Devil's Den is a boulder-strewn hill on the south end of Houck's Ridge at

Gettysburg Battlefield The Gettysburg Battlefield is the area of the July 1–3, 1863, military engagements of the Battle of Gettysburg within and around the borough of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Locations of military engagements extend from the site of the first sho ...

, used by artillery and sharpshooters on the second day of the 1863

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In the battle, Union Major General George Meade's Army of the ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

. A

tourist attraction A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or an exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement. Types Places of natural ...

since the memorial association era, several boulders are worn from foot traffic and the site includes numerous cannon, memorials, and walkways, including a bridge spanning two boulders.

History

Devil's Den was formed with Little Round Top (to the east-northeast) and

Big Round Top Big Round Top is a boulder-strewn hill notable as the topographic high point of the Gettysburg Battlefield and for 1863 American Civil War engagements for which Medals of Honor were awarded. In addition to battle monuments, a historic postbell ...

(southwest) by periglacial frost wedging of the

igneous Igneous rock (derived from the Latin word ''ignis'' meaning fire), or magmatic rock, is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic. Igneous rock is formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or ...

landform formed 200 million years ago when a

diabase Diabase (), also called dolerite () or microgabbro, is a mafic, holocrystalline, subvolcanic rock equivalent to volcanic basalt or plutonic gabbro. Diabase dikes and sills are typically shallow intrusive bodies and often exhibit fine-grain ...

sill Sill may refer to: * Sill (dock), a weir at the low water mark retaining water within a dock * Sill (geology), a subhorizontal sheet intrusion of molten or solidified magma * Sill (geostatistics) * Sill (river), a river in Austria * Sill plate, ...

intruded through the Triassic Gettysburg plain. The feature acquired its foreboding name prior to the 1863 battle. Throughout the mid-19th century, local residents believed that the crevices between the boulders were home to a large snake. The size of the reptile varied between accounts, but reports ranged from to as large as . The snake became known as "

The Devil Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an entity in the Abrahamic religions that seduces humans into sin or falsehood ...

," and thus the area he was believed to inhabit became known as "The Devil’s Den."

Some soldiers' accounts used the name "Devil's Cave", and a depression on a boulder that collects water resembles a flying horned bat.

Battle of Gettysburg

On July 2, 1863, Smith's Union battery, with six Napoleon smooth-bores, used the hill to counterfire on Confederate States Army, Confederate artillery prior to McLaws' Assault at 5:30 pm. Against Hood's Assault that started at 4 pm, Devil's Den was defended by Birney's 1st Division as the far left position from

The Peach Orchard The Peach Orchard is a Gettysburg Battlefield site at the southeast corner of the north-south U.S. Route 15 Business (Adams County, Pennsylvania), Emmitsburg Road intersection with the Wheatfield Road. The orchard is demarcated on the east and s ...

Salient of the

III Corps 3rd Corps, Third Corps, III Corps, or 3rd Army Corps may refer to: France * 3rd Army Corps (France) * III Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * III Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of t ...

. The hill was captured when the " First Texas Regiment, having pressed forward to the crest of the hill and driven the enemy from his battery", and Anderson's Confederates used the hill for the first attack on The Wheatfield. From near the

Slaughter Pen The Gettysburg Battlefield is the area of the July 1–3, 1863, military engagements of the Battle of Gettysburg within and around the borough of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Locations of military engagements extend from the site of the first sho ...

, the 40th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment forced the 2nd & 17th Georgia regiments of Benning's Brigade to retreat to Devil's Den. Confederate sharpshooters were stationed between the rocks to fire upon Union soldiers at Little Round Top, among their victims being General

Stephen H. Weed Stephen Hinsdale Weed (November 17, 1831 – July 2, 1863) was a career military officer in the United States Army. He was killed defending Little Round Top during the Battle of Gettysburg in the American Civil War. Early life and career Weed ...

and Lieutenant

Charles E. Hazlett Charles Edward Hazlett (October 15, 1838 – July 2, 1863) was a U.S. Army 1st Lieutenant during the American Civil War. He was killed on Little Round Top during the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg. Early life Hazlett was born in Zan ...

. Hazlett's guns counter-fired upon them, and many were killed from the concussion of air. The 124th NY monument with Ellis statue was dedicated near Devil's Den in 188

Postbellum avenues were constructed to Devil's Den such as Sickles' Avenue from the west, Crawford Avenue in 1895 (north), and Warren Avenue across Plum Run (east). From 1894-1916, the

Gettysburg Electric Railway The Gettysburg Electric Railway was a borough trolley that provided summer access1991 Gettysburg Times to Gettysburg Battlefield visitor attractions such as military engagement areas, monuments, postbellum camps, and recreation areas (e.g., ...

operated on a curve crossing

Plum Run (Rock Creek) Plum Run (Rock Run in 1821) is a Pennsylvania stream flowing southward from the Gettysburg Battlefield between the Gettys-Black Divide on the east and on the west, the drainage divide for Pitzer Run, Biesecker Run, Willoughby Run, and Marsh ...

around the south base of the hill with the

Tipton Station Tipton Station was a Gettysburg Battlefield trolley stop of the Gettysburg Electric Railway for passenger access to Crawford's Glen to the north, Devil's Den (west), and Tipton Park (east). The station was established during the 1894 construc ...

providing Devil's Den service

In 1916, a Devil's Den boulder was used as a Satterlee Hospital memorial at Philadelphia's Clark Park. The nearby 1933 comfort station was demolished in 2009, and its access bridge over Plum Run remains to the east. In 1952, ROTC students conducted a mock battle at the sit

and the "Devil's Den Access Committee" was formed in 198

The site's ID Tablet was designated a Historic District Contributing Structure in 2004, and the Devil's Den barricade is structure WA35 on the Gettysburg National Military Park's

List of Classified Structures A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surname) Organizations * List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America * SC Germania List, German rugby union ...

. File:Confederate Dead at Devil's Den Gettysburg.jpg, Post-battle Confederate sharpshooter body staged behind the "Devil's Den barricade" illustrating "a sharpshooter…of Devil's Den" such as the one presumed killed by a percussion of a cannon shot from Little Round Top after Weed and Hazlett had been sniped. Tenatively identified 2018 as a Georgia soldier. File:View of dead at Devil's Den, from Robert N. Dennis collection of stereoscopic views.jpg, Taken in Devil's Den of PA militiamen playing "Dead" in November 1863!See W. Frassanito "Early Photography at Gettsyburg" .pp.294-299 File:Alfred_Waud_by_Timothy_H._O%27Sullivan.jpg, Civil War artist

Alfred Waud Alfred Rudolph Waud ( ; October 2, 1828 – April 6, 1891) was an American artist and illustrator, born in London, England. He is most notable for the sketches he made as an artist correspondent during the American Civil War. Early life Waud ...

sketching for the

at Devil's Den. File:Devil's Den 101215.jpg, Devil's Den today. File:Devils Den from Little Round Top.jpg, Devil's Den viewed from Little Round Top. File:1904 Cope map - Gettysburg Electric Railway.png, Devil's Den (left) is across Sickles Av & Plum Run from the trolley railbed. Devil's Den sharpshooter 2018

References

External links

History.Net :Devil's Den
{{Battle of Gettysburg Hills of Pennsylvania Landforms of Adams County, Pennsylvania Gettysburg Battlefield