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Pickett's Charge: the story on HearLore | HearLore
— Ch. 1 · Strategic Context And Planning —
Pickett's Charge.
~10 min read · Ch. 1 of 8
On the morning of the 3rd of July 1863, Confederate General Robert E. Lee stood on Seminary Ridge and looked across nearly a mile of open ground toward Cemetery Ridge. He intended to break through the Union Army's center with an infantry assault involving three divisions. Major General George Pickett commanded one division, while Brigadier General J. Johnston Pettigrew and Major General Isaac R. Trimble led the others. These troops came from Lt. Gen. James Longstreet's First Corps and Lt. Gen. A. P. Hill's Third Corps. The target was the II Corps under Maj. Gen. Winfield S. Hancock, specifically the sector held by Brig. Gen. John Gibbon. Union Commander George Meade had predicted this attack during a council of war on the night of July 2. He told Gibbon that Lee would strike there the next day. Meade's headquarters were located in the small house owned by widow Lydia Leister just behind the line. The specific objective has been debated for decades. Traditional history points to the copse of trees as the landmark, but recent scholarship suggests Lee aimed for Ziegler's Grove on Cemetery Hill instead. This grove sat about 400 yards north of the tree cluster visible today. The plan also included a cavalry action led by Maj. Gen. J. E. B. Stuart to exploit any breakthrough. Stuart moved his division east to disrupt Union communications along the Baltimore Pike. Confederate planning suffered from delays and poor coordination. A. P. Hill did not participate in selecting his troops due to illness. Some units that fought heavily on July 1 ended up leading the charge while others rested. Longstreet delayed issuing orders until late morning, creating confusion among commanders.
The Artillery Barrage
At approximately 1 p.m. on the 3rd of July 1863, hundreds of cannons began firing across the battlefield. Confederate guns numbered between 150 and 170 and stretched over two miles along Seminary Ridge. Brigadier General Evander M. Law described the scene as one of the most magnificent battle scenes witnessed during the war. He noted hills capped with crowns of flame and smoke as three hundred guns vomited iron hail upon each other. Despite this ferocity, the fire proved mostly ineffectual. Confederate shells often overshot their targets because inferior fuses delayed detonation. Smoke covered the field and hid the truth from gunners. Union artillery chief Brig. Gen. Henry J. Hunt had only about eighty guns available for counter-battery fire. He ordered his men to cease fire slowly to create an illusion of destruction. By the time all Union batteries stopped firing, Confederate Colonel Edward Porter Alexander believed many were destroyed. Lee's artillery chief, Brig. Gen. William N. Pendleton, obstructed effective placement of artillery from other corps. Longstreet opposed the charge from the start and hoped to avoid ordering it personally. He told young Colonel Alexander to inform Pickett when to advance based on whether Union artillery was silenced. Alexander eventually notified Pickett that he ran dangerously short of ammunition. He stated at least eighteen guns still fired from the cemetery itself. Longstreet made a final attempt to call off the assault but learned replenishing ammunition would take over an hour. The infantry attack went forward without planned close support. Union cannoneers sometimes hit massed infantry waiting in woods or shallow depressions behind Confederate lines before the charge began.
The Infantry Assault
At 2:00 p.m., approximately twelve thousand five hundred Confederate soldiers stepped off toward Union positions. They marched deliberately in line across nearly three quarters of a mile of open fields. The nine brigades stretched over one mile along the front. Pettigrew and Trimble led on the left while Pickett held the right flank. Confederates immediately encountered heavy artillery fire and were slowed by fences in their path. Fire from Lt. Col. Freeman McGilvery's concealed positions raked the Confederate right flank. Artillery from Cemetery Hill hit the left side. As troops advanced, they disappeared from view periodically due to undulating ground. When within four hundred yards, shell and solid shot turned to canister and musket fire. Unit cohesion broke down as morale crumbled. Thousands took cover in the sunken depression of the Emmitsburg Road and refused to advance further. Over two-thirds of the initial force failed to make the final charge. On the left flank, Brockenbrough's brigade panicked after being surprised by an eight-ohio infantry regiment firing from a single line. More than sixteen hundred rounds were fired at Pettigrew's men during the assault. This portion never advanced much farther than the sturdy fence at the road. Trimble's division made poor progress due to confusing orders. Lane sent only three and a half North Carolina regiments forward. Scales's brigade started with almost two-thirds of its men lost on July 1. They were driven back and Lowrance was wounded. Union defenders also suffered casualties but Hays encouraged his men by riding behind the battle line shouting Hurrah Boys we are giving them hell. Two horses were shot out from under him.
The Infantry Assault
Pickett's Virginians crossed the Emmitsburg Road and wheeled partially to their left to face northeast. They marched in two lines led by brigades of Kemper on the right and Garnett on the left. Armistead's brigade followed closely behind. As they moved, their right flank exposed itself to McGilvery's guns. Doubleday's Union division on Cemetery Ridge faced them directly. Stannard's Vermont Brigade delivered withering fire into the rear of Kemper's brigade. Hancock was wounded by a bullet striking the pommel of his saddle entering his inner right thigh along with wood fragments and a large bent nail. He refused evacuation until the battle settled. Pickett's men advanced past Stannard's brigade then Harrow's and Hall's before approaching The Angle. This minor salient featured an eighty-yard right-angle turn known as The Angle. It was defended by Webb's Philadelphia Brigade. Webb placed two remaining guns of Lt. Alonzo Cushing's Battery A at the front of his line. The sixty-nine and seventy-first Pennsylvania regiments defended the fence and guns. Two gaps opened in the Union line when the commander of the 71st ordered retreat. South of the copse of trees, men of the 59th New York bolted for the rear. Captain Andrew Cowan and his 1st New York Independent Artillery Battery faced the infantry alone. Assisted by Henry Hunt, Cowan ordered five guns to fire double canister simultaneously. The entire Confederate line disappeared. Only a handful of the 71st, 268 men of the 69th, and Cushing's two rifled guns remained to receive three thousand advancing Confederates. The Irishmen of the 69th resisted fiercely in a melee of rifle fire bayonets and fists. Webb brought forward the 72nd Pennsylvania after realizing their error. During the fight Lt. Cushing was killed shouting to his men while three bullets struck him one in his mouth. Confederates seized his two guns but lacked ammunition. Union soldiers arrived and successfully charged into the breach.
Casualties And Command Losses
While Union forces lost about fifteen hundred killed and wounded, Confederate casualty rates exceeded fifty percent. Pickett's division suffered 2,655 casualties including four hundred ninety-eight killed and six hundred forty-three wounded. Pettigrew's losses reached approximately 2,700 with nearly eighteen hundred wounded. Trimble's brigades lost 885 men total. Wilcox reported 200 losses while Lang's brigade lost about 400. Total losses during the attack numbered 6,555. At least 1,123 Confederates were killed on the battlefield alone. Four thousand nineteen were wounded and many captured. Casualties among commanders proved devastating. Trimble lost a leg while Pettigrew received a minor wound before dying from an abdominal bullet during retreat. In Pickett's division twenty-six of forty field grade officers became casualties. Twelve were killed or mortally wounded. Nine were wounded. Four were wounded and captured. One was captured without injury. All brigade commanders fell. Kemper was seriously wounded and captured twice. Garnett and Armistead were killed. Garnett rode his horse despite knowing it meant almost certain death. Armistead led his brigade with his cap on the tip of his sword. He made the farthest progress through Union lines but died two days later in a Union hospital. Of fifteen regimental commanders in Pickett's division eleven came from Virginia Military Institute and all suffered casualties. Six were killed and five wounded.
Post-Battle Controversies
After the battle Lee told returning soldiers that failure was all his fault. Pickett remained inconsolable for the rest of the day and never forgave Lee for ordering the charge. When Lee asked him to rally his division for defense Pickett allegedly replied General I have no division. Virginian newspapers praised Pickett's division as making the most progress during the attack. Papers used this comparative success to criticize other states' troops. This publicity played a significant role in selecting the name Pickett's Charge. Pickett's military career changed forever after the event. He disliked having his name attached to the repulsed charge. North Carolinians took exception to characterizations pointing to poor performance by Brockenbrough's Virginians as a major cause of failure. Some historians questioned the primacy of Pickett's role. W. R. Bond wrote in 1888 No body of troops during the last war made as much reputation on so little fighting. Additional controversy developed about Pickett's personal location during the charge. Fifteen officers and three brigadier generals became casualties while Pickett escaped unharmed. Many questioned his proximity to fighting and implied lack of courage. The 1993 film Gettysburg depicts him observing from Codori Farm but no historical evidence confirms this. It was established doctrine that division commanders led from the rear while brigade leaders led from front. There was nothing for Pickett to be ashamed of if he coordinated forces from behind. Years later when asked why the charge failed Pickett reportedly said I've always thought the Yankees had something to do with it.
The Lost Cause Mythology
Pickett's Charge became one of the central symbols of the literary movement known as the Lost Cause particularly for Virginians. Proponents extolled bravery of Confederate soldiers attacking headlong into Union lines. They praised capable leadership of southern generals inspiring overwhelming confidence especially among Virginians like Lee and Pickett. William Faulkner summed up the picture in Southern myth of this gallant but futile episode. Over time this view dominated perceptions despite initial protests from groups both north and south. Northern veterans opposed decreasing emphasis on their hard-fought defense of Cemetery Ridge. Non-Virginian southerners took offense at focus placing on Virginian leaders and troops despite larger numbers of North Carolina troops sustaining greater casualties. After decades of strident historicizing the narrative firmly took root by 1913. It became standard interpretation of what occurred during the battle's fiftieth anniversary. Modern analysis increasingly shifted away from many Lost Cause tenets. Lee's decision characterized as culmination of multiple strategic blunders. Examination of casualty records revealed substantial numbers refused final charge choosing shelter instead. Later research showed unlikely Pickett's charge could provide decisive victory imagined by Lee. A study using Lanchester model suggested Lee could have captured foothold if committing more infantry brigades. This likely would have left him insufficient reserves to hold position afterwards.
Modern Battlefield Preservation
The site of Pickett's Charge remains one of best-maintained portions of Gettysburg Battlefield today. Despite millions annual visitors very few walk in footsteps of Pickett's division. National Park Service maintains neat mowed path alongside fence leading from Virginia Monument on West Confederate Avenue due east to Emmitsburg Road. The path leads toward Copse of Trees but Pickett's division started considerably south near Spangler farm. They wheeled north after crossing road. Park Service pathway stands between two main thrusts of Longstreet's assault. Trimble's division advanced north of current path while Pickett moved from farther south. A cyclorama painting by French artist Paul Philippoteaux entitled The Battle of Gettysburg depicts charge from Union defenders vantage point. Completed and first exhibited in 1883 it is last surviving cycloramas in United States. It was restored and relocated to new Visitor Center in September 2008. Visitors can view the painting inside modern facilities designed to honor history. Numbers at Pickett's Charge appear in Encyclopedia Virginia providing detailed statistics for researchers. Modern photographs show Copse of Trees standing as silent witness to events of the 3rd of July 1863.
What date did Pickett's Charge occur during the American Civil War?
Pickett's Charge occurred on the 3rd of July 1863. Confederate infantry began their assault at approximately 2:00 p.m. after a massive artillery bombardment started at 1 p.m.
Who commanded the divisions involved in Pickett's Charge?
Major General George Pickett commanded one division while Brigadier General J. Johnston Pettigrew and Major General Isaac R. Trimble led the other two divisions. These troops came from Lt. Gen. James Longstreet's First Corps and Lt. Gen. A. P. Hill's Third Corps.
How many casualties did Confederate forces suffer during Pickett's Charge?
Total losses during the attack numbered 6,555 with over two-thirds of the initial force failing to make the final charge. At least 1,123 Confederates were killed on the battlefield alone while four thousand nineteen were wounded and many captured.
Where was the target location for Lee's intended breakthrough during Pickett's Charge?
The specific objective has been debated but traditional history points to the copse of trees as the landmark. Recent scholarship suggests Lee aimed for Ziegler's Grove on Cemetery Hill which sat about 400 yards north of the tree cluster visible today.
Why did Union forces successfully repel Pickett's Charge at The Angle?
Union defenders held a minor salient known as The Angle featuring an eighty-yard right-angle turn defended by Webb's Philadelphia Brigade. Captain Andrew Cowan ordered five guns to fire double canister simultaneously which caused the entire Confederate line to disappear before Union soldiers charged into the breach.