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DAY 1

I drove across the bucolic hills of south central Pennsylvannia enjoying a beautiful day. The only hint of blue and chestnut grey was the feathers of Blue Jays and Morning Doves darting through the trees. The only hint of red in the fields was Red- Winged Black birds, but then I entered Gettysburg. One hundred and forty five years ago, I'm sure the day started the same way.

Looking north at the town of Gettysburg from Culp's Hill.

Below is the statue of General John Buford. He saw the Confederate infantry coming into Gettysburg on the Chambersburg Pike and decided to make his stand choosing "good ground".

The Chambersburg Pike road today.

Buford fired this cannon to start the battle.

Oak Ridge looking east towards Barlow Knoll.

 Barlow's Knoll was Union position smashed by Confederate infantry.

Jubal Early's Confederates smashed into the Union defenders and chased them into town across this field.

After the Union forces retreated thru Gettysburg, the Confederates took up sharpshooter positions in the houses and fired at the Union troops on Cemetary Hill. The Farnsworth house above has 100 bullet holes in it.

A Louisianna sharpshooter was killed on the balcony of this house.

Statue of Jenny Wade in front of the house where she died. She was the only civilian killed during the three day battle.

At the end of day 1, the Confederates held the town and Seminary Ridge. The Union held Culp's Hill, Cemetary Hill and Cemetary Ridge down to the base of Little Round Top. The Union line looked like a fish hook.

This monument is dedicated to the Irish Brigades. The New York "Fighting 69th" is probably the most noted, but both sides had Irish Brigades. They marched into battle with green flags emblazoned with gold harps against each other in order to be good citizens for their side.

EATS:

HOTEL:

The Gettysburg Memorial Monument, built on the spot where Lincoln gave his Gettysburg Address. 

DAY 2

Confederate General Longstreet started to move his men forward from this position at Warfield Ridge.

 Longstreet assaulted the Wheatfield, the Peach Orchard and Devil's Den.

The Wheat Field.

 Troops from both sides hid in this barn. There is a cannon ball hole still visible.

The fields of the Peach Orchard. The Confederates over ran the Union position forcing them to retreat.

Union soldiers retreated from the Orchard across Plum Run(below).

 The Union troops reformed their lines on Cemetary Ridge, highlighted by the Pennsylvannia Monument in the distance.

The rocks of Devil's Den.

Union troops were pushed off the rocks of Devil's Den by Confederates led by General John Bell Hood.

The statue of General Warren on Little Round Trip.

 Warren looked at the Confederates moving through the valley below surrounding the troops at Devil's Den.

He looked right and saw other troops retreating from the Peach Orchard and Wheat Field and realized that if the Confederates took the spot where he was standing, the battle would be lost. The Confederates would own the high ground and with cannons could rip into the Union left flank.

Warren had the New York regiments under the command of Colonel Strong Vincent take positions on top of Little Round Top. The Confederates attacked and attacked. The Union held, but Vincent called for more troops as he watched the opposing troops reforming further to the left. In the next attack, he perished.

Before he died, Vincent told the Col. of his re-enforcements, Josiah Chamberlain that he was the extreme left flank of the Union line. There was no one else. Chamberlain and his 20th Maine had to hold at all cost. Chamberlain was a college professor and read books on military history on his way to war. The Alabamians forming at the bottom of Little Round Top would put him to the test. The Confederates attacked and did not stop. Chamberlain's command fell around him, but they held. The Confederates fell back to regroup.

Chamberlain looked around at his men, half were dead or wounded and they were running out of ammunition.

He patched up his walking wounded. He gathered ammunition from the dead and with the realization that the Alabamians were probably as tired as he and his men were, he readied for the next attack. He could see the Confederates moving up below him and drew his sword. He yelled"fix bayonets" and charged down the hill. The Alabamians were as bad off as Chamberlain expected. The 20th Maine charged down the hill, many with out a bullet in their rifle. The men of Alabama surrended and Little Round Top did not fall.

 CULP'S HILL

Union troops watched as Confederate troops swarmed over the rolling hills above toward them.

The Union troops on east Cemetary Hill held.

Union cannons on Culp's Hill helped to hold off the Confederate attack by General Ewel's troops.

Union Brigade after brigade repealed the Confederate attacks as the rebel army kept moving around the Union right flank.

 Finally, after seven hours of fighting the Confederates took Spangler's Spring. They were driven off the next morning.

DAY 3

The copse of trees below was the center point of the attack planned by Confederate General Lee.

The Union troops looked across the field at the Confederates forming to their front.

 The Confederates looked at the Union brigades on Cemetary Ridge to their front.

 The North Carolinians formed up.

The Virginians formed up.

Between them, the Tennesseans.

 The Confederates looked acroos the fields and waited for two hours as cannons bombarded the Union center. That is the copse of trees that the Confederates were concentrating their fire on.

The Confederate corps under General Pickett moved out and started moving rails to allow the men passage. As they moved rails, the Union took aim.

The Union troops waited and opened fire.

The cannon aimed at the Copse of trees could not stop the Confederates from coming up and over the Union wall at the "Bloody Angle", but that was as far as they got.

 Below is the well worn path between the Virginia Monument in the distance and the Bloody Angle. 145 years ago the field was full of dead and dying Southeners.

The monument to the "High Water Mark" of the Confederacy. 15,000 Confederates attacked 20,000 Union troops- "Picketts Charge". Pickett's Corp was shattered. After the attack, General Lee asked a dazed General Pickett, where was his corp? Pickett replied," I have no corp left , sir".

After three days of battle, casualties for the Union amounted to 23,000 men and for the Confederates, 28,000