This Day in History|July 3rd, 1863 - Pickett leads his infamous charge at Gettysburg

The History Channel ^ | July 3rd, 2005 | The History Channel

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July 3, 1863:

 

Troops under Confederate General George Pickett begin a massive attack against the center of the Union lines at Gettysburg on the climactic third day of the Battle of Gettysburg, the largest engagement of the war. General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia encountered George Meade's Army of the Potomac in Pennsylvania and battered the Yankees for two days. The day before Pickett's charge, the Confederates had hammered each flank of the Union line but could not break through.

Now, on July 3, Lee decided to attack the Union center, stationed on Cemetery Ridge, after making another unsuccessful attempt on the Union right flank at Culp's Hill in the morning. The majority of the force consisted of Pickett's division, but there were other units represented among the 15,000 attackers.

After a long Confederate artillery bombardment, the Rebel force moved through the open field and up the slight rise of Cemetery Ridge. But by the time they reached the Union line, the attack had been broken into many small units, and they were unable to penetrate the Yankee center.

The failed attack effectively ended the battle of Gettysburg. On July 4, Lee began to withdraw his forces to Virginia. The casualties for both armies were staggering. Lee lost 28,000 of his 75,000 soldiers, and Union losses stood at over 22,000. It was the last time Lee threatened Northern territory.

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50,000 Americans dead or wounded in three days.

 

May God bless those who give up all their tomorrows for our today. Past, present and future.

[MikefromOhio]

yeah the battle really illustrated to all that the Napoleonic school of warfare was completely and suicidally outdated.

All were heroes in their respective rights, but the guy who won the battle was Gen. John Buford. Had he not held the heights until Gen. Reynolds showed up on 1 July, the battle would have turned out very differently...

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"Well, it is all over now. The battle is lost, and many of us are prisoners, many are dead, many wounded, bleeding and dying. Your Soldier lives and mourns and but for you, my darling, he would rather, a million times rather, be back there with his dead, to sleep for all time in an unknown grave."

Major General George Pickett, CSA, to his fiancée, July 4, 1863

[dakine]

Uh-oh....War Between the States/War of Northern Aggression/Civil War thread breaking out...

[THX 1138]

yeah the battle really illustrated to all that the Napoleonic school of warfare was completely and suicidally outdated.

True, but I've always been fascinated by how long it took for people to understand this. Fifty years after Gettysburg, the British suffered 60,000 casualties on the first day of the Battle of the Somme.

[MikefromOhio]

they didnt march into the fire at the Somme like they did at Gettysburg. There wasn't any marching as such and it wasn't the Napoleonic school at the time....

at the Battle of the Somme, they used an early and horribly thought out version of the loose order drill that was used very successfully in World War 2.

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but the guy who won the battle was Gen. John Buford

He certainly set the stage, and I happen to agree he is the unsung hero.

One of the great cavalry actions in American history. Buford, with his small screening force, arrived in Gettysburg, immediately recognized the danger and seized the high ground. He and his units held until relieved. Had he failed, Lee's army would have had a nearly invincible position when Reynolds arrived.

"The enemy knows the importance of this position and will strain every nerve to secure it, and if we are able to hold it, we will do well. - Union Brigadier General John Buford to Colonels Thomas Devin and William Gamble the night before the Battle of Gettysburg, 30 June 1863.

-from brotherswar.com

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War Between the States/War of Northern Aggression/Civil War thread breaking out...

They do stir things up a bit, don't they?

[MikefromOhio]

Yep....

If you have ever read "The Killer Angels", the book does give him his due....

the battlefield at Gettysburg shows what he did as well, especially the electronic map....

[kezekiel]

And not to forget Joshua Chamberlain and his regiment's desperate defense of the Union extreme left at Little Round Top.

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If you have ever read "The Killer Angels",

Shaara's book that backed the movie "Gettysburg" with Jeff Daniels. I have not read it yet. One of those on the "Things to do before I pass" list...:-)

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And not to forget Joshua Chamberlain

I think it was Col. Chamberlain's action that, more than anything else, convinced Lee that the Union center was weak and could be broken by Pickett. I think that Lee believed the Union was stronger on the flank than it really was because of the 20th Maine's tenacity.

[MikefromOhio]

Certainly, but he would have never been in the position to made that charge without Buford.

Not to diminish what he did, but Buford held and set it up...

[MikefromOhio]

its a great read...

better than the movie was, but Jeff Daniels was great in that movie....

[muir_redwoods]

This charge was, arguably, the point where the 19th century ended and the twentieth began. I have heard it and dismissed it as a legend but it has been said that the Union soldiers actually cried as they fired into the defenseless Confederate ranks because the carnage was so great.

I am humbled by the history of this conflict and the men on both sides who died.

[THX 1138]

Yeah, whatever.

I was referring to the whole notion of massed charge against fortified positions. The lack of imagination was appalling.

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Can't wait for "The Last Full Measure" to come out, but I haven't heard a release date or even if they are up and running yet.

[MikefromOhio]

yes it was....

as a matter of fact, we did more at the squad and platoon level than most companies and some REGIMENTS did in world war 1....

[billnaz]

"And not to forget Joshua Chamberlain and his regiment's desperate defense of the Union extreme left at Little Round Top."

Chamberlain's defense of Little Round Top was briliant, and his ordering a counterattack with fixed bayonets and empty muskets was a great example of performance under pressure.

People in the South who have studied the Civil War also hold Chamberlain in very high regard for his class act after Appomattox. As the Confederates marched up to surrender their weapons and colors Chamberlain ordered his men to salute.

[MikefromOhio]

yeah I haven't heard anything about it either, but Robert DuVall is infinitely better as R.E. Lee than that moron Sheen was....