Gettysburg - Devil's Den

The peach orchard was owned by Josephy Sherfy, whose house sat on the west side of the Emmitsburg Road. Not only were Sherfy's orchards ruined during the battle, but his house was ransacked, his fences torn apart by charging troops, his fields were covered with the dead, and his barn burned to the ground at the height of the fighting. Federal cannon placed in the orchard bombarded Southern forces crossing the Rose Farm to attack the Wheatfield which led to the carnage.

On the afternoon of July 2, 1863 bloody fighting left this 19-acre wheatfield and the nearby woods strewn with more than 4,000 dead and wounded. The woods bordering the field provided cover for the Confederates as they maneuvered around Union positions here.