Advance to Break the Deadlock at Gettysburg Battlefield

The 1st U.S. Cavalry and the 6th Pennsylvania Cavalry regiments of the Union army were positioned directly on this parcel as they launched attacks against the Confederate army.

Image courtesy of the American Battlefield Trust.

Recipient: The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission

Amount: $383,677.50
Acres: 19.45

By the afternoon of July 3, 1863, Union and Confederate armies had been engaged in two days of bitter fighting around Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Trying to break the deadlock, Confederate General Robert E. Lee ordered three infantry divisions under the command of Brigadier General George E. Pickett to attack the center of the Union line, through a mile of exposed farmland.

This advance, now known colloquially as “Picket’s charge” proved disastrous for the Confederates. Repulsed by a combination of Union artillery fire and the spirited defense of the Union’s II Corps, Confederate casualties from the charge have been estimated by historians to be between 40 – 60% (roughly 8% of the whole Confederate Army). South of Picket’s charge, Union cavalry under Brigadier General Judson Kilpatrick launched a series of similarly ill-fated attacks against the extreme right of the Confederate line. Acting on orders almost 9-hours old, Kilpatrick sent his cavalrymen across uneven terrain, against strong defensive positions held by Confederate artillery and infantry near the Emmitsburg Road. By the time the fighting subsided, more than 6% of Kilpatrick’s command were casualties.

The property protected today by a Battlefield Land Acquisition Grant awarded to the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, and their preservation partner the American Battlefield Trust, is ground where the 1st U.S. and 6th Pennsylvania Cavalry regiments advanced towards the Confederate lines. Used primarily for hay-farming, the property also includes woodland and an intermittent stream which will now be preserved through a conservation easement.

Battlefield Land Acquisition Grants from the NPS American Battlefield Protection Program empower preservation partners nationwide to acquire and preserve threatened Revolutionary War, War of 1812 and Civil War battlefields. In addition, the program administers three other grant opportunities: Preservation Planning Grants, which are open to all sites of armed conflict on American soil, and the Battlefield Restoration and Battlefield Interpretation Grants. This financial assistance generates community-driven stewardship of historic resources at the state, tribal and local levels.