Big Round Top is a boulder-strewn hill notable as the topographic high point of the
Gettysburg BattlefieldThe Gettysburg Battlefield is the area of the July 1–3, 1863, military engagements of the Battle of Gettysburg within and around the borough of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Locations of military engagements extend from the 4 acre site of the first shot & at on the west of the borough, to East...
and for 1863
American Civil WarThe American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
engagements for which
Medals of HonorThe Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...
were awarded. In addition to
battleThe Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...
monuments, an historic postbellum structure on the uninhabited hill is the
Big Round Top Observation Tower Foundation RuinThe Big Round Top Observation Tower Foundation Ruin is the 19th century base of the 1st Cope Truss tower. Fred Lyons of Baltimore led the construction team that moved the foundation's granite blocks to the Big Round Top summit using block and tackle driven by a 12 horsepower...
.
Geography
Big Round Top is the southern peak of the
Gettysburg BattlefieldThe Gettysburg Battlefield is the area of the July 1–3, 1863, military engagements of the Battle of Gettysburg within and around the borough of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Locations of military engagements extend from the 4 acre site of the first shot & at on the west of the borough, to East...
and is within the area encompassed by a drainage depression (southeast, south),
Plum RunPlum Run is a Pennsylvania stream flowing southward from the Gettysburg Battlefield between the Gettys-Black Divide on the east and on the west, the drainage divide for Pitzer Run, Biesecker Run, Willoughby Run, and Marsh Creek...
(west, north), and the Crawford Rd/
WrightAmbrose Ransom Wright was a lawyer, Georgia politician, and Confederate general in the American Civil War.-Early life:...
Av roadway (north, northeast). In addition to Little Round Top, adjacent battlefield locations are
South Cavalry Field/
Slyder Field (west),
Devil's DenDevils Den is a boulder-strewn Gettysburg Battlefield hill used by artillery and infantry during the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg, Second Day...
(northwest) and the
Valley of DeathValley of Death refers to any of the numerous landforms named Death Valley and to:*Valley of Death , the polluted city of Cubatao in Sao Paulo*Valley of Death , a 1939 Nazi mass murder and mass grave site in northern Poland...
/Slaughter Pen (north). The hill is the highest point of an
Adams CountyAdams County is a county in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the population was 101,407. It was created on January 22, 1800, from part of York County and named in honor of the second President of the United States, John Adams...
dendritic ridgeA ridge is a geological feature consisting of a chain of mountains or hills that form a continuous elevated crest for some distance. Ridges are usually termed hills or mountains as well, depending on size. There are several main types of ridges:...
which Plum Run divides at Big Round Top (the
drainage divide continues to the eastThe Gettys-Black divide is the primary drainage divide of Cumberland Township, Adams County, Pennsylvania; extending from the mouth of Stevens Creek southward past Samuel Gettys' 1761 tavern ~7 miles to the mouth of Plum Run at the dam site for Robert Black's 1798 Mill...
). In addition to
Little Round TopLittle Round Top is the smaller of two rocky hills south of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. It was the site of an unsuccessful assault by Confederate troops against the Union left flank on July 2, 1863, the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg....
(650), nearby heights are
Warfield RidgeSeminary Ridge is a dendritic ridge which was an area of Battle of Gettysburg engagements during the American Civil War and of military installations during World War II.-Geography:...
(west), hills of
~580 ft (southwest) and ~540 ft (northwest), and Houck Ridge (north-northwest); while
CarrCarr is a common surname in northern England, deriving from the Old Norse kjarr, meaning a swamp. Kerr is a Scottish variant. Carr is also a common surname in Ireland, where it often derives from the nickname, gearr, meaning short...
Hill (876 ft) is the nearest higher hill.
History
The igneous hill was formed 200 million years ago when the "
outcrop of the Gettysburg sill" intruded through the
Triassic "Gettysburg plain"The Newark Group, also known as the Newark Supergroup, is an assemblage of Late Triassic and Early Jurassic sedimentary rocks which outcrop intermittently along the United States East Coast; the exposures extend from Massachusetts to North Carolina, with more still in Nova Scotia...
. Subsequent
periglacialPeriglacial is an adjective originally referring to places in the edges of glacial areas, but it has later been widely used in geomorphology to describe any place where geomorphic processes related to freezing of water occur...
frost wedging during the
PleistoceneThe Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
formed the hill's extensive boulders. Early human activity included
Indigenous peopleThe Eastern Woodlands was a cultural area of the indigenous people of North America. The Eastern Woodlands extended roughly from the Atlantic Ocean to the eastern Great Plains, and from the Great Lakes region to the Gulf of Mexico, which is now the eastern United States and Canada...
clearing an area on
the slope of Big Round Top
Big Round Top is a boulder-strewn hill notable as the topographic high point of the
Gettysburg BattlefieldThe Gettysburg Battlefield is the area of the July 1–3, 1863, military engagements of the Battle of Gettysburg within and around the borough of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Locations of military engagements extend from the 4 acre site of the first shot & at on the west of the borough, to East...
and for 1863
American Civil WarThe American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
engagements for which
Medals of HonorThe Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...
were awarded. In addition to
battleThe Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...
monuments, an historic postbellum structure on the uninhabited hill is the
Big Round Top Observation Tower Foundation RuinThe Big Round Top Observation Tower Foundation Ruin is the 19th century base of the 1st Cope Truss tower. Fred Lyons of Baltimore led the construction team that moved the foundation's granite blocks to the Big Round Top summit using block and tackle driven by a 12 horsepower...
.
Geography
Big Round Top is the southern peak of the
Gettysburg BattlefieldThe Gettysburg Battlefield is the area of the July 1–3, 1863, military engagements of the Battle of Gettysburg within and around the borough of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Locations of military engagements extend from the 4 acre site of the first shot & at on the west of the borough, to East...
and is within the area encompassed by a drainage depression (southeast, south),
Plum RunPlum Run is a Pennsylvania stream flowing southward from the Gettysburg Battlefield between the Gettys-Black Divide on the east and on the west, the drainage divide for Pitzer Run, Biesecker Run, Willoughby Run, and Marsh Creek...
(west, north), and the Crawford Rd/
WrightAmbrose Ransom Wright was a lawyer, Georgia politician, and Confederate general in the American Civil War.-Early life:...
Av roadway (north, northeast). In addition to Little Round Top, adjacent battlefield locations are
South Cavalry Field/
Slyder Field (west),
Devil's DenDevils Den is a boulder-strewn Gettysburg Battlefield hill used by artillery and infantry during the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg, Second Day...
(northwest) and the
Valley of DeathValley of Death refers to any of the numerous landforms named Death Valley and to:*Valley of Death , the polluted city of Cubatao in Sao Paulo*Valley of Death , a 1939 Nazi mass murder and mass grave site in northern Poland...
/Slaughter Pen (north). The hill is the highest point of an
Adams CountyAdams County is a county in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the population was 101,407. It was created on January 22, 1800, from part of York County and named in honor of the second President of the United States, John Adams...
dendritic ridgeA ridge is a geological feature consisting of a chain of mountains or hills that form a continuous elevated crest for some distance. Ridges are usually termed hills or mountains as well, depending on size. There are several main types of ridges:...
which Plum Run divides at Big Round Top (the
drainage divide continues to the eastThe Gettys-Black divide is the primary drainage divide of Cumberland Township, Adams County, Pennsylvania; extending from the mouth of Stevens Creek southward past Samuel Gettys' 1761 tavern ~7 miles to the mouth of Plum Run at the dam site for Robert Black's 1798 Mill...
). In addition to
Little Round TopLittle Round Top is the smaller of two rocky hills south of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. It was the site of an unsuccessful assault by Confederate troops against the Union left flank on July 2, 1863, the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg....
(650), nearby heights are
Warfield RidgeSeminary Ridge is a dendritic ridge which was an area of Battle of Gettysburg engagements during the American Civil War and of military installations during World War II.-Geography:...
(west), hills of
~580 ft (southwest) and ~540 ft (northwest), and Houck Ridge (north-northwest); while
CarrCarr is a common surname in northern England, deriving from the Old Norse kjarr, meaning a swamp. Kerr is a Scottish variant. Carr is also a common surname in Ireland, where it often derives from the nickname, gearr, meaning short...
Hill (876 ft) is the nearest higher hill.
History
The igneous hill was formed 200 million years ago when the "
outcrop of the Gettysburg sill" intruded through the
Triassic "Gettysburg plain"The Newark Group, also known as the Newark Supergroup, is an assemblage of Late Triassic and Early Jurassic sedimentary rocks which outcrop intermittently along the United States East Coast; the exposures extend from Massachusetts to North Carolina, with more still in Nova Scotia...
. Subsequent
periglacialPeriglacial is an adjective originally referring to places in the edges of glacial areas, but it has later been widely used in geomorphology to describe any place where geomorphic processes related to freezing of water occur...
frost wedging during the
PleistoceneThe Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
formed the hill's extensive boulders. Early human activity included
Indigenous peopleThe Eastern Woodlands was a cultural area of the indigenous people of North America. The Eastern Woodlands extended roughly from the Atlantic Ocean to the eastern Great Plains, and from the Great Lakes region to the Gulf of Mexico, which is now the eastern United States and Canada...
clearing an area on
the slope of Big Round Top
Big Round Top is a boulder-strewn hill notable as the topographic high point of the
Gettysburg BattlefieldThe Gettysburg Battlefield is the area of the July 1–3, 1863, military engagements of the Battle of Gettysburg within and around the borough of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Locations of military engagements extend from the 4 acre site of the first shot & at on the west of the borough, to East...
and for 1863
American Civil WarThe American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
engagements for which
Medals of HonorThe Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...
were awarded. In addition to
battleThe Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...
monuments, an historic postbellum structure on the uninhabited hill is the
Big Round Top Observation Tower Foundation RuinThe Big Round Top Observation Tower Foundation Ruin is the 19th century base of the 1st Cope Truss tower. Fred Lyons of Baltimore led the construction team that moved the foundation's granite blocks to the Big Round Top summit using block and tackle driven by a 12 horsepower...
.
Geography
Big Round Top is the southern peak of the
Gettysburg BattlefieldThe Gettysburg Battlefield is the area of the July 1–3, 1863, military engagements of the Battle of Gettysburg within and around the borough of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Locations of military engagements extend from the 4 acre site of the first shot & at on the west of the borough, to East...
and is within the area encompassed by a drainage depression (southeast, south),
Plum RunPlum Run is a Pennsylvania stream flowing southward from the Gettysburg Battlefield between the Gettys-Black Divide on the east and on the west, the drainage divide for Pitzer Run, Biesecker Run, Willoughby Run, and Marsh Creek...
(west, north), and the Crawford Rd/
WrightAmbrose Ransom Wright was a lawyer, Georgia politician, and Confederate general in the American Civil War.-Early life:...
Av roadway (north, northeast). In addition to Little Round Top, adjacent battlefield locations are
South Cavalry Field/
Slyder Field (west),
Devil's DenDevils Den is a boulder-strewn Gettysburg Battlefield hill used by artillery and infantry during the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg, Second Day...
(northwest) and the
Valley of DeathValley of Death refers to any of the numerous landforms named Death Valley and to:*Valley of Death , the polluted city of Cubatao in Sao Paulo*Valley of Death , a 1939 Nazi mass murder and mass grave site in northern Poland...
/Slaughter Pen (north). The hill is the highest point of an
Adams CountyAdams County is a county in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the population was 101,407. It was created on January 22, 1800, from part of York County and named in honor of the second President of the United States, John Adams...
dendritic ridgeA ridge is a geological feature consisting of a chain of mountains or hills that form a continuous elevated crest for some distance. Ridges are usually termed hills or mountains as well, depending on size. There are several main types of ridges:...
which Plum Run divides at Big Round Top (the
drainage divide continues to the eastThe Gettys-Black divide is the primary drainage divide of Cumberland Township, Adams County, Pennsylvania; extending from the mouth of Stevens Creek southward past Samuel Gettys' 1761 tavern ~7 miles to the mouth of Plum Run at the dam site for Robert Black's 1798 Mill...
). In addition to
Little Round TopLittle Round Top is the smaller of two rocky hills south of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. It was the site of an unsuccessful assault by Confederate troops against the Union left flank on July 2, 1863, the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg....
(650), nearby heights are
Warfield RidgeSeminary Ridge is a dendritic ridge which was an area of Battle of Gettysburg engagements during the American Civil War and of military installations during World War II.-Geography:...
(west), hills of
~580 ft (southwest) and ~540 ft (northwest), and Houck Ridge (north-northwest); while
CarrCarr is a common surname in northern England, deriving from the Old Norse kjarr, meaning a swamp. Kerr is a Scottish variant. Carr is also a common surname in Ireland, where it often derives from the nickname, gearr, meaning short...
Hill (876 ft) is the nearest higher hill.
History
The igneous hill was formed 200 million years ago when the "
outcrop of the Gettysburg sill" intruded through the
Triassic "Gettysburg plain"The Newark Group, also known as the Newark Supergroup, is an assemblage of Late Triassic and Early Jurassic sedimentary rocks which outcrop intermittently along the United States East Coast; the exposures extend from Massachusetts to North Carolina, with more still in Nova Scotia...
. Subsequent
periglacialPeriglacial is an adjective originally referring to places in the edges of glacial areas, but it has later been widely used in geomorphology to describe any place where geomorphic processes related to freezing of water occur...
frost wedging during the
PleistoceneThe Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
formed the hill's extensive boulders. Early human activity included
Indigenous peopleThe Eastern Woodlands was a cultural area of the indigenous people of North America. The Eastern Woodlands extended roughly from the Atlantic Ocean to the eastern Great Plains, and from the Great Lakes region to the Gulf of Mexico, which is now the eastern United States and Canada...
clearing an area on
the slope of Big Round Top prior to the 1736 British purchase of the region.
Civil War
Privately owned during the
Battle of GettysburgThe Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...
, Big Round Top's slope, timber, and boulders precluded
placement of artilleryField artillery in the American Civil War refers to the important artillery weapons, equipment, and practices used by the Artillery branch to support the infantry and cavalry forces in the field. It does not include siege artillery, use of artillery in fixed fortifications, or coastal or naval...
on the summit. when "
it was growing dark", Big "
Round Top was still in [the]
possession of the [Confederate]
skirmishers, who were firing upon our men. It was important to hold this hill, as…it commanded…our line. I directed Colonel FisherJoseph Washington Fisher was a Pennsylvania politician and soldier who commanded a brigade of the Pennsylvania Reserves in some of the most important battles of the Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War....
to occupy it at once. He immediately detached [3 regiments]
, who advanced promptly, driving the enemy before them" (
CrawfordSamuel Wylie Crawford was a United States Army surgeon and a Union general in the American Civil War.-Early life:...
's report). After 10 pm, Chamberlain's
20th Maine Volunteer Infantry RegimentThe 20th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment was a combat unit of the United States Army during the American Civil War, most famous for its defense of Little Round Top at the Battle of Gettysburg, July 1863.-Organization:...
occupied a Big Round Top summit position (the monument is on the north slope).
http://books.google.com/books?id=OSUtAAAAYAAJ In 1893, Chamberlain was awarded a Medal of Honor for both "
carrying the advance position on the Great Round Top" and "
holding his position on the Little Round Top against repeated assaults" earlier in the day.
Battle of Gettysburg, third day: The July 3 W
ells cavalry charge-Medal of Honor:Wells commanded the Second Battalion, 1st Vermont Cavalry, in the repulse of Stuart's Cavalry at the Battle of Hanover during the Gettysburg Campaign...
advanced from the west to beyond the Big Round Top spur and engaged the rear of
Law'sEvander McIver Law was an author, teacher, and a Confederate general in the American Civil War.-Early life:...
Alabama regiments to carry the hill and earn Wells' 1891
Medal of HonorThe Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...
.
By September 1863,
David McConaughyDavid McConaughy was a noted attorney, cemetery president, and civic leader in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, as well as a part-time intelligence officer for the Union Army during the American Civil War. He was a driving force behind the creation of the Gettysburg National Cemetery following the Battle...
had begun to acquire a portion of Big Round Top for battlefield preservation. The
Elon J. FarnsworthElon John Farnsworth was a Union Army cavalry general in the American Civil War, killed at the Battle of Gettysburg.-Early life and career:...
monument was erected before 1896 at the base of Big Round Top, and statues of
William Wells-Medal of Honor:Wells commanded the Second Battalion, 1st Vermont Cavalry, in the repulse of Stuart's Cavalry at the Battle of Hanover during the Gettysburg Campaign...
(1931) and
John Michael TobinJohn Michael Tobin was an officer in the Union Army who received the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Malvern Hill during the American Civil War.-Biography:...
are also on the hill.
Postbellum
KilpatrickHugh Judson Kilpatrick was an officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War, achieving the rank of brevet major general. He was later the United States Minister to Chile, and a failed political candidate for the U.S...
Avenue had been completed at the west base of Big Round Top by 1895 when the gravel South Confederate Avenue was constructed across the northwest slope. In 1903, Wright Av was constructed along the northeast slope, and in 1937, S Confederate Av and the Plum Run stone bridge were rebuilt
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=hIklAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ufIFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6215,2484659&dq=south-confederate+gettysburg&hl=en for the 75th battle anniversary and reunion. In 1940, Seminary Ridge CCC workers rerouted the stone trail to the Big Round Top summit, and Harry Truman visited Big Round Top in 1946.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,803816,00.html In 1964, the Big Round Top Nature Trail was created around the hill and provided access to the
Devil's KitchenDevil's Kitchen may refer to one a many places located in:The United Kingdom:* A peak of Y Garn , a mountain in Snowdonia, northern Wales, UK.The United States:...
.
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=3B8mAAAAIBAJ&sjid=8P0FAAAAIBAJ&pg=4785,1837654&dq=tower+round-top&hl=en The 1895 Big Round Top Observation Tower was dismantled in 1968 and the
foundation was named an historic ruin in 2004The Big Round Top Observation Tower Foundation Ruin is the 19th century base of the 1st Cope Truss tower. Fred Lyons of Baltimore led the construction team that moved the foundation's granite blocks to the Big Round Top summit using block and tackle driven by a 12 horsepower...
.