The Angle is near the Copse of Trees and the Confederate High Water Mark (just out of frame to the left of this photo) on the Gettysburg battlefield. (Hancock Avenue at the Angle tour map) It is the area within the stone wall that zigzags south, then west, the south again

This was the target of Pickett’s Charge on July 3rd, 1863, the last day of the battle. Union troops from Major General Winfield Hancock’s Second Corps defended the wall on July 3rd. Confederate troops led by Brigadier General Lewis Armistead broke through lines and crossed the wall just west of the Copse of Trees. Many regard this as the high point of Confederate military achievement in the war.

About the photo

This photo looks west from Hancock Avenue. The western stone wall of The Angle is runs from left to right across the middle of the photo from the monument to the 69th Pennsylvania on the very left edge of the photo to the monument to the 72nd Pennsylvania in the center. The wall continues, hidden behind a slight rise and the tree, to about the right edge of the photo, then makes a right angle almost directly toward the viewer.

The cannon and caissons are part of the monument to Battery A, 4th United States Artillery. It was commanded by Medal of Honor recipient Alonzo Cushing. Directly in front of the cannon is the monument to Confederate Brigadier General Lewis Armistead. He led his men over the stone wall, temporarily breaking the Union line. Armistead was mortally wounded here and his men driven back, captured or killed. In the distance to the left is the Codori Farm, where Confederate Major General George Pickett commanded his division in the charge. In the far distance is the tree line which was the starting point for the attacking Confederate forces.

Location of the Angle at Gettysburg

The Angle on the Gettysburg battlefield is about 0.4 mile south of town on the west side of Hancock Avenue. Hancock Avenue is one way northbound. (39°48’47.5″N 77°14’09.8″W)