The Devils of Gettysburg

Gettysburg, Pa. Dead Confederate soldiers in "the devil's den" Andrew Gardner, 1863.

The secondary source I have found for my image was written by Gary Rice, a lieutenant in the United States Navy. The article, titled Union General Daniel Sickles, was written to look at the military significance of General “Devil” Dan Sickles of the Union Army during the battle of Gettysburg. In the article, Rice explains that Gen. Sickles was responsible the loss of many lives when he defied orders and left the Union lines in order to attack. Sickles was the only general in Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade’s army that was not a professional soldier; By trade Sickles was a politician, and a dirty one at that. Basically, Sickles messed up by disobeying orders because of his foolish pride, and eventually payed the price when a confederate cannonball took out his leg right leg during the battle.

Military movements during the battle of Gettysburg July 2nd, 1863.

In the article, a rock formation at the bottom of Little Round Top called “The Devil's Den” was explained as a key site for the Confederacy’s temporary win against the Union. Rice details “If the Confederates could get around Devil’s Den, they could encircle and destroy Birney’s division” (Rice,1). Birney’s division had been left wide open thanks only to Gen. Sickles, whose decision to move forward jeopardized the entirety of Maj. Gen. Meade’s plans. Meade expressed his anguish towards Sickles even during the battle “Meade, riding to the sound of the cannonade, arrived under heavy artillery fire at Sickles’ line and realized at once that Sickles had made a disastrous mistake...When Meade confronted Sickles, he was furious” (Rice,1). Fortunately for the Union, Gen. Lee’s Commanders did not advance in time and soon darkness fell on the battlefield, forcing the Confederates to retreat. Union disaster was narrowly averted.

Gettysburg, Civil War Art/ Battle of "The Devil's Den", "Slaughter Pen", and Little Round Top - Gettysburg, 5PM, July 2nd, 1863

I think there is major historical meaning behind such a seemingly simple image (Confederate dead in "The Devil's Den") and the meaning behind that image, all the stories and experiences, make historical contingency come alive. A picture worth many more than 1,000 words, one man's death is given a beautiful afterlife with this image. The more that is researched about the image, the more meaning the mans life is given.

The actual name “The Devils Den” was created before the battle, after a 15ft Black snake had been found near the rocks in 1835. I found that information out on Wikipedia, but I thought it was interesting that there was no correlation between Gen. “Devil” Dan Sickles and “The Devil’s Den”.

Present day view of "The Devil's Den" from Little Round Top.