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I think it's oversimplying to say that the loss of the left flank would have cost the Union Gettysburg, or even conceding that, that the loss of Gettysburg would have turned the tide for the Confederacy. There are just too many other factors to consider.

I visited the battlefield about a week before this year's anniversary and listened to a park ranger giving his opinion that the loss of Little Roundtop might not, probably would not, have made a difference. He pointed down the line (Cemetery Ridge) and basically said, "you MIGHT be able to bring 2 guns to fire down the line, but that is about it. The cleared area is just too small when firing to the north." It also assumes that the Confederates could have gotten guns up there during the melee, or captured Union guns intact.

A bit revionist. But I had to admit that he had a point about the gun line being too narrow.

I've never had the pleasure of visiting that battlefield -- one thing I want to do before I die. But from the maps and schematics I've studied, I've often believed that even if the Round Tops had fallen, the Union could have held the ridge, even if only long enough to beat a retreat. They would have had to turn their guns, at least some of them, so that they faced the flank, which would have weakened their front, where Pickett's famous charge ultimately came. But I think that would have been enough to stall the Confederate advance long enough to retreat down the ridge.

Plus, it's questionable to say that Chamberlain's death alone would have meant the collapse of the Union effort on the Round Tops. He was a brave and inspiring man, no doubt. But I suspect the Union troops on those hills were all too keenly aware of the outcome if they broke.