On This Day: Battle of Gettysburg Begins

The Battle of Gettysburg, fought in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pa., on July 1–3, 1863, was a turning point in the war. Southern forces arrived in Gettysburg in high spirits. They took the lead on the first day of fighting, but the North retreated to stronger positions. The South suffered heavy losses during the second day, which was the bloodiest of the battle, according to the Gettysburg National Military Park Virtual Tour.

Lee’s final effort came on July 3, when he ordered an ill-fated attack on the seemingly weak center of Union forces on Cemetery Ridge. His nearly 12,000-man assault, known as “Pickett’s Charge,” resulted in the death, injury or capture of about 5,500 soldiers from both armies, the Gettysburg National Military Park Virtual Tour reports, and marked the end of the South’s northern advance. 

The U.S. Army provides a Flash presentation of the Battle of Gettysburg that depicts troop movements and formations.

Union forces did not fare well in 1862. Lee had led his Army of Northern Virginia to numerous victories. His smaller army vanquished Union forces in Fredericksburg in 1862 and then in Chancellorsville, Va., in May 1863, the Gettysburg National Military Park Virtual Tour explains.

But by summer of 1863, Gen. Ulysses S. Grant inspired hope for the Union with successes at Vicksburg, Miss., a critical stronghold.

Lee decided to push north into Union territory to divert forces from Vicksburg and relieve pressure on Virginia. He also thought a victory in the North could destroy Union morale, and possibly encourage Europe to recognize the South.

Read about slavery in the 1800s, the fight for freedom and the Emancipation Proclamation in findingDulcinea’s feature, “The American Civil War.”

Learn more about the tumultuous conflict between the North and the South, and other defining moments in American history, with findingDulcinea's U.S. History Web Guide.