Little Round Top afforded
a commanding view of much of the Gettysburg Battlefield. Both sides
recognized its strategic value, but Union
forces scaled the precipice,
arriving ten minutes earlier than the Men in Grey. For Confederate
forces, already exhausted from an arduous march
to the site, and low
on ammunition and water, the
uphill battle eventually proved too much. After a long battle with now
reinforced Union troops,
the Confederates were forced to
withdraw.
Modern scholars downplay the
significance of the Little Round Top campaign, since even had the ill-equipped
Rebels taken the hill, there was
a large force of fresh Union
troops on the way. Besides, ultimately very little artillery shells were
fired from the spot.
This stereoview, taken from
behind a recently placed Union gun depicts what U.S.A. forces saw from the
top of the hill. You be the judge
as to whether this outpost had
strong strategic potential.
Marshall
