"Gettysburg: The Face of Battle" A Distance Learning Program from Gettysburg National Military Park Broadcast Live on May 9, 2001

THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG

Information to help prepare you and your class for the broadcast!

In the spring of 1863, the Confederacy found itself in a situation that called for action. The Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, commanded by General Robert E. Lee, had defeated the Union forces at Fredericksburg, Virginia in December 1862. December, however, was not the best time to start a campaign and the two armies went into winter camp until the spring when the Battle of Chancellorsville took place in May, 1863. Lee again defeated the Union forces but the situation gave Lee little chance to follow up his victory. One-third of Lee's army was still away near Suffolk, Virginia and Lee's army would have to cross a river in three places to resume the fight. He decided instead to concentrate his army and strike out on a bold campaign to invade the north.

June 1863 Lee began moving his army northward hoping to draw the Union army out of Virginia and secure needed supplies from the enemy's country- Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania's rich farmlands and storage depots had not yet been touched by war and needed food, horses, mules, and other raw materials could be obtained for the southern army. Lee also argued that one or more decisive victories in the North would increase pressure on the Federal government to seek a peace agreement with the South, possibly securing recognition by foreign governments of the Confederacy's independence. With the approval of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, Lee's fully equipped men marched into the Shenandoah Valley, driving back all Union forces they met and continued northward into Maryland and Pennsylvania. By late June, his army had entered Chambersburg, about 22 miles west of Gettysburg, and spread out through south-central Pennsylvania.

CHECK THE MAP! Look at the map of the army routes north, Map 1. Where do you think General Lee was originally headed? What was the Union trying do? What geographic feature hid the Confederate army from the Union army during their march north?

July 1, 1863
Neither General Lee nor General George G. Meade, commander of the Union Army of the Potomac, had anticipated fighting a battle at Gettysburg. Chance brought the two armies together here as the battle began that morning. The fighting grew in intensity through the day. Additional Confederate forces arrived from the west and north, and pushed the Union forces back through town. The first day's battle was a victory for the Confederates, but not decisive as the Union did not completely withdraw from the field, but retreated to a strong position south of Gettysburg.

CHECK THE MAP! On this map of the Battle of Gettysburg, look at the battle area of July 1st, (Map 2). Circle the Lutheran Seminary. Put a box around the town of Gettysburg. Now look closely at the geographic features on the map. After the retreat through the town of Gettysburg, where might you choose to reform your line and why?

July 2, 1863
Union troops, defeated on the first day of battle, regrouped in the high ground south of Gettysburg. A series of hills- Culp's Hill, Cemetery Hill and Cemetery Ridge, and Little Round Top- provided good defensive positions for the Union army, but not all of General Meade's troops had arrived yet. Lee still had the advantage in numbers and decided to attack both ends of the Union line, starting from his positions on Seminary Ridge. Late on the afternoon of July 2, Confederates hit both sides of the Union hard, first at Little Round Top and the areas around it before they hit Culp's and Cemetery Hills. The Union troops held out using skill and determination, and the Confederates fell back as night fell.

CHECK THE MAP! On the map of July 2, (Map 3), follow the arrows that show the directions of Lee's planned attack. Most of the Union line was initially on Cemetery Ridge though a portion of it had been moved forward to the Emmitsburg Road. The actual Confederate attacks went toward Little Round Top, Devil's Den, and the wheatfield. Can you draw arrows to show the actual routes on the Confederate attacks? Who was in charge of that advanced line?

July 3, 1863
On July 3, General Lee again attacked the Union forces, but this time he struck at the center of the line since the fighting on the previous day demonstrated the strength of the Union flanks or ends. Lee believed that General Meade weakened his center to strengthen his flanks, and a combined artillery and infantry attack could break through that weak section. In one massive assault, now popularly known as "Pickett's Charge", the Confederates attacked the Union troops on Cemetery Ridge, but the Union soldiers held the line and threw the Confederates back to Seminary Ridge. The Battle of Gettysburg was over.

CHECK THE MAP! Locate Pickett's Division on the map of July 3rd (Map 4) and follow the route his soldiers marched to the center of the Union line. What features and obstacles did they confront during the infantry charge? What other commanders were prepared to send their troops forward?

1863 to 1865
General Lee ordered his army back to Virginia. The southerners followed a route through southern Pennsylvania and Maryland with the Union army in a slow but persistent pursuit. The three day battle of Gettysburg left a staggering toll of 51,000 casualties (wounded, killed, missing or captured) divided nearly equal between the two armies. The Confederates never again reached the military strength they held at Gettysburg, though the war raged for another two long years before peace returned to a re-United States.

CLOSE-UP CORNER: Demonstrate the three days of battle on a bulletin board. Assign one student each to make a symbol from construction paper that represents one battlefield landmark- Little Round Top, Devil's Den, the Peach Orchard, Cemetery Hill, or Culp's Hill, etc. Place each symbol on a plain white bulletin board and have students move colored blocks over the board to simulate the movements of the armies on July 1,2, 3. Students will be able to identify the battlefield landmarks and also appreciate the difficulty in moving large groups from one location to another.

(Maps courtesy of Gettysburg Magazine, Morningside Bookshop, Dayton, Ohio)

| Overview |
| Causes & Questions | Battle of Gettysburg | Army Structure |
| Pickett's Charge Vocabulary | 57th Virginia Infantry | 69th Pennsylvania Infantry |
| Post-Broadcast Activities | Evaluation Form | Reading List | Teacher's Guide |

GETTYSBURG: THE FACE OF BATTLE
A Satellite Broadcast- May 9, 2001

Gettysburg National Military Park
97 Taneytown Road
Gettysburg, PA 17325