"Gettysburg" Gettysburg by Ewingjr98

Devil's Den

At Gettysburg on July 1, 2, and 3, 1863, more men fought and more men died than in any other battle ever fought in America. This battle was the high-water mark of the Civil War for the Confederacy: their deepest thrust into Northern territory and their second, and largest, of three major attacks north of the Potomac.

After the southern victory at the Battle of Chancellorsville in May 1863, Robert E. Lee decided to take the war back to the North in hopes of a truce. Lee's forces met the northern army, commanded by General George Meade, at the small south-central Pennsylvania town of Gettysburg on 1 July 1863. The opening day of battle involved advance elements of both forces meeting to the west and north of Gettysburg, with the South ending the day with a clear victory. On the second day of the battle, much of the action took place on the southern end of the lines at such famous places as the Wheat Field, Devils Den, and Little Round Top. Day three culminated in Pickett's failed charge and a Union victory. On July 4th, the armies remained in position, while simultaneously in the Western Theater, Vicksburg fell to Union forces after a 40-day siege.

At Gettysburg, some 94,000 Union soldiers squared off against about 72,000 Confederate men, with the result being some 46,000 total casualties, incluiding about 8,000 men killed in action.