Big Round Top is a boulder-strewn hill notable as the topographic high point of the

Gettysburg Battlefield The Gettysburg Battlefield is the area of the July 1–3, 1863, military engagements of the Battle of Gettysburg in and around Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Locations of military engagements extend from the site of the first shot & at Knoxlyn Ridge ...

and for 1863

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

engagement An engagement or betrothal is the period of time between the declaration of acceptance of a marriage proposal and the marriage itself (which is typically but not always commenced with a wedding). During this period, a couple is said to be ''f ...

s for which Medals of Honor were awarded. In addition to

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force co ...

monuments, a historic

reconstruction era The Reconstruction era was a period in History of the United States, US history that followed the American Civil War (1861-65) and was dominated by the legal, social, and political challenges of the Abolitionism in the United States, abol ...

structure on the uninhabited hill is the Big Round Top Observation Tower Foundation Ruin.

Geography

Big Round Top is the southern peak of the

and is within the area encompassed by a drainage depression (southeast, south), Plum Run (west, north), and the Crawford Avenue/

Wright Wright is an occupational surname originating in England and Scotland. The term 'Wright' comes from the circa 700 AD Old English word 'wryhta' or 'wyrhta', meaning worker or shaper of wood. Later it became any occupational worker (for example, a ...

Avenue roadway (north, northeast). In addition to Little Round Top, adjacent battlefield locations ar
South Cavalry FieldSlyder Field
(west), Devil's Den (northwest) and the Valley of Death/Slaughter Pen (north). The hill is the highest point of an Adams County dendritic ridge which Plum Run divides at Big Round Top (the drainage divide continues to the east). In addition to

Little Round Top Little Round Top is the smaller of two rocky hills south of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania—the companion to the adjacent, taller hill named Big Round Top. It was the site of an unsuccessful assault by Confederate troops against the Union left ...

(650 ft.), nearby heights are Warfield Ridge (west), hills o
580 ft (southwest)
and 540 ft (northwest), and Houck Ridge (

north-northwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, Radius, radially arrayed compass directions (or Azimuth#In navigation, azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A ''compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, ...

); while Carr Hill (876 ft) is the nearest higher hill. Devil's Kitchen is rock formation and small cave on the lower slopes of Big Round Top.

History

The

igneous Igneous rock ( ), or magmatic rock, is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic. Igneous rocks are formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or lava. The magma can be derived from partial ...

hill was formed 200 million years ago when the

outcrop An outcrop or rocky outcrop is a visible exposure of bedrock or ancient superficial deposits on the surface of the Earth and other terrestrial planets. Features Outcrops do not cover the majority of the Earth's land surface because in most p ...

of the Gettysburg sill intruded through the Triassic Gettysburg plain. Subsequent

periglacial Periglaciation (adjective: "periglacial", referring to places at the edges of glacial areas) describes geomorphic processes that result from seasonal thawing and freezing, very often in areas of permafrost. The meltwater may refreeze in ice wedg ...

frost wedging during the

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...

formed the hill's extensive

boulders In geology, a boulder (or rarely bowlder) is a rock fragment with size greater than in diameter. Smaller pieces are called cobbles and pebbles. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive. In c ...

. Early human activity included

Indigenous people There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

clearing an area :c. :d. o
the slope of Big Round Top
and established a burial ground about one mile southwes

https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=bYsyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=zeYFAAAAIBAJ&pg=5731,2021535&dq=big-round-top+indian&hl=en] History of Pennsylvania#British colonial period, prior to the 1736 British purchase of the region.

Civil War

During the

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was a three-day battle in the American Civil War, which was fought between the Union and Confederate armies between July 1 and July 3, 1863, in and around Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle, won by the Union, ...

, Big Round Top's slope, timber, and boulders precluded placement of artillery on the summit. At various times during the 1863 battle, positions on Big Round Top formed the left flank of the Union defense. No fighting or other actions took place on Big Round Top on

July 1 Events Pre-1600 * 69 – Tiberius Julius Alexander orders his Roman legions in Alexandria to swear allegiance to Vespasian as Emperor. * 552 – Battle of Taginae: Byzantine forces under Narses defeat the Ostrogoths in Italy, and ...

. ;Battle of Gettysburg, second day: On July 2 when "''it was growing dark''", Big "''Round Top was still in '' he' possession of the '' onfederate' skirmishers, who were firing upon our men. It was important to hold this hill, as…it commanded…our line. I directed Colonel Fisher to occupy it at once. He immediately detached '' regiments', who advanced promptly, driving the enemy before them''" ( Crawford's report). After 10 pm, Chamberlain's

20th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment The 20th Maine Infantry Regiment was a volunteer regiment of the United States Army (Union Army) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), most famous for its defense of Little Round Top at the Battle of Gettysburg in Gettysburg, Pennsylvani ...

occupied a Big Round Top summit position (the monument is on the north slope

In 1893, Joshua Chamberlain#Medal of Honor citation, Chamberlain was awarded a Medal of Honor for both "''carrying the advance position on the Great Round Top''" and "''holding his position on the Little Round Top against repeated assaults''" earlier in the day. ;Battle of Gettysburg, third day: The

July 3 Events Pre-1600 * 324 – Battle of Adrianople: Constantine I defeats Licinius, who flees to Byzantium. * 987 – Hugh Capet is crowned King of France, the first of the Capetian dynasty that would rule France until the French Revol ...

Wells cavalry charge advanced from the west to beyond the Big Round Top spur and engaged the rear of Law's Alabama regiments to carry the hill and earn Wells' 1891

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

. (cited by Cross, pp. 44,60) By September 1863, David McConaughy had begun to acquire a portion of Big Round Top for battlefield preservation. The Elon J. Farnsworth monument was erected before 1896 at the base of Big Round Top, and statues of William Wells (1931) and John Michael Tobin are also on the hill.

Reconstruction era

Kilpatrick Avenue had been completed at the west base of Big Round Top by 1895 when the gravel South Confederate Avenue was constructed across the northwest slope. (original formats
18951900190919121918
In 1903, Wright Avenue was constructed along the northeast slope, and in 1937, South Confederate Avenue and the Plum Run stone bridge were rebuil

https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=gYklAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ufIFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1615,2571786&dq=south-confederate+gettysburg&hl=en] for the Great Reunion of 1913#Aftermath, 75th battle anniversary and reunion. In 1940, Seminary Ridge CCC workers rerouted the stone trail to the Big Round Top summit. :a. "''a deep, rocky depression separated it '' ittle Round Top' from the Great Round Top beyond. Into this depression Laws' brigade of Alabamians, supported by Robertson's Texans, had forced themselves and were advancing to the possession of Little Round Top.''" :b.

Harry Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...

visited Big Round Top in 194

In 1964, the Big Round Top Nature Trail was created around the hill and provided access to the Devil's Kitche

The 1895 Big Round Top Observation Tower was dismantled in 1968 and the Big Round Top Observation Tower Foundation Ruin, foundation was named a historic ruin in 2004.

Observation Tower

Late in the day of July 3, Union brigadier general Judson Kilpatrick ordered the cavalry brigade of Brigadier General Elon Farnsworth to charge Confederate infantry of Major General John Bell Hood’s division who were on and near the slopes of Big Round Top. Hood had been wounded the previous day, and his division was under the command of Brigadier General Evander Law. One after another, three of the four regiments of Farnsworth’s brigade charged over broken ground into Confederate fire and were repulsed. The final regiment, the 1st Vermont, then made the attempt. Farnsworth divided it into three battalions and personally led the second battalion. The tower was built in the late 19th century. Fred Lyons of Baltimore led the construction team that moved the foundation's granite blocks to the Big Round Top summit using block and tackle driven by a 12-horsepower engine. Constructed on the

's highest hill, the Big Round Top tower was to be replaced for the 1938 anniversary reunion by a stone "Gettysburg Peace Memorial" with a 75-foot-high

observation deck An observation deck, observation platform, or viewing platform is an elevated sightseeing platform usually situated upon a tall architectural structure, such as a skyscraper or observation tower. Observation decks are sometimes enclosed from we ...

above the summit and a flame 30 feet higher. :a. :a. (The memorial was instead erected on Oak Hill.)

Destruction

During 1968 tower maintenance, the Schlesser Demolition Co dismantled the Big Round Top tower :b. :c. :d. :e. as uneconomical due to "''its condition and the very limited use '' serpentine trail.">Zig_zag_(railway).html" ;"title="ue to an uphill, lengthy, and Zig zag (railway)">serpentine trail.' Most who started the climb gave out en route, and upon reaching the tower decided against continuing the climb to the top of the metal observatory''" (GNMP Superintendent George F.

Emery). The foundation ruin (park structure RU05) of the "national landmark" tower, was "entered-documented" as a Property type (National Register of Historic Places)#Site">historic site A historic site or heritage site is an official location where pieces of political, military, cultural, or social history have been preserved due to their cultural heritage value. Historic sites are usually protected by law, and many have been re ...

on January 23, 2004. ERRATA: The Big Round Top tower was dismantled in 1968 -- it was the Zeigler's Grove/Bryan House tower that was razed in 196

(~3 weeks after the nearby

on Richard Neutra's Cyclorama Building had been built during

Mission 66 Mission 66 was a United States National Park Service ten-year program that was intended to dramatically expand Park Service visitor services by 1966, in time for the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Park Service. When the National P ...

for the 1963 anniversary of the

References

{{authority control Hills of Pennsylvania Gettysburg Battlefield Gettysburg National Military Park Landforms of Adams County, Pennsylvania