Little Round Top was ideally suited as an observation point, artillery platform, and defensive position for whichever army occupied it. Thus ferocious fighting for its control took place on its southwestern slope in the afternoon hours of July 2, 1863. Follow this self-guided walking tour to explore and learn more.

To Begin Your Tour

This tour of Little Round Top starts at the summit of the hill. Little Round Top is stop #8 on the Auto Tour. You will be walking on a mix of paved and compressed dirt paths, not all of which are accessible. During your tour, please help us preserve and protect the battlefield. Please do not climb or sit on monuments, markers, wayside exhibits, stone walls, or cannons. Monuments and cannons mark positions and honor great sacrifices. Staying on the paved, stone, and mown trails helps avoid erosion and trampling of vegetation.

The tour consists of 8 main stops and can take 30-90 minutes.

Tour Stops
With the exception of the first stop, all tour stops are marked by their corresponding monuments.

Stop 1 - Northern Gathering Area on Little Round Top

You are standing three miles south of the town of Gettysburg. The impressive landscape around you, including boulders of all sizes, is the result of millions of years of geological activity. The rocks succumbed to generations of wind and water, eroding their softer layers and revealing the hardest rock-diabase.

In 1863, farmer Ephraim Hanaway owned about 30 acres of the western face. He purchased the land in 1858 and used it as a source of stone and timber. The most recent clearing of trees was in 1862. Farmer Jacob Wiekert owned the eastern slopes (behind you), purchasing the land in 1840. Hanaway and Wiekert’s land played a critical role in the battle. With its open western summit and rock-strewn crest, Little Round Top was ideally suited as an observation point, artillery platform, and defensive position. Brutal fighting for its control took place in the afternoon hours of July 2. Ultimately Union forces repelled several Confederate attacks. It remained in Federal control for the rest of the battle.

Proceed from the gathering area by following the trail to your left. You will arrive at the monument to Union General G. K. Warren, your next stop.

Stop 2 - Monument to Gouveneur K. Warren

About 3:30 p.m. on July 2, the Union army's Chief Engineer, Brig. Gen. G.K. Warren, stepped out onto these same rocks with his binoculars. General George G. Meade, in command of the Union Army of the Potomac, had sent him to determine in the hill, the critical left flank of the Union army's position, was in danger of being attacked or captured. Warren found men of the Union Signal Corps here, but no infantry. Little Round Top was undefended.

One of the signalmen Warren found was Capt. James S. Hall. The captain, who had been detailed to this assignment, had arrived at this area by at least 1:30 p.m. as evidenced by the messages he and the rest of his party sent across the battlefield via their signal flags. One historian wrote after the war "it was Capt. Hall's announcement that the enemy were moving around Sickles's left that brought Gen. Warren to Little Round Top."
Although often lost today in the larger story of Little Round Top, the U.S. Signal Corps on this hill played a critical role in the hill's defense.

Stop 3 - 44th New York Infantry Monument

Unbeknownst to General Warren, Union reinforcements were already on their way. Commanding a 1,300-man infantry brigade was 26 year-old Col. Strong Vincent. He utilized the unique terrain and topography of the southern slope to place his men in the best possible defensive position-running from the flat “shelve” below you and across the southern slope to your left and rear. Within moments of their arrival at approximately 4:00 p.m., Texans and Alabamians of Maj. Gen. John B. Hood’s division streamed out of the woods to your left front. The 44th New York Infantry to your immediate left front, and the 16th Michigan Infantry to your right front, delivered a rapid, deadly fire that drove them back. Hood’s men rallied and renewed the fight. The battle for Little Round Top soon spread and casualties grew at an exponential rate.

Stop 4 - 16th Michigan Infantry Monument

By the time of the battle of Gettysburg, the effect of two years of war on the 16th Michigan told in its ranks, the regiment barely fielding 263 officers and men. It was the smallest regiment in Strong Vincent’s brigade. Further shrinking the number of rifles in the ranks was the loss of 50 soldiers detailed to the skirmish line in front of the regiment. The small size of the unit and its important position on the right flank of Vincent’s line almost spelled disaster for the Union defense of Little Round Top.

The 16th Michigan Infantry was commanded at the battle of Gettysburg by Lt. Colonel Norval E. Welch. The regiment was positioned on the right flank of Col. Strong Vincent’s line on Little Round Top. The 16th Michigan, along with three other regiments, arrived at Little Round Top only minutes before the Confederates began their attack. The 16th Michigan bore repeated attacks from the 4th and 5th Texas before starting to give ground. Rallied by Vincent, and the timely arrival of the 140th New York, the Texans numerous attacks were finally defeated.

Stop 5 - 140th New York Infantry Regiment Monument

The pressure on Vincent’s Union brigade grew with each Confederate attack. Unable to break the position of the 16th Michigan and the 44th New York head on, the Texans and Alabamians shifted further toward the right flank and rear of the 16th Michigan. The line began to crumble from confused orders and the weight of renewed assaults. Colonel Vincent went to their aid. With his wife’s riding crop in his hand, Vincent mounted a large boulder, and yelled “Don’t give an inch, boys, don’t give an inch!” Vincent was wounded immediately. Just when the Federal position seemed doomed, the 140th New York Infantry led by Col. Patrick O’Rorke poured over the hill. Still unaware that Vincent had taken his brigade to Little Round Top, General Warren sent the 140^th to the hill. “Down this way, boys!” yelled the colonel upon their arrival. As they surged toward the Confederates, O’Rorke again proclaimed, “Here they are men, commence firing!” Moments later, O’Rorke was dead, a bullet pierced his neck, killing him instantly.

Stop 6 - In the Footsteps of the 4th Texas Infantry

The 4th Texas Infantry Regiment completed its organization at Richmond, Virginia. Its members were recruited in the counties of Goliad, Travis, Robertson, Falls, Guadalupe, McLennan, Bexar, Grimes, Walker, Hill, Montgomery, Freestone, Navarro, Ellis, and Henderson. It became part of Hood's Texas Brigade and served under Generals Hood, J.B. Robertson, and J. Gregg. The 4th participated in the campaign of the Army of Northern Virginia at Gettysburg and along with the Alabamians fought against the Union in the battle for Little Round Top.

Directions to next stop: Continue walking back towards the battery of cannons. This unit, the 5th United States Artillery, Battery D, today represented by four guns and battery tablet, is the location of Stop 5.

Stop 7 - 5th United States Artillery, Battery D (Hazlett's Battery) Monument

Commanded by Lt. Charles E. Hazlett, Battery D, 5th United States Artillery, dragged their canon by hand over up the rocky, muddy slopes of the hill. At the summit, they realized their barrels couldn’t be lowered enough to fire upon Confederate troops. General Warren noted the position was “no place for efficient artillery fire.” “Nevermind that,” Hazlett responded. “The sound of my guns will be encouraging to our troops…my battery’s of no use if this hill is lost.”

The brigade of Brig. Gen. Stephen H. Weed arrived. While watching the fighting in the Wheatfield below, General Weed was wounded, paralyzed from the shoulders down. He asked to see Lt. Hazlett. Soon after arriving at Weed’s side, Hazlett slumped forward. Shot in the head, Hazlett was killed instantly. Weed passed that evening. Despite the loss of Hazlett his Artillery helped save Little Round Top for the Union. After a bloody struggle for the hill, the exhausted Confederates fell back. Little Round Top was in Union hands.

Stop 8 - 20th Maine Infantry Regiment Monument

The 20th Maine Infantry was commanded by Col. Joshua L. Chamberlain. On July 2, 1863, the 20th Maine was ordered to the extreme left of the Union line on Little Round Top. They engaged in a brutal fight with the 15th and 47th Alabama Infantry regiments, desperately fighting to preserve the vital position atop the hill. Running low on ammunition during the fight, the Mainers surprised the Confederates by fixing their bayonets and charging downhill. Their persistence prevented the entire Union line from being outflanked.
The 20th Maine Infantry monument marks the approximate center of the regiment’s line and where the unit’s colors stood during their famous defense of the hill