M.A. Kleen

On the morning of July 3, 1863, the Union Army of the Potomac’s position south of Gettysburg was the strongest it had been since the battle began. The entire army had arrived, with a fresh corps and artillery reserve. In contrast, the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia had only one division not yet engaged, that of Maj. Gen. George E. Pickett in Longstreet’s Corps. General Robert E. Lee intended to renew his assault on the Union flanks, but early that morning the Federals beat him to it with a dawn attack to regain lost ground on Culp’s Hill. Lt. Gen. James Longstreet’s other two divisions had fought to exhaustion the previous day and were in no shape to attack.

That left only Pickett’s three brigades, and Lee came up with a plan to point them directly at the Union center on Cemetery Ridge. He pulled together several depleted brigades from the Third Corps to help, massing around 10,500 men for a grand charge. A cannonade by somewhere around 150 to 170 guns, firing for nearly an hour, preceded the advance. Federal batteries gave as good as they got, however, and when the smoke cleared, damage was minimal. Union forces repulsed Pickett’s Charge, as it became known, with fearful losses. Confederate units sustained over 50% casualties. As the survivors limped back to their starting point, Lee lamented “It’s all my fault.”