STOP 7. LITTLE ROUND TOP.
As Sickles completed the forward movement from Little Round Top and the area northward, his new line extended from the Peach Orchard southeastward through the Wheatfield to Devil’s Den (see boulders below). Longstreet’s attack on Little Round Top developed from the ridge a mile westward. His brigades successively struck the entire Union line from Devil’s Den to the Emmitsburg Road. The Confederates in a 4-hour fight broke the entire Union line, and the remnants of Sickles’ corps were forced to retreat to the rear of the Round Tops. The Confederates gained possession of the west slope of Big Round Top, Devil’s Den, the Wheatfield (the open ground surrounded by woods), and the Peach Orchard (near the white buildings on the ridge). The quick action of General Warren (see bronze figure to the north) in bringing troops to Little Round Top saved the hill for the Union. The stone breastworks on the slope of the hill were constructed during the night of July 2 as a defense measure against further attack. Big Round Top, a quarter of a mile southward, was heavily wooded at the time of the battle and could not be used to advantage by either artillery or infantry.