Battle of Gettysburg

Battle of Gettysburg. Fought from July 1 to July 3, 1863, the Battle of Gettysburg was a pivotal engagement in the American Civil War. The Army of the Potomac under Major General George G. Meade successfully repelled the second invasion of the North by General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, halting Confederate momentum. The battle resulted in the war's largest number of casualties and is often described as the conflict's turning point.

Background and opposing forces

Following his decisive victory at the Battle of Chancellorsville in May 1863, General Robert E. Lee sought to shift the war's focus away from war-torn Virginia. He aimed to threaten major Northern cities like Harrisburg and Philadelphia, potentially influencing political sentiment in the North and securing foreign recognition for the Confederacy. President Abraham Lincoln appointed Major General George G. Meade to command the Army of the Potomac just days before the battle, replacing Major General Joseph Hooker. Lee's army, organized into three corps under Lieutenant Generals James Longstreet, Richard S. Ewell, and A. P. Hill, moved north through the Shenandoah Valley. The Union army, comprising seven infantry corps and a cavalry corps, moved to intercept, with initial contact made by the Union Cavalry division of Brigadier General John Buford near the town of Gettysburg.

First day: July 1

On the morning of July 1, John Buford's dismounted cavalry brigades deployed west of Gettysburg along McPherson Ridge, delaying the advancing Confederate divisions of Major General Henry Heth from A. P. Hill's corps. The fighting intensified with the arrival of the Union I Corps under Major General John F. Reynolds, who was killed early in the action. Confederate forces, reinforced by the corps of Richard S. Ewell, applied pressure on both flanks. Despite a stubborn defense at positions like Oak Ridge and Seminary Ridge, the outnumbered Union lines collapsed in the afternoon. Union troops conducted a fighting retreat through the town to the defensive high ground of Cemetery Hill and Culp's Hill, where they were rallied by Major General Winfield Scott Hancock. Robert E. Lee ordered Richard S. Ewell to attack these heights "if practicable," but Ewell chose not to assault, allowing the Union army to consolidate its position.

Second day: July 2

On July 2, the Union line formed a defensive "fishhook" shape, anchored on Cemetery Hill and running south along Cemetery Ridge to the rocky heights of Little Round Top and Big Round Top. Robert E. Lee's plan called for James Longstreet's corps to attack the Union left flank. Longstreet's assault, delayed until late afternoon, involved fierce fighting at locations like the Peach Orchard, the Wheatfield, and Devil's Den. The most critical action occurred at Little Round Top, where the 20th Maine Infantry Regiment, led by Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, famously repelled a Confederate assault. Simultaneously, attacks by Richard S. Ewell's corps against the Union right at Culp's Hill and East Cemetery Hill continued into the night but ultimately failed to dislodge the defenders. The day ended with heavy casualties on both sides and the Union line largely intact.

Third day and Pickett's Charge

July 3 began with a final Confederate assault on Culp's Hill, which was repulsed after seven hours of combat. The main event was a massive infantry assault against the center of the Union line on Cemetery Ridge, planned by Robert E. Lee and led by Major General George Pickett. Following a prolonged but largely ineffective artillery bombardment by Colonel Edward Porter Alexander, approximately 12,500 Confederate soldiers from the divisions of George Pickett, J. Johnston Pettigrew, and Isaac R. Trimble advanced across open fields in what became known as Pickett's Charge. The assault was met with devastating Union artillery and musket fire from troops including those under Brigadier General John Gibbon. The charge was decisively broken with catastrophic losses, marking the decisive end of the battle. Lee's subsequent remark to the returning soldiers, "It is all my fault," accepted responsibility for the defeat.

Aftermath and significance

The defeated Army of Northern Virginia began its retreat to Virginia on July 4, hampered by flooding on the Potomac River. Union forces under George G. Meade pursued cautiously but did not launch a decisive counterattack, a decision for which President Abraham Lincoln expressed profound disappointment. The battle resulted in over 51,000 combined casualties, making it the bloodiest of the entire American Civil War. The Union victory, coupled with the surrender of Vicksburg to Major General Ulysses S. Grant the following day, marked a definitive turning point in the conflict, ending Confederate offensive operations in the North. The site was later consecrated as the Gettysburg National Cemetery, where Lincoln delivered his iconic Gettysburg Address in November 1863, redefining the war's purpose as a struggle for national rebirth and equality.

Category:American Civil War Category:Battles of the American Civil War Category:History of Pennsylvania