American Civil War: The Tide Turns at Gettysburg!

July 2, 1863 - Union and Confederate forces clash on the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg. Meeting Confederate forces northwest and north of Gettysburg on July 1, Union troops fought a large-scale delaying action before being forced to retreat to the heights south of the town. Assuming a defensive position on Culp's Hill, Cemetery Hill, and Cemetery Ridge, they prepared to receive the anticipated Confederate assault the next day. In planning his attack, Confederate commander General Robert E. Lee sought to strike at the Union flanks. Moving south, Lieutenant General James Longstreet was assigned to attack the Union left. Due to delays, the assault did not begin until 4:00 PM. Striking the Union III Corps, which had advanced off Cemetery Ridge, Longstreet's men drove them back. With the situation deteriorating, Union commander Major General George Meade rushed reinforcements to the scene. Fighting raged in the Wheat Field and the "Valley of Death," before the front stabilized along Cemetery Ridge. At the extreme end of the Union left, the 20th Maine, under Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain (left), successfully defended the heights of Little Round Top along with the other regiments of Colonel Strong Vincent's brigade. Through the evening, fighting continued near Cemetery Hill and around Culp's Hill. Stymied on July 2, Lee ignored Longstreet's advice to renew the attack on the Union left the next day. Instead, Lee planned a large assault against the Union center. Following a massive artillery bombardment that began around 1:00 PM, 12,500 Confederate troops struck Union center on Cemetery Ridge. Generally known as Pickett's Charge, this attack was repulsed with heavy casualties. Beaten, Lee began retreating from Gettysburg the next day. The victory at Gettysburg, along with the surrender of Vicksburg on July 4, turned the tide of the war in the Union's favor.

Photograph Courtesy of the Library of Congress