Yesterday was July 4th, better known here in America as Independence Day. It's a wonderful holiday where we celebrate tossing aside the British monarchy and the fact we rule ourselves by blowing things up and grilling delicious things. I could talk about how it was actually July 2nd when the Declaration was signed in Philadelphia in 1776, while July 4th was simply the day it was announced, but instead I have another idea.
Though I just did Antietam a few weeks ago, Gettysburg, the most influential and famous battle of the Civil War, was fought from July 1-3 in 1863. Proximity to the major holiday likely obscures commemoration but it needs remembrance as well. Every year (except last year I believe) they have major re-enactments and we've always forgotten to drive up. It's only about 40 minutes north of here.
Let's pick up after Antietam. Confederate Gen. Lee retreated back to Virginia following that brutal day in 1862. Union Gen. McClellan, annoyingly cautious as always, did not pursue and Lincoln replaced him in November. Operations resumed with major battles in Fredericksburg (Dec 1862) and Chancellorsville (Apr-May 1863), between the two capitals of DC and Richmond, where Lee again proved a superior general by soundly defeating the more numerous Union army. The embarrassing manner of these defeats and a revolving door at the head of the Army of the Potomac again gave Lee supreme confidence and led to another plan to strike north. His Army of Northern Virginia moved west over the mountains and north through the Shenandoah Valley, then crossed the Potomac and Maryland into Pennsylvania with an eye on its capital in Harrisburg. With the Union army more nimble than expected Lee decided to concentrate on the sleepy town of Gettysburg. I found it interesting this campaign forced thousands of MD/PA residents to permanently flee as well as the removal of Pennsylvania's state records for safekeeping. I found it revolting that during the invasion 1000 northern African Americans were captured and sent south into slavery.
Unlike Antietam, which was a one day affair, the battle of Gettysburg lasted three. Taken in whole it was the bloodiest fight of the war and the outcome changed its trajectory. Once all present over 100,000 Union troops faced over 70,000 Confederates, making the scale pretty astounding. At this time the head of the Union army was General George Meade. Day one resulted in limited Union units in defensive positions north of town giving way in the face of the massing Confederate army. By the second day most of the two armies had arrived on the field and took the positions that would define the battle. Union troops, after assembling, held high ground south of town and stood in a 'fishhook' pattern that stretched from Cemetery Hill down to Round Top. Confederates faced them mostly from north and west.
Day two mostly looked bad for Meade and the northerners. Lee ordered flanking movements on the edges of the Union line. The left end became a pressing situation when a union general abandoned his place and advanced into what's called the Peach Orchard. His Corps and the one that attempted to replace him on the line were essentially annihilated, resulting in a gaping hole. A heroic and suicidal attack by the Minnesota 1st saved the entire Union position from being cut in half and destroyed. At the very end of the left flank, on Little Round Top, a bayonet charge by Col. Joshua Chamberlain's 20th Maine became one of the the most famous micro actions of the entire war (and something well-remembered from Ken Burn's Civil War documentary). The Union army survived the day and managed, for the most part, to hold its line in the face of the aggressive Confederate army. But at this point the outcome was still very much in doubt.
Day three included an early renewal of the flanking maneuvers, which failed to make headway. Lee then decided to change tactics and ordered a frontal assault on the center of the Union position on Cemetery Ridge. This became the now fabled Pickett's Charge, the epitome of a complete and utter disaster. It was preceded by a large artillery bombardment where the Union did not return fire, perhaps tricking the Confederates. When more than 12,000 soldiers emerged and tried to cross the 3/4 mile open field, both cannon and rifle fire were let loose. The attackers saw more than 50% casualties and the south never recovered. In the end total battle casualties were on the magnitude of 50,000 men (estimated ~3100 dead Union, ~4700 Confederates), with the Confederates bearing the higher overall number dead/wounded/missing in addition to the larger percentage of its force. The next day Lee retreated south, forever, with hopes of a military victory dwindling (especially since Grant finally captured Vicksburg on the Mississippi that same day).
Months later Lincoln visited the site and gave what's got to be the best political speech in American history. The Gettysburg Address is so good because it's so short, and I might as well just put it here:
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth upon 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.
If you decide to visit Gettysburg, something I highly recommend, I would most heartily suggest getting an audio guide. The battlefield is huge and the battle fairly complicated so it's well worth having someone talk you through it. Plan on at least a few hours there and, if you didn't already know, it's free to enter. Like others this battlefield is set up as a driving tour where mostly one-way roads first take you to the initial positions of day one before going along the Confederate and Union lines of the subsequent battle. Even if you skip sections (on the drive or guide) you get a much improved appreciation for everything that happened. There's a relatively new Visitor Center near the end of the driving tour, though it certainly makes sense to go there at the start. They play a movie there, something we've never actually seen. My favorite places for a closer look on the route are the Virginia Memorial, with a large statue of Lee, on Little Round Top, with the best view of the battlefield, and the Pennsylvania Memorial, the largest of many monuments scattering the area. Definitely drive along Cemetery Ridge, right after the PA Memorial, to see the site of Pickett's Charge ('High Water Mark'). We've usually skipped Culp's Hill on the right Union flank because there's so much to see in a day.
Another cool historical piece of Gettysburg is that for decades after the war veterans from both sides met up on its anniversary. 50 years after the battle, in 1913, over 50,000 men who fought there attended the reunion as part of a massive event. 75 years after, in 1938, there was another with ~25 battle veterans, which is still pretty crazy.
Lastly, every year there's a nearby Bluegrass Festival, something we've always thought sounds extremely fun. Maybe some day.
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