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| Recent re-enactment at Gettysburg, PA. Photo by Paul Witt/CivilWarTrust.org |
NEW BATTLEFIELD(S) VIDEO IS MUST VIEWING--The Civil War Trust, a dynamic organization
dedicated to preserving the history of the American Civil War, including saving
important battlefields, has teamed with Wide Awake Films to produce a day by
day capsule of the Battle of Gettysburg.
The resulting quick
overview of the three days July 1-3, 1863 is enhanced with animated maps
showing complicated troop movements. If
you only see one video about the civil war—this amazing work is not to be
missed. It will fascinate the most
ardent Civil War buff and quickly bring up to speed the casual reader of the
War Between the States.
http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/gettysburg/maps/gettysburg-animated-map/
LATEST UPDATES:
Special Report from the Smithsonian Institute:
A CUTTING EDGE SECOND
LOOK AT THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG
NEW TECHNOLOGY—Interactive
charts by ESRI, text by Anne Kelly Knowles and Cartography by International
Mapping re-examine how the Civil War battle at Gettysburg was won and lost.
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/A-Cutting-Edge-Second-Look-at-the-Battle-of-Gettysburg.html
Added Video:
While not as visually as powerful as the work above, this scholarly presentation sets the stage for the Battle of Gettysburg, a Penn State professor puts into perspective what was at stake for President Lincoln if the Union army failed at Gettysburg: http://news.psu.edu/video/277899/2013/05/24/academics/video-battle-gettysburg-preludeCOLD HARD FACTS
Battle of Gettysburg
July 1-3, 1863
Troops in Action:
Federal: 94,000
Rebel: 72,000
Approx. Casualties (killed,
wounded, missing)
52,000
Federal Casualties:
Killed: 3,200
Wounded: 14,500
Missing or Captured: 5,400
Total: 23,100
Rebel Casualties:
Killed: 3,900
Wounded: 19,000
Missing or Captured: 5,400
Total: 28,300
Historical Analysis:
Federal Victory
BOOKS ON THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG: ONE OLD, ONE NEW
NEW:
“Gettysburg: The Last Invasion” by
Civil War Scholar Allen C. Guelzo.
Read the review in the New York
Times, June 28, 2013: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/30/books/review/allen-c-guelzos-gettysburg-the-last-invasion.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
VINTAGE:
“Biography of Robert E. Lee,” By Douglas
Southall Freeman. Public Domain Excerpt.
Originally published by Charles
Scribner’s Sons, New York and London, 1934.
Freeman’s prelude:
Following his stunning victory at Chancellorsville,
Rebel general Robert E. Lee decided to attempt a second invasion of the North.
He felt such a move would disrupt the Union Army's plans for the summer campaign,
would allow his army to live off the rich farms of Pennsylvania, and would aid
in reducing pressure on the Confederate garrison at Vicksburg, MS.
On June 27, after an argument with President Abraham Lincoln, Union
General Joseph “Fightin’ Joe” Hooker was relieved and replaced by Maj. Gen.
George G. Meade. A Pennsylvanian, Meade continued moving the army north to
intercept Lee.
On June 29, with his army
strung out in an arc from the Susquehanna River on the east to Chambersburg in
the West, Lee ordered his troops to concentrate at Cashtown, PA after hearing
reports that Meade had crossed the Potomac. The next day, Confederate Brig.
Gen. James Pettigrew observed Union cavalry under Brig. Gen. John Buford
entering the town of Gettysburg to the southeast. He reported this to his
division and corps commanders, Maj. Gen. Harry Heth and A.P. Hill, and, despite
Lee's orders to avoid a major engagement until the army was concentrated, the
three planned a reconnaissance in force for the next day.
End of Excerpt.
UPDATE OF THE WEEK BEFORE THE BATTLE:
The following is modern
recap of the week before the Battle of Gettysburg:
The Week in the
American Civil War June 24-30, 1863
By
Jeff Williams, Minnesota Civil War Commemoration Task Force.
Wednesday June 24, 1863--Confederate Lieutenant Generals James Longstreet’s
and Ambrose Powell Hill’s corps of the Army of Northern Virginia began crossing
the Potomac River in order to join Lieutenant General Richard Ewell’s forces in
Maryland, and then invade Pennsylvania. A skirmish broke out at Sharpsburg,
Maryland.
Major
General Joseph Hooker at his headquarters of the Army of the Potomac, wrote to
Washington that he would send a corps or two across the Potomac River, make
Washington secure, and then strike on General Robert E. Lee’s probable line of
retreat.
Thursday June 25, 1863--At 1 A.M., Major General James Ewell Brown Stuart
left from Salem Depot, Virginia, after receiving permission from General Robert
E. Lee to join the Confederate army north of the Potomac River after passing
between the Federal army and Washington. It was the beginning of a ride which
took his cavalry away from much of the Gettysburg operations and over which
controversies still rage. One of the first skirmishes occurred at Haymarket
when Stuart’s cavalry clashed with troops from the Army of the Potomac’s II
Corps, including the 1st Minnesota Volunteer Infantry.
Confederate
Lieutenant General Richard Ewell’s men skirmished with Federals near
McConnellsburg, Pennsylvania.
Friday June 26, 1863--Confederate Major General Jubal Early and a
portion of his command entered Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, in their advance north
of the Potomac River. The next day, they marched towards York, Pennsylvania.
Federal militia fled after a brief skirmish near Gettysburg and a number were
captured.
Federal
Major General Joseph Hooker reported himself on the way to Frederick, Maryland
requesting to evacuate Maryland Heights at Harper’s Ferry. Washington appeared
to doubt Hooker’s ability to act against the Confederate invasion.
Pennsylvania
Governor Andrew G. Curtin called for 60,000 men to serve for three months to
repel the invasion.
Saturday June 27, 1863--President Abraham Lincoln made the decision to
relieve Major General Joseph Hooker from command of the Army of the Potomac.
Major General George Gordon Meade was promoted from commander of the Army’s V
Corps to Army of the Potomac commander, effectively replacing Hooker.
The
Confederate forces of Lieutenant Generals James Longstreet and Ambrose Powell
Hill, along with General Robert E. Lee’s headquarters element, arrived at
Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. Major General Jubal Early accepted the surrender of
York, Pennsylvania from the local officials near the city, as Confederates
moved near the state capital, Harrisburg.
The
Federal Army of the Potomac was across the Potomac River at Frederick,
Middletown and Knoxville, Maryland. General-in-Chief Henry W. Halleck messaged
Meade to place him in command of the Army of the Potomac. He was expected to
deal with General Robert E. Lee’s Confederate invasion of Pennsylvania.
Sunday June 28, 1863--At 7 A.M., at Frederick, Maryland, Major General
George G. Meade received Major General Henry W. Halleck’s orders placing him in
command of the Army of the Potomac. Soldiers throughout the Army of the Potomac
were reacting to rumors that Major General George McClellan, their former
commander, was back in command. It was not to be.
Skirmishing
occurred between Offutt’s Crossroads and Seneca, near Rockville, Maryland; at
Fountaindale and Wrightsville, Pennsylvania; at Rover, Tennessee; Russellville,
Kentucky; Nichol’s Mills, North Carolina and Donaldsonville, Louisiana.
Confederate
General Robert E. Lee learned that Federal troops were north of the Potomac
River with over 100,000 soldiers in the Frederick, Maryland area. He ordered
Lieutenant General James Longstreet, Ambrose Powell Hill and Richard Ewell to
march to Cashtown, Pennsylvania, nine miles west of Gettysburg.
Monday June 29, 1863--Federal Major General George G. Meade’s new
command moved rapidly forward in Maryland and by evening the Federals had their
left at Emmitsburg and their right at New Windsor. Brigadier General John
Buford’s cavalry had his advance at Gettysburg. Brigadier General Judson
Kilpatrick’s cavalry had contacted Major General J.E.B. Stuart’s Confederates
on the Federal right flank. Both armies were now heading in the general
direction of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Skirmishing broke out at McConnellsburg,
Pennsylvania, along with Westminster and Muddy Branch, Maryland.
Tuesday June 30, 1863--From Chambersburg, Pennsylvania and elsewhere, the
Confederates converged on the Gettysburg area. Lieutenant General Richard
Ewell’s corps left York, Pennsylvania for Gettysburg. Lieutenant Generals James
Longstreet and Ambrose Powell Hill’s corps were now at Cashtown, Pennsylvania,
nine miles west of the borough.
Major
General George G. Meade, now commanding the Federal Army of the Potomac,
ordered the three corps of the left wing under Major General John Reynolds to
occupy Gettysburg in relief of Brigadier General John Buford’s cavalry.
Fighting
broke out at Hanover, Fairfield, and at Sporting Hill near Harrisburg,
Pennsylvania; at Westminster, Maryland; Hudson’s Ford on the Neosho River in
Missouri and at Goodrich’s Landing, Louisiana.
President
Abraham Lincoln resisted the urging of others to restore Major General George
B. McClellan back into command of the Army of the Potomac.
For
the Federal Army, the march from Fredericksburg to Gettysburg had taken 14 days
with 11 days of travel. The average march was more than 14 miles per day. The
march for the Confederates was even longer. By the time both armies took the
field at Gettysburg, they were exhausted.
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