(Please face southward with the Peace Memorial to your rear.)
The Battle of Gettysburg, which began at 8 a. m., on the two ridges a
mile south of here, halted at noon, and the Confederates withdrew. At 1
o’clock, a strong Confederate force arrived from the north on this hill
and fired into the flank of the Union men on the ridges to the south.
Faced with this powerful fire and with renewed attack from the west,
part of the Union forces were shifted to Oak Ridge (see monuments on the
ridge to your left) to meet the attack from this direction. Union troops
on the plain east of this ridge were soon forced by another strong
Confederate charge to retreat headlong through the streets of
Gettysburg, opening the Union line on Oak Ridge to flank and rear
attack. By mid-afternoon, the Union position on Oak Ridge was abandoned,
and the Confederates pursued the retreating Union troops through
Gettysburg, halting in the western part of the town.
The gap in the South Mountains to your right is Cashtown Pass where
Lee’s army crossed the range.