The photos above are of the point along McPherson Ridge where the Confederate Troops came under fire of the Union Calvary, lead by General Bufford.  The canon in the first picture in the second row is the canon that fired the opening volley and is indicated as such by the plaque in the last picture.

This is the railroad cut just north and west of town.  During the time of the battle, this section of the railroad was still under construction.  It was used by both the Union and Confederate troops during the first day for cover, but it turned out to be a grinder and many of the soldiers lost their lives here.  In the first picture you can see the starting point of the battle along McPherson Ridge in the distance.

While the dismounted Calvary troops held their own for a good portion of the day, re-enforcements were still needed.  Those arrived early in the afternoon and they were commanded by General Reynolds.  While the re-enforcements arrived just in time, one of the biggest blows to the Union Army that day is when General Reynolds was shot and killed in the area shown in the first picture.  The the two picturers in the second row show the monument placed to commemorate the location and the general.   The last picture in the first row shows the Lutheran Seminary and the  observation point that both sides came to use during the three day battle.

The first picture shows the Eternal Peace Light Memorial placed on top of Oak Hill.  From this location, Confederate canons had a clear field of fire on the southern ridges and hills just outside of Gettysburg.  In the field shown in the second picture, you can get a sense of the view the artillery men had of the area.

The area in the pictures above is the area known as Culps Hill, and the start of Cemetery Hill.  Culps Hill was located just north east of town and consisted of a small rocky wooded hill.   On the first day, this was one of the locations that the Union Army fell back to when pushed through the town.  At first, the hill was not heavily defended and the Confederates could have overtaken it and pushed the Union even farther back.  Confederate General Ewell was given orders to take the hill "if practicable".   With his decision not to push up the hill when he had the chance, it gave the Union time to re-enforce and build entrenchments that managed to keep the Confederates from taking and holding the hill.  The fortifications made it possible for a smaller number of Union to defend it against a much larger Confederate force.

General Meade, overall commanding officer of the Army of the Potomac, arrive late in the evening of the first day.  He set up his headquarters in the house and farm above and maintained it in this location through the battle.  While it did receive a little damage from artillery, it remains relatively the same as it was during the three days of battle.

This was Cemetery Hill and the start of Cemetery Ridge.  This sight is where the Union finally stopped and rallied after being pushed back through Gettysburg on the first day.  While the Confederates did mount a few more attacks here, and nearly took the hill, they were not able to hold it, and they eventually withdrew back to the edge of town.

One of the more noted feats of valor during the second day of battle was that which was performed by the 1st Minnesota.  They arrived on the scene late  on the second day and were discovered by Union General Scott, just as the Confederates had broken through advanced Union lines in the Peach Orchard, about a mile away.  There were no Union troops to stop them, except for the 262 men of the 1st Minnesota.  As the plaque reads in the second picture, they were outnumbered 4 to 1, but they managed to hold back the Confederate troops.  Unfortunately, it cost them many lives as only 47 escaped death or injury.  The monument in the picture is of Albert Woolson, who was from Duluth, Minnesota and served in the 1st Minnesota.  He is  credited as being the last surviving veteran of the Civil War.

This series of pictures is from Little Round Top.  This location witnessed some of the most desperate fighting in the three day struggle.  On the afternoon of the second day, there were no soldiers, Union or Confederate, on this hill, except for a small signal corps for the Union.  General G.K. Warren had ridden to this location and notice that the Confederates where lining up to take this undefended location.  With quick action, he started moving any available troops that he could find to the hill.  Many of them had just completed their long march to Gettysburg, when they were suddenly thrown into combat.  One of these groups was the 20th Maine.  They had just completed a long march through the night and they were put into position along the extreme left flank of the hill, and the Union Army.  Colonel Chamberlain was told that he had to defend the hill at all costs.  If they had failed, the Confederate army would have rolled up the Union left flank and devastated them from the rear.   The last three pictures of the third row, and the first two in the last row, show where this struggle had taken place. 

While the Confederate Army struggled and failed to take the heights of Little Round Top, they were successful in over running the Union troops in the Devil's Den.  The pictures of the large rock formations are of Devil's Den, and is located at the base of the Round Tops.  From here, Confederate troops were able to harass the Union troops at the top and keep the Union Army strung out in a long line.  The other Round Top is called Big Round top.  It was just to the south of Little Round Top and appeared to be a better hill to take in order to force the Union troops off of the smaller hill.  Unfortunately, as they looked closer at it, they discovered it was very steep and was thickly covered by trees.  This is what helped the Union Army hold the line.  After the battle of Little Round Top ceased, Union troops were moved to the top of Big Round Top as a precaution to prevent any Confederates from taking it.

My walk back to the hotel followed the Union lines from the Round Tops, through Bloody Run, the valley below Little Round Top, and along Cemetery Ridge.  While the last two photos show that some of the areas seem fairly wooded, during the time of the battle, these areas were actually cleared of trees due to the logging that had been going on in the area. 

On the last day, there were actually a series of actions that took place.  The Confederate commanding general, General Lee, had hope to have a demonstrating battle on Culps Hill that would draw troops away from Cemetery Ridge, the location that he had planed to have a large attack.  Unfortunately, Culps Hill started and ended rather early and the Confederates actually started to withdraw from that area long before the main attack took place on Cemetery Ridge.  With the Confederates withdrawing, Union troops were quickly shifted to Cemetery Ridge where they helped to repel the Confederate attack known as Picket's Charge.  The photos above show where General Lee watched the attack, and greeted his troops as they returned in defeat after the charge failed.   

The series above is from Cemetery Ridge at and around the area known as the Confederacies High Water Mark.  This is were they broke through the lines, and had they had more support, would have pushed the Union troops from their positions.  But due to the large area they had to cross before reaching the Union troops, and the withering fire they took from artillery and small arms fire, their numbers had been extremely reduced and they were unable to hold the ground the captured.  The second picture above shows where the Confederates broke through the Union lines.  The monument in the second picture in the second row shows the location where Confederate General Armistead was mortally wounded.  The last two pictures are of the area on the battlefield where Union General Scott was wounded and eventually carried from the field.  The irony about these two generals is they were the closest of friends, who had served and fought together in the Mexican-American War.  On the third day, they both lay wounded only a few hundred yards from one another.

The monument, in the first picture, is a memorial to the Masons who took part in the war.  The statue is of Confederate General Armistead in the arms of a Union soldier as he lies wounded on the battle field.  Armistead was a member of the Order of the Masons.  The second picture is from the National Cemetery that was dedicated by President Abraham Lincoln the November following the battle.

The Lincoln Train Museum is located near Cemetery Hill along the Emmitsburg Road.  There is a simulated train ride that gives you an idea of the ride Lincoln took to Gettysburg to dedicate the Cemetery.  There are also a couple of dioramas depicting battles from the Civil War, as well as some displays of model trains.