On the night of July 2, General Meade called a council of his corps commanders in this house to determine whether they should hold the positions then established. The commanders advised him to hold the existing lines. Meade, agreeing with their advice and expecting the next attack on the center of his line, began the concentration of artillery and infantry strength in this area.
The Leister house and barn were badly damaged by the artillery fire which preceded Pickett’s Charge.
STOP 10. NATIONAL CEMETERY.
Soon after the battle, Governor Curtin, of Pennsylvania, commissioned Attorney David Wills, of Gettysburg, to purchase this ground as a cemetery for the Union dead. While reburials from the temporary graves on the battlefield were in progress, a committee arranged for a formal dedication on November 19, 1863. President Lincoln delivered his famous Gettysburg Address on that occasion. The National Monument, commemorating the Union soldiers who fell at Gettysburg, was dedicated, in 1869, on the site where Lincoln spoke. A memorial to the address was erected, in 1912, near the west gate of the cemetery.
STOP 11. CYCLORAMA OF PICKETT’S CHARGE.
The Cyclorama of Pickett’s Charge is regarded as a masterpiece of art. It offers an unsurpassed picture of the wartime appearance of the field, the manner of fighting, and of equipment employed. This magnificent painting, measuring 370 feet in circumference and 30 feet in height, was acquired by the National Park Service in 1942. The French artist, Paul Philippoteaux, completed the painting in 1884. It was brought to Gettysburg in 1913 when it was first mounted and exhibited in connection with the observance of the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg.
STOP 12. EAST CEMETERY HILL.
Early’s Confederates assaulted Union positions here at dusk on July 2, in coordination with an attack on Culp’s Hill (to your right). Rodes’ men failed to charge from the west at the same time. Early’s troops took possession of the hill and many of the guns, but in the absence of support from Rodes they were driven back. The desperate hand-to-hand fighting lasted long after dark.
Culp’s Hill is one-quarter mile eastward (see the observation tower) and Spangler’s Spring a few hundred yards beyond. Oak Ridge, a landmark of the first day’s battle, appears northwest of the town.