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The Generals of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg
• July 1 - 3, 1863
• Thought by many to be the
turning point of the war
• Casualties numbered about
51,000
• Ended Lee’s invasion of the
north
• 120 Generals fought at
Gettysburg – 67 Union and 53
Confederate. Of these 10 were
killed – 5 on each side. Many
more died in subsequent
battles.
The Battle of Gettysburg
• The two armies met almost
by accident, neither
expecting the other
• Concluded with Pickett’s
Charge in which 12,500
Confederate soldiers
attacked the center of the
Union line but failed to
break it
• News of the Union victory
electrified the north
Robert E. Lee
• Commander of Confederate army
during Civil War. Venerated by
most of his soldiers
• Had been offered the command
of the northern armies by Lincoln
• Invaded Pennsylvania in the hope
of stimulating peace with North
• Invasion proved a costly mistake
• After the war Lee said that taking
a military education was the
greatest mistake of his life
George Meade
•
Born in Spain
•
Had just been appointed
Commanding General of the U.S.
Army 3 days before Battle of
Gettysburg
•
Rushed his troops to Gettysburg and
fought a defensive battle, thoroughly
defeating Confederates
•
Criticized by Lincoln for not following
–up on the battle by pursuing Lee’s
retreating armies
•
Nicknamed Old Snapping Turtle.
James Longstreet
• Lee’s most important general
who called Longstreet his “Old
War Horse”
• Many have referred to him as the
best general on either side
• At Gettysburg he disagreed with
Lee’s tactics, especially the
disastrous Pickett’s Charge
• During the War, Longstreet lost 3
of his children in one week due to
illness, which changed him from a
fun, sociable soldier to a quiet,
withdrawn commander.
John Buford
•
Led the first union force which met the
invading Confederates at Gettysburg
•
Played a critical role in the battle,
selecting the field of battle and
holding his position until help arrived.
Told his men that if the Rebels seized
the high ground We will have the devil
to pay.
•
His cousin, Abraham Buford, was a
cavalry General for the south
•
Died of illness 5 months later
•
Trivia: His aide, Myles Keogh, was killed
with General Custer at the Battle of the
Little Big Horn
George Pickett
• Was a famous hero of the
Mexican-American War (1847)
• Known for his pranks and
sense of humour
• Lee’s plan was to drive the
union soldiers from their
defensive position by
launching a massive charge
• The assault became known as
Pickett’s Charge, a bloodbath
in which thousands were killed
or wounded
John Reynolds
• A key general in the Union Army,
he died on the first day of fighting
– probably shot by a
sharpshooter
• Was a close friend of General
Armistead of the south
• He was loved by his men and
respected by his peers
• Trivia: His fiancée, Kate Hewitt,
had agreed with Reynolds that if
he was killed in the war, she
would join a convent – which she
did
J.E.B. Stuart
• One of the most colourful cavalry
commanders of the Civil War, he
fought in many key engagements
• Known for his daring exploits and
flamboyant uniform, Robert E.
Lee called him “the eyes of the
army”
• During the battle he and his men
were separated from the main
force while on a scouting mission
and was criticized for his absence
• He was killed in battle less than a
year later
George Armstrong Custer
•
At 23 was one of the youngest and most
colorful generals in the Union army
•
As a cavalry commander his daring
charges, the Custer dash, became
legendary
•
He led his men into battle against Stuart’s
cavalry and routed them at Gettysburg
•
Custer’s brigade lost more men than any
other – 257
•
In 1876 he and 267 of his men (including 2
brothers and his nephew) were killed by
the Sioux at the famous Battle of the Little
Bighorn
Ambrose Hill
• Having served in the MexicanAmerican War and the Seminole
Wars he was one of the
Confederate’s ablest
commanders, although he was
frail and frequently ill
• At Gettysburg he was criticized
for attacking before Lee’s army
was ready
• Two of his wife’s brothers were
also generals for the south
• He was killed in battle just a week
before the end of the war
Winifred Scott Hancock
•
One military historian wrote, "No
other Union general at Gettysburg
dominated men by the sheer force of
their presence more completely than
Hancock
•
Became known as the “Thunderbolt
of the Army of the Potomac”
•
After General Reynolds was killed,
Meade sent him ahead to take
command of all the troops in the field
•
During the worst of the battle
Hancock could be seen on horseback
encouraging the troops. He was
seriously wounded but survived
•
After the war he ran for President in
1880
Lewis Armistead
• He also served in the MexicanAmerican War
• He was close friends with General
Hancock of the north
• He fought in a number of battles
before Gettysburg
• During Pickett’s Charge he thrust
his sword through his hat and
told his men to follow him to the
union lines
• Shot three times he died two
days later in a field hospital
Abner Doubleday
•
He fired the first defensive shot in the
Battle of Fort Sumter
•
His finest hours came at the outset of this
battle. While waiting for reinforcements he
successfully led 9,500 men against 10
brigades
•
When Meade temporarily replaced him
with a more junior officer, Doubleday was
enraged. When he returned to battle,
Doubleday was wounded in the neck
•
Doubleday's indecision as a commander in
the war resulted in the uncomplimentary
nickname "Forty-Eight Hours.
•
Doubleday is often mistakenly credited
with having invented baseball, although he
never made such a claim
John Hood
•
Hood had a reputation for bravery
and aggressiveness that sometimes
bordered on recklessness. Arguably
one of the best commanders in the
Confederate States Army
•
Hood became increasingly ineffective
as he was promoted to lead larger
commands later in the war
•
Ordered by Longstreet to attack the
Union stronghold at Devil’s Den. He
was wounded by an artillery shell in
this action, rendering his arm useless
for the rest of his life
•
After the War: He and his wife died in
1879 of yellow fever, leaving 10
children orphans
Daniel Sickles
• One of the most colorful and
controversial Union generals
• Disobeyed Meade’s orders to
defend the southern end of
Cemetery Ridge - resulted in
the destruction of his Corps
• He was severely wounded in
the battle, losing his leg to a
cannonball
• Before the War: killed the son
of Francis Scott Key (writer of
“Star Spangled Banner”) in a
duel, but got off after pleading
temporary insanity
William Pender
• Was one of the youngest and
ablest Confederate generals
(29 yrs old)
• He was recognized for his
bravery in both the Indian
Wars and earlier Civil War
battles
• He was wounded at least five
times during the Civil War
• His last and gravest wound
was on the second day at
Gettysburg when he led an
attack on Cemetery Hill. He
later died in hospital.
Joshua Chamberlain
•
Although he wasn’t promoted to
general until after the battle,
Chamberlain is one of the greatest
heroes of Gettysburg.
•
A college professor from Maine he
volunteered for military service
•
As a colonel at Gettysburg he and his
men held the line in the face of
overwhelming odds, preventing a
collapse of the union army during a
pivotal point in the battle
•
For his heroism he was awarded the
Medal of Honour and later promoted
to General
The Gettysburg Address
A. Lincoln
•
•
•
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this
continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the
proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that
nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long
endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have
come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for
those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is
altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate
-- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and
dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor
power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long
remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did
here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the
unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so
nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great
task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take
increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full
measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead
shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have
a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by
the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.