Battle of Gettysburg

The Civil War 1861 - 1865
Begun	July 1, 1863
Ended	July 4, 1863
Army of the Potomac
Commander	MGEN George Meade
Army of Northern Virginia
Commander	GEN Robert E. Lee

The Battle of Gettysburg took place during the American Civil War from July 1 to July 4, 1863. General George Meade commanded the Union Army of the Potomac while general Robert E. Lee led the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia.

Throughout the war the Confederates had fewer soldiers and resources than the north, and they knew that without outside aid they could never finally win their independence. Throughout the war they the Confederate government had attempted to gain the aid of the British, but up to this point they had failed. One of the main reasons that the British had abstained from aiding the south was that they were not convinced that the Confederates could finally win the war. The northern invasion which ended at Gettysburg was an attempt to prove to the world that the Confederate States of America was a legitimate country and that they were capable of finally winning their freedom from the Union.

Up until Gettysburg the Confederate army had generally been successful, although they were always outnumbered in men and supplies. While Lee was used to fighting with inferior numbers he was also severely handicapped at Gettysburg by the recent loss of his best general, Stonewall Jackson, as well as the absence of his famed cavalry commander J.E.B. Stuart, who he usually counted on for reconnaissance. Another problem was the new division of the Confederate Army by General Lee. There were originally two corps, one under General James Longstreet, the other under General Jackson. With Jackson's death, Lee decided to divide the second corps into two new ones. One under General Richard S. Ewell and another under A.P. Hill. Lee moved norhward, closer to a small town called Gettysburg.

The First Day of Battle

On July 1st A.P. Hill's corps went into the town of Gettysburg, where they ran into cavalry under General John Buford. Buford, although badly outnumbered by the confederates managed to hold the ground until further support by infantry under General John Reynolds. The confederates made a successful assault on the Federal forces. Even their commander, Reynolds, was mortally wounded. Although the confederates were victorious in driving back the Federals temporarily, the Federals got the high ground on Cemetary Ridge. The ground could have been taken if General Ewell had not thought the move to risky. The choice cost the confederates a tactical advantage.

The Second Day of Battle

General Meade brought up the whole Army of the Potomac up to Gettysburg in the evening. Then, in the morning, Lee operated an attack on Meade's Position. However, although the confederates made bold charges at the Federal position, they could not push them back. The success was largely due to far more skilled commanders such as Hancock and Gibbon. The confederates almost took the ridge by hitting the end of the Federal line. It was due to the bravery of Colonel Joshua L. Chamberlain that the line didn't fail.

The Third Day of Battle

After the disaster of the previous day most of Lee's command was unable to pull off an attack. Lee decided to make an assault on the Federal center. Sending the fresh division of General Pickett to lead most of the assault. The attack was a brave stand for the confederate army, but it was doomed. The confederates managed to take the center briefly, but were crushed by the Federal reinforments. The defeat of that day convinced Lee to withdraw his army. The casualties of all three days total were:

	killed	wounded	missing
Federals	3, 155	14, 529	5, 365
Confederates	3, 903	18, 735	5, 425

After four days of bitter fighting the battle ended with a Union victory and heavy casualties on both sides, especially among the Confederates. The battle was the first and last attempt of the Confederates to invade the north. It was considered the turning point or "High Tide" of the Civil War, for from this point on the Confederates never won another major battle. Famous minor battles that it included were: Pickett's Charge, The Battle of Little Round Top, and The Battle for Cemetery Ridge.

"A Harvest of Death." Gettysburg, July 1863. Timothy O'Sullivan.

Months after the battle, on November 19, 1863, President Lincoln came to the Pennsylvania town and issued his famous "Gettysburg Address". The moving eulogy was a call to the American people to remember where they had come from and why they were fighting the war. It ended, "...that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."