Gettysburg’s battlefield included key positions such as Benner Hill, Culp’s Hill, Spangler’s Springs, Barlow Knoll, Cemetery Hill, Cemetery Ridge, Little Round Top, Big Round Top, Oak Hill, McPherson Ridge, Seminary Ridge, and the Peach Orchard. Confederate soldiers of Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia occupied the wooded slopes of Seminary Ridge, which stretched for over two miles and served as a jumping off point for Confederate attacks on July 2 and 3. Near this spot, Lee watched his men’s final assault at Gettysburg, Pickett’s Charge. The Virginia Memorial, dedicated in 1917, honors Virginians who fought and died here, and the North Carolina Memorial, dedicated in 1929, stands near the place where many North Carolinians made their final assault; North Carolina lost more men at Gettysburg than any other Southern state. Emmitsburg Road, bordered by stout fences, ran diagonally through the field of battle and became a deadly obstacle for attacking Confederates, especially during Pickett’s Charge on July 3. On July 2, Confederate infantry nearly captured Little Round Top, but tenacious Union soldiers secured the heights, and the next day Union gunners there shelled Confederates during Pickett’s Charge. Abraham Brian, a free African American, lived with his family near the intersection of Taneytown Road and Emmittsburg Pike; they fled as the Confederate Army approached and returned after the battle to find their home in ruins. On July 2 and 3, the Union Army held Cemetery Ridge, and the small copse of trees marked the farthest Confederate advance on July 3. On July 2, Joseph Sherfy’s Peach Orchard became a killing field, and near this spot on July 3 the first shots of the Confederate bombardment that preceded Pickett’s Charge were fired. On July 2 and 3, the only Confederate artillery east of Gettysburg dueled Union batteries on East Cemetery Hill and Culp’s Hill from Benner’s Hill. The Union Army’s right flank was anchored on Culp’s Hill and Cemetery Hill, with Cemetery Hill serving as a strategic artillery position and Culp’s Hill guarding the Baltimore Turnpike, the lifeline of the Union Army.