Tuesday Evening Walk – June 16, 2026

“‘Earnest & Bloody Work’: The Defense of West Cemetery Hill.”  LBG Stu Dempsey

The longest sustained combat of the battle of Gettysburg occurred in front of West Cemetery Hill, fought between Orland Smith’s Federal brigade and the Confederates of Pender’s Division. During nearly every daylight hour of July 2nd and 3rd, elements of these units engaged in deadly firefights for control of a stretch of high ground between Cemetery Hill and Seminary Ridge – a battlefield that was largely lost to development long ago, and is all but forgotten today. Our tour will examine the bitter contest that Col. Abner Perrin called, “The heaviest skirmishing I have ever witnessed.” This tour is limited to a maximum of 25 attendees, per Borough of Gettysburg regulation.

Acknowledgement of Risks