Devils Den

Welcome to Gettysburg National Military Park, and specifically to one of the most uniquely haunting landscapes on any American battlefield. Before you lies Devil's Den, a chaotic, towering jumble of massive boulders that seems…

We begin our detailed journey by walking into the low ground situated just to the east of the main rocky outcroppings, an area heavily traversed by Plum Run, a small meandering stream. Today, this marshy expanse is famously known…

Moving slightly south from the Valley of Death, we enter a rugged, rocky gorge situated tightly between the main boulders of Devil's Den and the rising, wooded slopes of Little Round Top. This narrow, treacherous corridor is…

We now approach the most visually striking and frequently visited portion of the site: the towering main face of Devil's Den. These are the iconic, stacked diabase boulders that feature prominently in nearly every photograph…

While visitors routinely stand in front of the towering Table Rock and declare that they have seen Devil's Den, the very first park historian, John Badger Batchelder, vehemently disagreed. According to Batchelder and the early…

Ascending slightly from the main boulder field, we arrive at a small, elevated rise that modern historians frequently refer to as Benning's Knoll. This relatively unremarkable hump of earth played a pivotal role in the climax of…

We have now reached the very highest point among the boulders: the Crest of Devil's Den. While the infantry fought bitterly in the valleys below, this elevated ridge was the domain of the artillery. …

Just a short distance from the crest, nestled carefully between two large boulders and featuring a small, purposefully built wall of loose stones, is perhaps the most heavily analyzed micro-location in the entirety of the…

As we conclude our loop through Devil's Den, we stand on the western edge of the rocks, looking out over an uneven, wildly overgrown expanse known as the Triangular Field. Bordered by dense timber on two sides and the rocky ridge…

As we conclude our detailed exploration of Devil's Den, take a final moment to absorb the profound atmosphere of this extraordinary place. We have walked in the footsteps of the Fourth Maine in the Valley of Death, witnessed the…