GETTYSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA
THREE DAYS IN JULY
On June 3, 1863, a month after his dramatic victory at Chancellorsville, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee began marching his Army of Northern Virginia westward from its camps around Frederickburg, Va. Once through the gaps of the Blue Ridge, the Southerners trudged northward into Maryland and Pennsylvania. They were followed by the Union Army of the Potomac under Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker, but Lee whose cavalry under Maj. Gen. J.E.B.Stuart was absent on a raid around the Federal forces, had no way of knowing that his adversary's whereabouts.
The two armies touched by chance at Gettysburg on June 30. The main battle opened on July 1 with Confederates attacking Union troops on McPherson Ridge west of town. Through outnumbered, the Federal forces held their position until afternoon, when they were finally overpowered and driven back to Cemetery Hill south of town. During the night the main body of the Union army, now commanded by Maj. Gen. George G. Meade, arrived and took up positions.
On July 2 the battlelines were drawn up in two sweeping arcs. The main portions of both armies were nearly one mile apart on parallel ridges: Union forces on Cemetery Ridge, Confederate forces on Seminary Ridge to the west. Lee ordered an attack against both Union flanks. Lt. Gen. James Longstreet's thrust on the Federal left turned the base of Little Round Top into a shambles, left the Weatfield strewn with dead and wounded, and overran the Peach Orchard. Farther north, Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewell's evening attack on the Federal right at East Cemetery Hill and Culp's Hill though momentarily successful, could not be exploited to Confederate advantage.
On July 3 Lee's artillery opened a two-hour bombardment of the Federal lines on Cemetery Ridge and Cemetery Hill. This for a time engaged the massed guns of both sides in a thundering duel for supremacy, but did little to soften up the Union defensive position. Then some 12,000 Confederates across open fields toward the Federal center in an attack know as "Pickett's Charge." The attack failed and cost Lee over 5,000 soldiers in one hour. The Battle of Gettysburg was over.
On November 19, President Abraham Lincoln traveled to Gettysburg to take part in the dedication ceremonies for the new Soldiers' National Cemetery. His brief speech, The Gettysburg Address, gave meaning to the sacrifices of the men who had struggled here, and stated that the war would lead to a "new birth of freedom" for the nation.
The following photos are just a fraction of the Battlefields.
Read MoreOn June 3, 1863, a month after his dramatic victory at Chancellorsville, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee began marching his Army of Northern Virginia westward from its camps around Frederickburg, Va. Once through the gaps of the Blue Ridge, the Southerners trudged northward into Maryland and Pennsylvania. They were followed by the Union Army of the Potomac under Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker, but Lee whose cavalry under Maj. Gen. J.E.B.Stuart was absent on a raid around the Federal forces, had no way of knowing that his adversary's whereabouts.
The two armies touched by chance at Gettysburg on June 30. The main battle opened on July 1 with Confederates attacking Union troops on McPherson Ridge west of town. Through outnumbered, the Federal forces held their position until afternoon, when they were finally overpowered and driven back to Cemetery Hill south of town. During the night the main body of the Union army, now commanded by Maj. Gen. George G. Meade, arrived and took up positions.
On July 2 the battlelines were drawn up in two sweeping arcs. The main portions of both armies were nearly one mile apart on parallel ridges: Union forces on Cemetery Ridge, Confederate forces on Seminary Ridge to the west. Lee ordered an attack against both Union flanks. Lt. Gen. James Longstreet's thrust on the Federal left turned the base of Little Round Top into a shambles, left the Weatfield strewn with dead and wounded, and overran the Peach Orchard. Farther north, Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewell's evening attack on the Federal right at East Cemetery Hill and Culp's Hill though momentarily successful, could not be exploited to Confederate advantage.
On July 3 Lee's artillery opened a two-hour bombardment of the Federal lines on Cemetery Ridge and Cemetery Hill. This for a time engaged the massed guns of both sides in a thundering duel for supremacy, but did little to soften up the Union defensive position. Then some 12,000 Confederates across open fields toward the Federal center in an attack know as "Pickett's Charge." The attack failed and cost Lee over 5,000 soldiers in one hour. The Battle of Gettysburg was over.
On November 19, President Abraham Lincoln traveled to Gettysburg to take part in the dedication ceremonies for the new Soldiers' National Cemetery. His brief speech, The Gettysburg Address, gave meaning to the sacrifices of the men who had struggled here, and stated that the war would lead to a "new birth of freedom" for the nation.
The following photos are just a fraction of the Battlefields.
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