Attack on Cemetery Hill

Union forces occupied this hill at noon on July 1, and it became a rallying point that afternoon for Union soldiers retreating to it from beyond the town. On the evening of July 2, in coordination with the attack on Culp's Hill, 2,000 Confederate soldiers advanced against this hill from beyond the school building site in front. Under artillery fire they pressed forward, broke Union infantry lines at the base of the hill, and after desperate hand-to-hand fighting captured cannon on the crest, but without support they soon were driven from the hill by Union reinforcements.

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania · United States