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| The Battle of Gettysburg |
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The Battle of Gettysburg (July 1st - 3rd, 1863),
fought in and around the town of Gettysburg,
Pennsylvania, as part of the Gettysburg
Campaign, was the battle with the largest
number of casualties in the American Civil War
and is often described as the war's turning point.
Union Major General George Gordon Meade's
Army of the Potomac defeated attacks by
Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of
Northern Virginia, ending Lee's invasion of the
North.
After his success at Chancellorsville in May
1863, Lee led his army through the Shenandoah
Valley for his second invasion of the North,
hoping to reach as far as Harrisburg,
Pennsylvania, or even Philadelphia, and to
influence Northern politicians to give up their
prosecution of the war. Prodded by President
Abraham Lincoln, Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker
moved his army in pursuit, but was relieved just
fought in and around the town of Gettysburg,
Pennsylvania, as part of the Gettysburg
Campaign, was the battle with the largest
number of casualties in the American Civil War
and is often described as the war's turning point.
Union Major General George Gordon Meade's
Army of the Potomac defeated attacks by
Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of
Northern Virginia, ending Lee's invasion of the
North.
After his success at Chancellorsville in May
1863, Lee led his army through the Shenandoah
Valley for his second invasion of the North,
hoping to reach as far as Harrisburg,
Pennsylvania, or even Philadelphia, and to
influence Northern politicians to give up their
prosecution of the war. Prodded by President
Abraham Lincoln, Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker
moved his army in pursuit, but was relieved just
three days before the battle and replaced by Meade.
The two armies began to collide at Gettysburg on July 1st, 1863, as Lee urgently concentrated his forces there. Low ridges
to the northwest of town were defended initially by a Union cavalry division, which was soon reinforced with two corps of
Union infantry. However, two large Confederate corps assaulted them from the northwest and north, collapsing the hastily
developed Union lines, sending the defenders retreating through the streets of town to the hills just to the south.
On the second day of battle, most of both armies had assembled. The Union line was laid out in a defensive formation
resembling a fishhook. Lee launched a heavy assault on the Union left flank, and fierce fighting raged at Little Round Top,
the Wheatfield, Devil's Den, and the Peach Orchard. On the Union right, demonstrations escalated into full-scale assaults on
Culp's Hill and Cemetery Hill. All across the battlefield, despite significant losses, the Union defenders held their lines.
On the third day of battle, July 3rd, fighting resumed on Culp's Hill, and cavalry battles raged to the east and south, but the
main event was a dramatic infantry assault by 12,500 Confederates against the center of the Union line on Cemetery Ridge
known as Pickett's Charge. The charge was repulsed by Union rifle and artillery fire, at great losses to the Confederate army.
Lee led his army on a torturous retreat back to Virginia. Between 46,000 and 51,000 Americans were casualties in the
three-day battle. That November, President Lincoln used the dedication ceremony for the Gettysburg National Cemetery to
honor the fallen and redefine the purpose of the war in his historic Gettysburg Address.
The two armies began to collide at Gettysburg on July 1st, 1863, as Lee urgently concentrated his forces there. Low ridges
to the northwest of town were defended initially by a Union cavalry division, which was soon reinforced with two corps of
Union infantry. However, two large Confederate corps assaulted them from the northwest and north, collapsing the hastily
developed Union lines, sending the defenders retreating through the streets of town to the hills just to the south.
On the second day of battle, most of both armies had assembled. The Union line was laid out in a defensive formation
resembling a fishhook. Lee launched a heavy assault on the Union left flank, and fierce fighting raged at Little Round Top,
the Wheatfield, Devil's Den, and the Peach Orchard. On the Union right, demonstrations escalated into full-scale assaults on
Culp's Hill and Cemetery Hill. All across the battlefield, despite significant losses, the Union defenders held their lines.
On the third day of battle, July 3rd, fighting resumed on Culp's Hill, and cavalry battles raged to the east and south, but the
main event was a dramatic infantry assault by 12,500 Confederates against the center of the Union line on Cemetery Ridge
known as Pickett's Charge. The charge was repulsed by Union rifle and artillery fire, at great losses to the Confederate army.
Lee led his army on a torturous retreat back to Virginia. Between 46,000 and 51,000 Americans were casualties in the
three-day battle. That November, President Lincoln used the dedication ceremony for the Gettysburg National Cemetery to
honor the fallen and redefine the purpose of the war in his historic Gettysburg Address.