The Wheatfield Part 3

Romeyn B. Ayres and Hannibal Day arrived with their brigades of U.S. Regulars (these were men who were in the regular army...and not in the volunteer army). They advanced across the Valley of Death (also known as Plum Run Valley) and entered the Wheatfield from the eastern border, which was lined with trees.

As the U.S. Regulars approached the Wheatfield, they were under immense fire from the sharpshooters in Devil's Den. The LARGE boulders of Devil's Den made it a great place where they could hide under cover while shooting at the enemy.

In the meantime, the Confederates came over Stony Hill and through Rose Woods to take over the Wheatfield. The U. S. Regulars then retreated back up to Little Round Top.

Well, General Samuel W. Crawford wasn't going to let it end this way. So he grabbed some of his own men plus a few stray men and regiments (my great great grandfathers regiment was one of these....the 98th Pennsylvania) and they left the northern end of Little Round Top and took the same route as Day and Ayres.

Through this attack, Crawford was able to push the Confederates out of the Wheatfield and back behind the Stony Hill. He realized that his troops were exhausted so he pulled them back to the woods on the eastern edge of the Wheatfield. Darkness then arrived. The Wheatfield remained "no-mans land" for the remainder of the battle.

Casualties:
Confederate -- 1394
Union -------- 3215

This fighting was extremely intense. Its been called a whirlpool of fighting and that is a good description because of the back and forth pull of who was in charge of that field. Overall, it seems almost ironic that despite the fighting, the Wheatfield ended up in no ones hands.