Fight over the Angle - Gettysburg

The monument to the 72nd Pennsylvania Infantry stands before of a lone weathered tree at the Angle at Gettysburg, scene of the repulse of Pickett's Charge. Placement of the monument only took place after a legal fight carried out by the survivors of the 72nd Pa., who wanted to place their monument at the stone wall they eventually regained from surging Confederates at the height of the fight. Park rules would have had the 72nd place its marker on its main battle line to the rear of this monument, not the more prestigious forward position. (Click image for larger view).

Rhode Island at Pickett's Charge - Gettysburg

Leaden clouds hang over the monument to Arnold's Battery at the Angle at Gettysburg, where its Rhode Islanders helped repel Pickett's Charge - but not before first surviving action on the second day, as well. From its spot on the low crest of Cemetery Ridge, the battery's gunners countered the bombardment preceding the Charge, then those who remained witnessed the awful effectiveness of the Union artillery on the advancing rebels. "Men, or fragments of men, were being thrown in the air every moment," one of them wrote. (Click image for larger view).

72nd Pa. at the Angle - Gettysburg

The moon rises beyond the 72nd Pa. Infantry monument at the Angle at Gettysburg. (Click image for larger view).

Opposing Armies - Gettysburg

The monument to the 72nd Pa. Infantry stands on Cemetery Ridge at the Angle, facing the Virginia State Memorial (left background) and the Confederate lines on Seminary Ridge at Gettysburg. Confederates in Pickett's Charge crossed this open ground (lined by the shadow of the Copse of Trees) before briefly piercing the Union line here. (Click image for larger view).

69th Pa. at the Angle - Gettysburg

The low stone wall occupied by Union troops at the Angle at Gettysburg is marked by monuments all along the line, but only one unit, the 69th Pennsylvania Infantry, has separate markers representing each of its companies positions (partially shown at right). Many Union troops fought off Pickett's Charge but few were in as hot a position as the 69th, which found itself at the point of the only Confederate breakthrough. (Click image for larger view).

High Tide - Gettysburg

Cannon surround the High Water Mark monument at the Angle on Cemetery Ridge in Gettysburg. The monument, created by early park superintendent and historian John Bachelder, depicts an open "book of history" resting on cannon shot at the Copse of Trees, the supposed target of Lee's grand assault - Pickett Charge. Pickett's attack briefly punched through the Union line here, marking the Confederate high tide at Gettysburg, and perhaps the war. (Click image for larger view).

Shadows on Cemetery Ridge - Gettysburg

Federal artillery stands on Cemetery Ridge, marking the Union line near the Angle at Gettysburg. (Click image for larger view).

Towering over the Angle - Gettysburg

The National Tower (top right) stands over the battlefield as seen from the Angle at Gettysburg. The commercial sight-seeing attraction was demolished in 2000 as the spearhead of a wave of change and restoration at the park this decade. Next up: removal of the Cyclorama Center and old Visitor Center. (Click image for larger view).

The Cold Steel - Gettysburg

A simple monument marks the location where Confederate Brigadier General Lewis Armistead was shot down leading rebels in a breakthrough at The Angle during Pickett's Charge. Moments before his wounding, Armistead stepped over the low stone wall defining the Union line, exhorting his men in now immortal words: "Come forward, Virginians! Come on, boys, we must give them the cold steel! Who will follow me?" (Click image for larger view).

Dawn at The Angle - Gettysburg

Early morning sun stretches to monuments for the 72nd (left) and 71st Pa. monuments at The Angle, scene of the climax of Pickett's Charge on the third day at Gettysburg. Of the 12,000 Rebel men who took part in the charge, a small number of men pierced the Union line here. It was not enough. (Click image for larger view).

North Carolina in Pickett's Charge - Gettysburg

A monument meant to mark the point reached by rebel troops of the 26th North Carolina Infantry during Pickett's Charge stands just yards from the low stone wall and Union artillery at the Angle at Gettysburg. The positioning of the monument - just further toward the crest of Cemetery Ridge than the marker of the site of Confederate Brigadier General Lewis Armistead's mortal wounding (and penetration of the Union line by his Virginians) - buttresses one third of the long held claim by the North Carolinians: "First at Bethel, Farthest at Gettysburg, Last at Appomattox." (Click image for larger view).

Moonset

A full moon sets as the sun rises over The Angle and the monument to the 72nd PA. Infantry, one of several units to defend the Union line where it was pierced briefly by Pickett's Charge. Across the open farmland pictured, some 12,000 Confederate soldiers started the attack from the Seminary Ridge treeline, where the Virginia State Memorial can be seen in close inspection. Only a few hundred, or less, made it into Union lines and only briefly in the failed climax of the battle. (Click image for larger view).

The High Water Mark

Morning fog lifts over the High Water Mark monument at The Angle and Copse of Trees on Cemetery Ridge, where memorials to the Union soldiers that defended the long, gentle rise are spaced along the line. Pickett's Charge on the third day of battle at Gettysburg crested here before receding in defeat. Debate continues as to if this is truly the "high water mark" of the Rebellion - but there is no doubt that the men who fought here were forever proud of their efforts. (Click image for larger view).