Gettysburg Seminary and Nearby Area
Source: Smallbones, 2010. Public domain.
A Strategic Location
On the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg, a Union cavalry brigade discovered that the Confederate army was marching to Gettysburg. The cavalry dismounted and took up defensive positions near McPherson Ridge, just west of a Lutheran Seminary in Gettysburg. They were able to hold off the attacking forces long enough for reinforcements to arrive, preventing a quick victory by the Confederates.
During the battle, Union officers used the cupola of the dormitory at the seminary to observe Confederate troop movements. The seminary's position on high ground made it an ideal location for observation and defense. After the Union retreat, the Confederate officers used it for the same purpose.
Source: Map by Hal Jespersen, www.cwmaps.com. Used under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license.
Ridges Provide Defense
The map shows the location of the seminary and the general positions of the troops for much of the fighting on the first day. The Union troops first positioned themselves in Willoughby run, then dropped back to McPherson Ridge, and later to Oak ridge and Seminary Ridge. By late afternoon, the Union troops fled through the town in a disorganized retreat to Cemetery Hill.
The panorama below shows the view from McPherson Ridge toward Herr Ridge (just behind the farm). The South Mountain Range is in the background. Click the picture to see the full-size panorama.
Source: ©2003–2010 Randy Chadwick. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Questions
- Why was the Gettysburg Seminary a key location in the battle?
- How did the ridges to the west of Gettysburg allow the Union forces to hold off a much larger Confederate army for much of the first day of the battle?
- Why did the Union forces retreat to Cemetery Hill?
