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For every Southern boy fourteen years old, not once but whenever he wants it, there is the instant when it's still not yet two o'clock on that July afternoon in 1863, the brigades are in position behind the rail fence, the guns are laid and ready in the woods and the furled flags are already loosened to break out and Pickett himself with his long oiled ringlets and his hat in one hand probably and his sword in the other looking up the hill waiting for Longstreet to give the word and it's all in the balance, it hasn't happened yet, it hasn't even begun yet, it not only hasn't begun yet but there is still time for it not to begin against that position and those circumstances which made more men than Garnett and Kemper and Armistead and Wilcox look grave yet it's going to begin, we all know that, we have come too far with too much at stake and that moment doesn't need even a fourteen-year-old boy to think THIS TIME. MAYBE THIS TIME with all this much to lose and all this much to gain: Pennsylvania, Maryland, the world, the golden dome of Washington itself to crown with desperate and unbelievable victory the desperate gamble, the cast made two years ago.

– William Faulkner, Intruder in the Dust

Robert E. Lee's Army Of Northern Virginia, perhaps the most famous Confederate fighting formation of the American Civil War, had defeated vastly superior forces at Frederickburg and Chancellorsville yet, as so often happened during that conflict, the southern legions were too torn and decimated to follow up their victories with crushing pursuits. Time and again, Lee outguessed and outfought his northern opponents - frequently making his troops perform in ways which doubled their uses and effectiveness, whilst the Union generals failed to use their resources and considerable material advantages to the full. Confident in his men's courage and ability to beat any opposition, Lee formed an ambitious plan - the Confederacy could not win peace and security by standing still and waiting for the Lincoln Administration to gradually wear down its remaining capacity to resist - thus bold tactics, carried out at long odds, were necessary.

In June 1863, Lee took his army into northern territory for the second time - a throw of the dice intended to inspire Union citizens to call for an end to the war or draw enemy troops away from the vital city of Vicksburg which was besieged by Grant. The Union's Army Of The Potomac, under George Gordon Meade, stalked the invading southern forces, screening Washington from any sudden assault and hoping to draw Lee into open battle on favourable ground.

On the last day of the month that battle ensued - prompted by an almost accidental meeting between minor elements of both armies. Hearing that there was a supply of shoes in the small Pennsylvania town of Gettysburg, a Confederate commander, well aware that many of his men were nearly or actually marching barefooted, sent troops to commandeer the footwear. As the probing southern advance met resistance from northern defenders, both sides hastily sent off for reinforcements.

The Battle Of Gettysburg began on July 1st and lasted for three bloody days. Initially, Lee's men pushed the Union soldiers out of the town; Meade rapidly organised a long, curved defensive line, shaped like a fish hook, on the hills and heights to the south of Gettysburg. On the second day, an attempt to capture two hills on Meade's left flank (Big Roundtop & Little Roundtop) nearly succeeded. If these positions had been taken, the Union Army would probably have been rolled up, but the raw courage and iron nerve of the defenders - notably the 20th Maine Infantry under Joshua Chamberlain - repulsed the assault and saved not only the Army Of The Potomac, but possibly the entire Union too. Overseas, great powers like Britain and France watched and wondered if they should intervene - another defeat for the North, this time on its own ground, could have prompted that kind of action.  

On the final day, Lee made the fatal error of launching a frontal assault against the Union centre. Following an artillery bombardment, eighteen thousand men - chiefly under the command of Pickett and Pettigrew strode forward. Pettigrew's men formed up and began their movement behind Seminary Ridge - seen on our webcam. His units had the longest distance to cover before they could hope to reach the enemy - at least 1,300 yards, with every step made under massed rifle and cannon fire. The charge became a slaughter - the Union lines were reached and crossed at only one point and this incursion (valiantly led by Armistead who was mortally wounded) was swiftly quelled by the numerically superior defenders. Around 6,555 southern soldiers who took part in the charge were killed or wounded. Approximately 1,123 Confederates were killed on the battlefield, 4,019 were wounded and many of the injured were also captured. The Army Of The Potomac later reported taking 3,750 prisoners.

The failure of Pickett's Charge led the Confederates to withdraw. Meade was in no hurry to follow and Lee's moves to prepare for a counter-attack were unnecessary. The Army Of Northern Virginia was able to gather its guns and wounded and make a difficult, but orderly withdrawal back to friendly territory where it would gather its strength and make ready for future battles. Lee took personal responsibility for the failure of southern arms and offered his resignation - it was refused. Meade, the victor of Gettysburg, was eventually removed from overall command of the Army Of The Potomac because he did not attempt to route Lee's retreating forces.

*'Missing' includes losses due to desertion and capture. Some experts believe that Lee lost up to 28,000 men (to all the above causes), but it is fairly safe to state that around one third of his army was killed, wounded or missing by the end of the battle. It is difficult to be precise about Confederate losses because that side was unable to take stock of its status for some time after the fighting, but the Union side were able to produce more exact statistics as soon as the engagement was over.