Cemetery Hill

The northernmost part of the Army of the Potomac defensive "fish-hook" line, the hill is gently sloped and provided a site for American Civil War artillery (cf.

On June 26, 1863, prior to the Battle of Gettysburg, Lt. Col. Elijah V. White's Confederate cavalry occupied the hill and captured several horses hidden by local citizens, then departed to York County, Pennsylvania.

On July 1, 1863, Maj. Gen. Oliver O. Howard left infantry and artillery to hold the hill in case the army needed to fall back from its positions north and west of Gettysburg.

[5] Smith thought Union troops were approaching from the east, which caused Early to delay his attack on the hill to defend against the supposed threat.

There proved to be no significant Union troop movements from the east, and Smith was the only brigadier general not commended by Early after the battle.

Lt. Gen. James Longstreet attacked with his First Corps on the Union left (Little Round Top, Devil's Den, Wheatfield).

Ewell's four batteries were forced to withdraw with heavy losses, and his best artillerist, 19-year-old Joseph W. Latimer, the "Boy Major", was mortally wounded.

[9] Not long after the assault on Culp's Hill began, as dusk fell around 7:30 p.m., Ewell sent two brigades from the division of Maj. Gen. Jubal A.

They stepped off from a line parallel to Winebrenner's Run, a narrow tributary of Rock Creek to the southeast of town.

Two regiments, the 41st New York and the 33rd Massachusetts, were stationed in Culp's Meadow beyond Brickyard Lane in expectation of an attack by Johnson's division.

The enemy stood with tenacity never before displayed by them, but with bayonet, clubbed musket, sword, pistol, and rocks from the wall, we cleared the heights and silenced the guns.Harry Pfanz provides an alternative view that contrasts with Tate's: "Although the Confederates wrote and spoke of occupying the crest of the hill and capturing the batteries there, Union accounts concede less Confederate success.

"[13] The collapse of "Cemetery Hill, the keystone of the Union line,"[14] "would have certainly required Meade to at least abandon his position" [15] at Gettysburg, but the following day, artillery anchored here aided the repulse of the famous attack by Pickett, Pettigrew, Trimble, Wilcox & Lang.

Generals Howard and Schurz heard the commotion and rushed the 58th and 119th New York of Col. Włodzimierz Krzyżanowski's brigade from West Cemetery Hill to the aid of Wiedrich's battery.

It had filed west from the town and into the fields along the dirt path that is now Long Lane, where it stopped after advancing a short distance in the darkness.

Gen. Dodson Ramseur, the leading brigade commander, saw the futility of a night assault against two lines of Union troops behind stone walls, backed up by significant artillery.

Ewell sent a staff officer to speak with Lane, who explained that his orders were to attack if a "favorable opportunity presented."

Unable to speak from his mortal wound, Avery scribbled a simple note for Tate: "Major, tell my father I died with my face to the enemy.

[21] Post-battle, East Cemetery Hill was occupied for several weeks by state militiamen, who established a tented camp site to maintain a military presence, secure the battlefield from looters and curiosity seekers, collect remaining military weapons, and provide manpower and services for the area's hospitals.

The areas on the northern and western slopes of the hill are now largely occupied by tourist-related businesses (hotels, restaurants, gift shops, battlefield tour agencies, private museums, etc.).