Cemetery Ridge Cemetery Ridge is a geographic feature in Gettysburg National Military Park , south of the town of Gettysburg , Pennsylvania , that figured prominently in the Battle of Gettysburg , July 1 to July 3 , 1863 . It formed a primary defensive position for the Union Army during the battle , roughly the center of what is popularly known as the " fish - hook " line . The Confederate army launched attacks on the Union positions on the second and third days of the battle , but were driven back both times . Description . The ridge rises only about 40 feet ( 12 m ) above the surrounding terrain and is under 2 miles ( 3 . 2 km ) long . The northern end rises to become Cemetery Hill , the southern descends to low , wooded , and sometimes marshy ground just north of Little Round Top . At the northern end of Cemetery Ridge is a copse of trees and a low stone wall that makes two 90 - degree turns ; the latter has been nicknamed " The Angle " and " the High Water Mark of the Confederacy " . This area , and the nearby Codori Farm on Emmitsburg Road , were prominent features in the progress of Pickett ' s Charge during the third day of battle , as well as Maj . Gen . Richard H . Anderson ' s division assault on the second . American Civil War . On the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg , Cemetery Ridge was unoccupied for much of the day until the Union army retreated from its positions north of town , when the divisions of Brig . Gen . John C . Robinson and Maj . Gen . Abner Doubleday from the I Corps were placed on the northern end of the ridge , protecting the left flank of the XI Corps on Cemetery Hill . After the XII Corps arrived , Maj . Gen . John W . Geary ' s Second Division was sent to the southern end of the ridge near Little Round Top ; Brig . Gen . John Buford ' s cavalry division formed a skirmish line in the fields between Cemetery Ridge and Seminary Ridge . The III Corps arrived about 8 p . m . and replaced Geary ' s division ( which was sent to Culp ' s Hill ) ; the II Corps arrived about 10 : 30 p . m . and camped immediately behind the III Corps . During the morning of the battle ' s 2nd day ( July 2 ) , Army of the Potomac commander Maj . Gen . George G . Meade shifted units to receive an expected Confederate attack on his positions . The II Corps was placed in the center of Cemetery Ridge , with Brig . Gen . Alexander Hays ' s division on the corps ' right , John Gibbon ' s division in the center around the Angle , and John C . Caldwell ' s division on the left , adjacent to the III Corps ; Robinson ' s division of the I Corps was placed in reserve behind the XI Corps . The V Corps was formed in reserve behind the II Corps . In the late afternoon , the end of the Confederate Maj . Gen . Lafayette McLaws ' s assault drove portions of Maj . Gen . Daniel Sickles ' s III Corps line back to the southern end of Cemetery Ridge , and Brig . Gen . Ambrose Wright ' s Confederate brigade temporarily captured the southern end of the Angle before being driven back to Seminary Ridge by the Philadelphia Brigade . The Confederate artillery bombardment preceding Pickett ' s Charge on July 3 battered Cemetery Ridge , and Union artillery on the ridge counterfired to Seminary Ridge . Thirty - four Union cannons were disabled , but the three Confederate divisions of the subsequent infantry assault ( Pickett ' s of the First Corps and Pettigrew ' s and Trimble ' s of the Third Corps ) , attacked the Union II Corps at the " stone fence " at the Angle . Heavy rifle and artillery fire prevented all but about 250 Confederates led by Lewis Armistead from penetrating the Union line to the high water mark of the Confederacy . Armistead was mortally wounded . Two brigades of Anderson ' s Division , assigned to protect Pickett ' s right flank during the charge , reached a more southern portion of the Union line at Cemetery Ridge soon after the repulse of Pickett ' s Division , but were driven back with 40 % casualties by the 2nd Vermont Brigade . Postbellum history . The Gettysburg Battlefield Memorial Association purchased rights - of - way for an avenue and monuments along the ridge , and the 1884 Round Top Branch steam railroad was built across the southern end of Cemetery Ridge . The 1893 Gettysburg Electric Railway was built across the north end of the ridge , and several Gettysburg Battlefield camps after the American Civil War used the ridge ' s west slope at the Angle ( e . g . , for Eisenhower ' s 1918 Camp Colt and during the 1938 Gettysburg reunion ) . The 1962 Cyclorama Building at Gettysburg with observation deck replaced the 1896 observation tower at the ridge ' s Zeigler ' s Woods , but was closed in 2008 .