After 150 years, echoes of Gettysburg

Gen. Robert E. Lee

Confederate commander Since mid-June 1863, Gen. Robert E. Lee had steadily marched his army, about 71,700 strong, north into Union territory, crossing the Potomac River into Maryland June 15 and moving into southern Pennsylvania. Northerners were aghast at the invasion. Lees offensive strategy was meant to upset Union plans for their summer attacks and to stir up sentiment for a brokered peace. As Union forces under Gen. George G. Meade, just three days earlier given command by President Abraham Lincoln, moved to intercept, the stage was set for the bloodiest battle of the war and, many would argue, the turning point.

Gen. George G. Meade

Union commander

Setup to the 3-day battle

Gettysburg PA.

PENNSYLVANIA
Gettysburg

Mummasburg Rd.

Oak Hill

Harrisburg Wrightsville Baltimore

Herrs Ridge McPhersons Ridge

Hagerstown Rd.

Barlow Knoll

Harrisburg Rd.

This perspective drawing was prepared in 1913 by the Pennsylvania Railroad; some features and monuments built after the battle are not shown here for clarity in representing the battle area View looks north from Round Top Hanover Rd.

GETTYSBURG
Cemetery Hill

Winchester

MD.

DEL.

Seminary Ridge PICK E TT Cemetery Ridge

Culps Hill
Baltimore Pike

Washington, D.C. Fredericksburg Richmond

Emmitsburg Rd.

VA.
40 miles 40 km

S CH A

Spangers Spring Powers Hill

RGE

High Water Mark

June 13-15, 1863 Second Battle of Winchester paves way for Lee to mount his second invasion of Union territory

Confederate infantry Confederate calvary Union infantry Union calvary

Peach Orchard Rose Farm Wheat Field Devils Den Rose Woods
el. 794 ft (242 m) July 1 Armies make contact
EWELL
A.P. HILL

Taneytown Rd.

el. 650 feet (198 m)

Little Round Top

Round Top

Plum Run

Total casualties
Total engaged Union 93,921, Confederate 71,699

Howard
Reyn Dou olds ble da y

Gettysburg

Union
Killed Missing/ captured

Confederate
3,903 5,425

Buford
Culps Hill Cemetery Hill Cemetery Ridge Wheat Field Little Round Top
1 mile 1 km

3,155 5,365

Seminary Ridge Peach Orchard Devils Den Round Top

Wounded 14,529

18,735

Elements of armies clash west of town in the early morning; fighting escalates as more troops arrive Union Gen. John Buford deploys forces under generals John Reynolds, Abner Doubleday and Oliver Howard on three ridges: Herr, McPherson, Seminary; Confederate generals A.P. Hill and Richard Ewell attack; Reynolds is killed By 4 p.m., the defending Federals retreat; many are captured; remnants of Union forces rally on the high points of Cemetery and Culps Hills

Anniversary observations
At Gettysburg July 1 Songs and Stories of a Civil War Hospital program, book signing by author Jeff Shaara July 2 Civil War Fact or Fiction walking tour, Celebrate History Music Festival July 3 Historic church tours of Gettysburg

Moments of brutal struggle

July 2 Lees flanking attacks

1 mile

Seminary Ridge

1 km

LEE
A.P. HILL

Gettysburg Howard Slocum

Culps Hill

EWELL

Peach Orchard

Meade
Sickles

Cemetery Ridge

Sykes
Wheat Field Little Round Top Round Top

Devils Den

Soldiers body in Slaughter Pen Union view of Picketts Charge

Gen. Lee, with about 71,700 men, attacks left and right flanks of Gen. Meades roughly 93,900-man army, trying to dislodge it Confederate Gen. James Longstreet assaults Gen. Daniel Sickles on the Union left, but is checked by reinforcements from the Union center; Ewell hits the right, taking a piece of Culps Hill A desperate defense of Little Round Top, ordered by Gen. G.K. Warren and led by Col. Strong Vincent and Col. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, keeps the Union left from being overrun

Daily walking tours conducted by park rangers

gettysburgcivil war150.com

G S TR EE T LON

Reenactments July 4-7 Yearly event offers total of nine battle reenactments over four days, at a site 4 mi. (6.4 km) north of Gettysburg Webcast July 7 Subscribers to the Battlecast can watch the reenactment of Picketts Charge; cost is $12.99
gettysburg reenactment.com
2013 MCT

July 3 Picketts Charge

McPherson Ridge
1 mile 1 km

LEE
Seminary Ridge

A.P. HILL Gettysburg EWELL

Cemetery Hill Culps Hill

STR EE T

G LON

PICKETT

Hancock Birney Sykes

Meade

Cemetery Ridge Peach Orchard

Devils Den

Sedgwick

Little Round Top

Ewell fails to capture Culps Hill; Lee decides to try to break the lines of the Union center, held by Gen. W.S. Hancock At 3 p.m., after a long artillery attack, 12,500 infantry commanded by Gen. George Pickett stepped out from Seminary Ridge; their push across the field was a Confederate disaster; they suffer a 50 percent casualty rate, with 1,123 killed, 4,019 wounded To the east, Lees calvary under Gen. Wade Hampton is stymied Lee has lost Gettysburg; on July 4, he withdraws toward Virginia

Source: Library of Congress, Civil War Trust, National Park Service, U.S. Army, gettysburgcivilwar150.com, gettysburgreenactment.com

Graphic: Robert Dorrell