The Fight for Devil's Den
"No, boys, hold your fire until they come right up. Then pour a volley into them, and if they don't stop run your bayonets into their bellies."
Brig. Gen. Henry L. Benning, C.S.A.
Benning's Brigade, Hood's Division
The fate of Devil's Den (located to your left) was partly decided in the Triangular Field, the grassy five acres in front of you. Union infantry, in support of Smith's 4th New York Battery, took position on the rocky ridge behind you.
About 4:00 p.m. on July 2, after a 30-minute artillery duel, Col. P.A. Work's 1st Texas Infantry appeared behind a stone wall at the lower edge of the field. The Texas marksman silenced the cannon, which could not be aimed low enough to hit them, then jumped the wall and advanced up the field. When they neared the upper wall, Col. A. Van Horne Ellis ordered his New Yorkers to "up and fire," staggering the Texans. A daring Union counterattack down across the field kept the Southerners at bay, but Ellis was shot dead.
Shouting, "Give them hell, boys," Brig. Gen. Henry L. Benning led his Georgia Brigade up through the field in support of the Texans. The hard-pressed Union defenders could not hold, and Devil's Den fell to the Confederates.
Marker is on Sickles Avenue, on the right when traveling north.
Courtesy hmdb.org
