Battle of Gettysburg

battle_name=Battle of Gettysburg

Background and movement to battle

Shortly after Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia won a decisive victory over the Federal Army of the Potomac at the Battle of Chancellorsville (May 1–3, 1863), Lee decided upon a second invasion of the North. Such a move would upset Federal plans for the summer campaigning season and possibly relieve the besieged Confederate garrison at Vicksburg, and it would allow the Confederates to live off the bounty of the rich northern farms while giving war-ravaged Virginia a much needed rest. Also Lee's 75,000-man army could threaten Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington and give voice to the growing peace movement in the North.

Related Topics:
Confederate - Robert E. Lee - Army of Northern Virginia - Army of the Potomac - Battle of Chancellorsville - May 1 - 3 - Second invasion - Federal - Vicksburg - Virginia - Philadelphia - Baltimore - Washington

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Thus, on June 3 Lee's army began to shift northward from Fredericksburg, Virginia. In order to attain more efficiency in his commands, Lee had pared down his two large corps into three new corps. James Longstreet retained command of his First Corps. However, the old corps of General "Stonewall" Jackson was divided into two, with the Second Corps going to Lieutenant General Richard S. Ewell and the new Third Corps commanded by Lt. Gen. A.P. Hill. The Gettysburg Confederate Order of Battle lists the units and commanders of the Army of Northern Virginia.

Related Topics:
June 3 - Fredericksburg, Virginia - James Longstreet - "Stonewall" Jackson - Richard S. Ewell - A.P. Hill - Gettysburg Confederate Order of Battle - Army of Northern Virginia

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The Federal Army of the Potomac, under Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker, consisted of seven corps of infantry and artillery, a cavalry corps, and an Artillery Reserve, for a combined strength of more than 90,000 men. However, Abraham Lincoln would soon replace Hooker with Maj. Gen. George G. Meade, due to Hooker's defeat at the Battle of Chancellorsville and his timid response to Lee's second invasion north of the Potomac. The Gettysburg Union Order of Battle lists the units and commanders of the Army of the Potomac after Meade assumed command.

Related Topics:
Joseph Hooker - Abraham Lincoln - George G. Meade - Battle of Chancellorsville - Gettysburg Union Order of Battle

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The first major action of the campaign took place on June 9 between the opposing cavalry forces at Brandy Station, near Culpeper, Virginia. The Confederate cavalry under J.E.B. Stuart was nearly bested by the Federal horsemen, but Stuart eventually prevailed. However, this battle, the largest cavalry engagement of the war, proved that for the first time, the Union horse soldier was equal to his Southern counterpart.

Related Topics:
Brandy Station - Culpeper, Virginia - J.E.B. Stuart

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By mid-June, the Army of Northern Virginia was poised to cross the Potomac River and enter Maryland. After gobbling up the Federal garrisons at Winchester and Martinsburg, Ewell's Second Corps began crossing the river on June 15. Hill's and Longstreet's corps followed on June 24–25. Hooker's army pursued, keeping between the U.S. Capital and Lee's army. The Federals crossed the Potomac on June 25–27.

Related Topics:
Potomac River - Maryland - Winchester - Martinsburg

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Meanwhile, in a controversial move, Lee allowed J.E.B. Stuart to take a portion of the army's cavalry and ride around the Union army. However, Lee's orders gave Stuart much latitude, and both generals are to blame for the long absence of Stuart's cavalry, as well as for the failure to assign a more active role to the cavalry left with the army. Also, Confederate raider John S. Mosby was partly to blame; he stated that Stuart would face very little opposition when, in fact, he was forced to take an extremely circuitous route to avoid the Union infantry. By June 29, Lee's army was strung out in an arc from Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, 28 miles (45 km) NW of Gettysburg, to Carlisle, 30 miles (48 km) north of Gettysburg, to near Harrisburg and Wrightsville on the Susquehanna River.

Related Topics:
Union army - John S. Mosby - Chambersburg, Pennsylvania - Gettysburg - Carlisle - Harrisburg - Wrightsville - Susquehanna River

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In a dispute over the use of the forces defending the Harpers Ferry garrison, Hooker offered his resignation, and Abraham Lincoln and General-in-Chief Henry W. Halleck, who were looking for an excuse to get rid of Hooker, immediately accepted the resignation. They replaced him on June 27–28 with Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade, commander of the V Corps.

Related Topics:
Harpers Ferry - Abraham Lincoln - Henry W. Halleck - George Gordon Meade - V Corps

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When, on June 29, Lee learned that the Army of the Potomac had crossed its namesake river, he ordered a concentration of his forces around Cashtown, located at the eastern base of South Mountain and eight miles (13 km) west of Gettysburg.

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On June 30, while part of Hill's Corps was in Cashtown, one of Hill's brigades, North Carolinians under J. Johnston Pettigrew, ventured toward Gettysburg. The memoirs of Maj. Gen. Henry Heth, Pettigrew's division commander, claimed that Pettigrew was in search of a large supply of shoes in town, but this explanation has been largely discounted by historians.

Related Topics:
June 30 - J. Johnston Pettigrew - Henry Heth

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When Pettigrew's troops approached Gettysburg on June 30, they noticed Federal cavalry under Brig. Gen. John Buford west of town, and Pettigrew returned to Cashtown without engaging them. When Pettigrew told Hill and Henry Heth about what he had seen, neither general believed that there was a substantial Federal force in or near the town, suspecting that it had been only Pennsylvania militia. Despite General Lee's order to avoid a general engagement until his entire army was concentrated, Hill decided to mount a significant reconnaissance in force the following morning to determine the size and strength of the enemy force in his front. Around 5 a.m. on Wednesday, July 1, Heth's division advanced to Gettysburg.

Related Topics:
John Buford - July 1

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The terrain of Gettysburg and vicinity is described in Gettysburg Battlefield.

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