Gettysburg - Devil’s Den and Little Round Top, July 3, 1863

American Battlefield Trust's map of the Battle of Gettysburg - Devil’s Den and Little Round Top

As the fighting at Gettysburg escalated on the afternoon of July 2, the timely arrival of Gen. John Sedgwick’s Union VI Corps allowed army commander Gen. George Meade the freedom to shuttle his troops to the imperiled portions of the Federal line. The VI Corps was divided with brigades posted from one end of the battlefield to other. On the morning of July 3, two brigades -- Col. Lewis Grant's Vermont brigade and the Maine, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin troops of Gen. David A. Russell’s brigade -- were posted east of Big Round Top astride the Taneytown Road. To these troops was assigned the vital task of protecting the extreme left flank of the Army of the Potomac. That afternoon, Russell’s brigade was ordered to assist in the repulse of Pickett’s charge, but arrived after crisis had abated.

Learn More: The Battle of Gettysburg