The Battle of Gettysburg
July 1-3, 1863

Gettysburg: the greatest and most famous battle ever fought on American soil... one of the most studied and commemorated campaigns in the annals of warfare... but, above all, it was an epic event of U.S. history and a turning point in the most divisive of American wars. Following the Confederacy's resounding victory at Chancellorsville, GEN Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia seemed, to many above and below the Mason-Dixon Line, to be invincible. Furthermore, only a few days after his greatest tactical success, Lee reorganized the South's largest and most proficient army (75,000+ men with the addition of a third infantry corps - LTG James Longstreet, LTG Richard S. Ewell and LTG A.P. Hill, corps commanders) and began formulating plans for his second invasion of the North. Lee hoped that this new offensive would draw Union forces from Virginia and Mississippi (where Vicksburg lay besieged), increase dissension in a war-weary North, and possibly secure European recognition after a major Southern victory was won on a Northern battlefield. Confederate President Jefferson Davis and some of his cabinet members initially favored transferring key elements of the Army of Northern Virginia to the West to relieve embattled Vicksburg, but Lee, with his post-Chancellorsville reputation and confidence soaring, quickly persuaded (mid-May) the politicians to endorse his second northern incursion. By 3 June the South's finest and most successful army was moving north via the Shenandoah Valley, shielded by the Blue Ridge Mountains and MG J.E.B. Stuart's cavalry. The Union Army of the Potomac (95,000+ men - MG Joseph Hooker, commanding), unsure of Lee's intent or destination, cautiously followed. On 9 June the Federals discovered the extent of Lee's early movements when Hooker's much improved cavalry arm (11,000+ men, mostly mounted - MG Alfred Pleasanton, commanding) crossed the Rappahannock River above Fredericksburg and surprised the Confederate screening force (9,500+ cavalry and horse artillery - MG "Jeb" Stuart, commanding) at Brandy Station near Culpeper, VA. Rallying his troopers, Stuart barely won the Battle of Brandy Station, the largest single cavalry engagement of the War (and the largest cavalry battle in the western hemisphere). Toward the end of June the Army of Northern Virginia had moved completely unchecked across the Potomac River, through western Maryland, and into south-central Pennsylvania, menacing Harrisburg, the state capital. U.S. President Lincoln, frustrated by the debacle at Chancellorsville and by Hooker's reluctance to challenge the Confederate advance, named MG George G. Meade, an experienced and capable corps commander, to lead the Army of the Potomac. On 27 June Hooker had offered his resignation, which was quickly accepted. Meanwhile Lee's best cavalry (MG "Jeb" Stuart's division), operating under indefinite orders, embarked on a week-long raid (25 June- 2 July) between the Union army and Washington, DC. This untimely foray through central Maryland would deprive Lee of important reconnaissance and of his most experienced mounted brigades for much of the Gettysburg Campaign. On 28 June Lee was alarmed to learn that the Army of the Potomac had crossed into Maryland (only about 30 miles distant), and he ordered his widely dispersed forces (Chambersburg to York) to concentrate near Gettysburg. In the Summer of 1863, Gettysburg was a prosperous transportation center (a junction for 10 roads and one rail line) surrounded by small farms. It was not a site either command had chosen for a major confrontation. Nevertheless, the extensive 3-day battle would evolve from a "meeting engagement" (chance) between forward brigades of the two huge armies on the western outskirts of the small farming community. Early on 1 July (initial contact made 30 June) advance forces of Confederate LTG A.P. Hill's III Corps, probing for Union troops and foraging for supplies (including a stock of shoes reportedly in Gettysburg), clashed with dismounted Federal cavalry (BG John Buford, commanding) of MG John F. Reynolds' command (Left Wing, Army of the Potomac) on McPherson's Ridge west of town - the Battle of Gettysburg was on! As the situation intensified, reinforcements for both sides began to arrive, and by mid-afternoon over 40,000 soldiers (24,000 Confederate and 19,000 Union) were engaged across the northern and western approaches. By dusk the outnumbered Federals (after initial success but the loss of MG Reynolds) had been driven back through Gettysburg to defensive positions on the high ground on Cemetery Hill, south of town. Lee had hoped that LTG Ewell's II Corps (Jackson's old command) would over-run the Union defenses hastily drawn up on the hill before the Federals could entrench and receive reinforcements. But Ewell hesitated, awaiting his own reinforcements, and did not press the attack before night set-in. The morning of the second day (2 July) found the bulk of each army positioned in and around Gettysburg. The Army of the Potomac occupied formidable breastworks on higher ground (a good "interior line" - only 3 miles separated the Union left and right) south of town. The Federal line resembled an "inverted fishhook" stretching from Culp's Hill to Cemetery Hill (southeast and near Gettysburg) then southward along Cemetery Ridge (for about two miles) to Little Round Top and Round Top (the highest ground). The Army of Northern Virginia (manning an "exterior line" nearly nine miles long) faced the Union defenses from positions near Hanover Road (east of town), in Gettysburg, and along Seminary Ridge (less than a mile west of Cemetery Ridge). At mid-day the Union III Corps (10,000 men - MG Daniel E. Sickles, commanding) moved west from an established position on Cemetery Ridge to higher ground, thus forming an exposed salient between the two ridges (the III Corps occupied a peach orchard, a wheat field, and "Devil's Den" - an outcropping of boulders fronting Little Round Top). Lee wanted to assault the Union flanks early on 2 July, but the attacks (Longstreet against the Federal left and Ewell against the Federal right) were delayed until late in the day. Nonetheless, Union forces, after desperate fighting, were driven from the untenable positions in the "Peach Orchard, the Wheatfield, and Devil's Den." Disaster for the Union left was averted by the quick action of BG Gouverneur K. Warren. Acting on his own initiative, Warren rushed Federal troops to undefended Little Round Top (a prominent hill from which enfilading artillery fire could dominate the Union lines on Cemetery Ridge) holding the crucial high ground for the Army of the Potomac. Late in the day the arrival of the Union VI Corps (MG John Sedgwick, commanding) helped blunt the Confederate attacks on the Union left and center. On the Union right, disjointed Confederate assaults on Culp's Hill and Cemetery Hill were repulsed just before darkness. Although the Army of Northern Virginia had achieved only limited success on Day Two and casualties on both sides had been very high, Lee remained optimistic. The commanding general believed that a concerted Confederate onslaught against the Union center (perceived by Lee to have been weakened), combined with another storming of Culp's Hill and a cavalry raid ("Jeb" Stuart's cavalry division finally arrived late on 2 July) against the Union rear about 3 miles east of Gettysburg, would produce (on Day Three) the anticipated breakthrough and ultimate victory. On the third and final day Lee chose MG George E. Pickett's fresh infantry division (of Longstreet's I Corps) to lead the 12,000+ man charge - although 3+ divisions took part, the famous assault has always been known as "Pickett's Charge." Longstreet did not approve of Lee's plan, but he reluctantly obeyed the orders to implement it. Around 1 PM Longstreet directed his artillery commander (COL E. Porter Alexander) to begin a two hour bombardment (172 guns) of the Union lines on the Cemetery Ridge attack front. What followed at 3 PM rests as one of the most impressively heroic but futile infantry charges in American military history. During the Confederate cannonade, the Union artillery commander (BG Henry Hunt) restricted counter-fire, conserving ammunition in anticipation of an infantry assault. Now as the massed Confederates advanced on a mile wide front across 3/4 of a mile of open fields, 150 Federal cannon erupted in shot and shell, decimating the oncoming ranks. As the disciplined Southern brigades reformed and closed on the Union II Corps (MG John Hancock, commanding) on the northern part of Cemetery Ridge, the Federal batteries switched to canister and then double canister (a thin metal can loaded with cast iron balls used against troops at close range). At 200 yards withering musket volleys raked the Confederate infantry from the front and both flanks as Federal reinforcements rushed into the line. A small copse of trees fronted by a protruding stone fence, now known as "the Angle," marked the forward limit of the Confederate advance. In less than an hour Pickett's charge had been furiously repulsed and the pivotal Battle of Gettysburg was over. Lee expected a Union counterattack, but it was not made. A wary Meade, the commanding general for only three days prior to the battle, had led the much maligned and oft-defeated Army of the Potomac to a stunning victory over its greatest nemesis! It was the decisive triumph that the foremost Union army had been unable to achieve under any other commander, and MG George G. Meade would not further tempt fate! The no longer invincible Army of Northern Virginia slipped back across the rain-swollen Potomac River into Virginia (night of 13 July) Perhaps Lee had again underestimated his foe, but for the first time the consequences were devastating. Uncompromising tactics, indefinite orders, and administrative problems (produced by the new army organization and command structure) were too much for the Army of Northern Virginia to overcome and undoubtedly contributed to its defeat. Moreover, the larger Army of the Potomac, aggressive and opportunistic while on the defensive had been determined to drive the invader from its soil. The Battle of Gettysburg, coupled with the simultaneous and remarkable Union victory in the West at the conclusion of the Vicksburg Campaign, had turned the tide of the War. Four months after the great conflict, U.S. President Lincoln journeyed to the small Pennsylvania town to speak briefly at the dedication of the new national cemetery (19 November 1863 - the "principal" speech was delivered by statesman and orator Edward Everett). Lincoln's poignant Gettysburg Address, the most memorable of all American orations, honored those who had fought and died and pledged a "new birth of freedom" for the embattled nation. Estimated Casualties (Gettysburg 1-3 Jul.): Union - 23,000+; Confederate - 28,000+.

Notes:

  1. Numbers in parentheses reflect estimated strength of armies or units.

  2. Estimated casualty figures are totals for killed, wounded, missing in action, and taken prisoner.

  3. Alternative names of battles and campaigns appear in parentheses.

  4. Military and naval rank abbreviations in text: LT - Lieutenant, CPT - Captain, MAJ - Major, LTC - Lieutenant Colonel, CDR - Commander (Navy), COL - Colonel, BG - Brigadier General, MG - Major General, RADM - Rear Admiral (Navy), LTG - Lieutenant General, VADM - Vice Admiral (Navy), and GEN - General.

  5. Army Organization: Although authorized and actual strength and the rank of the commanding officer often varied, the standard military unit during the War was the infantry regiment (1,000 men, COL commanding) which was comprised of 10 companies (100 men each, CPT commanding). 3-4 Regiments = 1 Brigade (3,000-4000 men, BG commanding). 3 (sometimes 4) Brigades = 1 Division (9000-12,000 men, BG or MG commanding). 2-4 (usually 3) Divisions = 1 Corps (18,000-24,000+ men, MG - North and MG or LTG -South commanding). 2 or more Corps = An Army (usually 20,000-100,000+ men - MG, LTG, or GEN commanding). 2 or more Armies = An Army Group (usually 100,000+ men - MG, LTG, or GEN commanding).

Sources:

Photographs courtesy of The Generals of the American Civil War Website.

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