Devil's Den

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

This tumbled mass of giant boulders just below Little Round Top was a natural fortress that became the site of intense combat on July 2nd. Confederate sharpshooters positioned among the rocks picked off Union gunners and infantry above on Little Round Top. The fighting here was close-quarters and brutal, with men shooting at each other from behind adjacent boulders. The strange rock formations with dramatic names like Devil's Den and the Slaughter Pen create an eerie atmosphere. Photographers arrived within days of the battle, including Alexander Gardner and Timothy O'Sullivan, who took some of the war's most famous photographs here. One controversial image showed a dead Confederate sharpshooter positioned behind a stone wall (historians later determined the body had been moved for dramatic effect). Today, visitors can climb among the boulders and see the same views Confederate snipers had of Union positions. The acoustics among the rocks are unusual, and many visitors report the site has a haunting quality. Devil's Den demonstrates how natural terrain features became deadly killing zones and how soldiers had to fight through extremely difficult ground where every rock could hide an enemy. The site remains remarkably well-preserved and evocative.