The Battle of Gettysburg was a three-day battle in the American Civil War fought between Union and Confederate forces between July 1 and July 3, 1863, in and around Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle, which was won by the Union, was the Civil War's turning point, ending the Confederacy's aspirations to establish an independent nation, and the war's bloodiest battle, claiming some 50,000 combined casualties.
George Edward Pickett was a career United States Army officer who became a major general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. He is best remembered for being one of the commanders at Pickett's Charge, the futile and bloody Confederate offensive on the third day of the Battle of Gettysburg that bears his name.
Edward Porter Alexander was an American military engineer, railroad executive, planter, and author. He served first as an officer in the United States Army and later, during the American Civil War (1861–1865), in the Confederate Army, rising to the rank of brigadier general.
The American Civil War Museum is a multi-site museum in the Greater Richmond Region of central Virginia, dedicated to the history of the American Civil War. The museum operates three sites: The White House of the Confederacy, American Civil War Museum at Historic Tredegar in Richmond, and American Civil War Museum at Appomattox. It maintains a comprehensive collection of artifacts, manuscripts, Confederate books and pamphlets, and photographs.
There is widespread disagreement among historians about the turning point of the American Civil War. A turning point in this context is an event that occurred during the conflict after which most modern scholars would agree that the eventual outcome was inevitable. The Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863 is the battle most widely cited as the military climax of the American Civil War. Several other decisive battles and events throughout the war have been proposed as turning points. The events are presented here in chronological order with only the positive arguments for each is given.
Isaac Ridgeway Trimble was a United States Army officer, a civil engineer, a prominent railroad construction superintendent and executive, and a Confederate general in the American Civil War. He was born in Virginia, lived in Maryland for much of his adult life, and returned to Virginia in 1861 after Maryland did not secede. Trimble is most famous for his role as a division commander in the assault known as Pickett's Charge at the Battle of Gettysburg. He was wounded severely in the leg during that battle, and was left on the field. He spent most of the remainder of the war as a prisoner, and was finally paroled on April 16, 1865, one week after Robert E. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia following the Battle of Appomattox Court House.
The Gettysburg campaign was a military invasion of Pennsylvania by the main Confederate army under General Robert E. Lee in summer 1863. It was the first time during the war the Confederate Army attempted a full-scale invasion of a free state. The Union won a decisive victory at Gettysburg, July 1–3, with heavy casualties on both sides. Lee managed to escape back to Virginia with most of his army. It was a turning point in the American Civil War, with Lee increasingly pushed back toward Richmond until his surrender in April 1865. The Union Army of the Potomac was commanded by Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker and then by Maj. Gen. George G. Meade.
The 69th Pennsylvania Infantry was an infantry regiment in the Union army during the American Civil War.
During the American Civil War, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania played a critical role in the Union, providing a substantial supply of military personnel, equipment, and leadership to the Federal government. The state raised over 360,000 soldiers for the Federal armies. It served as a significant source of artillery guns, small arms, ammunition, armor for the new revolutionary style of ironclad types of gunboats for the rapidly expanding United States Navy, and food supplies. The Phoenixville Iron Company by itself produced well over 1,000 cannons, and the Frankford Arsenal was a major supply depot.
James Dearing was a Confederate States Army officer during the American Civil War who served in the artillery and cavalry. Dearing entered West Point in 1858 and resigned on April 22, 1861, when Virginia seceded from the Union. Dearing was mortally wounded at the Battle of High Bridge during the Appomattox Campaign of 1865, making him one of the last officers to die in the war. Despite serving as a commander of a cavalry brigade and using the grade of brigadier general after he was nominated to that grade by Confederate President Jefferson Davis, Dearing did not officially achieve the grade of brigadier general because the Confederate Senate did not approve his nomination. His actual permanent grade was colonel.
During the American Civil War, the State of Vermont gave strong support to the Union war effort, raising troops and money. According to Rachel Cree Sherman:
By the spring of 1865 Vermont was devastated, having sent one tenth of its entire population to war, with a loss of over 5,000 lives to battle, wounds, and disease. The state had dedicated nearly $10 million to support the conflict, half of that amount offered up by towns with no expectation of recompense.
The 24th Michigan Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was part of the Union Iron Brigade.
Richmond, Virginia served as the capital of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War from May 8, 1861, hitherto the capital had been Montgomery, Alabama. Notwithstanding its political status, it was a vital source of weapons and supplies for the war effort, as well as the terminus of five railroads, and as such would have been defended by the Confederate States Army at all costs.
The 205th Pennsylvania Infantry was an infantry regiment of the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was raised during the final war year in response to President Lincoln's call for 500,000 volunteers. The regiment joined the IX Corps to counter General Lee's final offensive thrust at Ford Stedman and attacked to break through the Petersburg defenses one week before his final surrender at Appomattox. It participated in the Grand Review of the Armies and was mustered out in June 1865.
During the American Civil War, Pennsylvania was the second largest state in the Union, and Harrisburg was the state's capital. Located at the intersection of important railroads, Harrisburg proved an important supply and logistics center for the dissemination and transportation of materiel for the Union Army. Tens of thousands of new recruits were mustered into service or drilled at a series of Harrisburg-area United States Army training camps, including the sprawling Camp Curtin. Confederate forces under Lieutenant General Richard S. Ewell threatened Harrisburg during the June 1863 Gettysburg Campaign, but were instead called by General Robert E. Lee to return to Gettysburg campaign. Pennsylvania Governor Andrew Curtin ordered local workers to erect a series of forts and earthworks to protect the city, which then had a population of 13,000 residents.
The 59th New York Infantry Regiment was a regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. As part of the Second Corps of the Army of the Potomac, it played a significant role in battles such as Antietam and Gettysburg.
Montgomery Dent Corse was an American banker, gold prospector, and soldier who served as a general in the Confederate States Army during the Civil War. He commanded the 17th Virginia Infantry and then Corse's Brigade of Pickett's Division in the Army of Northern Virginia, and served in several of that army's most important battles.
George W. Harris was a United States soldier who fought with the Union Army during the American Civil War as a private with Company B of the 148th Pennsylvania Infantry, a regiment which "was present in every battle of the Army of the Potomac from Chancellorsville to the surrender at Appomattox and was in the hottest fighting of all of them except the Wilderness".
The 18th Virginia Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment raised in Virginia for service in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It fought mostly with the Army of Northern Virginia.
Alexander Calvin Elliott was a United States soldier who fought with the Union Army during the American Civil War as a sergeant with Company A of the 1st Pennsylvania Cavalry. He received his nation's highest award for valor, the U.S. Medal of Honor, for his actions at Paines Crossroads, Virginia on April 5, 1865. That award was conferred on May 3, 1865.
