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 within and around the borough of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Locations of military engagements extend from the site of the first sho ...

and for 1863

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by state ...

engagements 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 ...

monuments, a historic postbellum 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. 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 shipwright is ...

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 fla ...

(650 ft.), nearby heights are

Warfield Ridge The Gettysburg Battlefield is the area of the July 1–3, 1863, military engagements of the Battle of Gettysburg within and around the borough of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Locations of military engagements extend from the site of the first shot ...

(west), hills o
580 ft (southwest)
and 540 ft (northwest), and Houck Ridge ( north-northwest); 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 (derived from the Latin word ''ignis'' meaning fire), or magmatic rock, is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic. Igneous rock is formed through the cooling and solidification of magma o ...

hill was formed 200 million years ago when the outcrop of the Gettysburg sill intruded through the Triassic Gettysburg plain. Subsequent

periglacial Periglaciation (adjective: "periglacial", also referring to places at the edges of glacial areas) describes geomorphic processes that result from seasonal thawing of snow in areas of permafrost, the runoff from which refreezes in ice wedges and ...

frost wedging during the

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the '' Ice age'') is the geological epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was finally confirmed ...

formed the hill's extensive boulders. Early human activity included

Indigenous people Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

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

1863 Gettysburg Battlefield - Big Round Top, Days 2 and 3

During the

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In the battle, Union Major General George Meade's Army of th ...

, 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. ;Battle of Gettysburg, second day: On

July 2 Events Pre-1600 * 437 – Emperor Valentinian III begins his reign over the Western Roman Empire. His mother Galla Placidia ends her regency, but continues to exercise political influence at the court in Rome. * 626 – Li Shimin ...

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 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 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 military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor ...

. (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 John Michael Tobin (1835 or 1841–1898) was an officer in the Union Army who received the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Malvern Hill during the American Civil War. Biography John Tobin was born in County Kilkenny, Ireland, in 1 ...

are also on the hill.

Postbellum

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. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Frankli ...

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 enclose ...

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

Richard Neutra's Cyclorama Building The Cyclorama Building at Gettysburg was a historic modernist concrete and glass Mission 66 building dedicated November 19, 1962 by the National Park Service (NPS) to serve as a Gettysburg Battlefield visitor center, to exhibit the 1883 Pau ...

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