Battle of Gettysburg

Warm Up

• What is the message of this poem?• Was it God’s doing or man’s? Why?• Explain what this poem tells the readers

about war.

Confederate Troops

Union Troops

Gettysburg

• The most famous and most important battle of the Civil War

• July 1-3, 1863 around the small, market town of Gettysburg

• Began as a skirmish• Ended with 160,000 troops battling• Robert E. Lee continued with his earlier

plan: invade the North

Gettysburg

• Phila, Washington D.C., and Baltimore were under the threat of Lee and his army

• Union army (the army of the Potomac), under the command of General George Meade marched to intercept Lee

• Meade was a new General, and he was untested

• How was he supposed to stop Lee?

General George Meade

• B. Dec. 31st, 1815• D. Nov. 6, 1872 in Phila

– From old war wounds • 1835: Graduated from West Point• He was well schooled--served many

military positions• Had the book knowledge, but not the battle

knowledge

General George Meade

• Was given command of the Army of the Potomac 3 days before Gettysburg

• Why was this a problem??• He planned to fight further north than Gettysburg• Dispatched General Winfield Hancock to

Gettysburg– To see if this would be a good battlefield

• Hancock recommended this site• Meade dispatched his troops there

General George Meade

Battle of Gettysburg• June 30, 1863--Union soldiers went to Gettysburg

– Went looking for shoes, why???• Confederate troops saw this movement

– Vowed to “give them shoes”• Wed. July 1 Day 1• Two divisions of Confederates ran into Union

cavalry• This began as a skirmish but quickly escalated• Lee rushed 25,000 troops to the scene• The Union had about 20,000 soldiers

July 1st: Day 1

Battle of Gettysburg

• The Union troops were forced back through Gettysburg– Fierce fighting and many casualties

• Regrouped along the high ground at a cemetery– Known as Cemetery Ridge

• Lee ordered General Ewell to seize the high ground from the battle weary feds

• Ewell hesitated, and allowed the Union soldiers to dig in along Cemetery Ridge– They also gained reinforcements and heavy artillery

Cemetery Ridge

Battle of Gettysburg• Meade arrived at the scene

– Anticipated 100,000 reinforcements to strengthen his defenses

• Lee was advised not to attack the Union forces– Their defenses were to tough

• BUT…Lee felt his army was invincible!!!• He attacked what he thought was a weak point along

the southern part of Cemetery Ridge• The Union army held their ground• Fighting ended for the first day

Battle of Gettysburg• Thursday, July 2nd: Day 2• 10 am-- Lee ordered General Longstreet to attack

– But he was slow in attacking– Didn’t attack until 4pm!– Gave the Union more time to strengthen their positions

• When Longstreet finally attacked, some of the fiercest and bloodiest battles of the entire war occurred

• 6:30 pm: Ewell attacked from the North and East– Still trying to capture Cemetery Ridge

July 2nd: Day 2

Battle of Gettysburg• The attack lasted well into the evening and was

unsuccessful– Federal troops still held the ridge

• 10:30 pm: The fighting ended for the day– The Union army lost some ground– BUT… held the strong defensive position of Cemetery

Ridge• Both sides regrouped and counted their causalities while

the moaning and sobbing of thousands of wounded men on the slopes and hills of Gettysburg could be heard throughout the night under the blue light of a full moon

Battle of Gettysburg• Generals from each side gathered in war councils

during the night– They were planning their strategy for the next day

• General Meade decided to stay put and let Lee come to him

• Longstreet tried to talk Lee out of attacking again– Felt the position was too strongly defended

• Lee didn’t listen--Felt the Union army was battered and would collapse– He believed one final assault would do this

Battle of Gettysburg

• Lee decided to gamble to win the Battle of Gettysburg and in effect win the Civil War

• His army would attack the next day at the center of the Union line along Cemetery Ridge

• This upcoming day would decide the outcome of the entire war

Battle of Gettysburg• Friday, July 3rd: Day 3• The Union army opened fire with heavy artillery around

4:30 am---the break of dawn– Lee and his army was surprised– They were pushed back off of Culp’s Hill and from their

trenches• Lee regrouped and attacked around 8am.• This led to a vicious 3 hour fight• Time and time again the Rebels charged the hill--time

and time again they were pushed back• Union troops counter attacked and moved the rebels

back from the hill

July 3rd: Day 3

Battle of Gettysburg• Around 11am an eerie quiet arose from the field--the battle

stopped for a while– Lee regrouped

• Lee planned to charge the hill with 15,000 soldiers– Again, Longstreet opposed this plan

• The rebels moved into position into the woods opposite of Cemetery Ridge– Poised for their charge

• Meade moved part of his army off the hill– Trying to anticipate what Lee would do– He was correct earlier, but guessed wrong this time

• He left 5,750 men to face 15,000

Devil’s Den

Battle of Gettysburg

• 1pm: 170 Confederate canons opened fire to pave the way for the charge– Heaviest artillery barrage of the war-BUT…– Many of the shells missed their targets and flew

harmlessly over the Union lines• The Union returned artillery fire, but at 2:30 they

slowed their rate of fire– Tried to fool the Rebels into thinking their canons were

destroyed– It worked!!! Brilliant!!!

Battle of Gettysburg• Longstreet gave the order to General Pickett to charge• Pickett’s Charge: 12,000 Rebel troops formed a line a mile

long– It was a glorious sight– Slowly they marched towards Cemetery Ridge

• When the Rebels were in range, the Union opened fire– Used Grapeshot shells-- hollow canon balls with twisted metal

inside that burst in the air• This ripped into the Rebel lines, killing and wounding

many– This left a horrible mess of dismembered bodies and dying

wounded– But the Rebels continued on

Map of Pickett’s Charge

Battle of Gettysburg• A fierce hand-to-hand battle ensued with some close

range gunfire, and bayonet stabbing– Lasted for over an hour!!!

• The Rebels almost captured Cemetery Ridge– Union reinforcements arrived in time

• The Rebels were outnumbered and fatigued• Pickett’s Charge failed---the Rebels were pushed back

and retreated• Lee’s army was defeated: leaving 7,500 dead on the

battlefield• Lee spoke to the survivors, “ It’s all my fault…Upon my

shoulders rests the blame!”

Battle of Gettysburg• Lee was forced to abandon his dead, and retreated

that night and the next morning back to Virginia– Loaded the wounded onto wagons

• Meade, allowed Lee to retreat--did not pursue– Out of fatigue and caution

• Lincoln was furious!!!– “Meade missed a golden opportunity to end the war right

there!!!”• Nov. 19 Lincoln would go to Gettysburg and

dedicate the field as a cemetery– Gettysburg Address

Result of Gettysburg

• The tide of the war was now permanently against the South

• They would never fully recover form this battle

• Casualties• Union: 23,049• Confederate: 28,063• Over 52,000 men lost in the 3 day battle

Death at Gettysburg

Gettysburg Cemetery

Monument

Gettysburg, 1865