The Union army defeated a Confederate invasion of the North,ending Confederate hopes of winning the civil War.
Three Bloody Days
General Meade moved north,too. Trying to find Lee, he sent some cavalry and infantry to the small town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Meanwhile a division of Lee's,many barefoot,marched to the same town to get shoes. The two forces met and began fighting on July 1,1863.
The First Day
The troops clashed northwest of the town. As more soldiers from both armies arrived, the fighting became more fierce. In one Union regiment, 80 percent of the soldiers were killed or wounded.
Lee, arriving about noon, ordered a strong attack on the Union soldiers. The Union troops then tired to a strong defensive position on high ground south of town.
The Second Day
Meade formed the Union line in the shape of a hook from Culp's Hill to Cemetery Hill and along Cemetery Ridge (see the map).
Lee planned to attack the Union line at three points. General James Longstreet would lead the main attack, against the Union left. Other units would assault the Union right and center. A Union general's error almost won the day for the Confederate side.
Before the Confederate attacked, General Dan Sickles moved his Union soldiers off the ridge to a peach orchard. The foolish move endangered his men and weakened the Union position. Longstreet's soldiers smashed into the new line. As the Union soldiers were driven back,the Confederates began to mount the two hills called the Round Tops. From that location, their artillery could shell Meade's soldiers at will.
General Gouverneur Warren saved the Union army. Spotting the oncoming Confederates,he ordered some fresh troops into position. Through fighting raged in the hills and in the rocky area known as Devil's Den, the Union army held firm. Longstreet finally called off the attack. As the day ended, both armies held the same positions as in the morning.
The Third Day
Lee decided to attack the Union center. He amassed a force of 15,000 fresh troops and put them under the command of general George Pickett.Pickett had to cross a mile open space between the armies and cut through the Union line.
Before the charge,the Confederates unleashed a two-hour barrage from over 150 cannons. At first, Union gunners returned fire; then they stopped to save ammunition for the coming attack.
Pickett's army marched across the open ground with flags flying. As they got closer, the Union guns opened fire. The shots ripped holes in the Confederate lines, but the soldiers closed ranks. Union troops moved out of position to fire on the flanks of the attackers. That forced more Confederates into the middle-into the cannon fire. A few hundred actually reached the Union line, but the hand-to-hand fighting was brief. The Confederates had to retreat. On July 4, Lee's army returned to Virginia.
