Download Civil Unrest in the South:

The Battle of Gettysburg
Mapping the turning point of the
Civil War
Gettysburg: July 1st-3rd 1863
1. Robert E. Lee invaded Pennsylvania against
new Union Commander George Meade.
2. The battle lasted three days and became the
greatest battle and turning point of the war.
3. Pickett’s Charge: 15,000 Confederates
charged the Union held hills.
4. More than half were cut down before reaching
their objective.
5. Lee retreated, and Meade did not follow,
allowing the war to continue.
Events of July 1st:
1. Lee’s army advanced north through Pennsylvania.
Union cavalry were sent to find his army.
2. Gen. John Buford located the rear elements of
Lee’s army. He chose to defend the high ground.
3. Lee concentrated his forces to attack the location.
4. Maj. Gen. John Reynolds arrived with infantry to
support Buford. He was quickly killed.
5. Fighting all day, the Union slowly gave ground.
6. The Union held the high ground after day one
when Confederate Gen. Richard Ewell failed to
attack.
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John Buford
John Reynolds
Events of July
nd
2 :
1. The Confederates launched attacks on the Union
high ground to try to drive the Federals away.
2. Union Maj. Gen. Dan Sickles changed his position
without orders from Meade, leaving Little Round
Top exposed and causing intense fighting in The
Devil’s Den.
3. Col. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain and the 20th
Maine defended Little Round Top heroically.
4. Although making great progress, the Confederates
were unable to drive the Union from the high
ground.
Dan Sickles
Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain
Events of July 3rd:
1. Lee ordered Lt. Gen. James Longstreet to
coordinate an assault on the Union center.
2. Longstreet protested the order but Lee chose to
continue with the attack.
3. Lee ordered the largest artillery barrage of the war.
4. Maj. Gen. George Pickett led the 15,000 man
assault against Cemetery Ridge.
5. The attack was repelled with disastrous results.
Half of the attackers went down on the field.
6. This event is often seen as the turning point of the
war and the “high water mark” of the Confederacy.
James Longstreet
George Pickett
The Aftermath:
1. 165,000 troops engaged; 55,000 casualties.
2. The Confederacy would never again launch a full
scale invasion of the North.
3. It took years for the citizens of Gettysburg to
recover from the battle on their soil.
4. Dead and wounded littered the field for months.
5. A national cemetery was created at Gettysburg.
6. On November 19, 1863 President Lincoln gave his
famous address at the cemetery. It discussed the
meaning of the war and provided a blueprint for
what the nation should strive to be.