There’s a hill in Pennsylvania.
As a matter of geology, it’s nothing special. Volcanic rock. Strewn with boulders. A steep, rugged slope rising 650 feet to a summit of oak, hickory, and poplar trees.
But this hill isn’t about geology. It’s a story. It’s history. It’s a lesson that inspires – especially today.
The hill is called Little Round Top.
In a place called Gettysburg.
On July 3rd, 1863, both the Union and Confederate armies were locked in battle across the farms and fields of Gettysburg. The “Round Tops” anchored the southern end of the battlefield. If Confederate troops could occupy the hills, they’d likely roll up the Union line and advance the mere 83 miles to Washington, D.C.
The fate of the Union may have teetered on that hill.
A few hundred men of the 20th Maine Infantry Regiment were ordered to hold Little Round Top “at all costs.” They were virtually surrounded by superior forces and firepower. They were smashed with multiple waves of attack, repelling each one, until they were without ammunition…or hope.
The final Confederate assault began.
The 20th Maine understood the stakes.
That’s when the hill, the trees and boulders and bloodstained soil, became a stage in one of the great dramas of military history. In a single moment, the forces of creativity, collaboration, innovation and dedication to cause converged. The outnumbered men of the 20th Maine executed an improvised strategy, a sophisticated military maneuver that swept against the Confederate troops and forced their retreat.
They held Little Round Top that day.
Willpower defeated firepower.
The following day, July 4th as it happened, Robert E. Lee’s army retreated from Gettysburg and returned to the South. Lincoln won the battle and turned the war’s tide against the Confederacy.
For our team at Little Round Top Productions, the events on that hill inspire our own bedrock values:
Creativity.
Collaboration.
Innovation.
Dedication to cause.