Trapped Behind a Rock Ledge on Culp's Hill - 4th Virginia Infantry

Tom Elmore

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An unpublished account by Captain Givens Brown Strickler of Company I, 4th Virginia Infantry provides an outstanding description of his regiment's attack on Culp's Hill on the morning of July 3, portions of which are quoted as follows: ... "regiment moved forward with much spirit, until within about yards of the fortification, when a portion of several companies, amounting, in the aggregate, to two-thirds of the entire regiment, halted, I suppose, in obedience to orders, but the remainder, composed principally of Companies 'B,' 'H' and 'I' not having heard the order to fall back (if there was such an order given) continued to push forward until they arrived within 20 feet of the enemy's position ... [and] took position behind a ledge of rocks almost under the enemy's works ... any attempt to retreat must have resulted in the slaughter of the entire party." Later in the morning, Major Benjamin Watkins Leigh of Ed Johnson's staff rode up just behind the trapped group and fell under a blaze of musketry. It was not long afterward when the jig was clearly up, and the group of from 40-50 Confederates was compelled to surrender to the Federals in front of them, which at the time comprised the 122nd New York and 7th Ohio. They were escorted to the crest of the hill, and there politely received by General Slocum, before being marched off and turned over to the Provost Guard.

I have traipsed over the ground many times over many years, and have grown confident that this rock ledge, which has gone unnoticed and unremarked for the past 150 years, lies close in front of the Federal breastworks, its right being in front of the large rock slab upon which rests the monuments to the 122nd and 149th New York regiments, and its left extending a short distance to the south south-east. It is my hope that one day the Park Service will clear the brush away and create a path for visitors to examine this rock ledge, which is one of the few well-defined Confederate positions on Culp's Hill, and, until this moment, has languished in total obscurity.
 
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Excellent photos Tom, clearly shows how steep Culps Hill is. Just wondering whether this was where Wesley Culp was killed although I think he was in the 2nd Virginia Regt which must have been attacking closeby !
 
Easy, using the sketch and starting from the 149th New York monument, proceed forward (east) and down around the rock outcropping to begin at the north end of the ledge. The ledge and interspersed boulders would provide solid cover to at least 20 men lying or kneeling side-by-side, or double that number if two deep.
 
Indeed that is the 149th NY Infantry monument in the background of Tom's photo. I have crawled around near that area years ago but I have no recollection of those rocks. Based on the monuments, it should be relatively easy to find, especially in the winter months when no leaves are on the underbrush or trees. But you may need a machete to hack your way through the brush. Plus there are some good sized rocks scattered around Culp's Hill. They are not named like those in Devil's Den and tough to get to.

I normally take people down to see the left flank marker of the 66th Ohio on the top of Culp's Hill. That walk really shows how steep Culp's Hill is. But there is a decent path to follow. It is a jungle if you get off that path. The 149th NY monument is not close to the 66th Ohio. As you can see from Tom's photo and verbiage, there is no path in that area.

Gettysburg's monuments and markers provide a great anchor for battlefield navigation. The Gettysburg Stone Sentinel website has descriptions on monuments, farms, etc at Gettysburg. Many of the monument pages have a direct link to a Google Earth satellite view. Many times they post GPS coordinates that you can enter into Google Earth for finding the monuments.

I have mentioned in other posts that I prefer visiting Gettysburg in the winter months. Without leaves, one gets a completely different perspective of the battlefield. Hopefully one day, a CWT Gettysburg walk can be held in these off months to get a completely different perspective of the battlefield.

I must say that Culp's Hill is a tough place to navigate. Years ago, 3 of us made a trek from lower Culp's Hill maybe around where Slocum and Geary Avenues meet all the way down to Rock Creek. I recall that was one miserable walk.

But the 149th NY and the 122 NY monuments aren't that far apart. Getting down to find those rocks is the key. I have John Archer's Culp's Hill book and I will see if he mentions these rocks in his book.

Great post.
 
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Indeed that is the 149th NY Infantry monument in the background of Tom's photo. I have crawled around near that area years ago but I have no recollection of those rocks. Based on the monuments, it should be relatively easy to find, especially in the winter months when no leaves are on the underbrush or trees. But you may need a machete to hack your way through the brush. Plus there are some good sized rocks scattered around Culp's Hill. They are not named like those in Devil's Den and tough to get to.

I normally take people down to see the left flank marker of the 66th Ohio on the top of Culp's Hill. That walk really shows how steep Culp's Hill is. But there is a decent path to follow. It is a jungle if you get off that path. The 149th NY monument is not close to the 66th Ohio. As you can see from Tom's photo and verbiage, there is no path in that area.

Gettysburg's monuments and markers provide a great anchor for battlefield navigation. The Gettysburg Stone Sentinel website has descriptions on monuments, farms, etc at Gettysburg. Many of the monument pages have a direct link to a Google Earth satellite view. Many times they post GPS coordinates that you can enter into Google Earth for finding the monuments.

I have mentioned in other posts that I prefer visiting Gettysburg in the winter months. Without leaves, one gets a completely different perspective of the battlefield. Hopefully one day, a CWT Gettysburg walk can be held in these off months to get a completely different perspective of the battlefield.

I must say that Culp's Hill is a tough place to navigate. Years ago, 3 of us made a trek from lower Culp's Hill maybe around where Slocum and Geary Avenues meet all the way down to Rock Creek. I recall that was one miserable walk.

But the 149th NY and the 122 NY monuments aren't that far apart. Getting down to find those rocks is the key. I have John Archer's Culp's Hill book and I will see if he mentions these rocks in his book.

Great post.
Would you say that Culp's Hill was steeper than LRT or about the same ?
 
Rio Bravo,

I didn't dig out my topographic maps, but I am guessing that both Culp's Hill and LRT are similar in steepness. Because LRT has one face that is mostly open, you can easily see the elevation change from both the top of LRT and from the Valley of Death/Devil's Den areas.

Culp's Hill is so heavily wooded that you get deceived on it's elevation gain as you drive up to the crest. The 66th Ohio monument is near the crest of Culp's Hill and its path to the left flank marker shows you how steep it is. More so when the leaves are off and you can see down to the valley.

I have walked both and I must say they are both difficult walks. I would not want to charge up either of those hills.

I encourage everyone to get out and walk the battlefield. One gets a very different perspective in following the footsteps of those that fought there. You miss this perspective if you only stand at the monuments/markers with a good guide book.

There are so few paths on Culp's Hill making it tough to navigate.

Another hill that everyone should walk is Powers Hill. That is another steep hill. Powers Hill too many times gets forgotten but I marvel on the task of getting artillery up on its crest.
 
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