Existing comment:
The Hornets' Nest:
After being driven from their camps by attacking Confederates about 9:00am, more than 4,000 Union soldiers retreated to the woods to your left, and took position along the "Sunken Road," the dirt wagon trace in front of you. Here, on high ground commanding Duncan Field and the adjoining woods, Federal infantry took cover behind oak trees, fence rails, and dense undergrowth.
During the next eight hours, Confederate infantry charged the road and the wooded stronghold they called the "Hornets' Nest" eleven times. Repeatedly, they were repulsed by swarms of minie balls.
A 5-minute walk down the Sunken Road leads to an exhibit on the surrender of the Hornets' Nest.The ground you will be walking over is the scene of some of the most desperate and deadly fighting in the Civil War. |