This is the area where the troops Pickett led regrouped after they made their way through some woods. It is also the site of the Union’s 11th Corp field hospital from the afternoon of July 1 to the end of the battle. Spangler’s farm is in a swale and not visible from the Union lines and in fact this arm of the attack was not visible unit they were 1/2 mile or less from the Union line. From this perspective you have to see that the attack, Picketts Charge, had a chance of success that walking the field from the Virginia Monument you don’t see. The fences along what is now Route 15 (Baltimore Pike) had to be taken down on both sides of the road and the road itself created a bottleneck that added to the difficulty of achieving any victory. That road is where the troops stalled. They had been visible for 100 yards enough time for the Union gunners to zero in on their position. It is also where Pickett wheeled his troops to the left, or north for a few hundred feet leaving his flank exposed to withering fire. We walked this path in the early morning and it was hot. By the time of the attack (2:00) it was hotter that July 3rd day about 88 degrees and they had waited most of the day in the heat and noise with little extra water or food to eat. An attack that failed likely from the initial planning one that served to end the primary chance for a southern victory in the war. The next nearly two years were fought with ever diminishing opportunity for the south to achieve their goals.
