The Battle of the Wheatfield :: The Homepage

This is a small website dedicated to the battle for the Rose Wheatfield at Gettysburg on the afternoon of July 2, 1863.

On the sultry afternoon of July 2, 1863, a wheatfield would become the center of a swirling and confused whirlpool of fighting and death. This wheatfield, one of many such wheatfields that was golden with ripening grain surrounding the south central Pennsylvania town of Gettysburg, would forever be known simply as The Wheatfield. Over the course of one long bloody afternoon, this Wheatfield would become, like places such as Little Round Top, Devil's Den, and the Peach Orchard, firmly entrenched in the American memory as a place American killed American during the bloody battle of Gettysburg. By the end of July 2, the wheat would be trampled and the ground soaked with blood, forever hallowing the ground, surrounding woods, and the simple name of this place where Americans fought and bled and died.

This site is made up of the following sections:

• The Battle

• The central part of the site. This is a detailed description of the fighting for the Wheatfield on the afternoon of July 2, 1863.

• Principal Players

• Provides brief biographies of the principal players on the stage of the Wheatfield drama. Includes officers on both sides. This section is also home to a detailed biography of one of the Union officers killed in the battle of the Wheatfield, Colonel Edward Cross.

• Photographs

• A collection of photographs of the Wheatfield and of various monuments and memorials in and around it. This section is crosslinked to the webmaster's Gettysburg "Monument Project" on her personal blog.

• Resources

• A list of internet and print resources where you can learn more about the battle for the Wheatfield.