The three days that determined a country's future

  • Fought in the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania on July 1-3 1863 in Union territory.
  • The Union forces included the Army of the Potomac led by General George Gordon Meade who faced off with the army of General Robert E. Lee.
  • The Battle lasted for three days and is considered one of the most complex battles to date.
  • The battle resulted in 23,055 Union losses and 23, 231 Confederate losses. This is the highest death toll in any battle fought on American soil in history.
  • The first day of the battle was largely controlled by the Confederates who were able to continue their attack.
  • The second day the Confederates were unable to break the Union's position.
  • The third day General Lee launched a full out attack on the Union line. The assault was known as Pickett's charge, and resulted in many Confederate losses. This was considered a terrible mistake, and resulted in Lee's withdrawal from Gettysburg.
  • Meade did not pursue Lee because he was unsure of General Lee's strength. Additionally, Meade had lost thousands of troops and was not confident of their fighting capabilities. Despite his hesitance, Lee's army had difficulty retreating due to poor weather and flooded rivers.
The image to the right depicts the assumed positions of Confederate and Union forces during the three day battle. The Union is shown in blue and the Confederates in red. Lines with arrows indicate advancements and dotted lines represent retreat. The lower left portion of the map shows Pickett's charge. As shown, the Confederates launched a full scale attack and were abruptly repelled by the Union defense.

This Image is from: http://usfotos.in/keyword/battle+map+of+gettysburg/
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