Gettysburg, Battle of

Gettysburg, Battle of, a large battle in the American Civil War (1861-1865), took place in southern Pennsylvania from July 1 to July 3, 1863. The battle is named after the town on the battlefield. Union General George G. Meade led an army of about 90,000 men to victory against General Robert E. Lee’s Confederate army of about 75,000. Gettysburg is the war’s most famous battle because of its large size, high cost in lives, location in a northern state, and for President Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.

Background.

In May 1863, Confederate forces led by Lee defeated a Union army under General Joseph Hooker at the Battle of Chancellorsville in Virginia. Lee then decided to invade Pennsylvania. He hoped that the invasion would remove the Union armies from Virginia, where two years of war had depleted the area’s resources. Lee also hoped that a Confederate victory in Pennsylvania might persuade Northerners to seek peace or lead to European recognition of the South, In early June 1863, Lee’s army moved north toward Pennsylvania. Hooker’s Union troops eventually pursued Lee, but they started too late to prevent Lee’s entire army from crossing into the state. President Abraham Lincoln was displeased with Hooker’s performance, and on June 28, he replaced Hooker with Meade.

Lee scattered his army in Pennsylvania, gathering food and other supplies. Meade, in hopes of getting Lee to stop short of taking Harrisburg, marched his troops north toward the rear of the Confederate army. When Lee learned that the Union army was closing in, he ordered his scattered troops to concentrate near Gettysburg. Thus, Lee and the Southern army came to Gettysburg from the north, and Meade and the Northern army came from the south.

The battle begins.

On July 1, a Confederate division, searching for badly needed shoes, encountered a Union cavalry northwest of Gettysburg. Although the Confederate troops outnumbered the Union cavalry, the Union soldiers were able to delay the Confederates while both sides sent for reinforcements. About two hours after the fighting began, Union General John Reynolds arrived with his infantry. Reynolds—a highly regarded general whom Lincoln had earlier considered as a candidate to replace Hooker—was killed shortly after arriving on the battlefield.

The Confederate army pushed the Union army south and east through the town of Gettysburg, and the Union troops took a defensive position south of the town. The Union line ran about 3 miles (5 kilometers) along a stretch of high ground known as Cemetery Ridge. At the northern end of the Union position were Cemetery Hill and Culp’s Hill. At the southern end were two more hills, Little Round Top and Round Top. Confederate forces occupied Seminary Ridge, an area of high ground to the west of the Union position, and the town of Gettysburg.

Lee ordered Confederate General Richard S. Ewell to attack Cemetery Hill if Ewell thought he could take it. However, Ewell decided the Union position was too strong and did not attack. Many of Ewell’s subordinate officers questioned this decision. During the night, reinforcements for both sides arrived. By the following morning, both armies were mostly at full strength.

Little Round Top.

On July 2, the battle’s second day, Lee hoped to crush the Union position on Cemetery Ridge by striking at both ends of the ridge at the same time. Lee’s main attack focused on the southern end of the Union position, around Little Round Top. Ewell’s troops remained at the battlefield’s northern end to keep Meade from sending reinforcements to the southern end. Ewell had instructions to attack if Union troops moved to the southern end. At about 6:30 p.m., Ewell’s army attacked Culp’s Hill. His attack was initially successful, but Union troops counterattacked and forced Ewell to withdraw.

At the southern end of the Union position, Union General Daniel Sickles moved his troops ahead of the Union lines. Sickles’s advance made his troops vulnerable to attack and left Little Round Top undefended. Little Round Top was an important position because, if the Confederates took it, they would be able to use their cannons to destabilize the Union position.

At that point, Confederate General James Longstreet began the attack that Lee had ordered for the southern end of the battlefield—straight toward Little Round Top and Sickles’s troops. Meade rushed additional Union troops to support Sickles and hold Little Round Top. Fierce fighting raged throughout the southern part of the battlefield for five hours. The Confederates drove back Sickles’s troops, but other Union troops succeeded in stopping the Confederates on the slopes of Little Round Top.

Pickett’s charge.

On July 3, Lee tried one more time to crack the Union position. He planned to attack the center of the position, based on the assumption that the previous day’s attacks would cause Meade to focus his defenses on the ends. However, Meade guessed Lee’s plans and strengthened the center.

At about 1 p.m., the Confederates began firing artillery at the Union position on Cemetery Hill. However, the Confederates generally aimed too high and did little damage to the Union army. The Union officers suspected that the Confederate bombardment would be followed by an attack. In an effort to trick the Confederates into thinking the Union artillery had been wrecked, the Union troops slowed down their rate of fire. The strategy also allowed the Union army to conserve ammunition for the impending Confederate attack.

At about 3 p.m., the Confederates launched their attack at Cemetery Hill. About 12,000 troops, including a division commanded by Confederate General George E. Pickett, marched in battle formation, advancing across an open field and up the slopes of Cemetery Ridge. The advance, known as “Pickett’s charge,” faced impossible odds. When the Confederates came within range, Union artillery, and later infantry, erupted and began firing into the Confederate line. Only a few Confederate soldiers reached the top of Cemetery Ridge, where they were quickly shot or captured. Lee took responsibility for the attack’s failure.

A separate Confederate attack, led by General Jeb Stuart’s cavalry and targeting the back of the Union position, also failed.

Aftermath.

Lee remained on the battlefield on July 4, but Meade did not attack. That night, Lee began his retreat back to Virginia. Meade followed cautiously, much to President Lincoln’s disappointment. Meade had received additional reinforcements, and Lincoln hoped Meade would trap and destroy Lee’s army before it could return to Virginia.

Over the course of the three days of the Battle of Gettysburg, the Confederates suffered about 28,000 casualties, and the Union about 23,000. On July 4, the day after the battle ended, Union troops captured the fortified city of Vicksburg, Mississippi. The Union victory at Vicksburg was an even more severe blow to the Confederacy.

At a special ceremony on Nov. 19, 1863, part of the Gettysburg battlefield was dedicated as a cemetery for those who had lost their lives in the battle. It was at this ceremony that Lincoln delivered his famous Gettysburg Address. This speech was short and beautifully worded. It made clear that the Union was fighting for freedom and for the survival of the American system of self- government.