A View Restored: Power's Hill on the Gettysburg Battlefield

View from Spangler's Spring towards Power's Hill after recent NPS tree clearing

Robert Shenk

In January 2011, the Civil War Trust announced that it had reached its $75,000 fundraising goal to help protect five acres of battlefield land at Power's Hill on the Gettysburg Battlefield.   It was from Power's Hill that Union artillery delivered a devastating fire into Confederate forces attacking lower Culp's Hill and Spangler's Spring on July 3, 1863.  Confederates facing this intense artillery barrage named this region of the battlefield "Artillery Hell."

Thanks to a recent National Park Service historic landscape restoration project the view from Power's Hill into Spangler's Spring is now being restored to its 1863 state.  During a recent visit to the park we noticed that you can now fully appreciate the importance of this Power's Hill position.  The photo below shows the February 2011 view that you now have from Spangler's Spring looking towards the Union position at Power's Hill.  The great import that Power's Hill had on this portion of the battlefield is now more powerfully appreciated.

View of Power's Hill from Spangler's Spring - September 2010

Robert Shenk

 This second photo shows the view from Spangler's Spring towards Power's Hill in September 2010.  In the foreground you can see the first efforts of the NPS to eliminate the trees from the historic landscape.

The combination of our efforts to help protect and preserve Power's Hill with the National Park Service's ongoing efforts to restore 1863 landscapes will help insure that all future visitors will more fully understand the great importance of this section of the Gettysburg battlefield.