Union soldiers gathered these rocks into defensive barricades on Little Round Top after repulsing repeated Rebel attacks up the slopes on July 2nd. That day, their protection was hastily assembled piles of tree trunks and branches. The Union soldiers upgraded to rocks in expectation of further Confederate assaults the following day. That never happened. The Rebs were instead busy attacking the center of the Federal line to the north in the disastrous Pickett's Charge.
Holding the high ground has its perks. This is how the Yankees viewed the Rebs from Little Round Top. Those big rocks left of center are Devil's Den. The roads are modern.
Such is the name of this part of the Gettysburg battlefield. The area on the near side of the stone wall was the scene of hand-to-hand fighting as Pickett's Charge ran out of steam on Cemetery Ridge. The failure of Gen. Lee's attempt to break the center of the Union line led to the Confederate retreat the following day. The South would never again mount an offensive in the North.
