Pickett's Charge

Pickett's Charge. This massive infantry assault, launched on the third day of the Battle of Gettysburg, represented the climax of Robert E. Lee's Gettysburg Campaign. The failed charge against the center of the Union Army's defensive line on Cemetery Ridge resulted in catastrophic casualties for the Confederate States Army and is widely considered the turning point of the American Civil War.

Background and context

Following two days of intense fighting at Gettysburg on July 1 and 2, 1863, General Robert E. Lee believed the Army of Northern Virginia had weakened the flanks of the Army of the Potomac under George G. Meade. Lee's strategy aimed to break the Union center, which he perceived as vulnerable after attacks on locations like Little Round Top and Culp's Hill. The overall Confederate plan, conceived by Lee and his senior corps commander James Longstreet, involved a massive artillery bombardment followed by a direct infantry charge. This decision occurred within the broader context of Lee's second invasion of the North, following his victory at the Battle of Chancellorsville. The chosen assault force included the fresh division of Major General George Pickett, alongside divisions from the corps of A.P. Hill, specifically those commanded by J. Johnston Pettigrew and Isaac R. Trimble.

Planning and preparation

The operational plan called for a prolonged artillery barrage from approximately 150 Confederate cannons to soften the Union defenses centered on a copse of trees and a low stone wall on Cemetery Ridge. Command of the assault was given to James Longstreet, who harbored serious doubts about its feasibility. The infantry force, comprising roughly 12,500 men from Virginia, North Carolina, Alabama, and Tennessee, was assembled in the woods of Seminary Ridge. Coordination between the artillery and infantry commanders, including Edward Porter Alexander, was critical. However, the preparatory bombardment, which began around 1:00 PM, largely overshot its targets, failing to neutralize the Union artillery under Henry J. Hunt or significantly damage the infantry positions held by the II Corps of Winfield Scott Hancock.

The assault

At approximately 3:00 PM, the infantry advance began across nearly a mile of open fields. The attacking lines, led by George Pickett, J. Johnston Pettigrew, and Isaac R. Trimble, immediately came under devastating fire from Union artillery and massed rifle volleys. Key landmarks in the advance included the Emmitsburg Road and a fence that disrupted the assault's cohesion. Despite horrific losses, elements of the force, notably troops led by Lewis A. Armistead, breached the stone wall at the Angle in a brief penetration known as the "High Water Mark of the Confederacy." This breach was met by fierce Union counterattacks from regiments including the 69th Pennsylvania Infantry and reinforcements from the IX Corps. The assault collapsed within an hour, with surviving Confederates retreating back to Seminary Ridge.

Aftermath and consequences

The repulse resulted in staggering Confederate casualties, estimated at over 50 percent of the attacking force, with combined losses for the three divisions approaching 6,500. Union casualties on the defensive line were roughly a quarter of that number. The failure ended the Battle of Gettysburg and forced Lee to order a retreat back to Virginia on July 4. The defeat crippled the offensive power of the Army of Northern Virginia and ended Lee's hopes of a decisive victory on Northern soil. Coupled with the Union victory at the Siege of Vicksburg the following day, the event marked a major strategic shift in the war, bolstering Northern morale under President Abraham Lincoln and severely damaging the Confederate war effort.

Legacy and historical assessment

Pickett's Charge has attained a prominent and somber place in American historical memory. It is often cited as the "high-water mark" of the Confederacy, a concept popularized by historians such as Douglas Southall Freeman. The event has been extensively analyzed in military histories, including those by Bruce Catton and Shelby Foote, and is a central feature of commemorations at Gettysburg National Military Park. The charge is frequently examined for its tactical lessons regarding the futility of frontal assaults against entrenched positions defended by rifled muskets. Its depiction in popular culture, most notably in the film Gettysburg, has further cemented its status as a symbol of doomed valor and the turning point of the American Civil War.

Category:Battles of the American Civil War Category:Battles of the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War Category:1863 in the United States