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).

Irish Brigade - Gettysburg

Flowers are left in remembrance between the paws of a wolfhound at the base of the Irish Brigade monument on the Stony Hill near the Wheatfield at Gettysburg. The Irish Brigade had won its fighting reputation on earlier battlefields, and was severely reduced in numbers at Gettysburg as a result. Regardless, the brigade performed well again, this time in the confusion swirling around the small field at the center of action on the second day. (Click image for larger view).

Devil's Den - Gettysburg

Stars streak over a moonlit Devil's Den at Gettysburg. The massive, jumbled boulders anchored the Union line as Confederates pushed their attacks on the second day of fighting. But the terrain did little to help stop the rebels from overrunning this position as the rest of the Union left collapsed. (Click image for larger view).

Hold at Any Cost - Gettysburg

Dawn sun traces the delicately carved state seal on the 16th Maine infantry monument on Oak Ridge on the battlefield of the first day of fighting at Gettysburg. 275 men and officers went into the battle, only three dozen or so would arrive in retreat on Cemetery Hill as the fighting concluded. The bulk of the regiment was captured, not on Oak Ridge but nearby, making a stand under orders to "hold the position at any cost" - allowing countless comrades to escape the rebels as the Confederates won the first day of fighting and swept into the town. (Click image for larger view).

Confederate Cannonade - Gettysburg

Cannons stand where a Confederate line of artillery took position along Seminary Ridge. Here, shortly after noon on July 3, 1863 and following two days of intense fighting at Gettysburg, a line of cannon opened fire a the Union center. For more than an hour the artillery fired in the barage that rebel artillerists hoped would weaken the Union position before Pickett's Charge stepped off. With Union guns answering back, Brigadier General Alexander Webb was one of thousands of Northern soldiers holding the targeted line. "I have been through many battles, in all sorts of places, under all fires but never have I heard such cannonading as they opened on our lines," Webb wrote. (Click image for larger view).

Along Hancock Avenue - Gettysburg

Monuments line Hancock Ave. on Cemetery Ridge, stretching south to Little and Big Round Tops in the distance. This ground is best known for its role in Pickett's Charge on the final day of battle, but fighting stretched up the line to this point on the second day, July 2, 1863. Here Confederate gains crested during relentless attacks pushed by Lt. General James Longstreet, but the rebel success of the day could not be further exploited. (Click image for larger view).

East Cemetery Hill - Gettysburg

An artillerist is depicted on the monument to one of many Union batteries that held its ground on East Cemetery Hill on the second day of battle. The soldier's calm demeanor, casually standing by his gun, stands in contradiction to the actual scene in the fading daylight of July 2, 1863 at Gettysburg. The crest of the hill was overrun with Confederates who succeeded in reaching the top of the prominent rise - but not maintaining their gains amidst stout defense and oncoming darkness and reinforcements. What Confederate General Ambrose Wright said about Cemetery Ridge also applied to East Cemetery Hill: "The real difficulty is to stay there after you get there - for the whole infernal Yankee army is up there in a bunch." (Click image for larger view).

Two of seven - The Virginia State Memorial, Gettysburg

Two of the seven figures at the base of the Virginia State Memorial peer out over the field from Seminary Ridge, where attacks on the second and third day of fighting at Gettysburg began. The monument was erected as the United States was entering another massive war in 1917, 54 years following the battle. It remains the largest of the Confederate memorials on the battlefield. (Click image for larger view).

The Seminary Cupola

The Gettysburg Lutheran Seminary cupola - atop Old Dorm, now Schmucker Hall - rises above the field of the first day of fighting at Gettysburg. It served Union cavalry Brigadier General John Buford well as an excellent platform to observe what would become the field were the battle would begin in earnest. The building, as many in and around Gettysburg, was quickly transformed for another purpose - use as a hospital as the fighting began raging. (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).