The Angle and High Water Mark

Stop on Gettysburg Battlefield Historic Tour, a free self-guided tour.

This stone wall junction on Cemetery Ridge marks the farthest point reached by Confederate forces during Pickett's Charge on July 3rd - the so-called High Water Mark of the Confederacy. After a massive two-hour artillery bombardment, approximately 12,500 Confederate soldiers emerged from the woods on Seminary Ridge and marched across three-quarters of a mile of open ground toward this position. Union artillery and massed infantry fire devastated the assault, but a small group of Virginians under General Lewis Armistead briefly penetrated the Union line here, breaking through at a right-angle in the stone wall. Armistead, holding his hat on his sword as a guide for his men, fell mortally wounded among the Union cannons. This moment represented the Confederacy's closest approach to victory at Gettysburg. Within minutes, Union reinforcements sealed the breach and the Confederate survivors retreated. Of the attackers, over 50% became casualties. The charge's failure effectively ended the battle and Lee's invasion. Today, markers show where regiments stood and monuments commemorate the valor of both attackers and defenders. Walking along the stone wall and looking back across the field toward Seminary Ridge, you can attempt to comprehend the courage it took to advance into that storm of fire. The High Water Mark is Gettysburg's most iconic location, symbolizing the moment when Confederate fortunes crested and began their irreversible ebb.