East Cemetery Hill - Gettysburg, PA
N 39° 49.298 W 077° 13.761
18S E 309200 N 4410338
This preserved battlefield was a pivotal turning point in the Civil War. The battlefield is located across from the Gettysburg National Cemetery which was constructed as a direct result of this battle due to the high loss of life.
Waymark Code: WM9P2P
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 09/12/2010
Views: 7
...More than 31,000 cannon balls were fired across the plain that afternoon, destroying battery after battery; afterward, when the opposing waves of infantry came within musket range on the slopes of Cemetery Hill, weapons loaded with from two to ten charged were fired point-blank into solid ranks of the enemy. More than 27,000 muskets were picked up on the field after the battle, and of these 2,400 were loaded. --- Pennsylvania: A Guide to the Keystone State, 1940; page 231
There are many independent battlefields which make up the Battle of Gettysburg. This battlefield is one of the most prolific and deadliest. It is across the street from the National Cemetery. The beginning of the battlefield and down the slope is littered with endless memorials and monuments, each state paying tribute to is individual brigades, their dead and their heroic deeds. All of the battlefields in Gettysburg have been mostly preserved. Some have gone under the developers knife. They all fall under the auspices of the Gettysburg National Military Park
Beyond the slope and down the rise there is a road (Waynewright Avenue) which runs perpendicular and leads to a school off to the left and to the right, to other monuments. Beyond this is the preserved battlefield. It is closed off to the public. It is overgrown with natural landscaping, perhaps as it was in July of 1853. There are fortifications present on the edge as there might have been during the battle.
The Gettysburg national Military Park website has a fantastic account of those three days on Cemetery Hill. Here is an excerpt: Cemetery Hill is one of the premier landmarks of the battlefield, situated on the southern edge of Gettysburg overlooking the town and immediate area south of it. Originally known as "Raffensberger's Hill", its more well known name began in 1858 when Evergreen Cemetery was established on the summit. Both Union and Confederate commanders referred to this height as Cemetery Hill during the battle.
For an entire accounting of that day and the northern victory go HERE