This book consists of four comprehensive tours of Gettysburg National Military Park and landmarks associated with the action that occurred on July 3, 1863. The two major National Park avenues (West Confederate and Hancock Avenue) used in these tours are one-way to vehicular traffic, therefore the book is laid-out in the physical order an actual battlefield visitor would experience while traveling on these roads. Each tour includes a series of detailed maps (along with numbered “stop signs” indicating current and nearby positions) and photographs to assist the reader and battlefield walker.
We have endeavored to follow an accurate chronology of events as much as possible, but the terrain has occasionally forced us to deviate from this plan. As a result, it may be helpful to inform the casual reader how each tour aligns with the basic sequence of events that occurred on that hot summer day.
Our tours begin with the army that was on the offense: Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. The first tour primarily consists of the Confederate positions along Seminary Ridge (modern West Confederate Avenue) and the Peach Orchard. This tour primarily discusses Lee’s strategy and Confederate troop placements. General Lee’s activities began pre-dawn on July 3 as Lee planned his attack and continued up through the commencement of the Confederate artillery assault (sometimes referred to as “the cannonade”) which began at around 1:00 p.m. in the afternoon.
While there is debate over the exact times that events occurred, and we enthusiastically tackle those types of disputes in this work, Lee’s great cannonade (and the return fire of the Union artillery) is generally believed to have lasted for about two hours until approximately 3:00 p.m. The Confederate infantry, thought to be about 12,500 strong, then stepped off from Seminary Ridge. Portions of three Confederate divisions spearheaded the main attack. On the Confederate left (the first positions you will encounter when traveling on West Confederate Avenue), the Southerners consisted of men from several states and were led by Generals J. Johnston Pettigrew and Isaac Trimble. The second tour is a walking tour of “Pettigrew-Trimble’s Charge” from the North Carolina State Memorial toward the northern end of Cemetery Ridge.
At the same time, to the right of Pettigrew and Trimble, a fresh Confederate division commanded by Maj. General George Pickett also launched their attack. Our third tour is again a walking excursion and begins near the modern Virginia State Memorial as we trace the march of Pickett’s Virginians to Cemetery Ridge. With slightly less than one mile to march, the Confederates were hit by long-range artillery fire and were increasingly subjected to Yankee rifle-musket fire while en route. Yet they still continued forward.
Additional attention is also given throughout the text to the two brigades that were led by Brig. General Cadmus Wilcox and Col. David Lang. These men had fought heavily on July 2, and the survivors were assigned the role of protecting Pickett’s right flank on July 3. For reasons that are not completely clear, they started forward about 20 minutes after Pickett and were decimated by Federal artillery before being forced to withdraw.
We then move to the defense for the fourth and final tour. This segment provides a comprehensive overview of the Army of the Potomac’s lines primarily along modern Hancock Avenue. General George Meade’s men withstood withering Confederate artillery fire for much of the afternoon, returned cannon fire themselves, and after 3:00 p.m. watched and waited as Lee’s infantry advanced across the undulating but open ground. As the Confederate foot soldiers came into closer range, Federal regiments on the far left and right enveloped both of the Southern flanks and decimated the attackers with rifle-musket fire.
The weakened Confederates continued to press their advance, and their efforts converged along a roughly 400 yard front ranging from the area known today as the Copse of Trees to the Abraham Bryan farm. Only a small number of Southerners briefly pierced the Union lines, but by 4:00 p.m. they were repulsed with heavy losses. General Meade’s army had successfully defeated Lee’s forces, and the final tour tells this story primarily (but not exclusively) from the victors’ point of view.
Readers are encouraged, of course, to complete all four of the tours sequentially. However, each tour is also designed to be taken individually so one is not totally dependent upon completing any other.
Other actions that occurred on this day, including morning combat at Culp’s Hill and afternoon cavalry fights at East Cavalry and South Cavalry fields, also contributed to the battle’s outcome and Lee’s ultimate decision to retreat. These episodes are discussed within this book but are outside the scope of our tours.
Finally, we also emphasize that the reader does not need to be present at the Gettysburg battlefield in order to enjoy this book. Walking the terrain is only one of our goals. The stories, maps, and photographs were selected so a user can appreciate and understand these tours from any location. GPS coordinates and elevations were plotted for each tour stop using Google Earth as an aid not only to those walking the field but also for those who may want to “follow along” at home on their computer or other devices.