Battle of Gettysburg

The Battle of Gettysburg - July 1 - 3 1863

General Robert E. Lee's Army Of Northern Virginia of 75,000 men and General George G. Meade's Union Army of the Potomac of 97,000 men met, by chance, when a Confederate brigade sent ahead to fetch supplies ran into column of Meade's men. This has been the biggest and bloodiest battle of the war. The Union is estimated to have lost 3,155 men and the Confederacy a gruesome estimate between 2,600 and 4,500. There has been no way to get a correct estimate of the possible deaths. It was a landslide victory for the north. Lee had decided to take out the railroad bridge at Harrisburg and then focus on levels of more interest such as Philadelphia and Balitmore. On July 3rd, the Confederate army decided to make one last stand. Under the direction of General George E. Pickett, a line of 15,000 men walked across an open field for over a mile to attack the Union army. In this attack, now being known as Pickett's Charge, 10,000 of these men became casualties. This has been a terrible day for the Union. We must recollect ourselves and get back to our objective or this war will have been in vain.


http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/gtburg.htm
http://americancivilwar.com/getty.html
http://www.nps.gov/archive/gett/getttour/main-ms.htm
http://www.militaryhistoryonline.com/gettysburg/getty4.aspx