This landmark gained importance in the second day of the fighting near Gettysburg, July 2, 1863, with a Confederate assault by Lt. Gen. James Longstreet's First Corps through this terrain. Conducted by the division of Maj. Gen. John Bell Hood, and including both the Texas Brigade and 3rd Arkansas, the charge was directed towards the left flank of the Union Army of the Potomac and hit Devil's Den as well as the high ground. In the wide panorama picture, taken from the Union position on Little Round Top hill you can see the Devil's Den on the left. Double click on the picture to enlarge it. Devil's Den was defended by the Union III Corps division of Maj. Gen. David B. Birney, later reinforced by the V Corps. Today, public attention is generally focused only on the sharpshooter activity that characterized Devil's Den later in the battle. In fact, Devil's Den has become something of a legend among snipers because of a specific engagement that took place during the second day of the battle. A Confederate sharpshooter had taken up position, harassing the Union artillery battery, preventing them from firing.
This is the field where Pickett's charge took place. Pickett's Charge was an infantry assault ordered by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee against Maj. Gen. George G. Meade's Union positions on Cemetery Ridge on July 3, 1863, the last day of the Battle of Gettysburg during the Civil War. Its futility was predicted by the charge's commander, Lt. Gen. James Longstreet, and it was arguably an avoidable mistake from which the Southern war effort never fully recovered psychologically. The farthest point reached by the attack has been referred to as the high-water mark of the Confederacy.
OK, today is Wednesday June 1 and we are finally in a location (Old Mystic, CT) where we have Internet access good enough to post pictures so I can now bring the blog up to date, although I will have forgotten some of the details because we have been so busy. Last Wednesday we took a guided bus tour of the battlefield which was quite interesting with all the details the guide gave us. His great grandfather owned some of the property where the battle took place! He had studied the battle for decades (a hobby) and was one of the fifteen guides (out of over 500 that took the park service exam) that is hired for the season. That's him pointing in the picture. Resting on the cannon is the various bullets used at Gettysburg....except the very small brass one used today.
