Cemetery Ridge is a geographic feature in Gettysburg National Military Park, south of the town of

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania Gettysburg (; ) is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Adams County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the borough had a population of 7,106 people. Gettysburg was the site of ...

, that figured prominently in 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, ...

, July 1 to July 3, 1863. It formed a primary defensive position for the Union Army during the battle, roughly the center of what is popularly known as the "fish-hook" line. The

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the Military forces of the Confederate States, military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) duri ...

launched attacks on the Union positions on the second and third days of the battle, but were driven back both times.

Description

The

ridge A ridge is a long, narrow, elevated geomorphologic landform, structural feature, or a combination of both separated from the surrounding terrain by steep sides. The sides of a ridge slope away from a narrow top, the crest or ridgecrest, wi ...

rises only about above the surrounding terrain and is under long. The northern end rises to become

Cemetery Hill Cemetery Hill is a landform on the Gettysburg Battlefield that was the scene of fighting each day of the Battle of Gettysburg (July 1–3, 1863). The northernmost part of the Army of the Potomac defensive " fish-hook" line, the hill is gent ...

, the southern descends to low, wooded, and sometimes marshy ground just north of Little Round Top. At the northern end of Cemetery Ridge is a copse of trees and a low stone wall that makes two 90-degree turns; the latter has been nicknamed '' The Angle'' and is also referred to as ''the High Water Mark of the Confederacy''. This area, and the nearby Codori Farm on Emmitsburg Road, were prominent features in the progress of

Pickett's Charge Pickett's Charge was an infantry assault on July 3, 1863, during the Battle of Gettysburg. It was ordered by Confederate General Robert E. Lee as part of his plan to break through Union lines and achieve a decisive victory in the North. T ...

during the third day of battle, as well as Major General Richard H. Anderson's division assault on the second.

American Civil War

On the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg, Cemetery Ridge was unoccupied for much of the day until the Union army retreated from its positions north of town, when the divisions of Brig. Gen. John C. Robinson and Maj. Gen. Abner Doubleday from the I Corps were placed on the northern end of the ridge, protecting the left flank of the XI Corps on

. After the XII Corps arrived, Maj. Gen. John W. Geary's Second Division was sent to the southern end of the ridge near Little Round Top; Brig. Gen.

John Buford John Buford Jr. (March 4, 1826 – December 16, 1863) was a United States Army cavalry officer. He fought for the Union Army, Union during the American Civil War, rising to the rank of brigadier general. Buford is best known for his actions in th ...

's cavalry division formed a skirmish line in the fields between Cemetery Ridge and Seminary Ridge. The III Corps arrived about 8 p.m. and replaced Geary's division (which was sent to Culp's Hill); the II Corps arrived about 10:30 p.m. and camped immediately behind the III Corps. During the morning of the battle's 2nd day (July 2), Army of the Potomac commander Maj. Gen. George G. Meade shifted units to receive an expected Confederate attack on his positions. The II Corps was placed in the center of Cemetery Ridge, with Brig. Gen. Alexander Hays's division on the corps' right, John Gibbon's division in the center around the Angle, and John C. Caldwell's division on the left, adjacent to the III Corps; Robinson's division of the I Corps was placed in reserve behind the XI Corps. The V Corps was formed in reserve behind the II Corps. In the late afternoon, the end of the Confederate Maj. Gen. Lafayette McLaws's assault drove portions of Maj. Gen.

Daniel Sickles Daniel Edgar Sickles (October 20, 1819May 3, 1914) was an American politician, American Civil War , Civil War veteran, and diplomat. He served in the United States House of Representatives , U.S. House of Representatives both before and after t ...

's III Corps line back to the southern end of Cemetery Ridge, and Brig. Gen. Ambrose Wright's Confederate brigade temporarily captured the southern end of the Angle before being driven back to Seminary Ridge by the

Philadelphia Brigade The Philadelphia Brigade (also known as the California Brigade) was a Union Army brigade that served in the American Civil War. It was raised primarily in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with the exception of the 106th regiment which cont ...

. The Confederate artillery bombardment preceding

on July 3 battered Cemetery Ridge, and Union artillery on the ridge counter-fired to Seminary Ridge. Thirty-four Union cannons were disabled, but the three Confederate divisions of the subsequent infantry assault ( Pickett's of the First Corps and Pettigrew's and Trimble's of the Third Corps), attacked the Union II Corps at the "stone fence" at the Angle. Heavy rifle and artillery fire prevented all but about 250 Confederates led by Lewis Armistead from penetrating the Union line to the high water mark of the Confederacy. Armistead was mortally wounded. Two brigades of Anderson's Division, assigned to protect Pickett's right flank during the charge, reached a more southern portion of the Union line at Cemetery Ridge soon after the repulse of Pickett's Division, but were driven back with 40% casualties by the

2nd Vermont Brigade The 2nd Vermont Brigade was an infantry brigade in the Union Army, Union Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War. Composition and commanders The brigade was composed of the 12th Vermont Infantry, 12th, 13th Vermont Infantry, 13th, 1 ...

Postbellum history

The

Gettysburg Battlefield Memorial Association The Gettysburg Battlefield Memorial Association (GBMA) was a historic preservation membership organization and is the eponym for the Gettysburg Battlefield#Memorial association era, battlefield's memorial association era. The association was ch ...

purchased rights-of-way for an avenue and monuments along the ridge, and the 1884 Round Top Branch steam railroad was built across the southern end of Cemetery Ridge. The 1893 Gettysburg Electric Railway was built across the north end of the ridge, and several Gettysburg Battlefield camps after the American Civil War used the ridge's west slope at the Angle (e.g., for Eisenhower's 1918 Camp Colt and during the 1938 Gettysburg reunion). The 1962 Cyclorama Building at Gettysburg with observation deck replaced the 1896 observation tower at the ridge's Zeigler's Grove, but was closed in 2008.

Notes

References

* Haskell, Frank Aretas. ''The Battle of Gettysburg''. Whitefish, MT: Kessinger Publishing, 2006. . * Imhof, John D. ''Gettysburg: Day Two – A Study In Maps''. Baltimore, MD. Butternut & Blue, 1999. . * Martin, David G. ''Gettysburg July 1'' (rev. ed.). Conshohocken, PA: Combined Publishing, 1996. . * Pfanz, Harry W. ''Gettysburg – The Second Day''. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1987. . * Wert, Jeffry D. ''Gettysburg: Day Three''. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001. .

External links