Lee sought to take the fight to the Union. This was his second attempt at invading the North, and he hoped to take cities like Philadelphia
And Harrisburg, one of the Union’s railway hubs, and a major training center for the Union Army. His hope was that this invasion might force the Union into peace talks
He also hoped that his invasion might take pressure off of the Confederate stronghold at Vicksburg, which was under siege by General Ulysses S. Grant’s Army of the Tennessee
General Meade, having just assumed command of the Army of the Potomac, rushed to check Lee’s advance, and made decisive contact at Gettysburg.
And so the stage was set for one of the bloodiest battles in American history. Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia, and George Meade’s Army of the Potomac met on July 1, 1863, and fought repeated battles over the course of the next three days.
Gettysburg was one of the bloodiest battles ever fought in any war that the United States has been a part of. Estimates vary, but it is believed that both sides suffered a combined 50,000 casualties. On the second day alone, the combined casualties included roughly 20,000 casualties
That means one out of every five men who fought that day were either killed, wounded, or went missing.
Let’s look at some of these numbers for comparison.
No one quite recognized the significance of the Battle of Gettysburg at the time. While not a decisive battle in and of itself, it marked the turning point in the war, and the last time that Lee would invade the Union. From this point forward, the Confederacy fell back on the defensive, and would remain there until the end of the war.
Several months later, at the dedication of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery, Gettysburg played host to another crucial event in the Civil War. It was here that Abraham Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address. In it, he not only recommitted himself and his audience to the war effort, but also redefined the entire purpose of the war itself, from one over states’ right to secede, to one over people’s right to be free.
