"We could of done it, sir. A blind man should of seen it. Now they're up there. You can hear the axes of the Federal troops. So in the morning, many a good boy will die taking that hill."

--Evening, July 1st, 1863,
General Isaac R. Trimble to General Robert E. Lee,
from the movie Gettysburg, a Turner Home Entertainment Production.

The previous quote and the following text reflect a situation unique to the Union fortifications located on Culp's Hill. At the close of the first day's battle at Gettysburg, the Union Army started to dig in on the high ground. General Richard Ewell's troops' inability to occupy Culp's Hill presented the Confederate left with a tactical obstacle compounded by the Union breastworks that were completed by morning on the 2nd.

Some of the Union soldiers assigned to defend Culp's Hill were knowledgeable in woodworking. Woods covered the hill, and felled trees were blocked up into a close log fence. A battening of cordwood sticks was slanted against the outer face of the logs. Some regiments, being equipped with picks and spades, used dirt to strengthen their portion of the works.

This house rule allows players to recreate this unique set of circumstances. It is advisable to use a highlighter to color nine breastwork counters. Place the nine counters in the following hexes, on map A, facing in the specified direction:

32.09 North
33.09 Northeast
33.08 Southeast
34.09 Northeast
34.08 Northeast
34.07 Northeast
34.05 Northeast
35.07 Northeast
35.06 Northeast

These breastworks are emplaced for all July 2nd, 3rd, and 4th scenarios. In scenarios 1 and 2, these breastworks may be constructed. However, the restriction of Breastwork Rule #1 (Page 27 of the 2nd edition, revised CWB series rules): "...who are at least four hexes from any enemy unit." is suspended for the infantry units building in these nine hexes.

Also this portion of Breastwork Rule #3: "At the end of any Movement and Close Combat Phase in which a breastwork marker is alone in a hex, it is removed. If one side captures an enemy breastwork via close combat, the marker is removed. A defender who successfully repulses an attacker keeps the marker, but if both sides vacate the hex, the marker is removed" does not apply to these nine hexes.

Once they are in place, they remain in place for the rest of the game, whether they are occupied or not. Also, these nine breastworks hexes may be captured and recaptured without being removed. There are many documented accounts that testify to the strength of these breastworks and the battle that swirled around them. This adaptation gives an accurate picture of what took place on Culp's Hill during those fateful days in July 1863.