he brigade marched along the east-west lane that ran past a rocky knoll and a field of wheat, places the Third Brigade would soon know all too well. De Trobriand’s footsore men filed off the road into a grove for some needed rest.4

For some the respite would be brief. At 1:00 p.m. the 5th Michigan and 110th Pennsylvania were advanced to the Emmitsburg Road, though an hour later the Michiganders were directed to return to their brigade. Soon after, an order for a general advance was received from corps headquarters: Maj. Gen. Daniel E. Sickles’ (left) controversial forward movement had begun. The new III Corps line was centered on the Peach Orchard (see Pg. 54), with the right running north along the Emmitsburg Road. Sickles’ left wing consisted of Maj. Gen. David B. Birney’s First Division, which occupied a line stretching from Sherfy’s farm and orchard through the rocky knoll (later known as Stony Hill) and wheat field passed earlier in the day by de Trobriand’s men. Birney’s sector, and the III Corps left flank, culminated in the boulder-strewn area around Devil’s Den.5

The responsibility for defending the Wheatfield and Stony Hill fell to Birney’s (left) Third Brigade. The position was naturally strong and de Trobriand was confident of his ability to hold it. The brigade commander initially deployed four regiments atop Stony Hill (see Map, Pg. 9). The 5th Michigan, 216 officers and men, formed along the knoll’s southern slope; the 152-strong 110th Pennsylvania went into line on the right of the Michigan unit. Both regiments faced south toward the wooded ravine just east of the Rose farm buildings. The 5th Michigan’s Lt. Col. John Pulford ordered three of his companies forward as skirmishers, and they advanced to the high ground southeast of the Rose farm, their right resting on the farmyard. Connecting to Pulford’s skirmish line was the 3rd Michigan, Col. Byron Root Pierce commanding. Soon after advancing to Stony Hill, de Trobriand had received an order to deploy a regiment to his right, in order to connect his position with that of Brig. Gen. Charles Graham’s First Brigade at the Peach Orchard. The 237 soldiers of the 3rd Michigan moved by the right flank to the orchard and advanced companies F, I, and K under Maj. Moses Houghton as skirmishers. The skirmish line extended from the Emmitsburg Road at the Peach Orchard to the Rose farm buildings. As Houghton’s men deployed, Pierce was ordered to detach Co. A to the vicinity of the Sherfy house, where it came under command of the First Brigade. For the time being, the rest of the regiment lay down in the Peach Orchard as a reserve for the skirmish line.6

De Trobriand’s (left) two remaining regiments formed in the woods along the crest of Stony Hill, facing west. The brigade’s largest regiment, Col. Thomas W. Egan’s 40th New York (431 officers and men), was on the left, while Lt. Col. Charles B. Merrill’s 17th Maine, 350 strong, stood to the New Yorkers’ right. Thus formed, the Third Brigade faced in two directions and enjoyed both an elevated position and an adequate field of fire, with some cover and concealment provided by the numerous rocks and trees around the hill, features the veterans used to their advantage. De Trobriand’s men were, however, rather isolated: except for the thin Michigan skirmish line, the nearest friendly infantry was Graham’s, several hundred yards to the right, and Brig. Gen. J. H. Hobart Ward’s Second Brigade along Houck’s Ridge to the left. Thus, substantial gaps existed on both of de Trobriand’s flanks. Some support would be available from Capt. George Winslow’s Battery D, 1st New York Light Artillery, whose six Napoleons were deployed behind the infantry along a ridge that crossed the center of the Wheatfield. Additionally, the 8th New Jersey, numbering 170 infantrymen—borrowed from Col. George C. Burling’s brigade of the Second Division—took up a line to the left and front of the 5th Michigan. The New Jersey regiment, however, was apparently not placed under de Trobriand’s command.7

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