Wheatfield Road

Last updated

Wheatfield

Wheatfield Road Map.svg
Map of Adams County in southern Pennsylvania with Wheatfield Road highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by National Park Service
Length1.2 mi [1]  (1.9 km)
Time period1858 mapped by Howe [2]
1863 Battle of Gettysburg
1895 Gettysburg National Military Park
1933 National Park Service
Major junctions
West endBusiness plate.svg
US 15.svg
US 15 Bus. (Emmitsburg Road)
East endPA-134.svg PA 134 (Taneytown Road)
Location
Country United States
State Pennsylvania
Counties Adams
Highway system

The Wheatfield Road is a Gettysburg Battlefield crossroad from the Peach Orchard east-southeastward along the north side of The Wheatfield (on the Peach Orchard-Devil's Den ridge), [3] north of the Valley of Death, and over the north foot of Little Round Top. In addition to modern tourist use, the road is notable for Battle of Gettysburg use and postbellum trolley use associated with the 1892-1896 US v. Gettysburg Electric Ry. case of the US Supreme Court. [4]

Contents

Route description

Wheatfield Road begins at an intersection with US 15 Bus. within Gettysburg National Military Park in Cumberland Township, where the road continues west as Millerstown Road. From here, it heads east-southeast as a two-lane undivided road, heading through fields in the park. The road continues into wooded areas with some fields, passing to the north of Little Round Top. Wheatfield Road comes to an end at an intersection with PA 134 in the community of Round Top, where the road continues east as Blacksmith Shop Road to Baltimore Pike. [1] [5]

History

During the Battle of Gettysburg, the dirt Wheatfield Road was used by various Union and Confederate troops (e.g., Crawford's Third Division of Pennsylvania Reserves), [6] and Union troops deployed artillery westward to the Peach Orchard using the road. [3] [7] In 1884, the Round Top Branch's wye with double spurs [8] and station was built at the east end of Wheatfield Road, and in 1894 the Gettysburg Electric Railway was laid along a west portion of the road (trolleys also crossed the east end near Round Top Station). [9] In 1895, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania ceded jurisdiction of Wheatfield Road to the War Department, [10] and in 1900 two cast iron identification tablets were placed[ where? ] to label the road. [11] :'00 The Gettysburg Electric Railway tracks were removed from the Wheatfield Road in 1917 and the road was repaired in 1931. [12] The Wheatfield Road was resurfaced with asphalt west of Sykes Avenue in 1933, [13] and completed "from the Rosensteel pavilion to the Taneytown road" in 1940 by the McMillan Woods Civilian Conservation Corps camp. [14]

Junction list

The entire route is in Adams County.

Locationmi [1] kmDestinationsNotes
Peach Orchard angle [3] 0.00.0Business plate.svg
US 15.svg
US 15 Bus. (Emmitsburg Road)
Continues west to Willoughby Run via Millerstown Road
Gettysburg National Military Park McGilvery Artillery Avenue [15] Southbound avenue [16]
0.10.16 Sickles AvenueNorthbound avenue
0.210.34Wheatfield Road's Sickles Avenue section "constructed" in 1899 [11] :'99
0.30.48Sickles AvenueSouthboun avenue "across Wheatfield") [11] :'96
0.60.97 Ayres AvenueSouthboune avenue) [17]
Plum Run bridge
39°47′49″N77°14′20″W / 39.7969°N 77.2390°W / 39.7969; -77.2390 (Wheatfield Rd/Plum Run intersection) north of Valley of Death
0.71.11898 Crawford Avenue [11] :'98Crossroad
1.01.61897 Sedgwick Avenue and Sykes Avenue [11] :'97 [12] Crossroad
Round Top 1.21.9PA-134.svg PA 134 (Taneytown Road)Continues east to Baltimore Pike via Blacksmith Shop Road
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gettysburg Battlefield</span> American Civil War battle-site

The Gettysburg Battlefield is the area of the July 1–3, 1863, military engagements of the Battle of Gettysburg in and around Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Locations of military engagements extend from the 4-acre (1.6 ha) site of the first shot at Knoxlyn Ridge on the west of the borough, to East Cavalry Field on the east. A military engagement prior to the battle was conducted at the Gettysburg Railroad trestle over Rock Creek, which was burned on June 27.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little Round Top</span> Hill fought over during the Battle of Gettysburg

Little Round Top is the smaller of two rocky hills south of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania—the companion to the adjacent, taller hill named Big Round Top. It was the site of an unsuccessful assault by Confederate troops against the Union left flank on July 2, 1863, the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg, during the American Civil War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Peach Orchard</span>

The Peach Orchard is a Gettysburg Battlefield site at the southeast corner of the north-south Emmitsburg Road intersection with the Wheatfield Road. The orchard is demarcated on the east and south by Birney Avenue, which provides access to various memorials regarding the "momentous attacks and counterattacks in…the orchard on the afternoon of July 2, 1863."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gettysburg National Military Park</span> Larger area encompassing the National Cemetery and Battlefield

The Gettysburg National Military Park protects and interprets the landscape of the Battle of Gettysburg, fought over three days between July 1 and July 3, 1863, during the American Civil War. Located in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, the park is managed by the National Park Service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Devil's Den</span> Section of combat during the Second day of the Battle of Gettysburg

Devil's Den is a boulder-strewn hill on the south end of Houck's Ridge at Gettysburg Battlefield, used by artillery and sharpshooters on the second day of the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War. A tourist attraction since the memorial association era, several boulders are worn from foot traffic and the site includes numerous cannons, memorials, and walkways, including a bridge spanning two boulders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Gettysburg, second day</span> Battle of the American Civil War

During the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee attempted to capitalize on his first day's accomplishments. His Army of Northern Virginia launched multiple attacks on the flanks of the Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by Maj. Gen. George G. Meade. The assaults were unsuccessful, and resulted in heavy casualties for both sides.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Big Round Top</span> Hill in Pennsylvania, United States

Big Round Top is a boulder-strewn hill notable as the topographic high point of the Gettysburg Battlefield and for 1863 American Civil War engagements for which Medals of Honor were awarded. In addition to battle monuments, a historic reconstruction era structure on the uninhabited hill is the Big Round Top Observation Tower Foundation Ruin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George C. Burling</span>

George Childs Burling was a United States Union Army officer during the American Civil War, serving mostly as colonel and commander of the 6th New Jersey Volunteer Infantry. Burling was born in Burlington County, New Jersey, raised on his father's farm and educated at a private school in Norristown, Pennsylvania. He was a coal merchant and a militia officer before the war. Burling's militia company was mustered into the volunteer service for a three-month term in July 1861, but it became company F of the 6th New Jersey with a three-year enlistment on September 9, 1861. Burling became the regiment's major on March 19, 1862, and lieutenant colonel on May 7 of that year. Burling was wounded at the Second Battle of Bull Run in August 1862.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maryland Route 140</span> State highway in Maryland, US

Maryland Route 140 is a 49-mile (79 km) state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. The route runs from U.S. Route 1 and US 40 Truck in Baltimore northwest to the Pennsylvania border, where the road continues into that state as Pennsylvania Route 16. MD 140 passes through the northern part of central Maryland, connecting Baltimore, Pikesville, Reisterstown, Westminster, Taneytown, and Emmitsburg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pennsylvania Route 134</span> State highway in Adams County, Pennsylvania, US

Pennsylvania Route 134 (PA 134), also called Taneytown Road, is a north–south, two-lane state highway in Adams County, Pennsylvania. It runs from the Maryland border at the Mason–Dixon line in Mount Joy Township north to U.S. Route 15 Business in Gettysburg. PA 134 runs through farmland between the Maryland border and an interchange with the US 15 freeway. North of here, the route passes through Round Top and serves Gettysburg National Military Park before reaching its northern terminus. Taneytown Road was created in 1800 to connect Gettysburg with Taneytown, Maryland. The road was used during the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg for the procession to the cemetery consecration at which the Gettysburg Address was delivered. PA 134 was designated to its current alignment in 1928, with the section north of Round Top paved. The southern portion of the route was paved in the 1930s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gettysburg Battlefield Historic District</span> Historic district in Pennsylvania, United States

The Gettysburg Battlefield Historic District is a district of contributing properties and over 1000 historic contributing structures and 315 historic buildings, located in Adams County, Pennsylvania. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 19, 1975. Most of the contributing elements of the Gettysburg Battlefield are on the protected federal property within the smaller Gettysburg National Military Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Round Top, Pennsylvania</span> Unincorporated community in Pennsylvania, United States

Round Top is a populated place in Adams County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, near Little Round Top. It is notable for two Battle of Gettysburg hospitals, the 1884 Round Top Station, and several battlefield commemorative era attractions such as Round Top Park and the Round Top Museum. The unincorporated community lies on an elevated area of the north-south Taneytown Road with three intersections: at Blacksmith Shop Road to the northeast, Wheatfield Road, and Sachs Road.

Plum Run is a Pennsylvania stream flowing southward from the Gettysburg Battlefield between the Gettys-Black Divide on the east and on the west, the drainage divide for Pitzer Run, Biesecker Run, Willoughby Run, and Marsh Creek.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gettysburg Electric Railway</span> Borough trolley serving Gettysburg Battlefield attractions

The Gettysburg Electric Railway was a borough trolley that provided summer access to Gettysburg Battlefield visitor attractions such as military engagement areas, monuments, postbellum camps, and recreation areas. Despite the 1896 Supreme Court ruling under the Takings Clause against the railway, battlefield operations continued until 1916. The trolley generating plant was leased by the Electric Light, Heat, and Power Company of Gettysburg to supply streetlights and homes until electricity was imported from Hanover.

Greenmount is a populated place in Adams County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located southwest of the Gettysburg Battlefield, at Marsh Creek along the Emmitsburg Road, in Cumberland Township.

United States v. Gettysburg Electric Ry. Co., 160 U.S. 668 (1896), was a case to prevent trolley operations on the Gettysburg Battlefield. The dispute began in August 1891 when the Gettysburg Battlefield Memorial Association's board approved attorney Samuel Swope's motion to deny trolley right-of-way along GBMA roads. Despite the 1896 US Supreme Court ruling that the railway could be seized for historic preservation, as well as earlier legislative efforts to appropriate federal acquisition funds, create a War Department commission, and form the Gettysburg National Military Park; the trolley continued operations until obsolete in 1916.

Emmor Cope (1834-1927) was an American Civil War officer of the Union Army noted for the "Map of the Battlefield of Gettysburg from the original survey made August to October, 1863", which he researched by horseback as a sergeant after being ordered back to Gettysburg by Maj. Gen. George G. Meade. Cope is also noted for commemorative era battlefield administration and designs, including the layout of the 1913 Gettysburg reunion. Cope had enlisted as a Private of Company A,, temporarily detached to Battery C, 5th U.S. Artillery, and mustered out as a V Corps aide-de-camp of Maj Gen Gouverneur K. Warren.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tipton Station</span> Historic trolley stop in Pennsylvania

Tipton Station was a Gettysburg Battlefield trolley stop of the Gettysburg Electric Railway for passenger access to Crawford's Glen to the north, Devil's Den (west), and Tipton Park (east). The station was established during the 1894 construction of the end of the trolley line and was near the Devil's Den trolley siding, south of the trolley's Warren Avenue crossing, and northeast of the Plum Run trolley bridge. An uphill trail led southwest to Big Round Top with its 1895 Observation Tower, and the "Slaughter Pen Path and Steps" were built to Devil's Den.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Round Top Station</span> Train station in Round Top, United States

Round Top Station was the southernmost station of the Gettysburg and Harrisburg Railroad and was located west of a blacksmith shop along the Taneytown Road that was in operation in 1880.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rose Woods</span>

Rose Woods is a Gettysburg Battlefield forested area that is an American Civil War site of the battle's Hood's Assault, McLaws' Assault, and McCandless' Advance. "Scene of the first line of Union defenses" on the Battle of Gettysburg, Second Day; the 1st Texas Infantry and 3rd Arkansas Infantry Regiments attacked Ward's 2nd Brigade line in the woods. The last combat on the Battle of Gettysburg, Third Day, was "in the early evening. Colonel William McCandless's brigade of Pennsylvania Reserves advanced across the Wheatfield into Rose's Woods where they managed to inflict heavy losses on the 15th Georgia" which had failed to retreat to Warfield Ridge after Longstreet's Assault. Two days later Timothy H. O'Sullivan photographed corpses moved for burial to the edge of Rose Woods and which were subsequently reinterred in cemeteries.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Google (June 7, 2011). "Overview Map of Wheatfield Road" (Map). Google Maps . Google. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  2. Adams County Wall Map (Map). SimmonsGames.com mapviewer. 1858. Gettysburg Area inset. Retrieved 2011-06-08.
  3. 1 2 3 Hunt, General Henry J. The Second Day at Gettysburg . Retrieved June 7, 2011. A cross-road connecting the Taneytown and Emmitsburg roads runs along the northern base of Devil's Den. From its Plum Run crossing to the Peach Orchard is 1100 yards. For the first 400 yards of this distance, there is a wood on the north and a wheat-field on the south of the road, beyond which the road continues for 700 yards to the Emmitsburg road along Devil's Den ridge, which slopes on the north to Plum Run, on the south to Plum Branch. [Rose Run] ... The angle at the Peach Orchard is thus formed by the intersection of two bold ridges, one from Devil's Den, the other along the Emmitsburg road
  4. Heebner, Chas, Esq; et al. (December 4, 1894). "Battlefield Commission vs The Trolley Company". Gettysburg Compiler. Retrieved April 20, 2011. in the vicinity of the 'Peach Orchard' ... the [trolley] Company will very gladly agree to the changes desired, approximately as indicated on the blue prints hereto attached{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. Adams County, Pennsylvania Highway Map (PDF) (Map). Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. 2011. Retrieved February 22, 2011.[ permanent dead link ]
  6. "The Pennsylvania Reserves at Gettysburg: Gen. Crawford's Contribution". Star and Sentinel. September 21, 1886. Retrieved 2010-02-21. crossing the Taneytown road and skirting the Northern slope of [Little] Round Top, becomes a cross road from the Taneytown to the Emmitsburg road.
  7. "E. P. Alexander and Artillery Action in the Peach Orchard". Archived from the original on 2011-09-27. Retrieved 2011-06-09.
  8. Topographic map of Gettysburg (Map). c. 1900. Retrieved 2011-05-28.
  9. Map of the Battle Field of Gettysburg (Map). Cartography by Gettysburg National Park Commission. Julius Bien & Co. Lith. 1904. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  10. Unrau, Harlan D. (1991). Administrative History of Gettysburg National Military Park and Gettysburg National Cemetery, Pennsylvania (PDF). Denver: National Park Service. p. 85. OCLC   24228617. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-10-20. Retrieved 2011-06-09.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 Gettysburg National Military Park Commission. "An Introduction to the Annual Reports of the Gettysburg National Military Park Commission to the Secretary of War". The Gettysburg Commission Reports. Gettysburg, PA: War Department. "Outside Wheatfield Rd (past Rose farm): On August 14 [1893] a Confederate avenue was surveyed, which was temporarily named the 'Outside Wheatfield avenue' beginning at the Emmitsburg road, 800 feet southwest of the crossroads at the Peach Orchard, running easterly to the lands of the Memorial Association, thence in a southeasterly direction by the lands of the Memorial Association, and terminating on a west line of the Crawford tract, near Devil's Den."
  12. 1 2 "Will Repair 22 Miles Of Battle Roads". Gettysburg Times. April 27, 1931. Retrieved June 7, 2011. Wheatfield road from the Emmitsburg road to Sykes avenue, 5,250 feet.
  13. "To Resurface Field Roads". The Star and Sentinel. April 29, 1933. p. 1. Retrieved January 26, 2012.
  14. "New Stone Walk Helps Climb On Big Round Top". The Star and Sentinel. July 13, 1940. Retrieved June 7, 2011. new walk nearly completed by C.C.C. enrollees on the steep slopes of Big Round Top ... C.C.C. enrollees also are at work on the Jones Battalion avenue east of the Harrisburg road about a mile north of Gettysburg
  15. Coddington, Edwin B (March 1997). The Gettysburg Campaign:A Study in Command. p. 415. ISBN   9780684845692 . Retrieved June 6, 2011. The central figure … near the Peach Orchard was Colonel Freeman McGilvery ... All four batteries of his First Volunteer Brigade ... twenty-two guns in all ... in the general area of the Peach Orchard. McGilvery had placed three of his batteries in line with the Fairfield crossroad facing south, and the fourth on higher ground west of the orchard in an angle formed by the crossroad and the Emmitsburg road.29
  16. McGilvery Artillery Ave. – Cast Iron Avenue Tablet (Plaque). Gettysburg National Military Park. 2005.
  17. Ayres Avenue - Cast Iron Avenue Tablets (Plaque). Gettysburg National Military Park. 2005.
Template:Attached KML/Wheatfield Road
KML is from Wikidata