Major Turning Points of the Civil War 1861-1865 July 21, 1861 First battle of the Civil War brings startling loss to the Union at Bull Run, Virginia October 1861 Union initiates a naval blockade of Southern Atlantic coast May-July, 1863 Grant sustains siege of last Mississippi stronghold at Vicksburg. Confederates surrender at Vicksburg and lose the battle of Gettysburg on July 4. 1861 1862 1863 1864 1865 April, 1862 Shiloh, Tennessee runs with the blood of 20,000 killed or wounded in two days of fighting. September, 1862 The Union stops Lee’s advance in the North. 30,000 die in one day at Antietam Creek, Maryland. May-September, 1864 Grant and Sherman lead a campaign of death and destruction throughout the South. Grant pursues Lee in Virginia, Sherman in Georgia and South Carolina: “March to the Sea”

Gettysburg In 1863, due to the Union blockade, the South was unable to supply its army. Southern soldiers did not have enough food, shoes, and ammunition to fight the war effectively. In the west, Union victories by U.S. Grant nearly had the South split in two. Armed with this information, Robert E. Lee decided to take his army north in an attempt to end the Civil War in one great battle. Lee figured that if he could draw the Union army into the open, he could crush them and march into Washington D.C.

July 1, 1863 Lee’s army, travelling without the support of J.E.B. Stuart’s cavalry, began to turn its way south toward Washington. Meade brought up all seven corps of the Army of the Potomac to meet the Confederates near the Pennsylvania town of Gettysburg.

July 1, 1863 On the first day of the battle, Confederate forces moving blind, were confronted on the northern outskirts of the town by General John Buford’s cavalry. Despite being outnumbered 10-1, Buford held his position until being reinforced by Reynold’s infantry Confederate Troops: Union Troops: Battles

July 1, 1863 Lee’s troops pushed on the Union front using their initial numerical advantage to flank the Union northeast of Gettysburg.

July 1, 1863 This caused the Union army to fall back to positions south of the town on high ground at Cemetery Ridge and Culp’s Hill. the South could have pressed their initial advantage, yet did not realize they had the advantage without the support of their cavalry.

July 2, 1863 On the second day of the battle, The Confederates nearly had the Federals surrounded. If the south could flank the Union on the southern end of the battle line, they would achieve Lee’s objective of beating the Union army in one large battle.

July 2, 1863 The South hit hard on both flanks of the Union front. Longstreet’s forces nearly flanked the North at Little Round Top, but a heroic charge by Joshua Chamberlain and his northern regiment, saved the Northern army from defeat by holding the flank.

July 3, 1863 Southern forces failing to crush the Union during the first two days of the battle, now faced the difficult job of beating an army that now held the high ground and the numeric advantage of more troops.

July 3, 1863 Lee, realizing that his hopes for a Southern victory in the Civil War would be impossible without a win at Gettysburg, decided to order a offensive charge at the Union center. He believed that the Union was fortified on the flanks rather than the center-- making the center the weakest part of the line.

July 3, 1863 If they could break the line in the middle, they could win the battle by dividing the North in half, crushing both sides by surrounding them.

July 3, 1863 General Lee decided to mount the attack despite opposition from other Confederate generals. The offensive did not begin until after noon. Groups from three Confederate divisions, including the division led by Major General George E. Pickett, totaling fewer than 15,000 men, took part in a memorable charge on Cemetery Ridge.

July 3, 1863 Against a withering barrage of federal artillery and musket fire, the Confederate troops breached Meade's first line of defense. The strain on the Confederates proved too great, and they fell back, having lost over three- fourths of their force. The South would never go on the offensive again.

July 4, 1863 With the repulse of Pickett's Charge, the Battle of Gettysburg was virtually over. On the night of July 4, Lee began his retreat to Virginia, expecting a counterattack from the federal army. Meade, however, did not attack, letting another chance to end the war slip from the Union’s grasp.

July 4, 1863 During the three days of battle, the federal army lost 3070 killed, 14,497 wounded, and 5434 captured or missing. The Confederates lost about 3500 killed, 18,000 wounded, and 5150 captured or missing.

Photos from Gettysburg Library of Congress American Memory Collection

The culminating event of the Battle of Gettysburg was Pickett's Charge, the unsuccessful assault on the Union center ordered by Gen. Robert E. Lee (1807-1870) and executed by numerous troops, including an infantry division under the command of Gen. George E. Pickett (1825-1875). Preparations for the famous charge, which occurred on the battle's third day, included the traditional artillery barrage described in these documents.

In a letter written on the field of battle, Gen In a letter written on the field of battle, Gen. James Longstreet (1821-1904) informed Col. Edward P. Alexander (1835-1910), reserve artillery commander, of the intended Confederate advance, which he said would be dependent on Alexander's battery providing the necessary artillery support. Longstreet also ordered Alexander to advise General Pickett when to initiate the charge.

Having retained Longstreet's order, Alexander later mounted the item on a larger backing sheet and added to it copies of his battlefield dispatches to both Longstreet and Pickett, which depict the increasing urgency of the Confederate position. At 1:25 p.m., Alexander wrote to Pickett, "If you are to advance at all, you must come at once or we will not be able to support you as we ought . . . " Fifteen minutes later, the artillery commander wrote again to Pickett, "For God's sake come on quick or we cannot support you. Ammunition nearly out."

The End Photos from Gettysburg Library of Congress American Memory Collection