* (Under Construction)
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Day 1: July 1, 1863 - Union Reinforcements Arrive
General
Meade's
headquarters throughout the first day's battle was nine miles to the south of
Gettysburg at Taneytown, Maryland. While there, he had received word from
Hancock
that Gettysburg would be the location to make a stand against the ANV.
XII Corps
arrived shortly after the fighting ended, in addition to the two corps (I
Corps and
XI Corps)
that were already on the field.
III Corps shortly
followed later that evening, while
II Corps was
closeby. The larger VI
Corps was over
30 miles away and would not arrived until later next afternoon. General
Meade
arrived at Cemetery Hill at about 23:30 on July 1 and began positioning his
corps into defensive positions.
Meanwhile, Johnson's division (of Ewell's
Corps) arrived from the northeast and Longstreet Corps joined
from the northwest. Longstreet's Corps consisted of the
divisions of Hood and McLaws. Anderson's
Division (the remaining division of A.P. Hill) also arrived on
the field from the northwest.
The terrain surrounding Gettysburg consisted mostly of ridges and hills to the
south of the town. The most prominent features were Cemetery Hill (which
received its name from Evergreen Cemetery on Baltimore Pike) which rises about
80 feet above the town and Culp's Hill to the east which stands about 100 feet
higher. Cemetery Hill was relatively clear, while Culp's Hill was significantly
covered with woods and large boulders. Cemetery Ridge stretched some two miles
to the south and ended at Little Round Top and Big Round Top. At some places
near the center, Cemetery Ridge barely rose above ground level.
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