| July 1, 8:00 a.m. | Johnson's Division (Johnson/Second), marching from Scotland to Cashtown, encounters McLaws's Division (McLaws/First) and Hood's Division (Hood/First). minus Law's Brigade (Law/Hood/First) at Greenwood, intending to march to Cashtown on the same road as Johnson. Johnson's Division marches first, and Johnson's trains are permitted to follow his division directly, delaying the advance of McLaws and Hood. |
| July 1, 4:00 p.m. | McLaws's Division departs Greenwood, heading for Cashtown, followed by Hood's Division. |
| July 1, 4:30 p.m. | Longstreet, riding ahead of his troops, reaches Lee at Seminary Ridge. Longstreet proposes to move around the Union left; Lee plans to attack the Union army in position "as early as practicable." Longstreet orders his troops to march at night to reach Gettysburg. |
| July 1, 7:00 p.m. | Johnson's Division arrives in the town of Gettysburg. Ewell orders it to extend the Confederate left, taking possession of Culp's Hill if that hill is not occupied. |
| July 1, 7:30 p.m. | Lee, Ewell, Early, and Rodes confer in Gettysburg. Lee asks Ewell if an attack by his corps can be made at daylight the next morning; Early and Ewell recommend against making one. |
| July 1, 8:00 p.m. | Johnson sends a reconnaissance up Culp's Hill to see if it is occupied. The reconnaissance party encounters a superior Union force (Union I Corps has occupied the hill since about 6:00), and Johnson decides to attack it in the morning. |
| July 1, 8:30 p.m. | Lee returns to his headquarters Desiring not to overextend his line, he sends orders to Ewell to withdraw from Gettysburg and shift to the Confederate right. |
| July 1, 9:00 p.m. | Humphreys's division (2/III), marching towards Gettysburg, encounters Confederate troops at Black Horse Tavern. They retrace their steps and take a different route to Gettysburg, arriving around midnight. |
| July 1, 10:00 p.m. | Ewell and Lee confer again at Lee's headquarters. Ewell does not wish to withdraw from Gettysburg; unaware that Johnson has not occupied Culp's Hill, he now informs Lee that an attack by his corps is possible. Lee cancels his order for Ewell's corps to shift position. |
| July 2, Midnight | McLaws's Division halts for the night at Marsh Creek, about four miles west of Gettysburg. |
| July 2, 1:00 a.m. | Hood's Division halts at Marsh Creek for the night. |
| July 2, 3:30 a.m. | Hood's Division resumes the march for Gettysburg; McLaws's Division follows it around 5:00. |
| July 2, 4:00 a.m. | Meade arrives at Cemetery Hill and takes command of the Union army. Assured that the ground his good, he decides to hold the ground and fight at Gettysburg. |
| July 2, 4:30 a.m. | Lee sends Captain S.R. Johnston of his staff and Major J.J. Clarke of Longstreet's staff to survey the Union left flank in preparation for an attack. |
| July 2, 5:00 a.m. | Geary's
division (2/XII) leaves Little Round Top, where it spent
the night, and moves to reinforce the Union position on
Culp's Hill. V Corps arrives on the field. |
| July 2, 5:30 a.m. | Capt.
Johnston, according to his report, climbs Little Round
Top and finds it empty of Union troops. His report fails
to mention III Corps or Buford's cavalry, then in the
vicinity of the Peach Orchard, which he should have seen;
and it is not clear if Johnston really was on Little
Round Top or not. Lee and Longstreet confer again. Longstreet repeats his desire to manuever; Lee repeats his preference for the attack. |
| July 2, 5:45 a.m. | Ewell confers with Major Venable of Lee's staff at Ewell's headquarters. Ewell, who is ready to attack but has orders to await the start of an attack on the Confederate right, learns that Longstreet is not yet up, and postpones his own attack. |
| July 2, 6:00 a.m. | Law's
Brigade, at New Guilford, and Pickett's Division
(Pickett/First) start their march to Gettysburg. The Union II Corps, under Gibbon, arrives at Gettysburg. After about an hour as a general reserve, the corps is deployed along Cemetery Ridge on the Union left flank. |
| July 2, 6:30 a.m. | Hood's Division arrives behind Seminary Ridge. |
| July 2, 7:00 a.m. | Birney's division arrives on Little Round Top. |
| July 2, 8:00 a.m. | V
Corps, after being moved around the field several times,
goes into general reserve near Power's Hill. McLaws's division arrives behind Seminary Ridge. Lee and McLaws meet, and Lee tells McLaws that his attack position will be up the Emmitsburg Road towards Cemetery Hill. (northeast). Longstreet attempts to correct Lee's plan to direct the attack perpendicular to the Emmitsburg Road towards the Peach Orchard (southeast). Lee reiterates his original intention. |
| July 2, 8:30 a.m. | Capt. Johnston returns to headquarters and reports to Lee, who has also returned, that the Round Tops are not occupied by the Union army. |
| July 2, 8:45 a.m. | Brig. Gen. Pendleton, of Lee's staff, reports to Lee and Longstreet that two Union brigades have been sighted near the Peach Orchard. |
| July 2, 9:00 a.m. | Lee
rides to Ewell's headquarters and confers with him. Ewell
is instructed to begin his attack when he hears the sound
of Longstreet's attack opening. Capt. George Meade, of Meade's staff, rides to Sickles to investigate the position of III Corps. Capt. Meade finds Sickles unsure of where he is supposed to deploy. |
| July 2, 10:00 a.m. | Meade
orders Slocum to make preparations for an attack on the
Confederate left from his position on Culp's Hill; Slocum
convinces Meade an attack is not practical, and Meade
withdraws the order. Sickles rides to Meade's headquarters in person to confer about the placement of his corps. Meade instructs him to place his corps along Cemetery Ridge, on the left of II Corps, his left on the Round Tops where Geary had been previously. Sickles asks for discretion to place his corps as he sees fit; Meade grants it "within the limits of the general instructions I have given to you." |
| July 2, 11:00 a.m. | Lee returns to Seminary Ridge and orders Longstreet to begin his march to the right. Longstreet asks permission to await the arrival of Law's Brigade; Lee grants it. |
| July 2, 11:15 a.m. | A reconnaissance party from III Corps, under command of Colonel Hiram Berdan, advances from Cemetery Ridge to Pitzer Woods, where it encounters units of Anderson's Division. A sharp skirmish ensues, after which Berdan retreats back to the main line. |
| July 2, 12:00 noon | Law's
Brigade catches up to the rest of Hood's Division, about
three miles west of Gettysburg. Longstreet commences his
march towards the Union left flank. Buford's cavalry division, covering the army's left flank, suddenly withdraws in response to orders from Pleasanton. Their departure increases Sickles's concerns for the safety of his flank. |
| July 2, 12:30 p.m. | Longstreet discovers that his planned line of march will be visible to the Union army, spoiling the surprise of his flank attack. He is forced to countermarch and take a different, concealed approach to his attack positions. |
| July 2, 1:30 p.m. | Union signal stations on Little Round Top detecting Longstreet's countermarch and report - correctly as far as they can see - Confederate troops marching towards the Union right. |
| July 2, 2:00 p.m. | Sickles advances his corps off Cemetery Ridge, breaking his connection with II Corps, occupying the Peach Orchard, Wheatfield, and Devil's Den. Birney's left flank is about half a mile from the Round Tops; Humphrey's right flank about a quarter mile from II Corps. |
| July 2, 2:30 p.m. | VI Corps arrives and is posted near Powers Hill. Meade orders V Corps, which has been in this position, to move to the left and form in reserve behind Cemetery Ridge. |
| July 2, 3:00 p.m. | McLaws's
Division arrives at its attack position and forms line of
battle. McLaws is stunned to discover Sickles's corps in
its advanced positions. Artillery fire breaks out between the Union batteries of III Corps and Confederate batteries in support of McLaws. |
| July 2, 3:45 p.m. | Meade
rides to Sickles to inspect his position and is surprised
to find Sickles in advance of the rest of the army.
Sickles offers to withdraw, but the Confederates
artillery fire prevents him from doing so. Meade orders V
Corps to move to the Union left. Hood's Division completes its deployment on McLaws's right. Hood discovers that the Union left flank is in the air and the Round Tops are unoccupied. He asks permission to make a flank attack: Longstreet denies it. |
| July 2, 4:00 p.m. | Pickett's
Division arrives on the field, about three miles west of
Gettysburg. It goes into bivuoac and does not participate
in the day's fighting. Hood's Division attacks Devil's Den and Little Round Top. Union Brig. Gen. G.K. Warren, Meade's chief engineer, directs Vincent's brigade (3/1/V) to defend Little Round Top; it arrives moments before Hood's men do. Weed's brigade (3/2/V) joins it there. Other V Corps brigades reinforce Sickles's left wing, as does Caldwell's II Corps division (1/II) a short time later. The Union falls back from the Devil's Den, but holds a line near Trostle's Woods for about an hour and a half. Artillery of Ewell's Corps opens fire on Cemetery Hill and Culp's Hill when they hear the sound of Longstreet's assault starting. |
| July 2, 5:00 p.m. | Meade orders Slocum to take all of XII Corps to the Union left, abandoning Culp's Hill and the Rock Creek line. Slocum convinces Meade to leave Greene's brigade (3/2/XII) on Culp's Hill. Ruger's division (1/XII) leaves around 5:30. Two brigades of Geary's division (2/XII) leave around 6:30, but only move about half a mile to the left before halting. |
| July 2, 5:30 p.m. | McLaws's Division enters the fighting, Kershaw's Brigade (Kershaw/McLaws/1) at the Wheatfield and the other brigades at the Peach Orchard. The Confederates capture the Peach Orchard, a salient in the Union line; with its loss, III Corps is forced to withdraw, and the whole line is forced back towards Cemetery Ridge. |
| July 2, 6:00 p.m. | Anderson's Division (Anderson/Third) attacks on McLaws's left. Two of its brigades turn the right flank of the III Corps line at about the same time that the Peach Orchard falls. Two others approach the gap between II and III Corps; one of them, Wright's Brigade (Wright/Anderson/Third) penetrates through this gap onto Cemetery Ridge. The other brigades of Anderson's Division do not support it, however, and it is forced to retire as darkness falls. The remaining brigade of Anderson's Division (??) never enters the fight. |
| July 2, 7:00 p.m. | Crawford's Union division (3/V), with Nevin's brigade from VI Corps (3/3/VI) charge into the Confederate position on Plum Run, due west of Little Round Top, and force it back. Fighting on the left dies down as darkness falls. |
| July 2, 7:30 p.m. | Johnson's Division, minus the Stonewall Brigade (Walker/Johnson/Second) which is detached to Brinkerhoff Ridge guarding the Confederate flank against Union cavalry, attacks Greene's brigade on Culp's Hill. Greene receives regiments from I, II, VI, and XI Corps as reinforcements and turns back the Confederate attack, although some ground is lost. The Confederates occupy the entrenchments vacated by Ruger's division. |
| July 2, 8:00 p.m. | Hays's Brigade (Hays/Early/Second) and Hoke's Brigade (Hoke/Early/Second) under Col. Isaac Avery attack Cemetery Hill in support of Johnson's attack. They break through a portion of the Union line at the base of Cemetery Hill, but a Union counterattack by Carroll's brigade (1/3/II) and regiments of XI Corps drives them back. Early does not put his other two brigades into the fight. |
| July 2, 9:00 p.m. | Rodes's Division, which was intended to attack at the same time as Early, finishes a deployment which has been slowed by confusion. Ramseur's Brigade (Ramseur/Rodes/Second) pushes back the Union skirmish line; but the Union position is very strong, Early's attack has already failed, and Rodes and his brigade commanders decide not to advance any farther, and fall back to their starting line. |
| July 2, 11:00 p.m. | Ruger's division moves back towards its old positions on the Union right and finds them occupied by the Confederates. After some heavy skirmishing, Ruger establishes a new line south of Spangler's Spring, and decides to wait for daylight before pushing further. Candy's brigade (1/2/XII) and Kane's brigade (2/2/XII) of Geary's division return to Culp's Hill and extend Greene's right flank there, but there is a gap of about 1/4 mile between Geary's and Ruger's positions. |