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Gettysburg CampaignThe Gettysburg Campaign was a series of battles fought in June and July, 1863, during the American Civil War. After his victory in the Battle of Chancellorsville, Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia moved north for offensive operations in Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. The Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by Major General Joseph Hooker and then Major General George G. Meade (from June 28), pursued Lee, defeated him at the Battle of Gettysburg, and drove him back to Virginia. Background Shortly after Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia defeated the Union Army of the Potomac at the Battle of Chancellorsville (May 1–5, 1863), Lee decided upon a second invasion of the North. Such a move would upset Union plans for the summer campaigning season, possibly relieve the besieged Confederate garrison at Vicksburg, and allow the Confederates to live off the bounty of the rich northern farms while giving war-ravaged Virginia a much needed rest. Lee's 75,000-man army could also threaten Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington and encourage the growing peace movement in the North. In essence, it was the identical strategy Lee employed in the Maryland Campaign of 1862. On June 3, 1863, Lee's army began to slip away, northwesterly from Fredericksburg, Virginia. In reaction to the death of General "Stonewall" Jackson, Lee had reorganized his two large corps into three new corps. James Longstreet retained command of the First Corps, but with one fewer division. Jackson's old corps 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 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. Battles The following battles were fought in the Gettysburg Campaign: - Battle of Brandy Station (June 9, 1863) — The largest cavalry battle in the war. Union cavalry under Alfred Pleasonton, conducting a reconnaissance-in-force to determine the location of Lee's army, surprised J.E.B. Stuart with a dawn attack against his camp outside Brandy Station, Virginia. There was no clear victory for either side, although Pleasonton withdrew before finding the location of Lee's infantry nearby. Brandy Station established the emerging reputation of the Union cavalry as a peer of the Confederate mounted arm. After the battle, Lee's infantry forces, led by Ewell's Second Corps, crossed the Blue Ridge Mountains at Manassas Gap and headed north.
Meanwhile, the Army of the Potomac was moving with unaccustomed celerity. On June 16, it reached Manassas Junction. Hooker had no idea what Lee's intentions were and Stuart's cavalry did a good job masking the army's movements behind the Blue Ridge. He originally conceived the idea of reacting to Lee's absence by seizing unprotected Richmond, Virginia. But Lincoln sternly reminded him that Lee's army was the true objective. His orders were to pursue and defeat Lee, but to stay between Lee and Washington and Baltimore. - Battle of Aldie (June 17, 1863) — A cavalry duel between the brigade of Judson Kilpatrick and Confederate Colonel Thomas Munford. After four hours of mounted assaults, Kilpatrick was reinforced and Munford withdrew toward Middleburg.
- Battle of Middleburg (June 17–19, 1863) — The 1st Rhode Island Cavalry was attacked and routed by two brigades of Confederate horsemen. On June 19, Stuart's force was driven back behind the town and withdrew farther into the Valley.
- Battle of Upperville (June 21, 1863) — Cavalry division commander John Buford attacked the Confederate cavalry's left flank, but was repulsed. Stuart withdrew to a strong defensive position at Ashby Gap, but soon left the Valley with three cavalry brigades on a wide-ranging reconnaissance and raid to the east, beyond the right flank of the Army of the Potomac. This was one of the most controversial actions of the war. Lee's orders to Stuart envisioned him screening the army and reporting on Union movements, but Stuart either misunderstood or ignored those orders, leaving Lee blind in enemy territory, while Stuart attempted to recreate his previous exploits, riding entirely around the enemy army and raiding supply trains.
On the evening of June 27, Lincoln sent orders relieving Hooker. Fighting Joe had argued with general-in-chief Henry W. Halleck about defending the garrison at Harpers Ferry and petulantly offered to resign. Halleck and Lincoln jumped at the opportunity. George Meade, previously commanding the V Corps, was ordered to assume command of the Army of the Potomac early on the morning of June 28 in Frederick, Maryland, and kept it moving quickly to the northwest. Lee was unaware that his normally sluggish foe had moved as far north as it had. The lack of Stuart's cavalry intelligence kept him in the dark. It was only after a spy hired by Longstreet reported in that Lee found out his opponent had crossed the Potomac and was hot on his trail. By this time, Lee's forces were widely separated. Ewell's corps had almost reached the Susquehanna River and was prepared to menace Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the state capital. Longstreet and Hill were near Chambersburg. Lee sent urgent messages to his corps commanders to concentrate his army around Cashtown or Gettysburg (depending on circumstances). - Battle of Hanover (June 30, 1863) — J.E.B. Stuart, on his wide-ranging raid around the Union army, attacked a Union cavalry regiment and drove it through the streets of Hanover, Pennsylvania. Union general Elon Farnsworth's brigade arrived and counterattacked, nearly capturing Stuart. After additional forces arrived, Stuart was stalemated and forced to move even further to the east. His orders to maintain contact with Ewell's advance could not be fulfilled.
- Battle of Gettysburg (July 1–3, 1863) — The greatest battle of the war, often considered its turning point. Meade defeated Lee in a three-day battle fought by 160,000 soldiers, with 51,000 casualties. It started as a meeting engagement when brigades from Henry Heth's division clashed with Buford's cavalry, and then John F. Reynolds's I Corps. As the Union XI Corps arrived, they and the I Corps were smashed by Ewell's and Hill's corps and forced back through the town, taking up defensive positions on Cemetery Hill, Culp's Hill, and Cemetery Ridge, south of town. On July 2, Lee launched a massive pair of assaults against the left and right flanks of Meade's army. Fierce battles raged at Little Round Top, Devil's Den, the Wheatfield, the Peach Orchard, East Cemetery Hill, and Culp's Hill. Meade was able to shift his defenders on interior lines and they repulsed the Confederates. On July 3, Lee launched Pickett's Charge against the Union center and almost three divisions were slaughtered. By this time, Stuart had returned and he fought an inconclusive cavalry duel to the east of the main battlefield. The two armies stayed in position on July 4 (the same day the Battle of Vicksburg ended in a stunning Union victory) and then Lee ordered a retreat.
- Battle of Manassas Gap (July 23, 1863) — Meade's unsuccessful attempt to attack Lee's retreating forces in the Shenandoah Valley. William H. French's assault was poorly coordinated. It pushed the Confederates back, but they slipped away relatively unscathed. On July 24, the Union army occupied Front Royal, but Lees army was safely beyond pursuit.
Aftermath The Gettysburg Campaign represented the final major offensive by Robert E. Lee in the Civil War. From this point on, all combat operations of the Army of Northern Virginia would be in reaction to Union initiatives. Lee suffered over 28,000 casualties, a price very difficult for the Confederacy to pay. And the campaign met none of its major objectives. Meade received severe criticism for allowing Lee to escape, however, just as George B. McClellan had done after the Battle of Antietam. Under pressure from Lincoln, he launched two campaigns that fall—Bristoe and Mine Run—to attempt to defeat Lee. Both were failures. On November 19, 1863, Abraham Lincoln spoke at the dedication ceremonies for the national cemetery created at the Gettysburg battlefield. His Gettysburg Address redefined the war, named the destruction of slavery as a specific goal, and called for a "new birth of freedom" in the nation. External links Campaign Overview
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