Confederate General Robert E. Rodes and his men met men from the First and Eleventh Corps around 2:30pm. Rodes had never commanded a division before. Within a few minutes, 30% of the Confederates were killed or wounded. Many of the rest were captured. General Jubal Early's, the leader of the Confederate division, attacked and chased the Union soldiers out of town by 4:30pm. The Union stopped at Cemetery Hill, which is about one half mile south of the town square and was a graveyard. They used tombstones to hide behind and fight the Confederates. General Hancock, a Union general, arrived at 4:15pm with his troops. The Union held their ground.
General Longstreet tried to get General Lee to take control of Little and Big Round Top. The Round Tops were high ground. Lee decided to try and take control of Cemetery Hill. This decision was a major mistake and would cost him the battle.
At the end of the day's fighting, twelve thousand Union troops and eight thousand Confederates were dead or wounded. Neither side retreated.