Day 3
 

Introduction

On the early morning of July 3 Confederate troops positioned themselves in woods across from the center of the Union line.  When the troops began marching they marched out into a wide open field.  These troops had to march 15 to 20 minutes, uphill to the Union line.  When they reached this line they had to climb over a small stone wall while under heavy musket fire.

Overview and Strategy

General Lee thought, after a day of attacking the Union's flanks, that Union troops had been moved from the center to the flanks.  Lee believed that now the flanks were strong and the center was weak.  Little did Lee know that this is not what happened.  This is not what happened because Meade had anticipated a frontal assault on the center of his line.  Meade reinforced the center of his line and did just the opposite of what Lee anticipated.  Lee attempted to break through the Union center.  Meade's strategy was to stay on his hills and fight the Confederates.

The day started with renewed fighting at Culp’s Hill. The fighting went on for six hours. The Confederates were finally driven back. While General Lee prepared for his large frontal assault there was an encounter between Union and Confederate cavalries' near the Round Tops. General Custer, who was later killed in the Indian Wars, fought here for the Union and won. Had the Confederates won this cavalry charge they would have been able to break through the Union line and attack the Union from the back.

After this skirmish there was a dead silence between the two forces. Then at about 1:00 PM the Confederates started to bombard the Union center with shells from their artillery. The barrage was aimed so high that a shell actually took off the head of the lunch server at General Meade’s headquarters about one mile away from the front of the Union center. Then, 15,000 brave Confederates marched one mile in an open field to reach the Union line and try to break through.  This is known as Pickett's Charge.  During the march General Armistad of the Confederate side was killed.  He was a good friend of General Hancock of the Union.

After the march, the death toll for the Confederates was devastating, it amounted up to 8,500 dead, wounded, missing, or captured. Ironically this is not the first time a charge like this has failed. After Pickett's charge Union troops chanted "Fredericksburg" because they had staged a similar charge at Fredericksburg and failed in the same ways. This failed charge won the bloodiest battle in American history, on American soil, for the Union which would lead to the Confederate defeat.

Conclusion

The Battle of Gettysburg was important because it was a major turning point in the Civil War.  Due to the Union victory here, the Union was no longer on the defensive.   They began an offensive strategy.

If General Lee and the Confederate army had won at Gettysburg, they would have had the opportunity to invade Washington D.C.  This would have been a major loss for the Union.  After the loss at Gettysburg, the Confederate army headed South again and did not invade Union territory for the rest of the Civil War.

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