marched down the Baltimore
Pike, was also returning to his works. Ruger’s men, upon reaching the
Pike, learned from scouts that their entrenchments south of Culp’s Hill
and at Spangler’s Spring had been occupied by the Confederates. Ruger,
resolving upon an attack at daybreak, organized his forces along the
Pike. Powerful artillery units under Muhlenberg were brought into place
along the road; Rigby’s Maryland battery was stationed on Power’s Hill,
a prominent knoll a half mile to the south; and another battery was
emplaced on McAllister Hill.

    [Illustration: _Lt. Gen. James Longstreet._ Courtesy National
    Archives.]

    [Illustration: _Col. Edward Porter Alexander._ Courtesy National
    Archives.]

As dawn broke on July 3, Union guns on the Baltimore Pike opened with a
heavy cannonade on Johnson’s Confederates at Spangler’s Spring. The
heavily wooded area about the Confederate lines prevented them from
bringing guns into position to return the fire. Union skirmishers began
streaming across the field toward the Confederate entrenchments. The
full force of Ruger’s and Geary’s brigades followed closely. Throughout
the forenoon the Union troops struck again and again.

It was about 10 o’clock that Ruger, believing that a flank attack might
break the resistance of Johnson’s men, ordered Col. Silas Colgrove to
strike the Confederate left flank near the spring. The troops of the 2d
Massachusetts and the 19th Indiana regiments started across the swale
from the cover of the woods on the little hill south of the spring. A
withering fire slowed their pace, but they charged on, only to have
their ranks decimated by the Confederates in strong positions back of a
stone wall. Colonel Mudge, inspiring leader of the Massachusetts
regiment, fell mortally wounded. Forced to fall back, the men soon
learned their efforts had not been in vain. On Ruger’s and Geary’s front
the Confederates were now giving way and soon had retired across Rock
Creek, out of striking range. By 11 o’clock, the Union troops were again
in possession of their earthworks; again they could quench their thirst
in the cooling waters of the spring.


LEE PLANS A FINAL THRUST.

General Lee must have learned by mid-forenoon, after the long hours of
struggle at Culp’s Hill and Spangler’s Spring, that his troops could not
hold the Union works which they had occupied with so little effort the
previous evening. He had seen, also, that in the tremendous battling
during the preceding afternoon no important gains had been made at
Little Round Top and its vicinity. Longstreet had gained the
advantageous ridge at the Peach Orchard and had brought his batteries
forward from Pitzer’s Woods to this high ground in preparation for a
follow-up attack. Wright’s brigade, the last unit to move forward on
July 2 in the echelon attack begun by General Law, had charged across
the open fields at dusk and pierced the Union center just south of the
copse of trees on Cemetery Ridge. Wright’s success could not be pressed
to decisive advantage as the brigades on his left had not moved forward
to his support, and he was forced to retire. Again, lack of coordination
in attack was to count heavily against the Confederates.

The failure to make any pronounced headway on July 2 at Culp’s Hill and
Little Round Top, and the momentary success of Wright on Cemetery Ridge,
doubtless led Lee to believe that Meade’s flanks were strong and his
center weak. A powerful drive at the center might pierce the enemy’s
lines and fold them back. The shattered units might then be destroyed or
captured at will. Such a charge across open fields and in the face of
frontal and flank fire would, Lee well understood, be a gamble seldom
undertaken. Longstreet strongly voiced his objection to such a move,
insisting that “no 15,000 men ever arrayed for battle can take that
position.”

    [Illustration: _View of the Peach Orchard and the Emmitsburg Road in
    1890. The Wentz farm buildings appear at the left._ (Tipton
    photograph.)]

    [Illustration: _Devil’s Den, a formation of large granite boulders,
    used as defense positions by Confederate sharpshooters._]

Time now was the important element. Whatever could be done must be done
quickly. Hood’s and McLaws’ divisions, who had fought bravely and lost
heavily at Round Top and the Wheatfield, were not in condition for
another severe test. Early and Johnson on the left had likewise endured
long, unrelenting battle with powerful Union forces in positions of
advantage. The men of Heth’s and Pender’s divisions had not been heavily
engaged since the first day’s encounter west of Gettysburg. These were
the men, along with Pickett’s division, whom Lee would have to count on
to bear the brunt of his final great effort at Gettysburg.


LEE AND MEADE SET THE STAGE.

Late in the forenoon of July 3, General Meade had completed his plan of
defense in rear of the Union center by the concentration of all
available infantry units. General Hunt, sensing the danger, placed a
solid line of batteries in position on the crest of the ridge and
brought others to the rear for emergency use. As a final act of
preparation, Meade inspected his front at the stone wall, then rode
southward to Little Round Top. Here, with General Warren, he could see
the long lines of Confederate batteries and the massing of troops, a
sure indication of attack. Meade rode back to his headquarters.

Lee, on his part, had observed in the forenoon the enemy in the process
of concentration on Cemetery Ridge. Having reached his decision to
strike the Union center, he had already begun the movement of batteries
from the rear to points of advantage. By noon, 138 guns were in line
from the Peach Orchard northward to the Seminary buildings, many of them
only 800 yards from the Union center. To Colonel Alexander fell the lot
of directing the artillery fire and informing the infantry of the best
opportunity to advance.

Massed to the west of Emmitsburg Road, on low ground which screened
their position from the Union lines, lay Gen. George Pickett’s three
brigades commanded by Kemper, Armistead, and Garnett. Pickett’s men had
arrived the previous evening from Chambersburg, where they had guarded
Lee’s wagons on July 1 and 2. As the only fresh body of troops on the
field, they were now to spearhead the charge. On Pickett’s left, the
attacking front was fast being organized. Joseph Pettigrew, a brigadier,
was preparing to lead the division of the wounded Major General Heth and
Maj. Gen. Isaac Trimble took the command of Pender. More than 10,000
troops of these two divisions—including such units as the 26th North
Carolina whose losses on the first day were so heavy that the dead
marked their advance “with the accuracy of a line at a dress parade”—now
awaited the order to attack. Many hours earlier, the Bliss farm
buildings, which lay in their front, had been burned. Their objective on
the ridge was in clear view. The brigades of Wilcox and Lang were to
move forward on the right of Pickett in order to protect his flank as he
neared the enemy position.

    [Illustration: _The Round Tops as they appear from Longstreet’s
    battle line one mile away._]

General Stuart, in the meantime, had been out of touch with Lee. Moving
northward on the right flank of the Union Army, he became involved in a
sharp engagement at Hanover, Pa., on June 30. Seeking to regain contact
with Lee, he arrived at Carlisle on the evening of July 1. As he began
shelling the barracks, orders arrived from Lee and he at once marched
for Gettysburg, arriving north of the town the next day. Lee now decided
to employ his cavalry to cut off Union retreat which might result from a
successful attack on the center. Stuart was instructed to swing eastward
and then south around Gettysburg the morning of July 3 in order to
arrive in the rear of the Union lines at the time Pickett was expected
to charge the center.

    [Illustration: BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG]

    [Illustration: _View northward from Little Round Top. 1. Cemetery
    Ridge. 2. Cemetery Hill. 3. Field of Pickett’s Charge. 4. Seminary
    Ridge. 5. Oak Hill. The statue of G. K. Warren appears in the
    foreground._]

    [Illustration: _Meade’s headquarters as it appears today._]

Except for the intermittent sniping of sharpshooters, an ominous silence
prevailed over the fields. The orders had now been given; the objective
had been pointed out. Men talked of casual things. Some munched on hard
bread, others looked fearfully to the eastward, where, with the same
mixed feelings, lay their adversary.

Far to the south, on another crucial front, General Pemberton was
penning a letter to General Grant asking terms for the surrender of
Vicksburg. In Richmond, the sick and anxious Jefferson Davis looked
hopefully for heartening word from his great field commander at
Gettysburg. The outcome of this bold venture would count heavily in the
balance for the cause of the Confederacy.


ARTILLERY DUEL AT ONE O’CLOCK.

At 1 o’clock two guns of Miller’s Battery, posted near the Peach
Orchard, opened fire in rapid succession. It was the signal for the
entire line to let loose their terrific blast. Gunners rushed to their
cannon, and in a few moments the massed batteries shook the countryside.
Firing in salvos and in succession, the air was soon filled with smoke
and heavy dust, which darkened the sky. Union gunners on Cemetery Ridge
waited a few minutes until the positions of the Confederate batteries
were located; then 80 guns, placed it close order, opened fire. For
nearly 2 hours the duel continued, then that Union fire slackened. Hunt
had ordered a partial cessation in order to cool the guns and to replace
broken carriages.

    [Illustration: _Panorama of the battlefield from Cemetery Ridge. 1.
    General Meade statue. 2. Cemetery Ridge_ (Union position). _3.
    Little Round Top. 4. Big Round Top. 5. Devil’s Den. 6. High Water
    Mark—farthest advance of Pickett’s Charge. 7. The Wheatfield. 8. The
    Angle. 9. The Peach Orchard. 10. Codori Buildings. 11. Field of
    Pickett’s Charge. 12. Emmitsburg Road. 13. Seminary Ridge_
    (Confederate position). _14. Virginia Memorial._]

Colonel Alexander, in position on the Emmitsburg Road near the Peach
Orchard, could observe the effectiveness of his fire on the Union lines
and also keep the Confederate troops in view. To him, it appeared that
Union artillery fire was weakening. His own supply of ammunition was
running low. Believing this was the time to attack, Alexander sent a
message to Pickett who in turn rode over to Longstreet. General
Longstreet, who had persistently opposed Lee’s plan of sending 15,000
men across the open ground, was now faced with a final decision.
Longstreet merely nodded approval and Pickett saluted, saying, “I am
going to move forward, sir.” He rode back to his men and ordered the
advance. With Kemper on the right, Garnett on the left, and Armistead a
few yards to the rear, the division marched out in brigade front, first
northeastward into the open fields, then eastward toward the Union
lines. As Pickett’s men came into view near the woods, Pettigrew and
Trimble gave the order to advance. The troops of the Carolinas,
Tennessee, and Mississippi, comprising the brigades of Mayo, Davis,
Marshall, and Fry in front, followed closely by Lane and Lowrance, now
moved out to attack. A gap of half a mile between Pickett’s left and
Pettigrew’s right would be closed as the advance progressed. The units
were to converge as they approached the Union lines so that the final
stage of the charge would present a solid front.


CLIMAX AT GETTYSBURG.

Billows of smoke lay ahead of the Union men at the stone wall,
momentarily obscuring the enemy. But trained observers on Little Round
Top, far to the south, could see in the rear of this curtain of smoke
the waves of Confederates starting forward. Pickett, finding his
brigades drifting southeastward, ordered them to bear to the left, and
the men turned toward the copse of trees. Kemper was now approaching on
the south of the Codori buildings; Garnett and Armistead were on the
north. Halted momentarily at the Emmitsburg Road to remove fence rails,
Pickett’s troops, with Pettigrew on the left, renewed the advance.
Pickett had anticipated frontal fire of artillery and infantry from the
strong Union positions at the stone walls on the ridge, but now an
unforeseen attack developed. Union guns as far south as Little Round
Top, along with batteries on Cemetery Hill, relieved from Confederate
fire at the Seminary buildings, opened on the right and left flanks. As
Pickett’s men drove toward the Union works at The Angle, Stannard’s
Vermont troops, executing a right turn movement from their position
south of the copse, fired into the flank of the charging Confederates.
The advancing lines crumbled, re-formed, and again pressed ahead under
terrific fire from the Union batteries.

    [Illustration: _Maj. Gen. J. E. B. Stuart._ Courtesy National
    Archives.]

    [Illustration: _Maj. Gen. George E. Pickett._ Courtesy National
    Archives.]

A hundred yards from the stone wall, in the tall grass, they encountered
Union skirmishers who fired and hastily withdrew. But all along the wall
the Union infantry opened with volley after volley into the depleted
ranks of Garnett and Fry. Armistead closed in, and with Lane and
Lowrance joining him, made a last concerted drive. At this close range,
double canister and concentrated infantry fire cut wide gaps in the
attacking front. Garnett was mortally wounded; Kemper was down, his
lines falling away on the right and left. Armistead reached the low
stone fence. In a final surge, he crossed the wall with 150 men and,
with his cap on his sword, shouted “Follow me!” At the peak of the
charge, he fell mortally wounded. From the ridge, Union troops rushed
forward and Hall’s Michigan regiments let loose a blast of musketry. The
gray column was surrounded. The tide of the Confederacy had “swept to
its crest, paused, and receded.”

Two of the divisions in the charge were reduced to mere fragments. In
front of the Union line, 20 fallen battle flags lay in a space of 100
yards square. Singly and in little clumps, the remnants of the gray
columns that had made the magnificent charge of a few minutes earlier
now sullenly retreated across the fields toward the Confederate lines.
Lee, who had watched anxiously from Spangler’s Woods, now rode out to
meet his men. “All this has been my fault,” he said to General Wilcox
who had brought off his command after heavy losses. “It is I that have
lost this fight, and you must help me out of it in the best way you
can.” And again that night, in a moment of contemplation, he remarked to
a comrade, “Too bad! too bad! Oh! too bad!”

    [Illustration: _The Angle, showing the stone wall and the fields’
    over which Pickett’s troops charged. The Virginia Memorial appears
    in the background on Seminary Ridge._]

    [Illustration: _The High Water Mark Monument, which marks the
    farthest advance made by the Confederates against the Federal
    position in Pickett’s Charge._]


CAVALRY ACTION.

As the strength of Lee’s mighty effort at The Angle was ebbing and the
scattered remnants of the charge were seeking shelter, action of a
different kind was taking place on another field not far distant. Early
in the afternoon, Stuart’s cavalry was making its way down the valley of
Cress Run, 3 miles east of Gettysburg. The brigades of Hampton and
Fitzhugh Lee, at the rear of the line of march, momentarily lost the
trail and came out into open ground at the north end of Rummel’s Woods.
Stuart, soon learning of the mistake, attempted to bring them into line
and to proceed southward. But at this point, Gen. D. M. Gregg’s Union
cavalry, in position along the Hanover Road a mile southeast, saw the
Confederates. Gregg prepared at once to attack, and Stuart had no choice
but to fight on this ground. As the two forces moved closer, dismounted
men opened a brisk fire, supported by the accurate shelling of
artillerists.

    [Illustration: _Section of the Cyclorama painting of Pickett’s
    Charge by Paul Philippoteaux._ Courtesy Times and News Publishing
    Company.]

    [Illustration: _The General Hospital one mile east of Gettysburg. A
    few weeks after the battle the Union and Confederate wounded were
    removed to this place from field hospitals in the rear of the battle
    lines._ (Brady photograph.)]

Then came the initial cavalry charge and countercharge. The Confederate
Jenkins was forced to withdraw when his small supply of ammunition
became exhausted. Hampton, Fitzhugh Lee, and Chambliss charged again and
again, only to be met with the equally spirited counterattack of
McIntosh. Custer’s Michigan regiments closed in on a flank movement
against the right of the charging Confederate troopers, and Miller’s
squadron of the 3d Pennsylvania, disobeying orders to hold its position,
struck opportunely on the Confederate left. The thrusts of the Union
horsemen, so well coordinated, stopped the onslaught of Stuart’s
troopers. After 3 hours of driving assaults, the Confederates left the
field and retired to the north of Gettysburg. The Union horsemen,
holding their ground, had successfully cut off the prospect of
Confederate cavalry aid in the rear of the Union lines on Cemetery
Ridge.



                           _End of Invasion_


Lee, as he looked over the desolate field of dead and wounded and the
broken remnants of his once-powerful army still ready for renewed
battle, must have realized that not only was Gettysburg lost, but that
eventually it might all end this way. Meade did not counterattack, as
expected. The following day, July 4, the two armies lay facing each
other, exhausted and torn.

    [Illustration: _During the 75th anniversary of the Battle of
    Gettysburg, July 1-4, 1938, 1,845 soldiers attended the Federal and
    Confederate reunion. Here veterans of the two armies clasp hands
    across the stone wall at The Angle._]

Late on the afternoon of July 4, Lee began an orderly retreat. The wagon
train of wounded, 17 miles in length, guarded by Imboden’s cavalry,
started homeward through Greenwood and Greencastle. At night, the
able-bodied men marched over the Hagerstown Road by way of Monterey Pass
to the Potomac. Roads had become nearly impassable from the heavy rains
that day. So well did Stuart cover the retreat that the army reached the
Potomac with comparatively little loss. Meade, realizing that the
Confederate Army was actually retreating and not retiring to the
mountain passes, sent his cavalry and Sedgwick’s corps of infantry in
pursuit and ordered the mountain passes west of Frederick covered. Lee,
having the advantage of the more direct route to the Potomac, reached
the river several days ahead of his pursuers, but heavy rains had
swollen the current and he could not cross. Meade arrived on the night
of July 12 and prepared for a general attack. On the following night,
however, the river receded and Lee crossed safely into Virginia. The
Confederate Army, Meade’s critics said, had been permitted to slip from
the Union grasp.

    [Illustration: _The Eternal Light Peace Memorial, dedicated on the
    75th anniversary of the battle, commemorates “Peace Eternal in a
    Nation United.”_]



                        _Lincoln and Gettysburg_


ESTABLISHMENT OF A BURIAL GROUND.

For the residents of Gettysburg the aftermath of battle was almost as
trying as the 3 days of struggle that had swirled about them. The town’s
2,400 inhabitants, and the nearby country folk, bore a heavy share of
the burden of caring for the 21,000 wounded and dying of both sides, who
were left behind when the armies moved on. Spacious rooms in churches
and schools and hundreds of homes were turned over to the care of the
wounded; and kindly folk from neighboring towns came to help those of
Gettysburg in ministering to the needs of the maimed and shattered men.

Adequate attention to the wounded was an immediate necessity, but fully
as urgent was the need of caring for the dead. Nearly 6,000 had been
killed in action, and hundreds died each day from mortal wounds. In the
earlier stages of the battle, soldiers of both armies performed the
tasks of burying their fallen comrades, but the struggle had reached
such large proportions and the scene of battle had so shifted that
fallen men had come within enemy lines. Because of the emergencies of
battle, therefore, hundreds of bodies had been left unburied or only
partially covered. It was evident that the limited aid which could be
offered by local authorities must be supported by a well-organized plan
for disinterment of the dead from the temporary burial grounds on the
field and reburial in a permanent place at Gettysburg or in home
cemeteries.

A few days after the battle, the Governor of the Commonwealth, Hon.
Andrew Curtin, visited the battlefield to offer assistance in caring for
the wounded. When official duties required his return to Harrisburg, he
appointed Attorney David Wills, of Gettysburg, to act as his special
agent. At the time of his visit, the Governor was especially distressed
by the condition of the dead. In response to the Governor’s desire that
the remains be brought together in a place set aside for the purpose,
Mr. Wills selected land on the northern slope of Cemetery Hill and
suggested that the State of Pennsylvania purchase the ground at once in
order that interments could begin without delay. He proposed that
contributions for the purpose of laying out and landscaping the grounds
be asked from legislatures of the States whose soldiers had taken part
in the battle.

Within 6 weeks, Mr. Wills had purchased 17 acres of ground on Cemetery
Hill and engaged William Saunders, an eminent landscape gardener, to lay
out the grounds in State lots, apportioned in size to the number of
graves for the fallen of each State. Each of the Union States
represented in the battle made contributions for planning and
landscaping.

The reinterment of 3,512 bodies in the cemetery was accomplished only
after many months. Great care had been taken to identify the bodies on
the field, and, at the time of reinterment, remains were readily
identified by marked boards which had been placed at the field grave or
by items found on the bodies. Even so, the names of 1,664 remained
unknown, 979 of whom were without identification either by name or by
State. Within a year, appropriations from the States made possible the
enclosure of the cemetery with a massive stone wall and an iron fence on
the Baltimore Street front, imposing gateways of iron, headstones for
the graves, and a keeper’s lodge. Since the original burials, the total
of Civil War interments has reached 3,706. Including those of later
wars, the total number now is 4,399.

    [Illustration: _Photograph of Lincoln taken a few days before he
    left Washington en route to Gettysburg, November 1863._ (Gardner
    photograph.)]

    [Illustration: _The Soldiers’ National Monument, commemorating the
    Federal dead who fell at Gettysburg, was dedicated July 1, 1869. It
    is located at the place where Lincoln delivered his Gettysburg
    Address._]

The removal of Confederate dead from the field burial plots was not
undertaken until 7 years after the battle. During the years 1870-73,
upon the initiative of the Ladies Memorial Associations of Richmond,
Raleigh, Savannah, and Charleston, 3,320 bodies were disinterred and
sent to cemeteries in those cities for reburial, 2,935 being interred in
Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond. Seventy-three bodies were reburied in home
cemeteries.

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania incorporated the cemetery in January
1864. The cemetery “having been completed, and the care of it by
Commissioners from so many states being burdensome and expensive,” the
Board of Commissioners, authorized by act of the General Assembly of
Pennsylvania in 1868, recommended the transfer of the cemetery to the
Federal Government. The Secretary of War accepted title to the cemetery
for the United States Government on May 1, 1872.


DEDICATION OF THE CEMETERY.

Having agreed upon a plan for the cemetery, the Commissioners believed
it advisable to consecrate the grounds with appropriate ceremonies. Mr.
Wills, representing the Governor of Pennsylvania, was selected to make
proper arrangements for the event. With the approval of the Governors of
the several States, he wrote to Hon. Edward Everett, of Massachusetts,
inviting him to deliver the oration on the occasion and suggested
October 23, 1863, as the date for the ceremony. Mr. Everett stated in
reply that the invitation was a great compliment, but that because of
the time necessary for the preparation of the oration he could not
accept a date earlier than November 19. This was the date agreed upon.

Edward Everett was the outstanding orator of his day. He had been a
prominent Boston minister and later a university professor. A cultured
scholar, he had delivered orations on many notable occasions. In a
distinguished career he became successively President of Harvard,
Governor of Massachusetts, United States Senator, Minister to England,
and Secretary of State.

    [Illustration: _The Wills house where Lincoln was a guest when the
    national cemetery was dedicated._]

The Gettysburg cemetery, at the time of the dedication, was not under
the authority of the Federal Government. It had not occurred to those in
charge, therefore, that the President of the United States might desire
to attend the ceremony. When formally printed invitations were sent to a
rather extended list of national figures, including the President, the
acceptance from Mr. Lincoln came as a surprise. Mr. Wills was thereupon
instructed to request the President to take part in the program, and, on
November 2, a personal invitation was addressed to him.

    [Illustration: _The procession on Baltimore Street en route to the
    cemetery for the dedicatory exercises, November 19._]

Throngs filled the town on the evening of November 18. The special train
from Washington bearing the President arrived in Gettysburg at dusk. Mr.
Lincoln was escorted to the spacious home of Mr. Wills on Center Square.
Sometime later in the evening the President was serenaded, and at a late
hour he retired. At 10 o’clock on the following morning, the appointed
time for the procession to begin, Mr. Lincoln was ready. The various
units of the long procession, marshaled by Ward Lamon, began moving on
Baltimore Street, the President riding horseback. The elaborate order of
march also included Cabinet officials, judges of the Supreme Court, high
military officers, Governors, commissioners, the Vice President, the
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Members of Congress, and many
local groups.

Difficulty in getting the procession under way and the tardy return of
Mr. Everett from his drive over the battleground accounted for a delay
of an hour in the proceedings. At high noon, with thousands scurrying
about for points of vantage, the ceremonies were begun with the playing
of a dirge by one of the bands. As the audience stood uncovered, a
prayer was offered by Rev. Thomas H. Stockton, Chaplain of the House of
Representatives. “Old Hundred” was played by the Marine Band. Then Mr.
Everett arose, and “stood a moment in silence, regarding the battlefield
and the distant beauty of the South Mountain range.” For nearly 2 hours
he reviewed the funeral customs of Athens, spoke of the purposes of war,
presented a detailed account of the 3-days’ battle, offered tribute to
those who died on the battlefield, and reminded his audience of the
bonds which are common to all Americans. Upon the conclusion of his
address, a hymn was sung.

    [Illustration: _First page of the second draft of the Gettysburg
    Address. This copy, made by Lincoln on the morning of November 19,
    was held in his hand while delivering his address._ Reproduced from
    the original in the Library of Congress.]

    [Illustration: _This photograph is the only known close-up view of
    the rostrum_ (upper left) _at the dedication of the national
    cemetery. The view shows a part of the audience which was estimated
    at 15,000._ (Bachrach photograph.)]

Then the President arose and spoke his immortal words:

  _Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this
  continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the
  proposition that all men are created equal._

  _Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation,
  or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are
  met on a great battle field of that war. We have come to dedicate a
  portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here
  gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting
  and proper that we should do this._

  _But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate—we cannot consecrate—we
  cannot hallow—this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who
  struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add
  or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say
  here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the
  living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they
  who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us
  to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from
  these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which
  they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly
  resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation,
  under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of
  the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the
  earth._

A hymn was then sung and Rev. H. L. Baugher pronounced the benediction.

    [Illustration: _Plan of the national cemetery drawn in the autumn of
    1863 by the notable landscape gardener, William Saunders._]



                                _MAP OF_
                              THE GROUNDS
                                  and
                       DESIGN FOR THE IMPROVEMENT
                                   of
                    THE SOLDIERS’ NATIONAL CEMETERY,
                            GETTYSBURG, PA.
                                 1863.
                                   By
                           WILLIAM SAUNDERS,
                  Landscape Gardener Germantown, Penn.


  1. UNKNOWN.
  2. ILLINOIS.
  3. VIRGINIA.
  4. DELAWARE.
  5. RHODE ISLAND.
  6. NEW HAMPSHIRE.
  7. VERMONT.
  8. NEW JERSEY.
  9. WISCONSIN.
  10. CONNECTICUT.
  11. MINNESOTA.
  12. MARYLAND.
  13. U. S. REGULARS.
  14. UNKNOWN.
  15. MAINE.
  16. MICHIGAN
  17. NEW YORK.
  18. PENNSYLVANIA.
  19. MASSACHUSETTS.
  20. OHIO.
  21. INDIANA.
  22. UNKNOWN.
  23. MONUMENT.
  24. GATE-HOUSE.
  25. FLAGSTAFF, ETC.

    [Illustration: _The Lincoln Address Memorial, the only monument ever
    erected to commemorate an address, stands near the west gate of the
    national cemetery._]


GENESIS OF THE GETTYSBURG ADDRESS.

The theme of the Gettysburg Address was not entirely new. “Must a
government, of necessity, be too strong for the liberties of its
people,” Lincoln had once asked, “or too weak to maintain its own
existence?” Speaking of war aims, he said, “We shall nobly save, or
meanly lose, the last best hope of earth.” When he referred at
Gettysburg to “the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus
far so nobly advanced,” he had in mind the high purpose of the
preservation of the Union and the welfare of all the people. More than a
year after Gettysburg, Lincoln in his Second Inaugural address uttered
words which might very well be considered a companion sentiment to those
expressed at Gettysburg: “With malice toward none; with charity for all;
with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right.” This
profession of faith came from the heart of a man of humility who sought
then, as he did throughout the war, to assuage suffering and anxiety
everywhere.

Rather than accept the address as a few brief notes hastily prepared on
the route to Gettysburg (an assumption which has long gained much public
acceptance), it should be regarded as a pronouncement of the high
purpose dominant in Lincoln’s thinking throughout the war. Habitually
cautious of words in public address, spoken or written, it is not likely
that the President, on such an occasion, failed to give careful thought
to the words which he would speak. After receiving the belated
invitation on November 2, he yet had ample time to prepare for the
occasion, and the well-known correspondent Noah Brooks stated that
several days before the dedication Lincoln told him in Washington that
his address would be “short, short, short” and that it was “written, but
not finished.”


THE FIVE AUTOGRAPH COPIES OF THE GETTYSBURG ADDRESS.

Even after his arrival at Gettysburg the President continued to put
finishing touches to his address. The first page of the original text
was written in ink on a sheet of Executive Mansion paper. The second
page, either written or revised at the Wills residence, was in pencil on
a sheet of foolscap, and, according to Lincoln’s secretary, Nicolay, the
few words changed in pencil at the bottom of the first page were added
while in Gettysburg. The second draft of the address was written in
Gettysburg probably on the morning of its delivery, as it contains
certain phrases that are not in the first draft but are in the reports
of the address as delivered and in subsequent copies made by Lincoln. It
is probable, as stated in the explanatory note accompanying the original
copies of the first and second drafts in the Library of Congress, that
it was the second draft which Lincoln held in his hand when he delivered
the address.

Quite opposite to Lincoln’s feeling, expressed soon after the delivery
of the address, that it “would not scour,” the President lived long
enough to think better of it himself and to see it widely accepted as a
masterpiece. Early in 1864, Mr. Everett requested him to join in
presenting manuscripts of the two addresses given at Gettysburg to be
bound in a volume and sold for the benefit of stricken soldiers at a
Sanitary Commission Fair in New York. The draft Lincoln sent became the
third autograph copy, known as the Everett-Keyes copy, and it is now in
the possession of the Illinois State Historical Library.

George Bancroft requested a copy in April 1864, to be included in
_Autograph Leaves of Our Country’s Authors_. This volume was to be sold
at a Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Sanitary Fair in Baltimore. As this fourth
copy was written on both sides of the paper, it proved unusable for this
purpose, and Mr. Bancroft was allowed to keep it. This autograph draft
is known as the Bancroft copy, as it remained in that family for many
years. It has recently been presented to the Cornell University Library.
Finding that the copy written for _Autograph Leaves_ could not be used,
Mr. Lincoln wrote another, a fifth draft, which was accepted for the
purpose requested. It is the only draft to which he affixed his
signature. In all probability it was the last copy written by Lincoln,
and because of the apparent care in its preparation it has become the
standard version of the address. The fifth draft, which long remained in
the hands of the family of Col. Alexander Bliss, publisher of _Autograph
Leaves_, is known as the Bliss copy. It was purchased in 1949 by Oscar
B. Cintas, of Havana, Cuba.


SOLDIERS’ NATIONAL MONUMENT.

As a fitting memorial to the Union dead who fell at Gettysburg, the
Commissioners arranged for the erection of a monument in the center of
the semicircular plot of graves. A design submitted by J. G. Batterson
was accepted and the services of Randolph Rogers, a distinguished
American sculptor, were secured for the execution of the monument.
Projecting from the four angles of the gray granite shaft are
allegorical statues in white marble representing War, History, Peace,
and Plenty. Surmounting the shaft is a white marble statue representing
the Genius of Liberty. Known as the Soldiers’ National Monument, the
cornerstone was laid July 4, 1865, and the monument dedicated July 1,
1869.


THE LINCOLN ADDRESS MEMORIAL.

The “few appropriate remarks” of Lincoln at Gettysburg came to be
accepted with the passing of years not only as a fine expression of the
purposes for which the war was fought, but as a masterpiece of
literature. An effort to have the words of the martyr President
commemorated on this battlefield culminated with the inclusion in the
act approved February 12, 1895, which established Gettysburg National
Military Park, of a provision for the erection of such a memorial.
Pursuant to this authority, the Park Commission erected the Lincoln
Address Memorial, in January 1912, near the west gate of the national
cemetery.

    [Illustration: _The national cemetery._]



              _Guide Tour of the Park_—(See map on page 52.)


The self-guide tour of the park begins on McPherson Ridge, a mile west
of Gettysburg. Upon arrival in Gettysburg, the visitor should first
locate Center Square, then drive a mile westward on U. S. No. 30 to the
statues of Generals Reynolds and Buford.


STOP 1. MCPHERSON RIDGE.

(Please face westward, with the statue of Reynolds on your right.)

The Battle of Gettysburg began on this ridge at 8 a. m., July 1, 1863.
The Confederate Army, approaching along the Chambersburg Pike, formed
line of battle on the ridge one-half mile westward where you see the
brick house (Herr Tavern). They first attacked the Union cavalry on this
ridge, then infantry on the ridge 200 yards to your rear. In the
afternoon, the Confederates renewed their drive from the west along the
Pike and also struck the Union right flank (Oak Hill, No. 2 on Tour
Map). The Union forces finally gave way, retreating first to the
Seminary buildings and then to Cemetery Hill south of Gettysburg.

General Reynolds, commanding a Union corps, was killed in the woods a
quarter of a mile southeast of this point. Buford, whose statue is just
in front of you, commanded the Union cavalry on this ridge. The marked
gun at the base of the Buford statue fired the first cannon shot at
Gettysburg. Oak Ridge lies one-half mile back of you, and the same
wooded ridge extending south of the Chambersburg Pike is Seminary Ridge.

General Lee, the Confederate commander, used the valley beyond the South
Mountains (to the west) as an avenue of approach into Pennsylvania.


STOP 2. OAK HILL.

(Please face southward with the Peace Memorial to your rear.)

The Battle of Gettysburg, which began at 8 a. m., on the two ridges a
mile south of here, halted at noon, and the Confederates withdrew. At 1
o’clock, a strong Confederate force arrived from the north on this hill
and fired into the flank of the Union men on the ridges to the south.
Faced with this powerful fire and with renewed attack from the west,
part of the Union forces were shifted to Oak Ridge (see monuments on the
ridge to your left) to meet the attack from this direction. Union troops
on the plain east of this ridge were soon forced by another strong
Confederate charge to retreat headlong through the streets of
Gettysburg, opening the Union line on Oak Ridge to flank and rear
attack. By mid-afternoon, the Union position on Oak Ridge was abandoned,
and the Confederates pursued the retreating Union troops through
Gettysburg, halting in the western part of the town.

The gap in the South Mountains to your right is Cashtown Pass where
Lee’s army crossed the range.


STOP 3. OAK RIDGE.

(Please face eastward toward the monuments on the plain.)

When Rodes’ Confederate troops reached Oak Hill at 1 o’clock, Union
troops on McPherson Ridge, as well as reserves, were shifted hurriedly
to this ground. The Union troops, posted back of the stone wall, faced
the Confederate charge from the west and north. Tenaciously holding this
ground through repeated Confederate attacks, the Union men were finally
forced to give way. Howard’s Union corps had arrived earlier in the
plain north of Gettysburg (see monuments to the east) but his command
was soon shattered by a Confederate force arriving from the northeast on
the Harrisburg Road (near flagpole, a mile eastward). As the Union
troops north of Gettysburg retreated, the men on this ridge became
isolated and withdrew to Cemetery Hill, south of the town.

The large white building on this side of Gettysburg is “Old Dorm” at
Gettysburg College, used as a hospital during the battle. Beyond the
town is Culp’s Hill (see the observation tower), and in the right
background is Cemetery Hill.


STOP 4. SEMINARY RIDGE.

(North Carolina Monument.)

General Lee had failed to achieve any definite gains July 2 against the
Union left flank at Little Round Top and the Peach Orchard, or the right
flank at Spangler’s Spring and Culp’s Hill. He therefore marshaled his
forces on the forenoon of July 3 for a final thrust against the center
of the Union line on Cemetery Ridge. For nearly 2 hours, 138 Confederate
guns on this ridge directed a heavy fire at the Union positions. Lee
then sent 15,000 men across the open ground with the Copse of Trees (No.
8 on the Tour Map) as their objective. Spearheaded by Pickett’s
division, and therefore known as Pickett’s Charge, this famous attack
failed to break the strong Union positions at the stone wall. The
advance marked the end of battle and the failure has been called the
High Water Mark of the Confederacy. Lee gave up hope of further attack
on this field, and on the following day began his retreat toward the
Potomac and Virginia.

The wooded knoll to the east is Cemetery Hill (No. 10 on the Tour Map).
Cemetery Ridge extends southward to Little Round Top (No. 7 on the Tour
Map), the small hill partially cleared of trees at the left of Big Round
Top. The Copse of Trees and The Angle (No. 8 on the Tour Map) are on the
crest of the Cemetery Ridge where the flagpole appears.


STOP 5. WARFIELD RIDGE.

The Union General Sickles, at noon July 2, began moving his troops
forward from Cemetery Ridge and Little Round Top to Devil’s Den Ridge
and the Peach Orchard. Longstreet’s Confederate corps was already
marching from the Chambersburg Road to extend the line southward across
the Emmitsburg Road. At 3:30 p. m., as Sickles’ men were taking position
at the Peach Orchard and the Emmitsburg Road, a half-mile north of here,
Longstreet brought his army into position on this ridge. A brisk
artillery exchange opened. Longstreet directed his infantry attack first
at Little Round Top (the partially cleared hill to your right) and then
along the whole Union line northward to the Peach Orchard and the
Emmitsburg Road. Four hours later, as darkness gathered, the Union line
had been shattered and forced to retreat. The Confederates gained
possession of the west slope of Big Round Top, Devil’s Den, and the high
ground in the vicinity of the Peach Orchard.


STOP 6. DEVIL’S DEN.

When General Sickles moved his corps forward to the Peach Orchard and
the Emmitsburg Road at 3 p. m., his left flank was here at Devil’s Den.
Longstreet’s Confederate brigades soon came charging from the west.
Striking the entire Union line, the base of Little Round Top and this
area quickly became a shambles. After hours of desperate struggle, the
Union line had been broken and the remnants forced to the rear. The
Confederates were now in possession of the west slope of Big Round Top,
Devil’s Den, the Wheatfield, and the Peach Orchard. Sharpshooters, using
the large boulders as defense positions, fired at Union men on the crest
of Little Round Top, 700 yards distant. A typical sharpshooter’s
barricade may still be seen at the top of Devil’s Den.


STOP 7. LITTLE ROUND TOP.

As Sickles completed the forward movement from Little Round Top and the
area northward, his new line extended from the Peach Orchard
southeastward through the Wheatfield to Devil’s Den (see boulders
below). Longstreet’s attack on Little Round Top developed from the ridge
a mile westward. His brigades successively struck the entire Union line
from Devil’s Den to the Emmitsburg Road. The Confederates in a 4-hour
fight broke the entire Union line, and the remnants of Sickles’ corps
were forced to retreat to the rear of the Round Tops. The Confederates
gained possession of the west slope of Big Round Top, Devil’s Den, the
Wheatfield (the open ground surrounded by woods), and the Peach Orchard
(near the white buildings on the ridge). The quick action of General
Warren (see bronze figure to the north) in bringing troops to Little
Round Top saved the hill for the Union. The stone breastworks on the
slope of the hill were constructed during the night of July 2 as a
defense measure against further attack. Big Round Top, a quarter of a
mile southward, was heavily wooded at the time of the battle and could
not be used to advantage by either artillery or infantry.


STOP 8. CEMETERY RIDGE (THE ANGLE).

On the afternoon of July 2, General Lee had tried to turn the left flank
of the Union line at Little Round Top and the Peach Orchard, and the
right flank at Culp’s Hill and Spangler’s Spring. Meeting with only
partial success in these attempts, he then planned to strike the center.
First he massed his artillery on Seminary Ridge and across the fields.
Many batteries were hardly more than 800 yards west of here. Beginning
at 1 o’clock they engaged in an artillery duel of nearly 2 hours with
the powerful Union batteries on this ridge. Then 15,000 men, in a battle
line a mile in length, and spearheaded by Pickett’s division, started
from the Confederate lines across the open fields, with the Copse of
Trees as their guide. When they reached the Emmitsburg Road 300 yards
away, the men charged. Canister from Union artillery and concentrated
infantry fire from the Union men at the stone walls soon cut wide gaps
in the Confederate line. They reached the wall, and a small band of men
crossed, but the tide had turned. In Lee’s final great effort, he had
lost nearly 10,000 of his men. The remnants gave way and soon were in
full retreat to the Confederate lines. The counterattack, which Lee
feared, never developed.

The Copse of Trees is at your left, surrounded by the iron fence. The
position of Cushing’s battery of United States artillery, which held the
position at The Angle, is marked by four guns. The statue of General
Meade stands to the right and rear.


STOP 9. MEADE’S HEADQUARTERS.

Gen. George G. Meade, commanding the Union Army, arrived on the field
near midnight, July 1. He used the Leister house as his headquarters.

On the night of July 2, General Meade called a council of his corps
commanders in this house to determine whether they should hold the
positions then established. The commanders advised him to hold the
existing lines. Meade, agreeing with their advice and expecting the next
attack on the center of his line, began the concentration of artillery
and infantry strength in this area.

The Leister house and barn were badly damaged by the artillery fire
which preceded Pickett’s Charge.


STOP 10. NATIONAL CEMETERY.

Soon after the battle, Governor Curtin, of Pennsylvania, commissioned
Attorney David Wills, of Gettysburg, to purchase this ground as a
cemetery for the Union dead. While reburials from the temporary graves
on the battlefield were in progress, a committee arranged for a formal
dedication on November 19, 1863. President Lincoln delivered his famous
Gettysburg Address on that occasion. The National Monument,
commemorating the Union soldiers who fell at Gettysburg, was dedicated,
in 1869, on the site where Lincoln spoke. A memorial to the address was
erected, in 1912, near the west gate of the cemetery.


STOP 11. CYCLORAMA OF PICKETT’S CHARGE.

The Cyclorama of Pickett’s Charge is regarded as a masterpiece of art.
It offers an unsurpassed picture of the wartime appearance of the field,
the manner of fighting, and of equipment employed. This magnificent
painting, measuring 370 feet in circumference and 30 feet in height, was
acquired by the National Park Service in 1942. The French artist, Paul
Philippoteaux, completed the painting in 1884. It was brought to
Gettysburg in 1913 when it was first mounted and exhibited in connection
with the observance of the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg.


STOP 12. EAST CEMETERY HILL.

Early’s Confederates assaulted Union positions here at dusk on July 2,
in coordination with an attack on Culp’s Hill (to your right). Rodes’
men failed to charge from the west at the same time. Early’s troops took
possession of the hill and many of the guns, but in the absence of
support from Rodes they were driven back. The desperate hand-to-hand
fighting lasted long after dark.

Culp’s Hill is one-quarter mile eastward (see the observation tower) and
Spangler’s Spring a few hundred yards beyond. Oak Ridge, a landmark of
the first day’s battle, appears northwest of the town.


STOP 13. CULP’S HILL.

A Confederate attack was directed against this hill on July 2 in
conjunction with the assault on East Cemetery Hill. Because of the steep
incline and the strength of the Union positions here at the crest, the
Confederate force shifted southward across Rock Creek for a flank
attack. Most of the Union troops had been ordered earlier to the defense
of the Wheatfield and Peach Orchard. The Confederates, meeting with
little resistance, took possession of the Union earthworks on the south
slope of this hill. Before a Confederate attack developed against this
position on the following morning, the Union force had returned. After
fighting throughout the forenoon of July 3, they forced the Confederates
out of the Union defense works. The Union brigade commanded by General
Greene retained this position throughout the battle of July 2 and 3.


STOP 14. SPANGLER’S SPRING.

Failing to take possession of Culp’s Hill on the evening of July 2,
Johnson’s Confederate force shifted southward across Rock Creek and
attacked the Union position on the hill north of this spring. The
defense works here had been vacated an hour earlier when most of the
troops were called to help defend the Union line in the Wheatfield and
Peach Orchard. The Confederates then took possession of the Union works.
The Union forces, having returned during the night, opened fire at dawn
on July 3 with artillery and infantry. Confederate troops who were
posted in the Union works and in rear of the stone wall on the hill to
the north made a determined stand. After hard fighting, which ended only
at noon, the Union force succeeded in driving the Confederates out of
these works and eastward beyond striking range.



                               _The Park_


In 1895, the battlefield was established by act of Congress as
Gettysburg National Military Park. In that year, the Gettysburg
Battlefield Memorial Association, which had been founded April 30, 1864,
for the purpose of commemorating “the great deeds of valor, endurance,
and noble self-sacrifice, and to perpetuate the memory of the heroes,
and the signal events which render these battlegrounds illustrious,”
transferred its holdings of 600 acres of land, 17 miles of avenues, and
320 monuments and markers to the Federal Government. Under the
jurisdiction of the War Department until 1933, the park was transferred
in that year to the Department of the Interior to be administered by the
National Park Service. Today, the park consists of 2,554.82 acres of
land and 26 miles of paved roads.

The fields over which the battles were fought cover about 16,000 acres
and include the town of Gettysburg. A total of 2,390 monuments, tablets,
and markers have been erected over the years to indicate the positions
where infantry, artillery, and cavalry units fought. Of the 354 Union
and 272 Confederate cannon engaged or held in reserve during the battle,
233 Federal and 182 Confederate are located on the field in the
approximate position of the batteries during the battle.



            _Anniversary Reunions of the Civil War Veterans_


The great interest of veterans and the public alike in the Gettysburg
battlefield has been reflected over the years in three outstanding
anniversary celebrations. Dominant in the observance of the 25th
anniversary in 1888 were the veterans themselves, who returned to encamp
on familiar ground. It was on this occasion that a large number of
regimental monuments, erected by survivors of regiments or by States,
were dedicated. Again, in 1913, on the 50th anniversary, even though the
ranks were gradually thinning, the reunion brought thousands of veterans
back to the battlefield. Perhaps the most impressive tribute to the
surviving veterans occurred July 1-4, 1938, on the occasion of the
observance of the 75th anniversary of the battle and the last reunion of
the men who wore the blue and the gray. Although 94 years was the
average age of those attending, 1,845 veterans, out of a total of about
8,000 then living, returned for the encampment. It was on this occasion
that the Eternal Light Peace Memorial was dedicated.



                        _How to Reach the Park_


Gettysburg National Military Park and National Cemetery are accessible
by highway over U. S. No. 30 from the east and west, U. S. No. 15 from
the north and south; U. S. No. 140 from Baltimore, Md.; State No. 34
from Carlisle, Pa.; and State No. 116 from Hagerstown, Md., and Hanover,
Pa. Greyhound Bus Lines operate over U. S. Nos. 30 and 140; the Blue
Ridge Lines over U. S. No. 15 from the south; and the
Gettysburg-Harrisburg Bus Line over U. S. No. 15 from Harrisburg.



                            _Administration_


Gettysburg National Military Park is administered by the National Park
Service of the United States Department of the Interior. Communications
should be addressed to the Superintendent, Gettysburg National Military
Park, Gettysburg, Pa.



                            _Related Areas_


Significant parts of most of the major battlefields of the Civil War
have been set aside under the control of the Federal Government to be
administered as national military areas by the National Park Service.
Among the areas in this group are: Antietam National Battlefield Site,
Md.; Manassas National Battlefield Park, Va.; Fredericksburg and
Spotsylvania County Battlefields Memorial National Military Park
(includes Chancellorsville, The Wilderness, Spotsylvania Court House,
and Fredericksburg battlefields), Va.; Petersburg National Military
Park, Va.; Richmond National Battlefield Park, Va.; Appomattox Court
House National Historical Park, Va.; Shiloh National Military Park,
Tenn; Fort Donelson National Military Park, Tenn.; Stones River National
Military Park, Tenn.; Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military
Park, Tenn.-Ga.; Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, Ga.; Fort
Sumter National Monument, S. C.; Vicksburg National Military Park,
Miss.; and Fort Pulaski National Monument, Ga.



                          _Visitor Facilities_


Information and free literature concerning the park may be obtained at
the National Park Service museum in the Post Office building, at the
national cemetery office, and at the park entrance stations. The
services of park historians are available free for explanation of the
battle, talks over a relief model of the battlefield in the museum, and
for field tours with educational groups. A historian is stationed at
Little Round Top during the summer season.

Field exhibits, consisting of a map of the battlefield and wartime
photographs, are located at important points in the park for the use and
interest of the public. With the exception of December, January, and
February, the cyclorama is open weekdays from 10 a. m. to 12 noon and 1
p. m. to 5 p. m. and on Sundays 10 a. m. to 12 noon and 1 p. m. to 6 p.
m. The admission fee is 25 cents for persons 12 years of age and over.
School groups, 12 to 18 years of age, and children under 12 years of age
are admitted free. Battlefield guides, licensed by the National Park
Service, operate under the supervision of the park superintendent. A
complete tour of the park, which covers the battleground of July 1,
north and west of Gettysburg, and of July 2 and 3, south of the town,
requires approximately 2 hours, and the guide fee is $4. A special tour,
covering the main points of interest and requiring about 1 hour, is
available at a fee of $3. The guide fee for a short bus tour is $5; for
a long bus tour $6.

    [Illustration: BATTLEFIELD OF GETTYSBURG]

  LEGEND
    1 MCPHERSON RIDGE
    2 OAK HILL
    3 OAK RIDGE
    4 SEMINARY RIDGE
    5 WARFIELD RIDGE
    6 DEVIL’S DEN
    7 LITTLE ROUND TOP
    8 THE ANGLE
    9 MEADE’S HDQRS.
    10 NAT’L. MONUMENT
    11 CYCLORAMA
    12 EAST CEMETERY HILL
    13 CULPS HILL
    14 SPANGLER’S SPRING


                         NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
                       HISTORICAL HANDBOOK SERIES

   (Price lists of National Park Service publications may be obtained
                 from the Superintendent of Documents,
                          Washington 25, D.C.)

  Antietam
  Bandelier
  Chalmette
  Chickamauga and Chattanooga Battlefields
  Custer Battlefield
  Custis-Lee Mansion, the Robert E. Lee Memorial
  Fort Laramie
  Fort McHenry
  Fort Necessity
  Fort Pulaski
  Fort Raleigh
  Fort Sumter
  George Washington Birthplace
  Gettysburg
  Guilford Courthouse
  Hopewell Village
  Independence
  Jamestown, Virginia
  Kings Mountain
  The Lincoln Museum and the House Where Lincoln Died
  Manassas (Bull Run)
  Montezuma Castle
  Morristown, a Military Capital of the Revolution
  Ocmulgee
  Petersburg Battlefields
  Saratoga
  Scotts Bluff
  Shiloh
  Statue of Liberty
  Vanderbilt Mansion
  Vicksburg
  Yorktown

    [Illustration: Eagle statue]



                          Transcriber’s Notes


—Retained publication information from the printed edition: this eBook
  is public-domain in the country of publication.

—Corrected a few palpable typos.

—In the text versions only, text in italics is delimited by
  _underscores_.





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